k will always be our best Christmas present, and we celebrated her tenth birthday a couple of weeks ago.  She invited some friends to see the movie SING and then we ate lunch at Chick-Fil-A.

Ten years has flown by!

Merry Birthday k!

We hope everyone had a lovely Christmas yesterday.  I am determined to catch up with posts by the end of the year.  Earlier this month D and I had the opportunity to use VIP tickets to the equestrian show Odysseo that my dad had won through the OC Register.  He and my mom even included free overnight babysitting for our kids on a weeknight!

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Our VIP tickets included dinner and intermission dessert buffets, so you know D and I took full advantage of that!

The food was an interesting mix, with Mediterranean, Indian, and Italian flavors, along with beef and shrimp.

Unfortunately, but understandably, photography was not allowed during the show.  However, the stunts done by both the riders/dancers and horses were truly spectacular.  The set was amazing too.  The guy behind us kept making comments such as “WHOA!”, “NO WAY!”, “WHAT THE?!”, which was pretty funny.  All in all, it was a unique, memorable experience!

k has been busy practicing and presenting with her hula team at church.  They did a presentation for both Thanksgiving and Christmas.  These pictures are from the Thanksgiving presentation.  I really wish I could post video, but that is not allowed!  The choreography to a Hawaiian version of “O Holy Night” is my favorite of all the songs she has done so far.

After playing Irvine Slammers for a couple of seasons, we decided to try out AYSO for n.  He ended up with great coaches and team and it was a really positive experience for him.  I enjoy watching n play soccer because he has so much fun and plays hard.  As a forward he was able to score several goals and made some key assists.  I must admit that I am relieved not to have two weekday practices a week anymore…until next season, that is!

Receiving his trophy at the end of season party.

It feels really ridiculous to be blogging about Halloween in December, but I k and n’s costumes need to be recorded for posterity.

Meet Winking Emoji and Captain Rex.

“T.O.!”

Annual neighborhood parade around the pool.

Loved this Chicken & Waffles costume!

After our tour of the Midway was over, we took a short trip to Cabrillo National Monument.

The kids worked on their junior ranger badges.

Being sworn in.  They actually earned the 100th year special edition wooden pins, so that was exciting.  They had run out of them when we went to Yosemite.

We took a short hike around the tide pools, but the tide was high so there was not much to be seen.

We finished our trip with a picnic at Ocean Beach after we picked up Hodad’s.

At 6 a.m. sharp we were awakened by a voice alarm and we had fifteen minutes to pack up our belongings and get ready for breakfast.  No time for messing around!

We had a hearty breakfast…it may have filled us up more than dinner!

We continued our tour up on the flight deck.

It was so nice to be up there with the sunrise.

Our tour guide said the most important thing in this room was the coffee pot.

This display is relatively new and is quite impressive.

We also went up to the Bridge.

Even though k was one of the few girls, she was a good sport.  I’m glad that she was able to come along for this experience.

Captain’s quarters.

All of these wires made me marvel at the construction of this ship.

This was the Ladies’ Restroom situation, in case anyone is curious.

This was the situation in the men’s restroom, which is pretty gross if you ask me.

I do not want to end this series on that note, so I will leave you with this:

After the tours, we all gathered together for a final meeting.  We were regaled with heroic stories about the USS Midway that the guides proudly referred to as “Midway Magic”.  However, the most important lesson we learned, and which we chanted throughout our stay, was that, “Freedom is: Not Free!”

Incidentally, D and I were  inspired to re-watch Top Gun upon our return.  We wanted to show the kids some parts of the movie, but only a few minutes were appropriate for them.  I cannot believe that movie was rated PG!

The tour took place both on Saturday night and Sunday morning.  The tour was broken into about twelve parts, and each part was led by a different person.  Everything was run on time and efficiently, just what you would expect from a naval operation.

Going into a life raft was one of my favorite parts of the tour.  Being inside the raft really made us think about how difficult it would be to be inside with 25 grown men and only rations to eat.

We also learned about the Nixie torpedo defense system.

The boys thought this mannequin was making ice cream!

We all took turns crawling through the escape hatch to the tour guide’s lower right.

Next it was time for a snack of milk and cookies!  Afterward we headed up to the flight deck…too bad we missed the sunset.

By this time, we were ready for bed.  However, there were only two more rotations so we decided to stick it out.

Marines’ Quarter.  They used to watch movies on VHS here.

Not much room for personal belongings!

This guy was an entertaining storyteller.  His part of the tour was actually quite sad though, as he told us about the two men who died aboard the ship.

I think the tour ended around 9:30 p.m. and we were in bed by around 10:00 p.m.  Lights out was strictly enforced and everyone fell asleep pretty quickly despite the tight quarters.

I guess we have been M.I.A. around here lately.  Life lately has been very “full”, so it is a bit crazy, but good.  Two weekends ago, k’s basketball team won their first tournament.  They went 3-0, and the middle game was a nail-biter!  All of the parents were going crazy, but k seemed to handle the pressure well.  After the game D asked if it was irrational for us to get so worked up about a fourth grade game.  Looking back, it was, but it is difficult not to get wrapped up in the excitement!

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Did you know D is on Instagram now?  I find myself relying on him to take more pictures with his phone now, too.

I am so proud of these girls.  They have come a long way.  We will be adding three new girls to the roster this season, so it was nice to do well in our last tournament as the “original 7”.

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To cap off my birthday weekend, we went to the California Science Center after church.  The main reason for our visit was to watch the National Parks Adventure movie in IMAX 3D.  We also wanted to check out the Spaceship Endeavour.

While waiting for the movie we checked out the gift shop.  Is that Hello Kitty spaceship pin not the cutest?  However, I resisted the temptation ($8.99 each).

The movie, narrated by Robert Redford, was inspirational and fun to watch.  I am not sure how much longer it will be playing, but watch it if you have the chance.

If you buy IMAX tickets, you do not have to make timed reservations to see the Spaceship Endeavour.

Watching the short movie right before viewing the shuttle makes you realize what a crazy feat it was to transport it to the museum.

There is a lot to explore here.  Pretty good deal since admission is free; parking is $12.

We found our neighborhood.

It’s a good thing that the Rams were not playing at home that weekend.

In the spirit of “keeping it real”, and so that no one is deceived into thinking that our kids are always perfectly behaved, they had a meltdown/argument on the way home.  Over a water bottle…really??

D also grilled steaks in the backyard on Saturday night.  We ate outside, which was n’s idea.  Overall, it was a wonderful birthday weekend.  So fun to adventure with this crew.