Travel // Quebec with Kids

The hubs and I love to travel. We traveled when we were single, we traveled as a newly married couple, and now, as a family of four, we travel together. Obviously some things have changed-- It'll be a few more years before the kids are really interested in historical monuments or spending quality time at a fine art museum. That said, they do absorb quite a bit and seem to enjoy the new experiences that each destination has to offer. When they were really little (ages 1 - 4), we stayed stateside, did a lot of road trips and tried to limit the air travel to 5 hours max. Anything beyond that and we knew that we'd be asking for trouble.  It was also a challenge traveling with strollers, car seats, luggage-hogging diapers, and all of the other necessities that come along with small children. And I won't even bother mentioning the difficulties of maintaining a nap schedule, changing diapers in sketchy public restrooms, overtired kids, feeding baby on the go, carrying snacks, etc.

Now that our kids are a little older, a manageable 5 and 7, we are able venture out a little farther and stretch our wings so-to-speak. I don't think we're quite ready for Europe (11+ hour trip) or Asia (14+ hours), but a trip to Quebec was perfect. It hit all of our criteria--

1. Somewhere we've never been
2. Easy to navigate with children
3. Unique enough to feel like we've "left" our everyday lives behind
4. Culture

When to visit Quebec City

Quebec City is a tourist destination, and we happened to be there during one of the busiest times. However, while the town was bustling with activity, it never felt overrun with tourists. If anything, it  has an international flair as many visitors are from Europe. Quebec City is popular during the summer for the Summer Festival, during autumn for the fall colors, and during winter for the Winter Carnival as well as the nearby Ice Hotel.

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We're Back!

Just dropping in to say hello!  We've been traveling the past couple of weeks. Fourteen wonderful days of togetherness, which, as you probably can imagine with two young kids, is unpredictable and an adventure in itself.

Since we were out of the States and also spent a week at Sea, it was a true vacation from all of the daily noise and distraction that comes along with WiFi, 3G, and their cousin FIOS.

beautiful mother nature. no filters or photoshop necessary!

I wish I could stay in unscheduled vacation-mode bliss, but two weeks of dirty laundry beckons, not to mention my youngest's 5th Birthday Party is scheduled for this weekend, and I have a TON of things going on behind the scenes of the blog... So back to reality for me!   But seriously, I could stare at this sunset picture all day long...  :)

Our Lives // Two More Weeks! and a Top Chef

It's hard to believe, but my boys have just two weeks of school left before summer break. Call me crazy, but they've had a wonderful year and I'm a little sad to see it end! The last few weeks have been crazy busy though-- baseball championship games, field trips to the zoo, school performances, birthday parties and more. It's to the point where I think I may have dropped the ball somewhere along the way... but I have no idea where. So yeah, I'm a little sad... but it's good to see the light at the end of the tunnel too.

On a fun note, we got to meet Michael Voltaggio of Top Chef fame (season 6 winner and owner of ink. in West Hollywood) and were able to partake in his innovative molecular gastronomy-style cuisine. The dishes were delicious, fun and beautifully plated.

I didn't want to interrupt him while he was working-- he has that intense, focused look... just like how he was on Top Chef. But when there was a lull, I got a quick photo and chit-chatted with him for a bit. He was pretty chill and asked us how we liked the food. It was all delicious and, just as you'd expect, every dish had that little "something" that made it unique. Obviously taste was important, but also creative presentation was key. And you know I like creative. I'm pretty sure that I was the only guest flipping over the mini hamburger boxes and oval tins trying to figure out where they can be purchased.  :)

I'm so looking forward to this weekend. We are celebrating my FIL's 80th birthday! It'll be nice to celebrate his amazing life and spend quality time with close family and friends.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Spring Break 2013... 2nd Half

Our kids had two weeks off for Spring Break so, to save our collective sanities, we decided to fill those two weeks with plenty of activities. The first week was spent in Texas... Read all about it here.

We flew back from Texas on Easter Sunday and went from the airport directly to my parent's home. They hosted Easter Dinner for the LA/OC branch of our family and there was a lot of good food and good times with cousins, aunties and uncles. We don't get to see each other often, so it was especially nice to hang out and catch up with each other.

After Easter, we were home for a few days to decompress, check in with the office, and deal with the mounds of laundry. Then we were off on another adventure...

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Spring Break 2013 was EPIC!!!

While our Spring Break was fun and great memories were made, when I say EPIC, I don't mean to brag. Because it was epic as in... Extra Long. Like reading Homer's Iliad and Odyssey from cover-to-cover long. Like 16 days of togetherness long.  Like trying to keep two boys busy so that they don't spend the entire time bickering and roughhousing, while playing video games and going comatose watching television long... That kind of EPIC. And yet there still was a lot of video game playing and television watching... hmmm. Epic!

Some day I will really appreciate the epic spring breaks, but right now I'm exhausted. Being a 24/7 referee, camp director, purveyor of snacks, navigator, tour guide and parent is kinda tiring! Whoda thunk??  I'm thankful though that the boys truly love and get each other. Even if that means getting under each others' skin. 

brothers hugging... leads to wrestling... leads to a big smooch... leads to more hugging & silly smiles. repeat.

You probably felt this coming, so here's the EPIC photo dump of our 2013 Spring Break....

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[Travel] Kauai, Part II

Another post about Kauai...  But this time I thought I'd share some of our personal photos.  I have family there and have visited over 40 times, but Kauai is a place that I never tire of.  The mix of gorgeous scenery, balmy weather, pristine natural resources and the Hawaiian lifestyle makes it a real-life utopia.

I'm so happy that my kids can experience some of the same "magic" that I enjoyed when I spent my childhood summer vacations there-- fishing; crabbing; playing with cousins; eating yummy food; being spoiled by aunties; going on excursions to pick lilikoi, mountain apple, guava and other exotic fruits; swimming in unpolluted waters; going on adventures to find a secret waterhole, or catch mountain shrimp, or find some exotic mushroom; spending time in a large extended family... basically having a free, unrestricted and unscheduled summer!

However, I'm also a little sad that some of our family traditions are disappearing as the older generation passes on.  I guess that is just the way life goes, but I hope that by bringing them "home" they will make impressionable memories, find a connection to their heritage and carry that on into their own lives.

[Travel] Kauai

We did a little traveling and are back!  I wish I could say that I'm refreshed and ready for Fall, but I'm actually feeling under-the-weather and achy.  Boo!  So while I take a little vacation from our vacation, here are a few scenic photos of our visit to Kauai--

[Travel] Portland, Sunriver and Spelunking

Last night we returned from a weeklong vacation in Oregon.  We had a fantastic time visiting friends and enjoyed our stay in Portland and Central Oregon. Our trip to Oregon is becoming an annual event and is something that our family looks forward to. Warning... lots of photos ahead.  I had to power through this post or it would never get done!

Here are some of the trip highlights...

The Portland Children's Museum

 a giant lite brite

great idea to pair translucent lego and magnatiles with a light table.

Date Night in North West Portland

The adults had "date night". Yahoo!  We had dinner at Serrato Restaurant, then headed over to Salt & Straw for some gourmet ice cream.

Apparently, we weren't the only ones with that brilliant idea...
Look at that line!  We were literally standing in the street. Worth the 40 minute wait though.  

Although I tasted the Arbequina Olive Oil flavor (Oprah's favorite), I went with the Almond Brittle with Salted Ganache and The Mister enjoyed his Honey Balsamic Strawberry with Cracked Pepper.  Sounds weird, but it was good!

Central Oregon

We had never been to Central Oregon before and it was a wonderful experience. We drove from Portland through the Cascade Mountains into Central Oregon.  Rain or no, it's a beautiful drive!

We rented a home with two other families at the Sunriver Resort outside of Bend, Oregon.  Interesting fact... 5 of us went to high school together! Aaah... Nothing better than 8 kids and 6 adults in one house.  My kids loved the chaos!

Sunriver is a huge resort community with a ton of family friendly outdoor activities-- biking, swimming, fishing, hiking, rock climbing, sledding... spelunking. 

game room = kid central
This photo doesn't even capture half the room... but you get the idea  :)

Swimming at the SHARQ, the new indoor/outdoor water park

1st annual ping-pong tournament. The professionals amongst us had to hold a baby while playing.  It's only  fair!  ;)

For me, the highlight of our trip within a trip was hiking through Lava River Cave... 

Armed with propane lanterns, we made our descent into the cave...

At the mouth of the cave...

A lot larger than I had imagined.

Slippery, muddy and dark... I guess Tom's aren't really meant for spelunking?? ;)
Next time I'll know better!

Frozen breath

The ceiling of the lava tube. Bats hibernate in this cave during the winter. Neat but... Ew!
Every now and then I'd step in some sludgy stuff and think "bat poop?"

Some areas had really low ceilings... Although the little ones couldn't tell.

We made it to the end!  Only to have to turn around and head back...

Light!  A nice sight after 1.5 hours of cold & dark.
I'm happy to report that Happy Vee made the entire trip (2 miles roundtrip in the pitch dark and 40 degree temp) without being carried.  What a trooper!

And, if you made it to the end of this post, that was our trip!

So right now I'm making my way through a mountain of laundry.  I actually don't mind.  I'm feeling refreshed after our little trip and am hoping I can direct my newly refreshed self into tackling a project or two this week.  We shall see!  Have a nice rest of the week!

Cars Land Photos & Happy Summer!

We finally received access to the photos from our visit to Cars Land earlier this month.  We were very lucky to have previewed the newest attractions at Disney's California Adventure on June 3rd.  We weren't able to take our own photos or videos, but there were several professional photographers scattered throughout the park snapping photo ops.  Here's a little peek at our Cars Land experience.

Aw... Stanley!

With Red who kept blowing his siren when we got too close.

 The boys on Route 66 in Radiator Springs.

Cars Land is the boy equivalent of Cinderella's castle-- the kind of stuff that dreams are built on.  Happy Vee was so excited to see life-size versions of Lightning and his buddies rolling around Radiator Springs.  He almost wandered away from us when he saw Lightning passing by... Luckily the Mister caught up with him and was amused to find him having a full blown, albeit one-sided, conversation with the race car.

The highlights for us:

Radiator Springs Racers-- Fast moving and fun, fun, fun! There's a 40-inch height requirement and 3 year old Happy Vee just squeezed in. There are 2 versions of the ride depending on which track you are on.  Both are good and the racing part is a-m-a-z-i-n-g.  Only down side is that although the line moves, it is LONG.  We were there on a non-crowded day and it was an hour wait.  I've heard that on opening day the line was 3-4 hours long (ack!).

The neon signs that turn on at dusk.  The music... the neon... just like the movie.

The cone-themed food and specialty drinks at the Cozy Cone.  We didn't have a chance to check out Flo's V8 Cafe, but I've heard the food is pretty good (for a theme park).

Mater's Junkyard Jamboree - Happy Vee loved this ride and is still talking about it.  Tea cups with a twist.

A wonderful experience and we will be back... maybe in late fall or winter when the crowds lighten up.

So anyhow, back to the present.  I'm going to be on blog-lite this summer.  With the boys out of school and vacation time on the horizon, my goal is to spend as much quality time with my family as I can.  It's hard for me to juggle everything and do it well, so something has to give!  The boys are signed up for some camps though, so I'll be poking around when I have the opportunity.

Have a wonderful summer!

[Weekender] The One With... Baseball, Baseball & More Baseball, Birthday Parties and Cars Land Too!

Sorry for the lack of posts lately... it's taken me almost the entire week to recover from the weekend.  Yes, I am a wimp.

On Saturday, we left the house at 8 AM and didn't return until 10:30 PM.  It was a day devoted to baseball-- closing ceremonies for Smarty Pant's league, his All Star game, and then his team's end of season party.  And if that wasn't enough, we capped off the day with a late dinner for Papa Vee's birthday.  By the end, we had kids sleeping at a restaurant.  Pure exhaustion.  I don't know how parents do it with multiple busy kids... I'm barely keeping up with just one in sports.

Smarty Pant's All Star game... and me playing with Photoshop :)

Hanging out at the game with my ever present Toms.  These crochets are the most comfortable yet.  The only downside is the lace "tan" action that's happening on my feet.  Not pretty!

On Sunday morning we went to a birthday party, then headed out to Anaheim. One of our friends works for Disney and asked if we'd like to preview the new Cars Land at Disney's California Adventure.  Of course we said YES!  We are very, very, very lucky!  Lucky that he actually got tickets and lucky that he thought of us.  Did I mention lucky? We had an amazing time.  The boys were awed by everything. Wish I could say more but...

So we weren't allowed to take photos, but I was able to dig up a few night time shots via the Disney website-

the backdrop to the radiator springs racers ride

the town of radiator springs

The photos don't even do it justice. The backdrops are pretty stunning, it's like stepping into the movie.  The boys were amazed. Smarty Pants even asked how they made the sky look so real... he he!  In true Disney fashion, the level of detail blows you away. It's a must to see the neons turn on in the evening. And the Radiator Springs Racers ride.... awesome! I think that's about all I can say without getting in trouble.  :)

So I'm getting back into the swing of things.  I'm working on a fun project and will share it next week!

[Weekender] The One With... Drippy Purple Cars, Lunch Counters and Baseball at Petco Park

We spent our Memorial Day Weekend in San Diego.  It was a truly relaxing weekend with beautiful weather and very little crowds... at least in the places that we frequented.

The New Children's Museum is usually busy on weekends, but it was surprisingly calm and peaceful this past weekend.  We spent 3 hours there on Saturday.  The boys painted a car, played with clay, made scratch art, climbed on things, and basically had a great time.

modern art!  ;)

Me relaxing on a bench while the kids took their energy out on a play structure inside the museum. It was so peaceful in there, I could've easily taken a nap.  But instead I was playing Words with Friends... my latest addiction.

On Sunday, we went to The Park at Petco Park to play a little baseball.  When the Padres are away, the park is usually open to the public. There's a lot of green space to have picnics and even a little playground for younger kids.  The highlight for us is the kid-size baseball diamond.  We struck up an impromptu game with some other baseball loving families.

Gotta love Smarty Pants and his "game face".

he looks like he's trying to kill the ball!

After playing for a couple of hours, we were hungry and headed over to Lucky's Lunch Counter which is just down the street from Petco Park.  What a great find and I love the retro-inspired decor.  The food was good too.  We enjoyed the spicy dogs, homemade kettle chips and veggie burger. Next time we're going to try their breakfast.

how cute is the condiments tray?

And that was our long weekend.  Unbelievable that summer is just around the corner!!