Addendum to Monday

I forgot to elaborate on the room situation! After we moved into room number 2, I noticed that the door to the bathroom wasn't closing all the way. You had to really lift and turn the door with force inorder to get it to close. I was more concerned with getting out the door on our way to downtown than dealing with it, so I left it to deal with later.

Fast forward to that afternoon! After we got back from downtown I wanted to take the kids swimming, so swimming we went. It was chaotic trying to hold up 2 squirming little ones but we managed and had a blast. We went upstairs to get dressed and again I noticed that the door was not closing. This was not going to do. After further investigation I noticed that the whole door frame was coming off and no longer supporting the door as it should. Really didn't sit well!

So took one of our many walks down to the lobby to see what they could do. (Thankfully I really didn't unpack all that much so the idea of moving rooms again wasn't ideal, but better than staying in a room where the bathroom door doesn't close.) The lady at the front desk asked if she could send a building engineer up to look at it. I told her that it probably needed more than just looking at but ok.

The SUPER nice building engineer met us in our room and quickly looked at it and said, "Whoa, um, that's not good I'll probably need to take the whole frame off and take a look at this." Move we did to room number 3! He was so helpful and transfered some of our belongings to the next room - which was splitting the difference between room number 1 and number 2. He gave me a free movie, popcorn, and skittles for my troubles and proceeded to tell me that the hotel was "booked" and he needed to do a quick fix so it could be occupied that night. Wow.

We went downstairs and ate dinner, but the story of rooms continues...

Feb 25, Monday - Running UP Hills

Our morning started early and a little slow. We leisurely got ready and met Jon downstairs for breakfast just before he was to leave for his work conference (the initial reason for flying to San Francisco).  He had a full day conference both Monday and Tuesday, leaving the kids and I to our own adventures. Also that morning we decided to ask to switch hotel rooms (would not be the last time...). We weren't pleased with our first room and since we were paying for it, we thought we'd bring the issues up to management and get a new room. This meant however that I was to pack everything up and move rooms with two kids because Jon already left for his conference. Let's call this one room number 2. 

It ended up being just 2 doors down, so doing a little shuffling was nothing to worry about. Just making sure I had the right keys and that the kids kept following me was the biggest hurdle! We finally got settled and I  figured out what it was going to take to get us downtown. After hemming and hawing a while, I finally decided I was fully capable of making the trip, packed up, and we were on the shuttle back to the airport where we would catch the BART train into the city. The trip took a little under an hour. 

There were many reasons that lead me to getting out of our hotel room for the day but the main one was we needed a few gluten-free food items to help supplement the kids on our trip. This meant finding the closest Whole Food store or the like downtown. This was no easy task! I had done some research and found that there were a few stores I could get to by foot and there were parks nearby, added bonus, all it took was walking there! We never found the Whole Foods or, disappointedly, any of the parks I looked up, but we did run into a Trader Joes which was good enough for me.

Brianna was amazing walking the whole way and Carl did great being patient in the stroller. We walked a total of 3.5 miles, many of it being uphill, we were in San Francisco after all! Check the map out - we started and ended where the "C" is. Take the "C" and follow the path right, then up to "B" then back down, then up a little, and back down to "C". Whew! I could tell Brianna was lagging a little bit closer to the end but she made it all herself without help. As we walked up Bush Street, all uphill, Brianna was actually running. She kept saying, "Oh boy, I'm getting SO tired," then kept running. Silly girl, maybe you should walk...

Once we got downtown, it was just before 11 and we were all pretty hungry. I found the closest Chipotle and we settled in for lunch. Half-way through eating Brianna told me she had to go potty. No big deal right? Well... the bathroom was upstairs and I had a mess of two kids downstairs. I tried as quickly as possible to clean their messy hands (mostly Carl's), asked the wait staff not to clean our place, and rushed upstairs. Quite the task with a stroller and two kids, but we managed! On the plus side, a manager was walking around while we were eating, orienting a new employee. He asked us how we were doing then came back with a BOGO coupon. So nice!

We took in the sites as we walked around. They are not short of any visual stimulation in San Francisco. The hardest part was reiterating to Brianna and Carl that we do not stare and we keep walking. They did well. We made it to Trader Joes and had a snack. Another bonus, was that it was right on the California line so we got to watch the cable cars roll by as we ate. Leading up to our trip, we frequently read Maybelle the Cable Car by Virginia Lee Burton. It's all about the San Francisco Cable Cars and how the people of the city fought to save them "progress." It was fun to see Brianna relate her story to real life and get so excited for the chance to see them and in the coming days ride them. Leading up to our trip she was telling everyone she was going to see Maybelle. Not too many people knew who she was talking about, but that didn't stop her! Did I mention she was excited!

To say the least, Brianna was tired from all the walking and not getting a normal nap - on top of the 2 hour time difference messing with her head. Carl did end up getting a short nap on the way into the city, so he was ready to go. We had so much fun exploring the city and riding on the train together.

We figured out dinner and hung out in the hotel before bed. As an extra bonus, there was a business parter of Jon's going to the conference who also had their family along (3 kids) for the trip who was also staying at the same hotel. We ran into them after dinner and the oldest boy invited us to play in their room for a little bit before bed. Since Jon wasn't back yet, it was nice to have the added distraction! They ran and played and jumped crazily on the bed together. I love how kids are fast friends!

Well, as you might imagine, it didn't take much to get them to bed. They rarely sleep in the same room at naps or going to bed, so I thought this might be a challenge, but with all the activity and time change, they basically closed their eyes and fell asleep.

I relaxed as well and contemplated what to do on Day 2!

Feb 24, Sunday - Sunny California

Sunday was a full day! We started at 6:30 am with the kids waking up and preparing for church. I was so glad to have the couple extra days on the weekend to finish packing because Jon, my voice of reason, helped eliminate some unneeded clothing from the suitcases. That wouldn't have happened without him at home on the weekend! 

Plus, as always, we were all excited to go to church. This Sunday was a little different in that it was our member meeting after the first service AND a new banner, which I had my hand in, just arrived and was going to be the first Sunday to be up in the lobby. Very exciting! So we were at church for a while this particular Sunday; didn't get home until after 12:30 (which is late for us). Thankfully the member meeting was also a potluck, so we all had full tummies and could put the kids straight to nap. 

Jeremy, my brother-in-law, was on board to come pick us up at 3:00 to take us to the airport. Both kids ended up taking great naps, which meant a happier plane ride for Jon and I. We actually had to wake Carl up to leave. We packed our luggage in his van then woke Carl up and headed out. 

We made one pit stop to drop Eko off at my parents house. His final destination was to be at Jon's parents, but he had a layover!

We made it to the airport and again squeezed quickly through the security line. Brianna remembered the drill and did well getting all of her belongings on the belt and through the scanner. We even caught up with our friends who were heading a different direction for a week sans kids. They purposefully sat at a table to eat dinner so we'd see them! Well wishes were given then it was off to find our gate. I packed a sandwich dinner for the kids but thought I better get something for myself as well. Ahh, yummy airport food. 

We were set for Departure at 5:35 pm from Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota. Leaving us to arrive at 7:56 pm (local time) in San Francisco, California.

It took us almost an hour to get in the air after boarding. Not fun at all, prolonging our trip a bit. They must have had some slow movers because on all the flights to and from Hawaii, once we boarded it didn't take long to leave the gate and get in the air. And that's with boarding first when they let people with kids go first. Anyway... Our seats were 2 on one side (row of three) and 1 across the aisle (row of 2). We were hoping we'd have willing people sitting near us so we could ask if they'd switch and allow Jon to hop across the aisle and sit with us. Thankfully, there was an unhappy gentleman that, with the prospect of sitting too closely to small kids on an airplane, took matters into his own hands to ensure Jon (who was by the window) just moved right away by us and whoever came in to fill in the seat would have an aisle seat only on the opposite side. The gentleman had the aisle and quickly moved to the window. Thank You unhappy man who used profanity but then in a weird way tried to be nice and offer a snack to our kids - We thank you for moving! You must have had a really poor experience before this to react as you did, I hope you had a more pleasant experience this time around.

The kids did great! Carl was a little bit bigger flying now than last October, so that was a bit more challenging, but he sat nicely (for the most part) on the seat with Brianna. We ate dinner then watched some videos. We could tell they were getting tired, because 7:56 San Fran time was 9:56 our time, but they held off sleeping which made it easier for putting them to bed at the hotel. At the airport we made our way to our hotel shuttle and were soon checked in to our room. Brianna got a whole double bed to herself and Carl cozied up on spare blankets with pillows on three sides. No problem sleeping tonight, like I said, they were tired!

We were off on another adventure!

Saturday Plan Detour

Saturday before our trip we had grand plans! Well anything sounds grand when compared to dealing with a flat tire. Yes, the Saturday before we left, instead of doing last minute errands and relaxing, preparing for our travel day, Jon spent the majority of the day dealing with a flat tire.

In the morning, Brianna and I headed out the door to an appointment to fix my recent haircut. I had a cut earlier in the week and it's the first time ever I've had to go back so they could fix the cut. It just wasn't working for me. Thankfully, after the re-do, it was 100% better.

Jon and Carl left shortly after us and were going to go return some things when the tire blew. Since I was almost to my appointment across town, Jon called my parents to see if they could come help with Carl who was stuck waiting in the backseat. Thankfully my appt. was really short and I was quickly back on the road to go help Jon. When I got there, Jon was still trying to get the spare tire loose, on the side of a busy highway. There were some unwelcome complications. My Dad and Mom were still with him, my mom sitting in the backseat keeping Carl company. I decided I better just put Carl in with Brianna and take them home as it was now approaching lunch time. Since the spare wasn't coming, my dad went back home to get his work truck and come back hoping to plug it up, at least so we could get off the highway.

Well, that didn't work either... so finally Jon called a tow, found somewhere that could get a replacement tire, waited another hour till the tire arrived at the shop, waited to get the tire on, then was able to come home. Needless to say, it was not a very happy day.

We are thankful it wasn't worse, or possibly cause more damage. Just an unsatisfying use of a Saturday morning. But sunny California was on the horizon so that helped!

Ready for Baseball

We'll have to upgrade Brianna to the next hat size but for now, we are set for Twins baseball. I pulled out these hats to bring with on our trip to California, and as soon as they saw them they wanted to put them on; they were so excited! 

Carl, to me, just looks like a baseball player! He kept his hat on for a while before we decided they had better be running off to bed. Can't wait for the home opener!

Happy Birthday Gammie!

We are so thankful for you! You are an amazing Mom and Gammie. We hope you enjoy your birthday and are blessed all year long!

Here are special birthday wishes from all of your grandkids!

Jon and Eko

Since I was heading out of town for the weekend, Jon made arrangements for Grandma and Grandpa to watch Brianna and Carl for one night. It was a good thing he had already set it up, because that Friday was the same day they announced Mortenson as the official builder of the new Vikings Stadium. Hooray!! For those that don't know, that's where Jon works. It was a pretty exciting day for everyone at Mortenson and they even closed the offices early to throw a little party. Had Jon not made previous arrangements with his mom, he would have had to hurry home so that I could leave on time, and that would have meant missing the party. Instead, Nancy and cousin Kaitlyn showed up at our doorstep to take the kids. What a huge blessing they were (and are)!

The next day, Jon took out the snowshoes for a little hike. Eko decided to tag along. He loves going with us, wherever we go. He especially loves it when he doesn't need to be constrained to a leash. We haven't been out on our snowshoes as much as we would have liked this year, but I'm grateful Jon was able to get out and enjoy the gorgeous day!

Women's Retreat Away

My first weekend away in a while... Our church was having a women's retreat and, this year, no excuses, I decided to go. I had thought about attending last year, but Carl was only 7 months and having ear infection issues and it just didn't feel right. But like I said though, this year, no excuses and even a wonderful husband encouraging me to go.

Myself and three other women carpooled to the retreat center in Rochester. It was so fun to chat and anticipate the weekend. Only one of us had been before so it was reassuring to know I wasn't alone in the first-timer category. The women organizing and leading the weekend, I thought, did a wonderful job. I'm not usually game for these type of situations, but God was preparing my heart to have a positive weekend. It was such a blessing to get to know the women of our church better AND get to know two of the women I drove with who were my roommates for the weekend better. You've got to love the late night discussions. The ones where you have to verbally announce, ok I think it's late enough, maybe we should go to bed, then end up spending another 30 mins (or so) talking than eventually dozing off to sleep. Just perfect and so much fun!

Thank you to my small group girl friends who decided to try out the retreat this year. It was amazing getting to know you better and see how God can move in and through us!

Mr. Aaron

We had a visit mid-February from Aaron, Mary, and baby Joey. Brianna loves it when we can get together, specifically, she loves Aaron! She loves baby Joey too, but Aaron can read. She asked him a few times to read her books and he graciously obliged. We've been incredibly busy lately, and them traveling and busy schedules, that it had been a while since getting together.  I'm so glad it worked out to connect! Thanks for coming over and sharing the evening together!

Mom - Look What I Did

Couch is Sometimes Better Than Bed

One afternoon, after he woke up early from nap, I placed Carl on the couch. I was sitting next to him, but I was in the middle of baking something, knew the timer was going to go off and needed to get up. I placed a pillow under his head to keep him comfortable. When I left he was still awake. Not sure how long it took him to fall back asleep, but I do know that I was making a bunch of noise between my mixer on high speed and me clanking measuring cups. Speaks volumes to how tired he was. He sure was cute.

A Fabulous 14th

After a wonderful workout, the kids and I decided to meet up with Daddy for a yummy Qdoba lunch. If you happened upon Qdoba on Valentines day, all you had to do was give a little smooch and you got  a BOGO on lunch. Fantastic!

While we waited a couple minutes before Jon arrived and I saw two men walk in, apparently they did not get the message about a free lunch. I thought perhaps they would take the ad seriously about finding some unsuspecting female (which would have been me, being the only one there) but thankfully they paid for their meals and found a seat. Whew!

Finally, daddy arrived and we got two meals for free being that there were 4 of us and it didn't matter who you kissed! So grateful for a wonderful afternoon and family.

Upon returning home we found a small package that my dad had dropped off for us in the garage. Inside were some spectacular items. One of them was a little Cinderella doll. Brianna was so excited for her new gift that she decided against a nap. You win some, you lose some. Did I mention she was pretty excited!

Cool!

Building Together

I am so blessed to have two kids that like being together. This particular morning we were building with blocks that I played with when I was little. It's not always the case, but today they were being very polite about not destructing what the other was building. Plus they were sharing. What sweethearts!

Undetermined

With our recent trip on the horizon, warm weather clothes were out on a bed waiting to be packed in a suitcase. Brianna found this fabulous dress that cousin Danya had passed along and put it on. But, her brother was busy putting on our outdoor wear so she thought she would join him. Frequently, Carl finds our hats and mittens, puts them on and runs around the house... just for fun. It's quite cute. This time, B joined him and I could help but take a picture.

Beautiful Endings

Sunday was our last day with three kids. We all were up and out the door for church on time; which this Sunday was even earlier because I was helping in the nursery so I had to be there early. The kids got dressed and patiently waited for the grown ups to finish getting ready too. I was so on top of it I even got a picture of them waiting!

Normally I help out in the nursery, but the tots room, where Brianna and Casen go, needed help so I filled in there. What fun to be with them and go through their small lesson, learning about how much God loves us!

On our way home, we had a short dance party! Before you judge me and what my children listen to in the car, please note that this is not a normal occurrence. We usually listen to children's music or KTIS, but sometimes, Brianna asks for the "clapping Adele" song and this is what transpired...

After lunch Uncle Hung came to pick up Casen and we said goodbye for now. We were so happy to have him and excited to love on baby Max even more!

Mill City Adventure

I'm so glad we have a museum pass to use to explore the town. Saturday morning, we opted to use the pass one more time before it expired to let the three crazies out of the house and on an adventure. We took the flour tower tour so we could go up and see the mighty Mississippi, then we played in the water area for a while. We basically had the place all to ourselves, it was fantastic!

Upon returning home, the kids went down for nap and arrangements were made so that Casen could take another trip to the hospital with my mom and dad. He came back just before bedtime. We gave him a bath and we were all ready for church the next morning!

Cousin Number 5 and 8

I was on call for my sister, Michelle, as they awaited the arrival of their new baby boy. I was so excited to be able to support Mick & Hung in this way, and especially to spend the time with Casen while his mommy and daddy were in the hospital. I never strayed far from my phone that week leading up to his scheduled arrival, but the new baby waited patiently and arrived when it was time. 

We ate dinner with Mick, Hung and Casen that Thursday night before they were to go into the hospital; kind of the last supper, if you will. Then it was bye-bye to mommy and daddy and hello bedtime!

Everyone woke up pretty rested and ready to play together. There were a few disagreements, but for the most part it was all smiles and laughter!

How special it was to share with Casen the news that his new baby brother had been born! Maxwyn "Max" Gia Huy Vuong was born at 9:45 am. 9.1 oz and 20 inches. All are doing great - was the message we received while sitting down to lunch. I told Casen he his brother was born and his name. Casen proceeded to say, "Ah, I know little baby Max!" We settled into naps so afterward we could make a trip to the hospital. 

Since the flu was terrible this year, the hospital had restrictions on visitors, which meant Brianna and Carl weren't able to make the visit to the hospital. Brianna was certainly bummed about this, but she was her usual understanding self and stayed behind. I had alternate plans for Grandma Nancy to watch the kids at the hospital (thanks for being flexible), but since the kids couldn't come in anyway and since my mom had already seen baby Max a little earlier, she just came straight to our house to watch my kids. We made it to the hospital in no time! Casen was eager to meet his new brother... as was I!

We spent some time together and even captured their first family photo of four! So exciting, adding a new member to the family. It was getting close to dinner time, so Casen and I headed back my house for dinner and bedtime. I didn't have much planned, but thought I would make a pizza for the kids and grab Papa Murphy's for the adults. I always like to call ahead, because you zip in a zip out... this time, not so much. I called ahead, arrived, went to pick up my pizza (paid for it), was told it was next on the line, then waited 20 MORE minutes to get my pizza. I saw all these people come in, order their pizza and get it before mine was even on the line. ARG! The place was empty by the time I left. I was extremely disappointed that I asked for a manager. He first wanted to give me a discount, but then I told him I already paid and he then put my name down for a free one. I'm grateful for them making it up to me, but it put me behind schedule and that was what made me the most upset. But I'm over it!

My super Mom started the kids pizza for me since it was getting late. My kids didn't mind about the difference in meal time because Gammie was there as a perfect distraction. We all ate our pizza then it was story time and bedtime. Beautiful day!

No More Football

For Superbowl Sunday, Jon's parents came down to have dinner together and watch the game. We had a great evening together. Brianna and Carl loved helping prepare the food. B & C didn't stay up to watch the game but before bed, per our usual routine, we read devotions together. Only this time, Grandpa got the privilege of reading to her! Thanks for coming and spending the evening with us!

12 Days of Christmas - MN Style!

One of the gifts we gave to Brianna and Carl this Christmas was a book called The Twelve Days of Christmas in Minnesota by Constance Van Hoven. She was beginning to pick MN out anywhere she saw the state outline, so I thought this would be perfect!

It soon became a favorite to read/sing all the way through. It has fun MN history and references that Brianna just loved hearing about. So, for your listening enjoyment...

"On the Twelfth day of Christmas, our cousin gave to us... 12 sculptures sparkling, 11 silly sailors, 10 dogs a-dashing, 9 bears a-snoring, 8 happy holsteins, 7 swans a-swimming, 6 walleyes wriggling, 5 golden hotdishes, 4 lumberjacks, 3 red stones, 2 hockey sticks, and a loon in a Norway pine tree."

Scheduled Has Run Out

Thank you to all the faithful followers out there. If you've been checking in on our blog lately, you've seen a new post practically every day for the past couple of months. I knew I could do it before, but for some reason never fully utilized the "Schedule" option for posting. When I get spare moments, pre-loading the blog with what we've been up to is so handy. It takes a little work for you readers to keep up, but we hope you have enjoyed it.

We just got back from a fun-filled trip in California. It started with a work conference for Jon and ended with visiting the Standlee family. I haven't had many opportunities to post to the blog while away so my backlog has dwindled... DON'T WORRY though! More fun times will be shared soon. It just might take a few days before I get my pictures sorted through and ready to post our adventures.