Discovery Science Center

The kids go back to school on Monday, but after a month off I have to say that we are all a little excited about it.  There is only so much that you can do when you are the only ones not in school, it gets very boring.  We have done parks and movies and visited as many people as we could, but those things did not even dent the amount of time we pretty much wasted in our house.  Today I decided I was sick of being in this house.  In fact I feel like I would rather be shopping than be in the house anymore, which is not something that I usually enjoy. So, I thought it would be fun to go to the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana.  Eli was not very excited about going, he thought it would be really boring, but once we got there and he got to play with everything he told me that he loved science and he was glad we got to go there.

Lots of fun with my kids and science. Love it!

A day in the park!

On Saturday we took the boys to the park.  We have been trying to help Eli learn to ride his bike.  Donald learned when he was five, but Eli has shown no interest.  In fact he begs me to not make him ride it.  But I can't ride mine around until he learns to ride his, so we are forcing him against his will- te he!

 

He's actually getting there, he can stay up for about twenty seconds, now he just needs to learn how to stop without falling over.

Dog pile on Donald!

Eli didn't want to be left out!

Love my boys!

My Loves

Those of you who know me well know that I have four loves in my life; my husband, my children (counts as two) and science.  I love being with my family and seeing them succeed and find things that make them happy and I love to learn new things about science.  Most people probably share those feelings about their families, but I know that a lot of people look at me like I am crazy when the little science nerd inside me comes out.  It is hard to explain, but every time I understand something more about it I feel closer to my Heavenly Father, almost as if that is one of the reasons I was sent here.

Now, why? You may be asking yourselves am I posting about this truly random thing.  Well, I have found myself in a very scary situation that involves these loves and I don't know what to do.  The older my children have gotten the more I have come to realize that Southern California is not the place I want to raise them.  I know that the weather is great and we have amazing friends here, but middle schools here could scare anyone into homeschooling.  For a couple years now we have played with the idea of moving to San Antonio.  I can hear you all now, "TEXAS"!  It just seems more simple down there. 
So a couple months ago, just for the fun of it, I applied to be an educator at Sea World San Antonio.  I didn't really think that anything would come from it at first, but then as I did the phone interviews and met the people down there I began to realize that this could really be a way for me to work with science the way I have always wanted to.  Last month I was offered the job and they want me to start in May.  I am not even to the scary part yet...well kind of.

Back to my list of loves.  I have to make sure that all of my loves will still be happy.  Don has always wanted to be a baseball coach.  Actually I have seen him coach and it makes me want to cry.  Nothing makes you love someone more than watching them put their arm around a struggling pitcher's shoulders and walk him out to the mound advising him and supporting him.  I know he will be awesome and I know that the chance of him being able to be a coach financially is better in Texas.  But he doesn't have a job there and he does here so it is scary to move without knowing that it will happen for sure. 
Donald and Eli are amazing.  They said as long as we are together that is all they need to be happy.  I have always wanted them to be able to run and explore and I think that Texas could give them a better opportunity for that, plus the culture and society are a little less liberal than here in Southern California.

Ok, so now for the scariest part.  I would have to go in May, the boys wouldn't come until June so school is out, cause I can't transfer them with 3 weeks left, and Don would not be able to come until the end of the summer (and that's if he passes the test and gets a job at the recruiting fair in June). 

My dad thinks I am crazy and sometimes I don't blame him.  It is crazy to go so far and leave all you know when you don't even know if your husband will have a job,  but there are too many amazing possibilities for me to crawl back under our security blanket and stay here.  So what do I do? I am so scared and uncertain, but the decision is here and I only have 43 days to make it.

Day out with the boys!

I have been having a really crummy week, just faced with way too many life changing decisions. Today I decided that I need a diversion, so me and the boys went out to lunch and saw Alice in Wonderland 3D. It was just what I needed. What would I do without these two amazing boys in my life?

Spring Break, San Antonio!

Since the boys are off track we have a whole month for spring break so we decided to go visit our friends the Borings down in Texas again.  I love being in San Antonio, but I have to say that the drive down there really sucks!

 

I think my kids would agree.

 

Thank Heaven for Holiday Inn Express!

It usually takes us two days to get out there.  We left Friday and got there on Saturday night.  Then we went to Downtown San Antonio and saw the Riverwalk.

 

  

And we saw the Alamo

 

March 4th was Hannah's birthday so Donald wanted to take her paint balling (This was actually the day before her birthday).  It was a blast!

  

Donald & Hannah

  

Me & Maia

  

Brent, Maia, Me and Don

Our gang!
All I've gotta say is don't mess with Texas!

I think Donald was trying to look tough.  He looks like he wasn't having a fun time, but truly he was in his element.  In fact, both Donald and Hannah have found a new sport they love.  They both did such a great job, they never complained, even when they got hit.  Hannah was actually a little bummed that she didn't get bigger bruises to show off.  It is crazy that we have these huge kids now that can do such adult things with us.

I know there are more pictures out there.  Brent took a lot of the kids while they were in the courses, so hopefully I can gather some more to post.

Kirstine's birthday was February 24th and since we missed it I promised her that I would take her to see the Lightning Thief, which Maia and I took the kids to see on Friday.  It was a pretty good movie even though Donald said he liked the book better.  That's usually the way it turns out when you read the book first.

I love our friendship with the Borings.  Brent and Don have a best friend relationship that I truly envy.  They have the same hobbies and like the same sports teams and can have fun together doing pretty much anything.  We have kids the same age that like to do the same things.  I just love seeing Donald and Hannah hang out.  We have known the Borings since Hannah and Donald were 3 so they really don't remember before they knew each other.  It will be so fun to go back and look at pictures from their whole lives together when they are older.  And then there is me and Maia.  We are both pretty kick back, which is important with our husbands, and we both like to make fun of Brent and Don.  What better friendship could you hope for than that? Seth said this past week, "Hey mom! The Youngs are more like family than friends aren't they?"  I totally agree Seth, well said!