the birthday trip, part two.

just in case you were wondering where jonah was while we were at legoland...

cozily snuggled up next to me in the baby carrier.  he loves this thing.  and so do i.  aside from nursing him and diaper change breaks, he was in here for the whole day!

after we checked out of the hotel the next morning, phil had wanted to take the family to the carlsbad flower fields for mother's day.  i really appreciated the thought, but after driving around the crazy crowded parking lot looking for a spot and seeing the long, long line of people with the same idea, i decided that i reeeeally didn't want to go there that day.  i hate being in crowded areas.  really hate it.  i wanted something quieter.  something less appealing to the masses.

phil jokingly suggested we go pick strawberries in the field outside of legoland.

i think he thought i would say no.

it was windy.  and cold.

and yet she was determined to pluck that strawberry.

and enjoy the fruit of her labor.  pun most definitely intended.  (don't worry, phil rinsed off the berries before they were eaten.)

see?

"happy mother's day.  want a strawberry?"

phil claims that you're supposed to eat strawberries while picking them.  that's why you have to prepay the sixteen dollars per bucket before heading into the fields.  if that's true, then i believe we surely got our money's worth based on the berries this one alone ate.

meanwhile, the boy was intent on getting his bucket filled with the biggest, reddest berries he could find.

"are these good ones, mommy?"

"happy buhday, mommy."  (she couldn't quite get "happy mother's day" out, so she figured "happy birthday" was just as good.  and please note the half-eaten strawberry in her other hand.  she kept picking the flowers to give to me, but kept the strawberries for herself.  :p)

did i mention that it was cold?  and windy?  yes?  well then, i should also mention that it started to RAIN when our buckets were only halfway filled.  this picture makes me laugh.  (but don't worry, she was actually having a good time.  i just asked her to give me her saddest, most pitiful face here.)

her saddest, most pitiful face isn't quite as convincing.

so while i was goofing around taking silly pictures of our kids, phil was still in the fields with jonah strapped to him determined to get that bucket filled.

give me a smile, you sad, pitiful children!  (ok, so now they really were getting cold and wet.  but please note phil there in the background still working on getting that bucket filled.)

so believe it or not, we actually had a really good time pickin' berries.  er, at least i did.  mother's day 2011 was the best one ever in a ghetto, child-laborish, muddy sort of way.  :) 

and back at home later that night, phil came in with a surprise ice cream birthday/mother's day cake for my boy and me!  a sweet way to top off a really fun birthday weekend.

so happy seventh birthday, my dear boy who started me out as a mother.  you are the best present i've ever gotten for mother's day.  i hope you had a wonderful birthday weekend even though you didn't get a party this year.  we love you so very much and are so proud of the wonderful boy you've grown to be.  not for any one thing in particular, but just because of who God made you to be.  kind, patient, generous, happy you!

the birthday trip, part one.

where have i been?

well, it's that time of year again.  summer's almost here and for normal people, that means beach days, swim lessons, playdates, and perhaps a picnic or two.

but not if you're a tsai.  if you're a tsai, summer means it's time to move.  again.  and if you're the tsai mom, it means you're completely and solely in charge of packing and making that move happen.

ugh.

as one friend put it on sunday, "you tsais either have a baby or move every year!"  and sometimes we do both in one year.  just to mix it up now and then.

but the exciting news is that phil is ALMOST done with fellowship and then we finally move past these schooling/training years.  and it only took ten years!  : p

so anyway, that's where i've been.  here at home, starting to pack up our worldly goods and wondering once again why the heck do we have so much stuff?   but at least this time around i saved our boxes from last time and am just putting in what's been labeled on it.  kinda like a pack-by-numbers deal.

but i'm taking a break from it today to recap mikey's birthday trip from a couple weekends ago.  like i said before, this year is our no-parties year and so we decided to go on a little family trip instead.  where'd we go?

legoland!

a fitting destination for a brand new seven-year-old, no?

phil thought mikey would really enjoy seeing the new lego star wars miniland.  and did he?  well, i'll just let the pictures do the talking.

and instead of just a day trip, we decided to make it a weekend-long celebration.  the kids set right to work on one of their favorite things to do in a hotel (and the only time they're allowed to do this).

double beds inevitably leads to this.  (also the only time he's allowed to do this).

plop.

hello, my baby.  just cuz there's a new baby in our house doesn't mean you're not still my baby.  you just remember that now.  you shall be my baby FOR LIFE. 

swimming in the hotel pool: another tsai kid favorite.

this was the first time lauren was brave enough to float on her own and didn't need to cling to either her daddy or myself the entire time.  it's a new day, folks.

if you happen to wake up early, like oh say 7 am, you get to sit on the pull-out couch bed and watch pbs cartoons while the rest of the family continues sleeping in the other room.  tis the beauty of a two-room suite.

this sleepyhead couldn't resist the call of pbs cartoons, even though her eyes weren't fully open yet.

this year, i bought my own mother's day present.  the kids like looking for their names on it.  i like how it symbolizes that our circle is complete.  unless of course...  and no, this doesn't really have anything to do with this birthday trip post.

ok, so we finally made it to legoland!  and we made a beeline to star wars miniland.

and i think phil was right in that mikey enjoyed seeing it.  but only a little bit.

19,200 lego bricks later...

i believe he could've stayed here all day looking at everything.

the girls on the other hand, weren't quite as impressed with it all.

mikey has always wanted to drive one of these remote control boats around.  apparently, he's old enough now to realize you have to put money in to actually make the boat go.  no more turning the wheel thinking he's moving the boat when it's really the kid next to him.

but when it's your birthday trip and you're a brand new seven-year-old?  why then your dad will hook you up.

then we headed off to mikey's next favorite thing at legoland.

but not before we made a pit-stop first.

we stumbled upon girl-land at legoland this time.  i saw this and thought of you, jenny.  so this one's for you!  :)

her daddy felt bad that everyone got a legoland card with their picture on it except for lauren (and jonah, but he doesn't care yet.  actually, lauren didn't really either, but daddy never likes to leave her out since she usually just waits and watches to see if she'll get something rather than demanding one too.  i think he likes that about her), so he went and got her her very own photo driver license complete with lanyard and carrying sleeve.

when we came last year, lauren was too short to ride anything but the kiddie train and story boatride.  but this year, she was tall enough to get a third ride under her belt.  but because legoland has strict rules about riding these 1-mile an hour rides, daddy had to go up and down...

up and down...

up and down three times!   and he even let each of the kids pick which helicopter they wanted to ride instead of just staying in one for all three rides.  which is what a, shall we say, less-accommodating parent might have done.

and on our way out, we spotted this!

wow.

day three of the birthday trip coming up next!

sneak peek.

here's a sneak peek at jonah's birth announcement. coming soon to a mailbox near you.  :)

easter 2011.

i love easter.  i'm belated, i know.  but i still love it.  i love being reminded anew of the glory of my risen Savior, of how death could not hold him and how sin has been conquered once and for all.  i love rejoicing in my freedom in Christ.  i love being at church and singing through tears of the cost Jesus paid to bring glory to the Father and salvation to all who believe.

He arose, my friends.  hallelujah, He arose!

i wanted, no needed, to be at church on easter sunday.  and i wanted the kids to also be at church to celebrate Jesus' resurrection.  so i braved my first outing with all four so that we could go to church while poor daddy stayed home to get some sleep on his post-call day.

and though it was a harried experience getting out the door and though we were late, it was totally worth it.

like i said, i love easter.

and once again this year, we were invited to the home of our wonderful friends in order to celebrate after church together.  here are a few pics from that day...

all dressed up in happy spring colors!

my two easter babies.

lauren was ALL business during the easter egg hunt.  so much so that i'm not even sure she was having fun.  THAT'S how serious she was about collecting eggs.

phil got these super cute felt baskets for the kiddos.  that daddy, he's good stuff.

even though there were over a hundred eggs hidden, the hunt was over in just a few minutes.  mikey scampered off so fast to find eggs so i didn't get any shots of him in action.  but he did come back to show me the end result of his hunt.

phil found an extra little surprise on one of lauren's eggs.

sorting through their loot.  and in the back there is one little guy convinced there were more eggs and was determined to find 'em.

hope your easter was great, too!  :)