September 2018

I finally got to live a life long dream by eating at the Max from Saved by the Bell.  I grew up on Saved by the Bell, watching every Saturday morning as a kid.  When they opened up a pop-up restaurant after The Max I knew I had to make a reservation and go.  

At Poinsettia 1st Annual Pancake Breakfast!  

These three have been together non-stop since school started.  They have been begging for a sleep over so we finally made it happen.  Lucy hosted the girls at her house where they did spa treatments, went tee-peeing for the first time ever (they got caught though...haha), and planned to wake up at 3:00 am.  Luckily Lisa turned their alarm off.

We are half way through soccer season and its been a blast.  Skylar's team is 5-0 right now and are playing so hard.  Madden is doing great.  Last week he scored 6 goals in one game.  

Catalina Saltwater Swim

OMG!! I can't believe I did want I did in Catalina Island.  So several months back a group of my swim friends mentioned putting together a fun ocean swim in Catalina.  Once I heard it I was totally in.  I love swimming and I wanted to do something to challenge myself.  I swim 3 to 4 days a week so I knew the physical part of the swim I could handle, for me it was all going to be a mental challenge.  With the swim coming up within months/weeks I started getting really nervous and wanted to back out so bad.  I kept trying to come up with excuses, but Jake wouldn't listen.  He told me I was doing it and he and the kids were going to be there to cheer me on.  Jake was so supportive and leading up to it he keep telling me how I had to swim in the ocean at least one before the swim.  Yes I have never really swam in the ocean besides jumping in the waves for fun.  Finally 5 days before the big swim in Catalina one of my friends got me down to La Jolla cove and I did my first ocean swim.  I finished that two mile swim hating it!! I was so scared, the waves were rough that day, and the water was so dark and murky I didn't see any enjoyment in it.  But I told myself I survived this, I can survive Catalina and I never have to go into the ocean again after that.

The day of Catalina I was full of nerves.  I honestly hadn't felt that much anxiety in a lot time, but once I got on the boat to head over I started to relax...thank goodness.  I think being around the amazing positive energy that my swim friends have helped.  The kids were so excited to be on a boat.  They loved ever minute of the ride over and we even saw a whale, which was extra exciting.

Once we got to Catalina we dropped our bags of in the room and all headed to a nice dinner together.

Breakfast of champions before moms big swim.  

Surprisingly the morning of the swim I felt good.  I had been telling myself I was only going to do the two miles loop, but that morning I felt like I could do three no problem.  Having the kids and Jake also made me less nervous and when the whistle blew I was ready to go.  The water temperature couldn't of been better and the water was so clear that I could see everything underneath me.  

I swam in a group with my friends Nicole and Mike.  We stopped for a could minutes at each mile marker.  Got a couple jelly fish stings, but kept swimming on.  In the end I swam 3.3 miles in 1 hour and 25 minutes and surprisingly I enjoyed it the whole time.  When I was swimming in the kids were in the water cheering me on. 

I was pretty proud of myself in the end!

After the swim we hung out on Descano Beach for a while and then took the kids to the jumpy in the middle of the bay. 

That evening we had a wonderful potluck dinner at the host of the swims house to celebrate everyone's hard swim.  We are already planning on making it a yearly event and I plan on beating my time.

Side note:  Madden won a couple mustaches at the local arcade that he had to wear during the trip...haha!

A Visit from the Fabulous Funk Four

So it has been exactly 8 years since the Funk family has been down to San Diego to visit us. The iPhone had only been out for 1 year, Obama was only in his second year of his presidency, instagram wasn't even a thing yet, and Madden and Mika were not even a thought in our heads.  Ok, I think I made my point it had been a long time.  

Geddis, Dom, and Skylar when they last came to San Diego.

You know, sometimes life just gets away from you and its hard to make time which I totally understand, but once it was finally official that they were coming to visit we couldn't of be more excited.  The weeks leading up to their visit we were all  coming up with all the things we wanted to show/do the cousins and Aunt Arielle.  Our number one activity was water fun.  We wanted lots of pool and beach time, which we definitely gave them.

We hit up the pool all three days they were here.  Mika was the biggest fan of the pool.  She was making friends each time she went there and loved the kids pool.  One evening we BBQ dinner there and the kids swam into the evening.

Dom teaching Uncle Jake how to do the rubik cube.

Beach day was in full effect day two.  We were all out of the house by 9:30AM to make sure the Funk's got themselves a full beach day.  The boys had never been in ocean water that warm so keeping them out of it was nearly impossible.  Geddis was a fish and never came out.  It was also their first time boogie boarding which they were both natural at and had the best time.  Mika was a bit timid with the ocean, but she still had a great time playing in the sand.

After a full day of sun we wanted to do something indoors for a bit.  Skylar and Madden thought the GlowZone would be the perfect place to take the cousins and they were right.  The boys absolutely loved everything it had to offer.  The rock climbing, bumper cars, zip lining, and video games kept them busy for hours.

Madden 500 ticket win was the highlight for him.

Like we do with most of our family who visits, we take them to our fave mexican restaurant Norte's in Old Carlsbad.  After dinner we hung out down by the beach, sadly we didn't have swim suits which Geddis was bummed out about because he wanted to take one last dip.  

It was such a special weekend being able to show and share where we live to our family.  Having so much fun and special one on one time with the Funk Family was priceless, and I know that it won't be another 8 years until their next visit.  

Come back soon Funk Family!!