Huntington Beach, or Vacation Part 2

The next day, we slept in, relaxed a bit at the hotel, got some food, and then drove the short distance to Huntington Beach!

The water was a bit chilly, but the girls and I didn't care! We love the beach!

We played in the waves, collected shells, watched surfers, and ate at Ruby's on the pier, and I was in heaven! I wish we had spent a week at Huntington, instead of just a day.

Disneyland, or Vacation Part 1

The last few weeks have been whirlwind of adventure for us! Wanna hear about it? 

I knew you would!

About 2 weeks ago, Brandon's awesome parents came into town to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with us. One morning, we woke up 4 am and packed up the car. We had been planning quite the surprise for Portia and Margot!

After the initial shock wore off, they were thrilled!

We spent most of the day riding every ride the girls set their little hearts on!

Margot says her favorite ride was Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, and Portia's was It's a Small World After All.

We even got to meet princesses!

As you can imagine, Portia and Margot were ecstatic! 

We stayed in the park until the girls literally passed out with exhaustion, then headed back to the hotel, ate some dinner, and fell into bed ourselves. We had even more fun planned for the next day!

Don't Mind Me

I'm just torturing myself with pictures of tropical beaches. 

http://www.sbhawaii.com/common/sand.htm

http://costaricatoursdirectory.com/listing/costa-ricas-top-ten-beaches/

http://travelfeatured.com/jamaica-caribbean-sea/

http://www.poipubeach.org/beaches.html

Sigh.

Virginia Trip

I've been a bit MIA the last few weeks. I know you've all been heartbroken, and waiting with baited breath by the computer for my blogging updates!

Oh. You didn't notice? Hmmm.

Anywho.

Last weekend, Brandon and I took a little road trip to Virginia! We left Saturday morning, and drove straight to St. Louis, where we stopped for a bit to go to Six Flags. We have season passes that expire at the end of this month, and even though St. Louis is a few hours out of the way, we couldn't resist!

I was so excited! You should know how much I love amusement parks. It's a lot. Mostly because I love roller coasters.

We rode The Boss, aka the best roller coaster I've ever been on in my life. It's over a mile long, and real fast.

No, I did not take this video, I was too busy screaming my brains out.

After spending a few hours in the park, it started to get cold, so we headed out to find some dinner. 

We followed Brandon's hunch and stopped at a random little Chinese restaurant called Sesame. And it was fabulous. It was an actual Chinese restaurant, not takeout, not buffet. And I've never been happier to eat in my life.

That hot and sour soup made me weep with joy.

After stuffing ourselves to the brim, we hopped back in the car and drove to Louisville, KY to stop for the night. We stayed in the crappiest hotel on the planet, and took off again early the next morning and drove all day till we hit Virginia! 

PS If you want to admire our beautiful country, take a drive through Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee and Virginia. Gorgeous! At one point we stopped at a rest area, and found a breathtaking scenic overlook.

We spent a day in Virginia, and drove home! Brandon and I haven't been away from the kids for more than a day or two since we had them, so it was kind of a nice break! But at the same time, I missed these babies so much!

Vacay Part 3, or Six Flags and Jim!

After dying and going to heaven in South Padre, we shook the sand off, loaded up the car, and drove for what seemed like forever back to Dallas. And we couldn't leave Dallas without going to Six Flags again, could we?
Margot wasn't feeling well, so Brandon stayed back in the hotel with her, and the rest of us headed to the park. This time around, it was freezing, and there were no lines! Portia was a bit braver too, and rode pretty much all the rides she was big enough for! She had a blast!

By noon, we were all hungry and cold, and the kids were done. We left the park and went to lunch. Afterwards, the kids and dads hung out at the hotel, and Jeannine and I got to go play till our hearts content at Six Flags. We rode everything that we could! We stayed until the park closed and we were frozen solid! But it was so fun!

The next morning, we loaded up and drove to Tulsa, dropped the kiddos off with babysitters and went to go see Jim Gaffigan in concert. He's a great comedian, very funny! He does a lot of food jokes, so you know I love him!

And with that, our vacation ended. We are home now, and I'm dreaming about the beach! I can't wait to go back!

Vacay Part 2, or South Padre!

Lotsa pictures coming up guys, lotsa pictures!
You ready? Here we go!

From San Antonio, we drove about 6 hours to South Padre Island, aka My New Favorite Place Ever. It was gorgeous!

We rented a little condo right on the beach. 2 bathrooms, 2 bedrooms, a huge living room and kitchen, and a sweeeet balcony overlooking the water.

The view form our balcony.

I'm a little excited, can you tell?

We arrived Sunday night, and stayed until Thurday morning. And we spent every moment we could on the beach! Here are a few beach shots!

mmmmmm apples!

After about 6 minutes, I had the worst sunburn ever. I spent a lot of my time sitting under the umbrella, all covered up. 

One morning, we woke up to jellyfish! This is actually a Portugese Man'O'War.

I love the ocean. I wish I could go back already! We had a blast, just soaking up the sun, or in my case, frying like a lobster.
Let the peeling commence!

Vacay Part 1, or Six Flags x2!

Well folks, we have officially been home from our vacation for 3 days, and I'm still trying to get the sand out of our stuff! Not that I'm complaining, we had a blast! 
Oh, you wanna hear about it?
Well, here you go!


Last Thursday morning, we met up with my Jeannine-sister and her family, and drove down to Dallas. We checked into our hotel about noon, and quickly headed off to Six Flags!  
It was interesting, as we had 6 kids with us, but they did pretty good! It was about 1000 degrees, and there were about 4 billion people there, so the lines for all the rides were ridiculous. Portia was big enough to ride all the kiddie rides, but she was too scared. She rode a few rides, the log flume and the airplane one. You know, you sit in a little airplaine and it spins you around like you're really flying. She was really happy while we were on it, but as soon as the ride ended, she was miserable again. 
We took the kids back to the hotel after a few hours, and Jeannine and I stayed with them while the dads went back to Six Flags to play. Then around bedtime, the dads relieved us and Jeannine and I went and rode a few rides. It was pretty awesome! 
There are no pictures of this day, because every time I paused anywhere, the crazy masses of people started shoving the stroller. No joke, at one point, a woman actually pushed my stroller for me in an attempt to get me to walk faster. I was not amused.
The next morning, we all packed up and drove down to San Antonio. We checked into another hotel, and headed off to the other Six Flags. Oh yeah. You wish you were us.

It wasn't as crazy this time around, there seemed to be just as many people, but no one was freaking out. That makes a huge difference. Portia and Margot got to ride one ride, the train.

Classic.

After that, things all went downhill. The girls were DONE. They were so tired and hot and cranky, and so furious at the world because of it.

Here's Portia holding Daddy's hand, because she was getting real dramatic.

Aaaaaaand Margot.

So we bid farewell to Jeannine and her kids, and headed back to the hotel early. They stayed at the park till it closed and had a blast! We were thrilled to go watch cartoons.

This is before we even got out of the parking lot of the park.

We ate dinner, and went to bed, excited for a day of driving to come! 

our holidays

It's been awhile since I've been able to post; the holidays were busy for us! What's that? You wanna hear all about it? Why, I thought you'd never ask!

Rewind about a month, to about the second week of December. Can you see it? The stores were still blasting Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole, camera-armed Santa Stations dotted every mall in the country, and the Rawlinsons were gearing up for our holiday travels!

First, we drove to Tulsa, to visit our parents. We stopped at my parents' house first, for the Annual O'Dell Grandkids Christmas Party. For those of you who aren't aware, there are 11 grandkids on my side of the family. As you can imagine, all of us getting together for Christmas is a little difficult. So, my mom and little sister came up with a plan. Every year, everyone joins together for one evening for some awesome kid-centered holiday fun! We decorate cookies, open gifts, look at Christmas lights, we go all out.
This year, we went bowling! The kids loved it! We then drove to Rhema to see the lights.

Carrie and I at the bowling alley. Something exciting must have been happening. Probably a strike.

 Me, Carrie, and Daisy, and the back of Margot's chubby little head.

My cute parents. 

There aren't many pictures of my kids, as they were too excited to stand still. Fun times!

Next, we headed to Brandon's parents house for a week. We celebrated Christmas early, and the girls made out like kings! They got Little People, Barbies, new jammies and outfits, and tons more. They were in heaven! This was the first Christmas that Margot was old enough to really know what was going on, so she was really excited.

Next, we drove 15 hours to LaGrange, IN to visit my extended family. It was a surprise, only my Aunt Peg knew we were coming, and she kept a really good secret! It was so much fun to visit everyone, especially since I haven't seen most of my cousins in years! Plus, my girls got to meet a whole new group of kids their age to play with! Woohoo! 

Portia, decorating cookies.

Tuckered out. Brandon and my dad.

My grandpa. I like him.

My beautiful grandmother.

Next, we drove back to my Daisy-sister's house. She and her husband have been married for 15 years, and to celebrate, flew to Paris and London for 9 days. We watched their kids and house-sat while they were away. They had a blast, and got to do this:

which was very important.

After that, we drove back to Tulsa, where we relaxed for a few days, then drove to my Jeannine-sister's house for a night, where we relaxed some more!

At this point, we had been away from home for a month, so away we went! 

It was so fun and exciting to travel all over, but boy is it good to be home!

Things I Learned While Camping

I love camping. Maybe you wouldn't think it to look at me, what with my 5 inch stilettos and this hairdo, but it's true.
Every summer while growing up, my family went on a camping trip, everywhere from the beach in Florida to high up in the Colorado Rockies to our own backyard. I also went camping with the Young Women at church every summer for 7 years.
Now, I should clarify. When I say camping, I don't mean sitting in an air-conditioned RV with a stove and a bathroom. I mean pitching a tent, making a fire, gathering water from the nearby stream to boil and drink, bathing in the creek, the whole nine yards.
I love every minute of it. I love sleeping under the stars, eating crappy food that you cooked on a tiny stove over the fire, even bathing in an ice cold stream. It's awesome!
Let me tell you a few things I learned while camping.


1. I learned some basic survival skills. From Girl's Camp, I learned how to build a shelter, start a fire with just sticks, purify water, make a splint and a turniquette, and even tell the difference between Poison Oak and Poison Ivy. From my family camping trips, I learned how to cook on a fire, stay warm and dry at night, and shave my legs in the wild (it's crucial folks). I also learned that my mom is deathly allergic to Poison Oak and Poison Ivy.

Mom, look away! You might get a rash!

2. I learned that the beach is my most favorite place to be. We went camping in Pensacola FL one year as a family, and it was amazing. White sand, huge waves, millions of jellyfish. Wait, what?
Yeah, I said jellyfish. They were everywhere; I must have been stung a hundred times,  but it was still fun.
If I could live on the beach, I probably would.

Me and Carrie, in our swimsuits. 

3. I learned how to entertain myself in long car rides. When we went camping every year, we drove sometimes 12 hours or more to get there. That's one boring drive folks. 

4. I learned every cheesy camp song ever written. Girl's Camp does that to ya. I hated them, but I sang them.

5. I learned how to be a leader. At Girl's Camp, I was a YCL, or Youth Camp Leader, for several years. A YCL's job is to help younger girls with their hike, take them swimming, and teach them some of the things they need to certify. I was always assigned to the 12 year old girls, most of them had never been camping before. It was a blast teaching them and getting to know them, and I am still friends with a lot of those girls today!

6. I learned that we live in a beautiful country. Sleeping under the stars and hiking through the woods shows you that.

7. I leaned that if you give a raccoon donuts, he will love you forever. But he might still try to maul you, so don't get too close.

8. I learned that if the name of the campsite is anything like "Camp Runamuck," turn your car around and drive away. It will be crazy.

9. I learned that my sister and I look really good in snorkels.

You know you're jealous.

10. This isn't really something I learned, it's just one of my favorite memories. 

We were camping in Pensacola, and my mom wanted us all to get up early and watch the sunrise on the beach. 

My mom LOVES to watch the sunrise. Maybe it's because she enjoys the beauties of nature, maybe it's because she wakes up at the crack of dawn already and wants company, we may never know.

Anyway, we didn't have an alarm (we were sleeping in a tent for cryin' out loud) so Mom woke us all up at the hour she thought was close to sunrise. Turns out it was closer to 3 am, but we didn't know that at the time. We drove to the beach, set out a blanket, and settled down to wait for the sun. And we waited. And waited. Aaaaaand waited.

It was cold that morning, actually really cold for Florida in August. We were dressed in  T-shirts and shorts, and I remember just being freezing. It was really cloudy, and after about 3 hours of waiting, we started to realize that the sun wasn't going to show. You see, there was a storm off in the distance over the water (something else we didn't know) and the clouds were hiding the sun. 

Finally, after what seemed like forever, we started to beg to go back to our tent. We were hungry, cold, and tired. But my mom is nothing if not persistent, and assured us that if we waited, something good would happen. We crawled under our blanket on the sand and my dad got the Coleman cook stove from the car. He made one of the best tasting breakfasts I can ever remember. White rice with curry in it. We ate it in mugs, all curled up under our picnic blanket. 

Then, something good did happen. Remember that storm? Well the sun actually had come up, even if we didn't see it, and we got to watch the storm out over the ocean. It was one of the prettiest sights I can remember. We could see every swirl of the clouds, and even the rain as it came down, all miles away. It was amazing. 

I guess I did learn something. I learned that the simplest joys are the best. And I learned that my mom has good ideas, even if they do involve getting up at 3 am.