California McMillans

This guy had a date night with dad....they went to BJ's and had a pazookie and he talked about it for days following. Need to carve out more one on one time for these kiddos!  He went through a period that he was so stressed around Danny and there relationship is so much better now.  Grateful for date nights.

I periodically look at an events page with free or cheap things to do in the East Bay.  It has been really nice not having sports on the weekend so we headed to Concord for Contra Costa Science Day.  Different groups hosted different stem projects like making slime, building a rocket, a map of mars with a scavenger hunt, underwater exploration and robot building.  The kids had a great time. 

We had a field trip at the Smith Family Farm which is always so much fun!!  Gorgeous day with these three munchkins and Parker's preschool.  Parker made a shirt in preschool and Blake wanted to make one right before going. So we used some regular markers and made a turkey.  It was fun and the boys had a great day. Parker chose a small pumpkin and loved to try to sit on it like the rest of the kids.  It was cute.  He has a sweet personality.  It is good to see Blake smiling in photos again.  He looked at photos this week and asked why he was never smiling.  I told him maybe he just wasn't happy.  Parker loved the animals.  He watched the bunnies and chickens for probably 30 minutes.  Great day!

Last summer I had a fleeting thought that a vacation home would be nice.  I thought about it for a day and realized I wouldn't want to go to the same place on vacation every time.  We live in an area where we can go to the beach, a lake, San Francisco, Yosemite, Tahoe, skiing all within a couple of hours.  I would get bored going to the same place so the idea fleeted.  My best friend is moving from Utah to Sacramento area and when I saw pictures of her home I joked that she is buying my vacation home.  Part joking, part reality.  She is buying this beautiful home with a gorgeous pool, sport court, minutes from the lake and temple plus a family I love!!!  Vacation home in my opinion is around water, has a pool or hot tub, filled with friends or family to talk!! I am grateful for such great friends. The day is always better with great friends.  The places that we are doesn't really matter, but friends make  I have been thinking a lot lately about the conference talks and fort

Lately, our morning routine has given me a lot of happiness and peace.  Homeschooling Blake has been a really great experience for me and for him.  We have our routines and I have learned to slow down a lot and just spend quality time with him.  There is nothing harder than having an uphappy kid.  Blake was UNHAPPY!  It broke my heart.  He was troubled this summer. After a lot of reflecting I realized I needed to figure out how to get him happy.  Removing some of his anxieties and getting back to the basics of life was the tackle plan.  I stopped working, I pulled him from school and I decided I would just spend quality time loving him, hanging out with him and helping him learn skills to get through life. It involved a lot of tears, prayer and direction and I am so grateful for the changes we have seen.  He still has his anxieties and needs to learn to control his emotions but is happier.  And is learning the skills of life.  For that I love homeschool.  On Monday we don't hav

I took the kids to the beach for a couple of days before the cruise.  Danny only had off on Thursday and Friday so he was going to fly down on Wednesday after work.  We left Monday early morning with our boogie boards, coolers, and canopy.  I got a room at the same place we stayed last year which is right by knotts berry farm.  It has 3 beds, which has become a must for me.  It is affordable, has a nice pool and hot and worked last time.  I have realized that when I travel alone with the kids, being familiar with the location makes me more at peace. We got there in great timing and the kids did great (for us--it is all relative) on the drive.  I didn't let them do electronics so they found ways to entertain themselves.  Parker kept trying to get out of his seat which was the most stressful part. We tried checking into the hotel but there were no rooms until 3 so we headed to Seal Beach and had a GREAT time!  I felt like I was at my happy place.  All the kids loved playing in the

Kira went to her first two meets doing level 3.  They start out the season with an intersquad meet that is a mock competition.  Kira was soo nervous!!  I thought she would fall off the beam about 5 times but she didn't and she made it through.  The next meet was in Sacramento and we drove with two of her teammates.  It was the BEST!  They had a great time talking in the back, hanging out, eating snacks and being girls.  Kira is surrounded by boys and loves hanging out with her girlfriends.  I loved being with their moms.  They are stunt/cheer coaches and it is fun to hear about their world and talk about kids, families, coaching, etc.   Kira did great.  She was confident and had fun.  It was so neat to see her confidence after just one meet.  I didn't get to go to the next meet because I was at a swim meet with Scott but she did great.  She made a mistake on floor and was hard on herself but a great life lesson that it is no big deal.  Life goes on, everyone makes mistakes

Last week was the annual McMillan family reunion, cruise edition.  We boarded the Carnival Imagination on Thursday towards Ensenada, Mexico.  The food was the best part, both in quantity and quality.   Informal buffet dining on the 10th floor Blake and Mister had Pullman pull-down beds and they loved them, even though Mister fell out onto the floor one night. Two hot tubs on board.  The kids spent more time in the hot tub than in the pool. Group shot on the aft deck with remote shutter release and camera on tripod.  Mr. Photogenic. Formal dining in the Spirit restaurant of the 8th floor It was amazing because you could order whatever and however much you wanted.  All of it was included in the cruise fare.  Morning stroll at sea Mini golf on the 12th floor Sit-down breakfast in the Spirit restaurant 10th floor buffet Welcome to Ensenada!  Zip lining was our group's