My runnin' girl

I'm pretty proud of my running girl Jordan, who is also a wife and mother of three. I'm very proud since I'm sure I couldn't run a 1/2 mile let a lone a 1/2 marathon and NEVER a full marathon that is 26.2 miles long. She even won her age group and averaged 9.44 minute miles for her 1st marathon ever. I'm in awe! Check out her account of the challenge here.

The importance of family vacations

NOW - 2011
THEN - 10 years ago 2001

I'm a believer in an annual family vacation. I've already mentioned the fact that we had the good fortune of enjoying an annual family vacation to California most summers because of the generosity of Rick's grandmother in providing the housing (which is always the most expensive part, right?) Some years we didn't go out of state or couldn't afford to go far, but we still took a family vacation. Rick would save up his paid time off and off we'd go. We've been all over our state with friends and family and it's been wonderful. We've seen a ton of sights and enjoyed the National Parks in our great state of Utah and beyond.
Some trips didn't cost much at all. We bought a huge family size tent and we went on different camping adventures with our friends the Philipps and their family. We also went to Bear Lake most summers and enjoyed the free extended family cabin and the beauties of that crystal clear turquoise colored lake. I'm a firm believer that "family fun" is a critical part in building and maintaining a strong family. Perhaps the best thing about family vacations, is that they provide an opportunity to be fully present with our children.

Here's how we did it...we saved up a little each month in a special account that went towards the annual vacation. Rick also received his paycheck every two weeks and since there are two months in the year with three pay periods, we'd use the extra money that wasn't needed for the house payment and put it towards a family vacation. It was money very well spent. There would ALWAYS be other things we could have done with the money (like home improvements or having nicer cars. etc.) but we opted for the annual family vacation and I'm so glad we did!

The "down side" of family vacations can be addressed in a couple of statements: high stress and consequently a sour attitude experienced by the mother in getting everyone one and everything ready (pretty much alone) for the trip, unexpected cost of some designer ice cream cones, unavailable toilets when needed (be it while driving in the car or on a subway), fast food restaurant people who don't speak English, and sleeping in close quarters with a variety of snoring, disruptive people who either don't go to bed early enough or won't wait up when summoned. These small inconveniences can be quickly overlooked however, for the greater good of family time. Sure, there would be crazy, annoying things happen on each vacation, but those make the best stories years later!

I love this "then" and "now" picture of our kids taken at Sea World 10 years ago. Don't you love it? They are wonderful children and they have chosen equally wonderful partners. It's pure joy to spend time together and this last vacation was no exception. Everyone got along famously. I just have one word of caution...be extremely careful when playing the game "THINGS." It can cause fits of laughter that are dangerous to one's health.

Family vacation in Oceanside

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Oceanside then and now

This is Rick's Grandma Pingree. She has a wonderful grandmother and a very generous person. When Rick was a little boy, she would take her daughter and three sons and their families to Capistrano for a beach vacation. Rick grew up loving the ocean. When we got married, Gram Pingree once again took her children and their children to the beach. The first year we went was in 1986 and we went for a week to a beach house in San Diego. Here are some pictures from that trip of our little girls Jordan and Claire with their cousin Catherine. It's one of my all time favorite pictures.
We also went to Sea World that year and 1 1/2 year old Dave accidentally threw his pacifier into the shark tank. Aunt Robyn reached and pulled it out since it was a needed item for a peaceful beach trip, risking her arm for a happy Dave and grateful parents.

Rick loves swimming in the ocean like no other person I know. He will even go at night, during the winter and will swim and boogie board for hours at a time. He's pretty intrepid if you ask me.
This was our beach house in Oceanside in 1987, compliments of Gram Pingree again. We all stayed in this spacious house for a week and had a wonderful time. Our kids came to LOVE the ocean as children and they all love to go in it and have a good time now.

Back we go again to Oceanside in 1988 thanks to Gram, this time with an expectant mommy Vonnie. Our kids loved to play in the surf and sand for hours at a time with the cousins and many, many happy memories were made.






In 1991 we went to San Diego for a week while Rick attended a conference. Mom went with us and we were able to spend time at the beach, go to the San Diego Zoo and Disneyland and see Phantom of the Opera. It was a trip to remember. The kids love to tell the tale of listening to Phantom all the way back to Utah...all 11 hours of the trip with me explaining the plot to Mom.


In 1992 we went back to Oceanside for a week at a beach house with Rick's family. The kids had a blast playing with their cousins and enjoying the sand, once again.




In 1996 we spent a day at the beach in Newport while we were there for a football game.
In 2001 and 2002 we spend a week at the beaches near LaJolla while visiting Rick's parents who were serving their LDS mission at the institute at SDSU.

When Rick turned 50 in 2005 his wish was to go to the beach, which is exactly what we did.
In 2006 we got off the a cruise ship and spend a half day at a great beach in Newport.
We've logged quiet a few days at the beaches in Southern California!

When we talked to our kids last year about the idea of us giving them a vacation for their Christmas present, they all said they wanted to go to the beach! I wonder why? Oceanside has become a favorite place to go and this year was no exception. It was one of the best vacation weeks ever! It was so great to be with our family and to enjoy the company of each other and make some more wonderful beach memories.

Trip planning in 2011

• We drove to our beach house in Oceanside using a GPS system
• We listened to XM satellite radio while driving
• Andy rented movies at Red Box on one town and dropped them off at another and watched those movies on the laptop in the car. He and Rick watched The King's Speech and loved it.
  
• Andy's radar detector kept us out of trouble
• We booked our beach house online, using a vacation rental site. We emailed back and forth with the property manager and we never spoke to a real person the whole time. We knew in advance about all the amenities and saw online pictures of each room in the house AND
  
• We took a tour of the beach house on You Tube so we could see what it would be like.

• Claire purchased our tickets to Sea World online and received a $20 a person discount code for purchasing online in advance.
• Claire checkout out Legoland online and found out how to get discount coupons which we applied to the cost.
• Claire purchased tickets to the San Diego Padres baseball game and the LA Dodgers game online, prepaying parking for an online discount.
• We watched the weather forecast online and planned accordingly.
• Dave & Courtney, Rich and Claire booked their flights online and checked in...online.
  
• We enjoyed wireless internet at the beach house and at a few points we had four laptops operating.
• There were some stealth recordings of our spontaneous dance and limbo contest that somehow appeared on Facebook.
  
• There was interaction on our 9 cell phones through calls and texting when needed.
• We hired a local photographer to come and take a family picture and looked at her previous work...online.
• We found a chapel to attend church and got the address and start time...online.
• We went to the San Diego temple and found the phone number to call to get the start times...online.
• And we went to the beach many times and went completely...offline!

How did we ever plan a trip and get around 20 years ago?