puerto rico

this is long winded, i have to warn you.

but it is my journal, and i want to remember the days of our first "biggish" trip as a "biggish" family.

i will not glamorize it,

the pictures do that.

we made lots of memories,

some good,

some bad, 

some down-right ugly.

here is a list of our daily outings

- the flight there completely successful, no tears and little complaining!

-easter sunday it rained the entire day.  luckily the easter bunny found us and provided some indoor activities to enjoy.  

-monday we went to old san juan.  it was certainly a beautiful european-esque city.  unfortunately ada got food poisoning after a lunch of native puerto rican food.  she vomited all over the streets of old san juan.  then we found a splash fountain to play in (and bathe in) and an icee vendor.  el morro fort was a hit with the kids, but ada couldn't last long so we weren't there very long.  the speedy tram ride back to the car was the highlight!

-tuesday we headed on the early ferry to the island of culebra.  we arrived at 7am to buy tickets to the 9am ferry since they tend to sell out.  hanna puked directly on me about 10 times during the 45 minute ride.  i proceeded to puke about 10 more after sitting, covered in throw up, with no bag, change of clothes, etc.   puke and pregnancy is not very awesome.

-culebra was beautiful. reza booked a boutique hotel with a pool for a night.  we spent time at the pool and on flamenco beach.  hanna was knocked down by a massive wave at the beach and was terrified of going in the water the rest of the trip.  the hotel was nice, and i am sure we would have enjoyed it, but reza and i spent the night trying to keep hanna quiet enough so that the other kids could sleep.  she was up all night long!

-wednesday we spent the day on the beach and then took a much smoother ferry ride back to the main island.  have i mentioned how much my kids loooove being on the beach.  elias and ada are wave fighting ninja's for hours upon hours!

-thursday we ventured into the rainforest after a morning on our quiet beach.  we chose a shorter hike, about 2 miles, but was very steep down and very steep up.  the kids were wonderful and all loved the adventure of walking on narrow paths along the waterfalls.  they didn't even complain about walking! seriously, it was pretty amazing.

-after a long night thursday, we decided to spend our last day just chilling out on the beach.  the kids were super cranky and it got worse and worse through the day.  that is what lack of sleep does to you!

needless to say, saturday morning, we were all excited to hop on a series of planes to get home.

over all the trip was a success.  

we did ALOT.  

too much to consider it a vacation.  we were busy.  we got tired.

the biggest downer of the whole trip was that the kids did not sleep well.  like, not well AT ALL.  some nights we were up for hours and hours, particularly with our elias.    lack of sleep had a serious effect on everyone.

as for puerto rico,

it has the natural beauty of the rest of the caribbean

beautiful beaches

flora and

fauna.

it is pretty amazing.

we stayed in an area filled with locals, there was culture.

and the beach was filled with hermit crabs, sea urchins, coral reef and starfish.

but it is dirty.

graffiti is everywhere.

abandoned buildings are abundant,

wild dogs, cats, chicken are even on the beach.

the kids heard way too much inappropriate language as we rode around in taxis.  it is not geared towards tourists.  it is real life.

in retrospect, it was a really great adventure.  

so, lets take a look at the pictures!

-

and on a little aside, the day after we got back, this little man celebrated his second birthday.

we were so happy to celebrate with him!

happy birthday luke!

catch up

lightning speed is the way things tend to go around here.  that is, unless it is about 5pm and all the littles are pulling on my legs begging for food and drinks and help with homework.  then time moves at snail speed.  does it seem to anyone else that from the moment you expect your husband to walk through the door from work, until the moment he actually does, time passes sooooo slow?

ok- so i need to be quick and we have been up to so much, i better start now.

first, i am officially past the halfway point of my pregnancy!  hooray for me!  seriously.  things are not going as smoothly as i needed them to.  the baby is great- and already looks so much like the others.  it is unreal and i am so lucky.  but, oh, this rash i have.  evidently you can be allergic to having a baby (or the hormones that your baby produces), and yes ma'am, i am.  i have had a hive-like for over 9 weeks- and nothing seems to help much.  ewwww, i know. but it can be pretty miserable.

our "new" little boy at 20 weeks gestation

on the same note, i also celebrated my 35th birthday.  man, my clan sure did treat me special.  cakes, presents, special dinner, balloons.  it was wonderful and i did not mind turning one year older!  i also got to spend time with my bff and celebrate with my cute nephew and darling sister and husband.  fun times!

moving forward, we are heading to puerto rico in a few days.  a vacation is MUCH needed for everyone, even the kiddos.  afternoon activities are in full swing, and our days are so busy.  elias had been causing some problems at school (a terror for a mother-- whoosh-- i have never felt so responsible, and embarrassed, by my child's behavior!)  being judged as a parent, is no good at all!  elias is such a spirited kid, and boy is he a piece of work!  i couldn't love him more though.  he has more personality that any kid i have ever come across. fortunately, this week went more smoothly- hopefully this lasts.  otherwise, i just can't wait for summer!

aside from all the busy-ness of school and soccer (3 days a week!) and acting class (for ada), my favorite moments of our days are on the way home from school.  hanna, elias and i walk every day to get ada and on our way home we stop at the park together.  the littles (and many other neighborhood kids) have a made a very adventurous town in the woods behind the park with bridges, vines swings, and sand islands which they call creek town.  i love that my kids have the freedom to run around for an hour each day exploring the woods, creating their own adventures.  they come home wet and muddy, happy and hungry.  hanna doesn't venture into the woods yet, but she is splendidly happy playing on the playground.

 keeping busy during soccer practice

 hopscotch

 on the hammock

 luke

 learning to whistle with grass

 the bass fam

 happiness

 spunk

a robot drawing expert

and speaking of that kid, hanna, i will end by saying that she has a love of life unmatched by anyone i have ever met.  she tells me a million times a day how much fun she is having.  and how much she loves me.  she takes my face in her grimy hands and squishes my cheeks and say "i wuv my mommy" and smooches me over and over, and then tells me "i have fun wiv my mommy" "i have fun wiv my li-li" "i have fun wiv my ada (my friend)(my luke)(my park)".  you get the idea.  she is a ball of energy and it is all ignited by happiness.

i can't wait to share puerto rico with you- wish us luck with the travel, i am sure we will need it!  i will post more (using my shiny new mac) when we get home!

xx

my crew

who do you love?

these little ones of mine keep me pretty busy.  that, along with growing a new little seed in my belly, has me pretty worn out.  i do have a moment now though to take a little snapshot of my life.  of their lives.  it is valentine's day,  you know.

these little guys were obviously too excited for the holiday.  hanna and elias were both awake in the 5 o'clock hour.  yuck.  i do not like them up that early.  but the day is filled with little lovelies and they have now consumed enough candy (at 7:30am) that they will be running on auto-pilot for the next few hours.  what was i thinking?

ada is growing up into quite a little lady (aside from the incessant potty talk!)  she is a gift to our family. she is honestly the kindest person i have ever met.  she is an amazing reader and writer.  she is incredibly independent and does not follow anyone.  this sometimes causes problems, but i would rather her be herself than a follower.  she is smiley and happy.  what more can i ask for?  and did i mention how much so likes to clean!?!?  amazing.

elias is seriously a piece of work!  he is four, but wishes to be eighteen.  he is wildly creative and his imagination is always on.  he is very active and athletic.  he has so many hopes and dreams.  i hope they all come true for him.  he loves school and makes a scene every day when i drop him off.  he is an attention seeker and loves to be the center of attention.

hanna is a little ball of love.  she is a little jumping bean and rarely takes a moment to sit!  she loves to run, jump, play baby dolls, jump, sing, laugh, jump and play chase.  she is great at playing independently.  she goes to the park and runs to play, never looking back for me.  she is very social and will play with any kid that looks at her.  she has such a sunny disposition.  it makes my heart happy.

and lastly, reza deserves so much more credit than i could ever give him.  he works so hard and comes home after dinner almost every night, quickly shovels food into his mouth so he can help get the littles to bed.  kids are hard, and they are certainly hard on a marriage.  expectations are always high, and it is easy to be disappointed.  but, we make a good team.  elias idolizes him.  hanna thinks he is the silliest member of our family and ada thinks the world of him.  what more could i ask for?

and now, just a snapshot of what we have been up to.

 serious love, right here.

 and here.

 15 weeks and growing.

 valentine's morning.

 wrestling.

 trouble.

 ice cream date with mommy.

 elias got a gumball machine and i found chewed gum all over the house for days.  never. again.

 sunday mornings.

 look at that build.

scooter rides on campus. 

 sickness has been all over our house this winter.

ikea craziness.

ada's family portrait.

i swore the crib would break.

when i look back at pictures i can't help but smile.  but things aren't always hunky dory.  we still have fun, but beauty has it's price.  i lose me temper more than i want to.  they whine and pout and fight FAR more than i want them to.  but we are a family and we try to make it work.  i'm just saying, it's not always easy!