Road Trip to LA

Today we got up bright and early and headed to LAX to spend the day with Chelsea. Chelsea had an 11 hour layover in LA on her way back home from a 3-week vacation to visit Emily in Australia. She brought the kids stuffed kangaroos holding the Australian flag (cute).
We started off with some swimming at the beach. Manhattan Beach was right down the street, so it was the logical choice. The kids enjoyed playing with all of the seaweed. Meter parking was only valid for 2 hours, so after that we were on our way.

Chelsea and Kailani decided that we should spend the rest of the day at the Aquarium of the Pacific. It's been on my "to-do" list for a long time. When we got there, we spotted Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., the perfect place for lunch! We hadn't been to the Long Beach location before.

We walked around the aquarium for a few hours. The kids got to touch a lot of sea creatures. They stamped the map/guidebook at various spots throughout the aquarium and turned it in for a prize (a pencil) at the end.

After the aquarium, we dropped Chelsea back off at the airport for her flight home.
We are happy that we got the chance to spend the day with Chelsea (even if it did take 4 hours to get home).

Time to Move on

It's hard to believe, but today was my last day (ever) at Greater San Diego Academy. Working three different jobs in addition to all of the other things I do, was beginning to take a toll on me. Early in the school year, I decided that I was going to cut my hours at GSDA and I decreased my contract from 100% to 60% in February. Working 3 days worked out well, but there were times I still had to go in to work on Mondays and Fridays. Towards the end of this school year, I started to give some serious thought to not returning to GSDA in the fall. We decided that it would be the best decision at this time. I am very excited, as I will be very busy helping out at the kids' school and with football/cheer this year. If something part time comes up that I am interested in within the schools, I might consider it, but for now, I officially work from home.
I worked at GSDA for 11 years and met a lot of great people, whom I will be friends with for a long time. It was just time to move on.
During the second semester of this school year, some of the high school students worked on creating a video to market our school. Here is the final product:

Emergency Trip to PA

In a flash I was there and back! My mom was admitted to the hospital last week with trouble breathing. Within a day she had a breathing tube inserted. I flew home as quickly as possible to be with mom. Although the kids really wanted to go, we thought it would be best for me to take the trip alone. Jason was able to get time off work to take care of the kids.
Luckily, by the time I was able to get home, my mom had the breathing tube removed. She was able to breathe on her own within another day and finally moved out of intensive care early this week. She is still in the hospital and will be at least through the weekend. I am hoping she gets better quickly and is home before we know it.
Although this was not a vacation, I was able to sneak in a visit with Monica and Brian, who were visiting from Hawaii.

 I was able to spend the first father's day with my dad in about 14 years.

JS Yamagiri

Today there was a Japanese Naval ship in port, so we headed downtown for a free tour. There were actually three ships in port, but we were only able to go on the JS Yamagiri. The kids enjoyed looking at the ship and comparing it to Jason's ship. When we boarded the ship, the kids got a brochure with information about the ships and a pin from Japan with the US and Japanese flags.

We walked around Sea Port Village afterwards and the kids spotted a sea lion in the harbor.

Hot Licks in Sea Port Village

Disco Fever

Today I ran the Disco Fever 5K. It was a cool morning, but good weather to run in. The run was downtown along the water, starting and ending in Seaport Village. I think my official time was 30:22, but I am still waiting for results to be posted online. I'm getting closer to my goal of running a 5K in less than 30 minutes.

I forgot my 'fro!

I have several races lined up. I'm aiming for one per month and am planning to do the triple crown (3 half marathons in one year) in 2016.
July - Coronado's July 4th 12K
August - Balboa Park 8 Mile
September - Aloha Run 5K
January - Carlsbad 1/2 Marathon
April 1-2 - Ragnar 200-Mile 12-person relay from Huntington Beach to San Diego
April 24 - La Jolla 1/2 Marathon

Tuna Crabs Invade San Diego

The invasion of the tuna crabs has been big news in San Diego this week. We had to head to Ocean Beach this morning and check it out. Here's the story in the Union Tribune:
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/jun/12/tuna-crabs-oceanbeach/

The crabs were washing ashore and then they couldn't get back out to the water. Kailani was trying to help them!

It was amazing! It looked like a sea of seaweed along the shore. This hasn't happened since 2002. Apparently the crabs come to shore when the water temperature changes. It could be a sign of El Nino, which would bring us some much-needed rain.

A Girl and Her Horse

Kailani and Zachary attended their first week of YMCA camp. Kailani did horseback riding at Sweetwater Farms, which is right in Bonita. The parents were invited to watch the kids ride today. Kailani loved it and she wants to take lessons now.

Zachary attended On the Move camp this week. Here was the line up for the week:
Monday: Coronado Library
Tuesday: YMCA pool
Wednesday: John's Incredible Pizza
Thursday: Waterfront Park downtown San Diego
Friday: Movies - Paddington

On Wednesday when I picked Zachary up, he pulled out a loose tooth:) On Thursday when I picked him up, the coach told me he fell while running at the Waterfront Park.

Magic Bands

Our Magic Bands have arrived! This will be a new experience for us a DisneyWorld. These bands are our room keys, our tickets, our meal plans, and our fast passes. We're excited. 26 days....but who's counting!!

Island Warrior Champions

Today was the last day of the Island Warrior football season. I had a little challenge because Jason had to work and both kids had games very close to each other (Kailani at 11 and Zachary at 12). Luckily I was able to get Zachary's coach to take him from one field to the other:)
During halftime the cheer team performed a dance they've been working on for a few weeks. They were excited to go out on the field. The boys cheered them on this time.

Kailani's team won their final game and received the 1st place trophy. Zachary's team also won their game (not the championship, just a regular game).

The boys and girls with the HUGE 1st place trophy!

Zachary's team

School's Out for the Summer!

Today was the last day of school. It's hard to believe the kids made it through all 180 days with perfect attendance. I can't believe we now have a 1st and 4th grader!

Kindergarten Graduate!

Today was Zachary's kindergarten graduation ceremony. I can't believe he will be going to 1st grade next year!

 The stage was decorated so cute!

 The kids came in two by two and went off to their seats.

 

Zachary with his Kindergarten diploma!

Zachary with his Kindergarten teacher, Sra. Roberto.

 

Sra. Roberto taught Kindergarten to both Kailani and Zachary.