I Left My Heart...in San Diego

Megan just finished up her track break, (have I mentioned how much I *heart* year-round school?) and while she was off we took the opportunity to go to San Diego for a long-overdue family vacation. Here were the highlights:

San Diego Zoo
Always a winner, we Skyfari-ed, Express Bused, and hoofed it all around the giant Zoo-wonderland. Although the animals ranged from cuddly and adorable to strangely grotesque, I'm fairly sure my children don't have a future in zoology. They were done looking at animals by early afternoon and wanted to go somewhere with "rides".
Doesn't the Express bus count as a ride?San Diego Maritime Museum
No rides, but we did get to explore 2 pirate ships, 1 submarine, 1 ferry boat, and a restored sailboat. These 5 working ships were a boatload of fun to climb around and learn about current and old-fashioned sailing techniques. One of these ships was used in the movie "Master and Commander" with Mel Gibson. They had costumes and props from the movie displayed on the ship.
Coronado Island & Seaport Village
Of course, what trip to California would be complete without visiting the beach? The water was only warm enough for toes, and everyone complained about sand in their shoes for the rest of the day, but we took home a sweet sand dollar and some cool photos. Seaport Village is all about shopping, art, and a really fast carousel. (Yippee! Rides!)Balboa Park
Not to be missed, Balboa Park was built for the Pacific Northwest Exposition (in the '30's, I think) and now houses this massive collection of museums and tourist hot spots. We visited the Museum of Art (an amazing art collection that totally bored the kids. I mean, if you can't touch it, what's the point?), San Diego History Museum, Museum of Natural History (complete with a birthday party for Darwin...yes, it was a little creepy), Science Center (lots to touch and do), Model Railroad Museum (which awed the big kids as much as the little kids), Aerospace Museum, and the Automobile Museum. There is truly something for everyone, and if you ever go, get the Passport Pass. One price and you get admission to everything, including the zoo. Totally worth it!USS Midway
Retired navy aircraft carrier, the USS Midway has been turned into an impressive museum, illustrating life on board an aircraft carrier. With plenty of places to explore, and proud navy veterans doing meet-and-greets and giving tours, this was definitely a highlight of our trip.Although there weren't any rides, there were plenty of buttons and switches to push, and nobody saying "Don't touch."Legoland California
One word to describe our Legoland experience...underwhelming. At Disneyland prices ($73 for adults, $63 for kids, yikes!), we were expecting a Disney-like experience. Not. Even. Close. With a only a handful of really good rides, most of them were not much more exciting than rides at the local fair (albeit cleaner, and with the Lego-theme). On one fireman ride we had to pump a lever to make it go, get out of the vehicle to shoot water into a building and then pump really fast to go back....I'm sorry, but for $73 a person, I think the rides should do ALL of the work.The Legoland speedway is a definite draw for kids, but parents can't even ride.Unlimited access to Legos was one of the best parts of the park. We built castles, cars, houses, and more.The highlight of Legoland is Miniworld. City scenes of New York City, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Washington DC, and more made entirely out of legos. The details were incredible.Yes, that is the Inauguration made out of Legos. You could actually identify a lot of the people in the scene. It was amazing.We are home now, back to school, work, and reality. But we had a great time in San Diego!

How many degrees of separation is that?

Dobson High School in Mesa, AZ where President Obama gave his speech today is my alma matter. Isn't that cool? It's like we're friends now....I wonder if I could get a cabinet position?

(Is it me or is Obama already looking older?)

Pondering life's big questions...

Why is it that my brilliant husband, who can program the most complicated electronics, understands technology that is not even available to the general public, and is virtually attached to his laptop and Iphone...can't figure out how to set our alarm clock?

Update

Megan is first in line for baptism. So, if you are watching online today, you might want to get on at 12:20ish so you don't miss it!

Baptism

Tomorrow, our Megan demonstrates her salvation and love for Jesus through water baptism. We have prayed for this day, from the moment she was born and we are so proud of her. She loves the Lord and the people He made.

If you would like to support her during this momentous occasion, go to www.kenwilde.com, at 12:30 pm, our time (mountain time.) We will be streaming the service, live. We'll also try to post pics and videos, as soon as they are available.

My heart is full.

Happy 2009!

It's almost 11:00 at our house. One more hour and it's 2009. Megan begged to get to stay up until midnight. We were sure Steven would poop out early, because he didn't have a nap today. We were wrong. Here's what it looks like at our house right now...Happy New Year!

Had A Merry Little Christmas...

Well, it was a happy Christmas for us this year. Beginning with lots and lots of SNOW!
And that was just the beginning. We've had 18 inches in the last 2 weeks. That's a lot for Boise.

Then there was Christmas Eve. It was a perfect, candle-lit service that was everything a Christmas Eve service should be. After service, was the party for the pastor's kids where they received movie tickets. (Which were used last night, Despereaux-ing.) That intoxicating, little, blue-eyed beauty is Kenzie Francey...the long awaited first grandchild of our senior pastors. (The first of many ::wink, wink::) Isn't she scrumptious? Cleary, Megan thinks so. Steven, on the other hand, looks like he's got more up his sleeve than his "just-like-daddy" dress shirt.Then (after dinner at the Wilde's) the annual Christmas Eve "mad-present-stack"...do you think we MAY have overdone it this year??? Well, not ALL of those presents were from Ken and me...just most of them.The kids were gracious enough this year to let us sleep until 7:15 on Christmas morning (last year it was a 6 am wake-up call.) And then the ripping and tearing and exclaiming began.

Did I mention my momma was here for the week? It was nice to have an extra set of hands for baking and wrapping, even though those hands spent the first few days laid up with a thrown-out back. She more than made up for it as she felt better. I think I might fly her out every Christmas...
It's not Christmas without a few Wii games. Now we can be cheer-mii-ders...
But the clear winner this year, was the playmobil company. Between Uncle Joel and Aunt Michelle and Momma and Daddy, Steven got 6 or 7 sets. We didn't see him again for the first 24 hours, lost in a sea of plastic people and tiny accessories.And what's a Holsinger holiday without good food? (It's not...in case you were wondering.) Prime rib, roasted vegetables, rosemary-sage mashed potatoes, red wine gravy, and sweet potato and apple casserole. (And now begins "diet-season"...)

Hope you and yours are well, and have a happy new year!

Dear Santa...

On Saturday, Megan and I were shopping downtown between ballet performances (more on that later!) We went into Macy's where they were sponsoring a fundraiser. For every letter to Santa that customers wrote, they would donate a dollar to the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

Now, some parents just love making Christmas magical for their children, flitting around buying wonderful gifts from Santa (did I just say "flitting"? Is that even a word?) They hoist their kids on Santa's lap, posing them for the obligatory "scared-of-the-stranger-whose-lap-I'm-sitting-on" picture. (I mean really...what other time of the year, would we ever encourage our children to sit on the lap of a man we have never met and know nothing about?) They write letters, hide presents, and tell tales....

...yea, we're not those parents.

It's not that we have some strong aversion to lying to our kids, or some legalistic view of what Christmas should look like. We just don't think Santa should get all the credit for the good gifts! We treat Santa kind of like Mickey Mouse, it's fun to talk about him, etc, but come Christmas, it's Mom and Dad who spent the hard-earned money and time for the gifts.

Well, anyway...we're all about charity, especially Make-A-Wish who blessed my niece with a nice wish last year. So I encouraged Megan to write a letter. This is what she wrote:

"Dear Santa, I want a Webkinz...Tinker Bell movie....etc...etc...etc...
Sincerely,
Megan Holsinger
P.S. I like Jesus better than you, but have a merry Christmas anyway."

Thank you Albertsons...

Even though they are the more pricey grocery store in the area, I still usually shop at Albertsons. It's really close to me and easy to get in and out of. Well, recently Albertsons instituted a gas rewards program. Last night, after grocery shopping, I bought gas at $.40 off a gallon. I only paid $19.98 to fill up my car. I can't remember the last time I paid so little for gas.
(Now, I'm not naive enough to think that Albertsons isn't offsetting the gas savings in their grocery prices...but looking at the gas pump tonight made me happy. Don't burst my bubble!)

Deck My Halls with Boughs of Holly....

Thanksgiving Update

We had a wonderful time on Thanksgiving, eating too much and hanging out with our Idaho "family", the Wilde's. Armed with a turkey baster, oven mitts, and more butter than should be legal, we cooked up an obscene amount of food, and then proceeded to stuff ourselves like turkeys (who really aren't supposed to be stuffed anymore...something about e.coli or salmonella...whatever.)

Ask Tracy about her contribution to the dinner...yam bake. It was a hit! (And Tracy cooking was our Thanksgiving miracle.)
The three things that scream "Thanksgiving"...food, football (notice the TV in the background), and games. Yes, this is the retro game "Rock 'em, Sock 'em Robots". If it's old and uncool, then it's dated, but if it's old and cool, it's retro! And nothing says fun like 2 plastic robots trying to knock the snot out of each other.Kelly cut Megan's hair. She has bangs! I really like them, except they make her look older, which I will never like.And somehow I managed to break the holiday tradition of never appearing in any of the pictures. This is proof that I do exist and I was actually there...at this gathering anyway.There you go! Happy Thanksgiving everyone! (And can anyway say, "Are there really less than 3 weeks until Christmas???? Aahhh!")

And the Winner Is...

...me! For my table at the Women's Holiday Brunch. Yea for me!
You can just call me Martha...And speaking of beautiful things, here's one of my BFF's, Jonnie. I adore her...but there's a lot less of her to love lately! Proud of you Jonnie!! I can't wait to cheer you on at your triathlon!

Orphans

Tonight, Ken took the kids to dinner while I went shopping. (3 hours of shopping...all by myself, it was glorious!) As they were sitting in the restaurant, getting ready to order, Steven stopped Ken and said, "Wait, Momma's not here. Shouldn't we wait for Momma?"

"No," said Ken. "Momma went shopping, it's just us for dinner."

He looked around the restaurant thoughtfully, then asked, "Won't all the people be sad if they think we don't have a momma?"

Father/Daughter Winter Ball 2008

Every year, Megan and Ken attend the Father/Daughter Winter Ball put on by Megan's ballet school. It's a great fundraiser for the studio, with dinner, dancing, and auctions. This year, a couple of our friends took their daughters and the girls all got ready together.
Our friend Kelly came over to do hair.
I sewed Megan's dress. (In 2 days...)
She's growing up so fast. Today, we bought shoes for her from the women's department.
Off they go!

We believe that it's Ken's job to teach Megan how she deserves to be treated on a date. Beware the first guy who ever takes her out, because her expectations will be high.

And that's the way we like it!