roadtrip to tucson

the little guys and i took a roadtrip to tucson, arizona this past weekend.
i pulled the boys out of school on friday so we could enjoy an xtra long weekend
with my girlfriend connie and her girls.

i had made the same roadtrip nearly every weekend the summer of 1996.
christopher was doing an internship at an architectural firm here in san diego,
and since i had good job in tucson, i stayed back.  i visited him often in the
city we now call our home. 

my sisters, leslie and stacey, flew out from florida to keep me company,
and have some adventures themselves. i'd drove my old saab, samantha,
over that mountain pass to san diego most every weekend {and without a cell phone}.
so this wasn't my first roadtrip to tucson at all,  but it had been a while.

anyway, i love roadtrips and this one was easy.
the boys were excited to begin their first harry potter book: the sorcerer's stone,
i had been holding off on the series until they were a little older, and it was time.
since reading for hours in a car can be hard for finn, i chose to download
audiobooks 1 and 2.

they LOVED it!

they sat in the back of the prius and i didn't hear a peep
from either of them the entire 7 hour drive.  well, there was an
occasional giggle and finn mentioned he had to go to the
restroom once, but beyond that, they were immersed.
me too as i was listening to my own book.   

 

when we stopped to fill the gas tank and have lunch,
the boys talked over each other as they fought to tell me
what was going on in the story.  finn said several times that he
"felt like he was part of harry's world, and actually at hogwarts
{the wizard school} with him".  i smiled and said something to
the effect of that's what great writers do.  

though we had hoped to go to kartcher caverns the day we arrived,
we didn't make it. with rain was coming down the entire drive,
we missed the appointment we made {appts. are required}. 
i promised the boys we'd go on our next trip. 
{and that walk the university of arizona campus too}
        
since we all needed to get our bodies moving after the long drive,
i ended up taking the kids to a giant warehouse full of trampolines. 
the kids loved it and got lots of exercise. {me included}

also, with the help of connie's oldest daughter, us moms were able to
go out for breakfast and then later a movie. we saw hunger games 2.
it was so entertaining, but the books of course were so much richer.
now the wait for the 3rd movie starts....

connie, julie and me

the trip was much too short and i only wish we could have stayed one more day,
but i had to get back to work on monday. the little guys were in no rush as they
have the entire week off for thanksgiving.

c called me at work today to tell me they were at the beach surfing
with their classmates and then they enjoyed a fish taco.  ahhh.  so jealous!
he assured me they would both get some piano practicing in.
how much is still undetermined.  *grumble*

just 1 more day of work and then c and i can officially
begin our 4 day thanksgiving weekend!  it can't come fast enough.

mini gerber reunion: nov 2013

gosh, i'm not sure where to start.
there were lots of gerbers in town and our
days were filled with so many different activities.

trevor and his sweet family stayed in our home which was a treat.
though adults don't change much year to year, children sure do.
since there's far too much to capture in words,
i'll just share some photos of of our time together.

cousins: belmont park fun

 











sailing in mission bay




grandkids and grandparents

 

thanksgiving 2013

{i wrote this post on thanksgiving evening and just posting.}

i hope you enjoyed your gobble gobble day!

the boys and i were tempted to spend thanksgiving in the
home of friends this year, but in the end chose to have a lovely
lazy day together as a family...something we always need more of.

last thanksgiving, we had just been given the keys to our new {old} home,
and and were in the middle of demoing walls and floors, literally.
it was chaotic, but i did manage to whip up a small meal
that we shared with the handymen who were working in our home.
it was a beautiful sunny day and we ate outside by the pool.
last year's turkey day was untraditional in every sense of the word.

this year, i was hoping for a little more of a traditional day.
for me, that starts with going for an early morning run -
it always makes me feel better and i feel less guilty overeating
{as i always do}.

the turkey however, was cooked in an untraditional way.
i'd been reading that 'brining' has revolutionized turkey cooking
and how it guarantees a more flavorful and juicier bird.
since my birds can always be juicier, i had to try it.
i followed this simple recipe.

the recipe was SUPER easy, and the fresh herbs i used
{rosemary, sage and thyme}, made the house smell so good.
the crazy thing about this recipe was it didn't include how to cook the turkey.
it just showed how to 'brine' it.  since i don't cook many turkeys,
i jumped on the internet to do some reserach and then ended up calling the cooks
i know for advice. mom didn't pick up, so i called my s-i-l who is a good cook.
she gave me some pointers, and by 2:30pm, we had this tasty bird to enjoy.

 

it was work for me to cook a full meal for the boys and to get
everything on the table warm.  i must remember to thank my mother
for all those years of baking turkeys and those wonderful meals she
prepared for our family {and guests} year after year.
it's no wonder she's done with it.

i imagine i will feel the same someday.
by the time the boys are in their 30s, i will expect them to starting hosting.
it will be time, a changing of the guards so to speak.  still, that leaves me with
about 20 more years of cooking turkeys. *sigh*

and as tradition goes, we went around the table and shared what we were
thankful for this year:

Christopher: the love and support of my friends and famly and for the
opportunity to write the next chapter.
Angela: my sweet boys, my health and the freedom this country allows me.
Finn: heat source, organic molecules, the big bang, and my family.
Scout: my mom, dad, finn, my house, school, nature and books.

finn's response was so...finn.
he can't get enough science these days. 

we snacked on pumpkin pie and chocolate the rest of the day and snuggled
up on the couch to watch our first holiday movie of the season.
the boys chose miracle on 34th street.  it's such a sweet movie,
and really got all of us in the christmas spirit. 
{i think i like this newer version just as much as the original}.

i'm looking foward to this holiday season so much!

silver strand half marathon 2013

for the first time in a long time,
i was up BEFORE the boys on sunday morning.

at 5:45am i was out the door on my way to the
silver strand half in coronado with my girlfriend kate.
we stumbled across these other characters before the race.
here we are looking so relaxed.


jen, mandi, tina, me and kate

 



by 10am, were had all run 13.1 miles,
and as much as i'd like to say it was just a walk in the park,
it wasn't.  i was SO happy to be done! 

here we are proudly posing with our new medals.
two second later, we were off to buy a giant salted pretzel.

my friend kate had a fantastic run.
she finished in under 2 hours!
{something i haven't done since pre-kids}
my time was just under 2:30...my slowest ever. *sigh*

just 2 years ago, i could run a half and feel fine,
with just a little tightness the next day.

during this run, my knees started hurting just before mile 10.
i refused to stop running so i suffered the last 3.1 miles
with inflammation in my right knee.

i couldn't stop wondering how older people can run half and even
full marathons?  are they superhuman or do they just get cortizone shots
where they hurt before and not a feel a thing.  maybe that's the secret.

anyway, it felt great to check off another half,
but i think i'm going to stick to 10k races {6.2 miles} in the future.
i don't want a hip or knee replacement down the road.

my coworker is already looking ahead for her next race.
she asked if i was interested in running the rock n roll half  2 person relay.
{one does 6.1 miles and the other does 7 miles}.
mmmm, now that's more doable. 

i'm considerin'....

lunch box love

happy friday folks!

all the lunchbox laughs i've been slipping into the boys lunches the
last year or so ran dry so a few months back i jumped on my go to resource,
amazon and found these happy notes!

they come in bright colors and kind of resemble oversized post-it notes.
they are also perforated so they can be torn out easily and the because
they have an adhesive strip, they can stick most anywhere.
they range from little notes like 'have a great day' to
'do something nice for someone today'.  just positive thoughts.

i LOVE giving the boys things like this and they love receiving.
when i miss a day or two, scout always lets me know it.

a nice surprise was finding that some of these notes are geared
toward adults which means i've ripped out those and left as
surprises for c in various places....on the screen of this laptop,
the mirror and even his car dash.

as the boys get older and cookie cutter shaped sandwiches lose their appeal,
handwritten notes, jokes and inspiration notes never seem to.
so that's my post for this friday.

i look forward to recording festivities from the last week.
every night has been filled with family stuff, work events,
and our anniversary {#22}!

c and i didn't get to celebrate much the night of, so tonight we are sneaking
away for a little romantic retreat . where we are going? i have no idea.
{c said it's a surprise}. auntie jen is helping to make this happen. {danka auntie j}

baby girl on the way

christi harris

 

 

i'm getting very excited...
christi's baby girl {elsie} will be here soon.
the boys and i hope to get out to oregon to meet her this spring/summer!

~we've had a whirlwind weekend - full of family.
as grandpa john referred to his sons, we had #s 2,3 and 5 all together.
the only family left now is chad {#3} and his family.

we had their sweet daughter chloe with us last night
while mom and dad attended an event with the navy.
it was wonderful!

i hope to post more on our reunion and share photos.
might be next week. 

the gerbers gather on the west coast

we've been anticipating this weekend for a long time now!

many of the gerbers have started to gather here in san diego this week
for some fun in the sun and lots of family time.

grandpa john and sheila arrived from minnesota on tuesday, 
heidi and greg from phoenix on wednesday, and trevor and his
family arrived from utah last night.  tomorrow, chad and his family
will arrive from california's central valley. 

c and i allowed the boys to stay home from school today,
so they could spend an extra day having fun with their cousins.
the last text i received was from my b-i-l saying they are in coronado.

driving over the beautiful bridge to get there is always fun for the boys,
so i'm putting this picture in as a placeholder.
{when they share a photo of their day's adventures, i'll replace}.

when i was checking in with my b-i-l,
he was in the midst of pedaling 4 kids {his 2 and my 2, in a surrey!
{after a morning run and this, he definitely got his workout in for the day}.

while the out of town guests spend their day enjoying the sunshine,
christopher and i will be working  and wishing we were with them,
but we look forward to a weekend full of fun.

~ almost forgot to mention that c and i saw this musical a few days ago.
i didn't know what to expect going into it and it surpassed my expectations.
the musical is based on the real life story of conjoined twins, violet and daisy hilton,
who were exploited in a 'Sideshow' for many years until they left that life and
became famous vaudeville performers.  it was fasinating.
you can read more about them here.

the women that played the sisters were nothing short of amazing!
they have such talent.  a few of their duets were so touching they left the audience,
including me, in tears. we were all reminded that these two unusual girls still had
hopes and dreams of finding love and happiness like everyone.

halloween 2013

october 31st finally arrived!

the boys were so excited and had been waiting anxiously
for the day they could trick or treat.  scout didn't wait to
wear his costume before then though. he strutted around
the house in his aviators looking utterly cool.

the days of me picking or even suggesting a costume is over. 
no more cute lobsters, penguins, chickens, owls or skunks.
the boys want 'cool' {at least it's not scary yet}.

since they LOVE top gun,
specifically the ice man and maverick and the air combat scenes,
they chose to be fighter pilots.

finn already had a flight suit that he wore for his 9th bday party,
so i ordered one from scout online and a cute little dress for me.
scout wore his grocery shopping and around the house and
was quick to show anyone who commented on his uniform
that he was wearing dog tags too.

the costumes were so fitting and so easy. {no sewing or gluing required}
we had a fun night and as always, we have waytoo much candy around the house.
i brought most of what was leftover to the office for my coworkers.

fighter pilots maverick and ice man

 

field trip with finn

today i joined finn and his 4th grade class
for a full day at the wild animal park.

it was a treat to drop scout off at his class.
he quickly did his morning chores and then
it was 'free time'.  he grabbed sea of monsters,
the 2nd book in the percy jackson series,
and seemed to forget i was there. *grin*

from there, finn pushed me along to his class where
we enjoyed bagels and juice with his friends and other
parents who were volunteering.  afterwards, parents were
given the list of kids we were responsible for.

since i drove the prius,
i was assigned 3 boys and unfortunately one was sick
and couldn't make it so i just took finn and his buddy luka.
{easy peasy}

 



 

a quick summary of my photo collage:

{top}: my passengers: finn and luka, me and finn, giraffes
{middle}: the 4 kids for the day: finn, charlie, olivia and annie

{bottom} elizabeth and finn, finn and teacher, ms. jones, and finn taking notes

we had a fun day learning and exploring and this mom was exhausted by day's end.
{scoutie reminded me on our drive home that the next field trip would be with him}
yes, it will be i assured him.
 



moulin rouge movie night

the greatest thing you'll ever learn is
just to love and be loved in return.

- toulouse-lautrec, moulin rouge

oh how we enjoyed this fantastical, over-the-top,
slightly irreverent musical friday night!

i rushed home after work last friday to find christopher
setting up audio and the big screen.  i helped with the last step -
lowering the poles into the shaft which we have staked and left into
the ground to make set up easy.  then, i made sure my audio/technical guy
fill a plate of whatever he wanted to eat before us ladies dug in.

the girls gathered in the kitchen to mingle and
stuff ourselves with yummy food and drink.
just one glass of wine for me as i had a big run the next am.
at 8pm we grabbed blankets and headed outdoors to watch the movie.
{the little guys were having their own movie night watching this}

we swooned over ewan mcgregor's character, christian,
the penniless poet/writer who falls for a cabaret performer satine,
played by nicole kidman.

here's a secret, if you enjoy the music, the soundtrack
is even better.  it contains the complete score in all it's glory.
{i've been listening to it for past 3 days}

the little guys can't get over that ewan mcgregor,
only known to them as obi-wan from star wars, can SING.
he's a talented man.

i almost had some unexpected guests.
as a courtesy, i always inform our neighbors of any parties/movies nights.
somehow i had forgotten to inform our sweet mormon neighbors next door,
so i sent finn over to let them know mom was having a movie
night and that it would be over by 10pm.

finn returned announcing "dave and doris probably can't come
because they have some stuff going on".  what???
apparently, i wasn't clear enough with my instructions.
{he wasn't supposed to INVITE them}
i was glad to hear they were busy. whew!
i don't think they'd have been fans of the movie.

it was a really enjoyable night.
i kept thinking how much my sister leslie would have loved it.
someday i hope we live closer and can enjoy theater and plays together.

i should get to bed as i have a long and active day ahead of me.
tomorrow i'm taking off work to drive and help chaperone finn's
4th grade class.  we're heading to the san diego safari park all day!

the volunteers are almost always the stay at home moms,
{they do so so much...i am truly grateful},
but every year i make sure a take a day and volunteer for one outing
with each of the boys' classes. 

it's not always easy,
but it's so important to me.
when i overheard finn tell scout that the first field trip
i went on with him was to the butterfly farm when he was in kinder.
i realized then, it's pretty important to the boys too.
they DO remember....