march stuff

March has been a good month. It is my favorite month of course since that was when I graced the world with my presence 41 years ago.💗

I actually forgot a few days after my birthday that I wasn't 40 anymore. Several times I've mentioned being 40 this month and then it dawned on me a couple days ago that I'm not. My brain just is not acknowledging it probably because 41 just isn't as exciting as 40.

Mya finally got to have an orchestra concert after years of covid cancellations. She was so happy. And of course, it called for curling that impossibly long hair of hers.

She's so cute with her giant bass.

Dan has been working a ton so we visited him at the station.

Angus was asking Dan to turn on the siren.

After church lunch at The Habit. Addie didn't want the rest of her burger so these two split it.

These cuties accidentally matched all the way down to the ponytail.💕

Kendall rides to school with us. She is always punctual and happy. I cannot say the same for me and the kids.

I grabbed these ladies last minute and we headed to Glen Ivy for my birthday. It was on a Wednesday so it was pretty empty. And the sun came out just for my bday. We did "Club Mud" where you can rub mud all over your body and it's supposed to make your skin super soft. I saw a lady walk over to the mud bath, rub some mud on her foot, take a pic of the muddy foot and then rinse it and walk away. Haha, not sure why she'd want proof of going to club mud but that she did get.

That was my first time there. I will definitely be back. I don't think I could go anywhere else for a spa day now that I've experienced Glen Ivy. It is quite fantastic. Check it out: 

Glen Ivy Hot Springs - World Class Spa Retreat located in Corona California

And they had a vegan lunch option on the menu. It was delish.

I walk in Glendora once or twice a week and I always see peacocks. I saw a male flirting with a female on a roof the other day. He had his feathers all spread out and she wasn't even looking at him. Poor guy. The feathers weren't impressive. There was a lot of brown in them. Maybe he was old.

Addie reading to Angus. I know. Too sweet.

Mya and Winter both earned straight A's this past quarter. Well done little overachievers!

Winter is the tall one on the left. It's funny how they lined up by height. 

They don't have to wear masks at school anymore yay!

Angus has dreamed of having the kinds of trash cans that are pictured below. The ones that the grabber arm picks up and puts in the giant bin. We've had the other kind that the guys have to physically pick up and put in the bin in the front. We aren't excited about having to divide our trash now. And now we can't just throw anything and everything on the curb on trash day. Before, we could literally leave a couch on the sidewalk and they'd take it. BUT we are excited about how happy Angus is when he gets to experience the truck picking up the trash. And now there are 3 trucks that come on trash day. It doesn't get much better.  And Mya is happy that we are doing our part to help our environment. And we are too. Kind of. 😊

Mya's contribution to the church bake sale. Honey nut cheerio treats. Like rice crispy treats with cheerios. I don't recommend it. I think the honey makes them even stickier and impossible to cut into squares. It was a mess but she was happy to contribute.

That's all she wrote! Happy Saturday!

Mom & Deb

 February was bananas to say the least. But the best part about it was that Grandma and Aunt Debie came to live with us for a month. The kids got to wake up and go to sleep with bible stories and hugs from two of their favorites. The one good thing about them living in Arkansas is that the visits are bigger and better than anything we'd ever get if they lived 30 minutes away like they used to. 

We got haircuts today and Angus told his stylist, "I have a grandma. Her name is Grandma. And I have a Debie." 💜

We miss you guys! 💕

Games and popcorn.

Grandma was so nice to pretend that Angus knew what he was doing. Angus has more confidence than all 3 of his sisters put together. He thinks he has mastered ALL the games, including the ones he hasn't played.

We got our kitchen back and Mom and me got to make some fun vegan recipes. Okay, Mom made them and I watched.

He has loved watching construction sites since he was a baby. It's nice of them to put those little triangular windows in the fences for him. =)

Dan has been working a lot. He appreciates being home more than anyone I know.

Twinsies 👯

Workin' on the car again...

Mom trying to steal Angus's bike. Yeah it's a girls bike but he doesn't know that. Nor does he care. It's blue.

Flappy Jacks on a weekend. Mom said a prayer that we wouldn't have to wait long and we were seated right away. 💖

My recommendation this week is to tune into Jackie & Shadow's live cam in Big Bear on YouTube and watch this momma and daddy bald eagle care for their new little chick born on March 3rd. The other egg didn't hatch but it has been a highlight in our house to watch the little family. They have thousands of people rooting for them and they don't even know it. 

Watch here: https://youtu.be/B4-L2nfGcuE

Happy Saturday!

the wag saga continues part 2 - Orlando baby!

 It all started in January when Dan, Mya and I got Covid. What I never should have said was "Well at least we will be good to go on our trips to Napa and Florida in February now that we’ve had Covid." Famous last words. That stomach flu is a sneaky little devil. 

Several months ago, cousin Wendy and I made a plan to bring both of our families to Orlando to visit my sis and fam and go to Disney World. Dan hates crowds, Disneyland and Florida so that was a hard pass for him. He ended up working 5 out of the 6 days we were there anyway. We purchased tickets back in November for Winter, Mya and me to fly out in February. Mom purchased tickets to come out and stay with us the month of February and watch the littles while we were gone and Dan was at work.

The day before we were supposed to fly out to Orlando, Winter came down with the stomach flu. This may seem like a familiar story. Just like when Aunt Debie got the stomach flu the day before we were supposed to go to Napa in early Florida and we had to cancel our trip. 

And as if Winter getting sick wasn't enough, Angus came down with a fever the same night. So the morning we were supposed to leave, Winter was still not feeling good and developed a fever to seal the deal of her staying home instead of going to Disney World with her cousins. She was crushed. And everyone was crushed for her. 

So about 15 minutes before we needed to leave for the airport, Dan and I decided to swap Addie for Winter since we already bought nonrefundable discounted tickets to 3 Disney parks. I didn't want those to go to waste. We didn't know what the outcome would be but we were hoping we could just do a kid swap with little to no fee. 

I was on hold with the airline the whole way to the airport as the traffic slowed way down and my heart rate sped way up. We were running behind and I was running out of can-do spirit. Long story short, Addie got on the plane with us but it was a very expensive and stressful kid swap. That was one of the most stressful mornings I've had in years. And with the stomach flu exposing my family, I was so scared one of us was going to get it in Florida or on the plane. We didn't, praise Jesus. And I have to mention our flight attendant, we'll call her Shelly. She had my back from the minute we got on the plane. I wasn't sitting with the girls but she told me to sit with them and she'd handle the other passenger when they got there. And she winked at me and snuck me a free drink because she could see that I was rattled. Kind people are out there.

And yes, I did think about just saying Addie was Winter when we checked in but Addie looks like she's 5, not 11. And I would have passed out with the added stress of trying to sneak the wrong kid through security. I was already a basket case.

I don't like to think about how sad Winter was that she couldn’t go and how heartbroken everyone felt for her, including Addie. But I love to think about the sweetest gift my friend and neighbor dropped off for Winter and Angus after she found out what happened. It was a box full of fun activities and thoughtful gifts including balloons. They felt so special. 

I don't like to think about how many hours I spent on the phone on hold with Delta and Priceline trying to get a credit for Winter‘s flight. And I don't like to think about how much money we spent on Addie‘s flight at the same day price versus buying it three months in advance. I will always buy insurance now. 

What I do love to think about is the amazing time that we had once we reached Florida and the nerves settled down, and how amazing my sister is and how much fun we had with our Baker family.

And I love to think about how amazing my mom has been. She sent me off to the airport telling me everything would be fine and not to worry even when I know she was worried. Addie said as we were leaving, "I can't believe you're leaving your mom with two sick kids." Haha what a sweetie that one.

And I love my amazing husband, strong and steady, taking care of all the house stuff, working around the family and added house guests, quietly and efficiently. And working tons of overtime in order to pay for the surprise home remodel. Honey, you amaze me.

Winter is completely fine by the way. She has had the best attitude through the whole thing. And now, Addie and Mya have had their fun and it's her turn to plan a trip to Arkansas to see her Grandma in June. 

Here are 1,000 pics of our Florida trip if you're interested. They're out of order because it's way too much work to order them. But you get the gist. We went to Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Animal Kingdom and Wendy took Mya to Universal to see all that is Harry Potter.

A ginormous thank you to Wendy, tour guide extraordinaire. We were VIPs from the moment we arrived until we left. You are THE BEST 💖 I especially loved the duvet covers 😉 Very luxurious.

Well done staying 'till the end! Happy Thursday.