The Farmer Files

Where Have All the Farmers Gone? (Sung to the Tune of "Where Have all the Flowers Gone?")

2009-10-17T10:07:00.003-10:00

Where Have All the Farmers Gone? Weeeellll....I had a baby. And I am alive. I am not freaking out. I already did that weeks one and two. He is our very last, and I am enjoying his little newborness to the absolute fullest. And I am in DEEP LOVE. That takes up my time. But for all of you Farmer fans that cheered me on during labor and on Facebook and on Twitter, don't worry...I am going to give you the birth story very soon.

In other news, in a moment of sleep deprivation, I decided to blog with a group of friends on a brand new blog. A long time friend read an article in the W--hington Post and was inspired to start a virtual baking group. I was so excited! I know most of the ladies from when we lived in the Northern Virgina beltway. Some I have never met, except online, because they are friends of friends. And some ladies I don't know, but I will! I just posted and you can read it here. It is all about my motorcycle riding with wind in my hair. See you there!

Welcome JK Farmer #3 to San Diego!

2009-09-03T15:53:00.005-10:00

JK Farmer #3 was born on 9-3-09 at 5:37pm. 7 lbs 13.2 oz, 19 3/4" long, head was 13 3/4" Right now he is having some dinner...

Twas the night before my Induction...

2009-09-02T22:10:00.006-10:00

This is the very last night I will be pregnant. And I am emotional for so many reasons. Seriously, I just stopped to wipe my eyes because the tears just spilled.

There are the medical reasons I am emotional. I am nervous about being induced. I was induced with my first child. He was born on his due date. And here I am again. With my second baby my membranes were stripped. He was about a week early. This is the longest I have ever been pregnant. I am five days overdue.

I am notorious for being picky about doctors. My OB is amongst the best. She has the pedigree to prove it. And I am delivering at the most "shee shee fancy" hospital in the county. I was born there, you know. But none of that brings me comfort.

I have wanted this third child for a long time, probably since I knew I was marrying my best friend. He was not so sure. But I just always hoped we could agree on three kids. Here I sit, with a completely healthy, whole, beautiful baby that I will soon meet, Lord willing, in a few hours. I am beside myself that God has blessed me a third time.

I wanted three children more than I wanted a girl. Shame on complete strangers that do not understand, but feel liberties in making faces when I say I am having a third beautiful boy.

THREE.

In a few hours the third baby will be here. I will hold him. His daddy will hold him. I will be more emotional. I just know it.

I knew this day was coming. And maybe I am just a little nervous that I will miss the early days of Son3's life, because it will all be a blur. I hope not. I want to feel every single moment of a newborn baby again.

I have had those same feelings about savoring the moments with my five year old, my two year old, and my husband. I have poured as much as I could into my family of four, my two sons, and my husband. I love them so much. I have not wanted 2009 to be "the year we moved to San Diego and we were busy getting adjusted and we just did not do anything but that." Nope. I did not want the days to turn into months, and then for us all to wonder how we got a year older. This pregnancy has allowed me to slow down, to appreciate every time we heard the heart beat on the doppler, and saw the baby on the ultrasound monitor. I have appreciated the minutes, the days, and the weeks. When I said "no" to anything else, I was saying yes to them. We spent long days in our new back yard this summer, laughed, hugged, and played for hours. I packed the kids up, spun them around town, and sang silly CDs in the car with them at the top of our lungs. We made trips to Coronado for an hour here or there, just because lunch with Daddy was possible. And often, very often, both the boys wanted to know about the baby wherever we were. He is at the forefront of their minds.

This pregnancy has meant something to all of us. Every single member of our family is excited. Every single member reaches often for my belly, to feel Son3. They press, he kicks. They are loud, he kicks. Both boys lift up my shirt and kiss my belly spontaneously, or talk to the baby, or reason that he kicks because he must feel trapped and he wants out. Son2 is convinced he can push him out.

One day Hubs totally surprised me. He told me how beautiful I am pregnant, how he wants to remember these moments that our family is excited, and he arranged for a photo shoot at Coronado Beach. These are his shots of me, of the kids, and I love them. Professional pictures will get posted one day, you know, when I don't have to get to bed. That night on Coronado Beach was seemingly perfect. It was warm. It was peaceful. It was about our family.

Wednesday morning I was up early with Hubs, the day before my induction. It was in the 6am hour, and he was ready for his work day, and I was ready for mine. I came down the stairs, and a slow smile spread across his face. He called me outside to take pictures. So here we are. Son3 and me, overdue.

The other side of my emotion is excitement. I cannot wait to meet the newest Farmer. I cannot wait to see his teeny tiny face in my hands. And most of all, I cannot wait to share him. I have had his kicks all to myself, his movements to myself, and even some of the discomfort to myself. Now he will belong to our whole family in a different way. His daddy will hold him, and his brothers will kiss him. I know my heart will be full. For that, I am emotional, too.

Last Day on the Big Island

2009-09-02T22:00:00.001-10:00

On our very last day on the Big Island Hubs and I made a plan. Well, really he made a plan because he loves me so much. We would drive all the way around the Big Island, northbound to Hilo, and end our day in Kona, back at the airport before our very long flight back to the Big Rock. The plan was to stop at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park one last time. Could we find my camera?

We left our hotel in Waikoloa and headed to North Kohala, and into Kamuela, or cowboy country. I missed the shots of the Kohala coast that resemble the moon on our drive into Kamuela. Yes, the moon. The landscape all the way to the ocean is a crisp black, not green and lush. The blackness is dried lava. You can see some of it here, from a trip we took when we lived on Oahu, and visited the Big Island.

Hubs and I love Kamuela. We could totally see ourselves living here. It is at a higher elevation, and about a 20 minute drive to the beach. It is the "largest" city in the interior of the island, with a whopping seven thousand people. It is cowboy country, or paniolo country.
The cowboy town holds a strong Mexican influence. Living here is not cheap by any means. Parker Ranch is the largest privately owned cattle ranch in the United States.

The hills are rolling green. It is cooler up here. And there is all kinds of livestock. It is peaceful and my kids go nuts when they see all of the farm animals.
About here our two year old started crying for apple bananas. It was so cute to hear him plead through his tears for us to stop. We stopped days earlier here for apple bananas and he remembered. Hubs pulled over at an organic health store and bought a bunch for less than $2. And Son2 giggled through tears, and we all smiled. My kids love local Hawaiian fruit.

Between here and the Hamakua Coast much of the island is a two lane highway.

We emerged from the rolling hills of cowboy country to the majestic Hamakua coastline. Whizz! This was taken while driving...can you tell?Our direction, the highway continued in one lane, and in the other direction, the highway opened up into another lane.
Whizz! I could not risk dropping another camera. Son1 was screaming for me to check the wrist strap. Trust me, there are waterfalls down there.
Finally we came into a very wet Hilo. It rains most on the Hilo side of the island. Whizz! Still driving...we had a plane to catch that night. It takes roughly four hours of drive time without stopping to drive the whole island. This is the small historic downtown.
Just minutes from downtown Hilo is Volcano Village, just outside of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. We stopped at what was deemed the best Thai food in Hilo. The restaurant is very family style, and the Thai food is island style. This was seriously the best Thai food I have ever had. The summer rolls enveloped fresh pineapple, and the fried rice was garlicky and mmmm island style. Everyone ate their fill...Hubs, boys, and I were stuffed and satisfied. It was a very good feeling.
Love this sign at the park entrance.
Hubs made a quick turn at the entrance toward the Kilauea Iki Trail. The rain was really coming down, and the roads were packed with cars and slick with tropical rain. I jumped out and took photos of the trail head where we had hiked.
We hiked this entire ridge, down into the crater floor, and back up the ridge, before I dropped my camera.
I really, really wanted to see this steam vent on the floor of the crater, up close and personal. One day we will go back and we will make the whole hike out there, I just know it.
And that sweet Hubs of mine snapped my picture in the rain and in the steamy vog because I WAS THERE.
We crossed the parking lot by car to the Thurston Lava Tube. The tube was totally packed. The ground was slippery and muddy. We all came to the final realization (well probably it was just me that needed to accept) that my camera was deep in a crack in the tube somewhere. We knew we could not find it that day. It was gone forever. So I took a picture at the edge of the overlook, clutching my camera, exactly where I dropped it between these two signs.The camera tumbled down, down, down this canopy of ferns, and deep into the crevices of the lava tube below. This was pretty painful to be back. Instead, we left the park, and continued on our trip around the island.
We rounded South Point, the southern most tip of the United States, and up into the South Kohala Coast.We soaked up every bit of Hawaii we could, until the sun set. And we said aloha to what we once knew as "home." But in Hawaii we say "Aloha, Ahui hou." We do not say goodbye. We say, "Goodbye, until we meet again." And Hawaii, the Farmers will meet you again. We miss you too much to say goodbye forever.

Tropical Dreams at $26 a Gallon is Worth Every Penny!

2009-09-01T10:30:00.001-10:00

Hubs and I knew one MUST DO on the Big Island was stop at Tropical Dreams ice cream farm. The short version is we stopped, bought our half gallon of Banana Storm, and ate it back at our vacation unit. The much better story is the first time we ever discovered Tropical Dreams.

On our very last trip to the Big Island before we moved from Hawaii, we kept reading about Tropical Dreams ice cream. It was supposed to be THE ice cream on the face of the planet. We set out to find the farm and forgot our guidebook! We remembered the farm was in Kamuela. Somehow, the idea of a FARM did not stick in our brains. We drove all over the small town looking for an ice cream SHOP.

We spotted a hot pink store front and pulled over. We asked if they served Tropical Dreams. NO. Before loading in the car, my kids spied a huge turtle coffee table in the real estate office next door. They wanted to pet him, but he seemed made out of Koa wood, and I thought the better of it. I steered them toward the car when Hubs slipped inside. I did not notice right away. He talked story a bit, and walked to our car with papers in hand. I thought he had property information. Ha! The realtor printed out map and directions to the FARM, less than two miles away. We found the farm in a few minutes. In the middle of this farm is a warehouse.
Now we just weren't sure what to expect. Hubs hopped out alone to check things out. A few minutes later he emerged from this warehouse, swinging a plastic bucket, clutching a brown sack, and making eyebrows at me with a wide smile across his face. This stuff had to be serious. In fact, it was. In his prized bucket was Banana Storm, at $26 a gallon. He had a half gallon, and paid $13. For some reason they were closed, but had the door to the warehouse open. The owner(?) sold him the ice cream anyway, with some plastic spoons and some styrofoam bowls. She said the ice cream was super hard, but should be just right if we made the drive to Hilo, 60 miles away. We were headed that way, anyway. She told him all about the ice cream. Mmmmm. I am getting there.

Hubs thought we needed a serving spoon because plastic spoons are just not the best for serving a half gallon of ice cream. It was a Saturday, and we rounded the corner from the farm and saw this sign:

Hubs flipped the rental around, and pulled over at a home in the neighborhood. I slid out of my seat onto the driveway, and he handed me a few dollars. I poked around a bit and found a handful of stainless steel serving spoons perfect for scooping ice cream. I asked the lady how much for one spoon, and she said I had to take them all for fifty cents. Deal.

I jumped back in the car, and we started the drive toward Hilo. Soon enough the kids were wise to our ice cream bucket, and were STARVING. Oh they just could not wait. Oh they were so HUNGRY. When were we going to stop??? Hubs caved and pulled over at a nice park along the Hamkua Coast. We grabbed a package of wipes, ice cream, spoons, and bowls and sat at a picnic table under a huge tree, looking down at the Pacific Ocean. We pulled the top off of Banana Storm. I took one long look and scrambled to pull the shirts off the boys. I could only imagine they might want to bathe in the ice cream, and I had not even smacked Banana Storm across my lips yet.
Oooh la la...Banana Storm. This is what we learned about this ice cream. The ice cream was named by an employee originally from Guam. When storms grace Guam, bananas fall to the ground everywhere. So it is called a banana storm. This ice cream is made with all kinds of local fruit. And it isn't like other ice creams where you get a little chunk of this or that about the size of a penny. No.NO.NO.

Oh. My. Word. I have NEVER ever had such frozen goodness grace my buds.

The ice cream is classified as "superpremium." Such ice cream is made with 18% butterfat and is "low overrun," meaning the amount of air mixed in while freezing. It makes the creamiest, densest ice cream EVAH. (Grocery store ice cream is 10 to 12% butterfat.) And the bananas are NOT the long yellow ones sitting out at your grocery store. Oh NO. These are locally grown apple bananas. There are half strawberry fruits and half oreo cookies in there. These are not little ground up chunks. NO. I am talking about half pieces of cookie from the top of the plastic tub all the way to the bottom. Mmm mmmm mmmmmmmmmm!
This was officially the beginning of the end of my South Beach diet in December. I am only going to confess to having at least two bowls. I will not confess more than that. My family had just as much as I did, too.
We were so thrilled to visit Tropical Dreams once again on our trip this summer. Hubs and the owner talked story again when he picked up the half gallon. We will be back, Tropical Dreams!

Waterslides and the Price of Fine Japanese Food

2009-08-26T20:02:00.002-10:00

I finally quit moping about the camera I dropped down the lava tube. It was making my family too sad, and the kids needed me to get wet with them. Unfortunately, Hubs had a horrific accident a month before we left on the trip to the Big Island. The short of the very long and gross story is that he could not get his leg wet because of a puncture wound nearly to his shin bone. It was an open wound and still had not closed almost a month later. (That story is super gory and I will only tell it if you make me. Plus, it's not like I am behind in my blogging, right?!? The short version, is that his doctor, along with another orthopedic surgeon agreed he risked having his leg amputated since he waited to seek treatment for a few days after the accident. It became infected from the inside of his body out. Ewww!!)

Even though it was just the boys and me in the water, and I was sporting my 32 week bump, I was amazed that both boys were so independent on the water slides. Handling the two boys alone and pregnant in the pool was not nearly as difficult as I imagined. Really, my feelings were not hurt that they preferred one another to me. Okay, maybe I was a little shocked for a minute. I felt a little guilty treading water in the pool while they slid down the slide, dumped into the pool, and swam to the edge over and over. My two little fish loved swimming away from me. I suppose they thought that was funny. This is the water slide at our vacation ownership resort. Hubs took pictures with his camera.
We also are allowed to use the hotel resort next door. Now here is the thing I loved the most. Had I been at a water park, I am sure I would have been banned from the water slides because of my "health condition." But at the resort it did not matter that I was very pregnant! Can you spot the boys behind me? Too bad you can't see me in this suit standing up. In three pregnancies this is my absolute favorite maternity suit!
The OTHER thing we did at the properties was attend a presentation to buy more vacation ownership. I purposely am not mentioning where we own because this is the one and only time we had a not so pleasant experience. Generally the pitch to owners is a no pressure sale, because they believe their hotel brand sells itself. And it does. The presentation usually goes like this: They say, "So you don't want to spend money today. Any questions? GREAT. Here is your check for $100. Bye. Enjoy your time here." Or something to that effect. That did not happen this time.

I made the mistake of telling the egomaniac with a smile I was not going to leave without my $100. Ugh. I think he took that as a challenge. He brought my kids legos. He brought them snacks. He tried to get them to watch a movie. He offered to buy us dinner. He told us we deserved this. He questioned our judgment and logic when we said no. And I felt trapped. So I had to spring us from this guy's office.

A little known fact is that I finished half an economics degree in college before I changed my major (long story, but I wanted to graduate fast, instead). I still read Forbes. I still follow economic trends, and I like to weigh opportunity costs. So I launched into an incredible diatribe on the state of our economy, the evolution of the American mentality of entitlement, and how we must be more judicious in our economic choices in the state of our current economic crisis. But what I said was much more involved, intelligent, articulate and beautiful, all while I snapped legos together, passed out snacks, and tried to keep peace on the floor of his office. I watched as he sat in his comfy ergonomic chair shifting back and forth, but I kept going. A slow smile spread across Hubs' face when I finished and I knew I made him proud. The egomaniac did not have much of a come back and finally fetched our $100. He made some snide remarks at me as he filled out the voucher. And because I am sinful and I need Jesus, I used some of his wording from his sales pitch with an edge to my voice as a retort. He dramatically looked at me and told me it was a good thing he had thick skin. I held my tongue and said nothing to him about how I spent a good chunk of time on the floor of his office pregnant, with my children, while he rocked in his ergonomic chair.

ANYWAY.

We took our voucher.
I dressed my men alike for dinner.
We rode the shuttle to the resort.
We hopped on the tram that wraps through the resort,
and landed ourselves at this restaurant where I vowed never to take my little people on many previous visits.

And honestly, I became that American with a sense of entitlement WITH a $100 voucher for dinner. So to the people that gave us some stink eye because of my little people, I did not see you. I was too busy sharing a sunset with my family.Son1 has had a thing for Japan since he was three. He was beside himself to go to Imari, a Japanese steakhouse, for dinner. They serve two kinds of dinner, Teppanyaki (grill where you sit around the hot table with some strangers) or Washoku (traditional sit down Japanese dinner.) We opted for Washoku on the fancy side of the restaurant, you know, for the amusement of the other guests. HA! The restaurant folding doors were pushed open, and my kids loved visiting the koi pond in between courses.

And Imari did not disappoint. We made a reservation ahead of time. They had a special table set up for us, and to my surprise, chopsticks prepared for my kids. The chopsticks were wrapped with rubber bands so the kids could participate, and their menus and crayons were placed so carefully at their settings. The restaurant has fountains, waterfalls, and porcelain pieces throughout. It has an elegant minimalist feeling. The waitresses donned traditional black kimonos, and the restaurant bred an aura of serenity. I tried to get the kids to blend and be one with their environment, in other words, be quiet. Whenever we frequent a cloth napkin kind of establishment I try and emphasize the whole "fancy restaurant" thing with the kids. Now this place was a double whammy because on top of cloth napkins they also received steaming white wash cloths. They were a bit confused by bath time at the dinner table, but at least followed suit.

For dinner, I had a China Mist passion fruit iced tea...
...and some scrumptious scallops. Why bother with an appetizer when I could not eat anything raw?
So instead, I behaved, did not indulge, and watched Hubs feast on his appetizer including my absolute fave...sashimi.
He had himself a bento box, except Son2 monopolized his hot and sour soup.

Now you don't think we took all of these pictures with a camera phone, do you? No! Hubs and Son1 took a special field trip to Costco and got us a nice little point and shoot Canon for the rest of the trip! Son1 kept checking to make sure I used the wrist strap and wasn't going to let us have another sad day. Because when a man loves a woman...well, you read my last post.

Crocodile Tears at Kilauea Iki Trail and Thurston Lava Tube

2009-08-03T14:45:00.003-10:00

This day did not turn out as planned. It was the saddest day of our whole trip to Hawaii. I sobbed and heaved and blubbered. The day started so well.

We stayed on the Kona coast of the Big Island, known for it's crystal blue calm waters and coffee country. With Hubby's leg wound not healed (more to come later) we opted for a land day on the Hilo side of the island, two hours away. We traveled the drier south side to the Kona Mountain Coffee Company. They produce 100% Kona Coffee. This is a big deal, because some companies only serve 10% Kona coffee. I learn more about coffee all of the time. I am SO SAD that I am not a coffee drinker. I missed out on a whole lot of Kona coffee drinking when we lived in Hawaii. Our church served Kona coffee every Sunday and I may have indulged once, just to say I did.

At the store, Hubs purchased green unroasted Kona coffee beans. You roast them just before you brew coffee.This was news to me. I knew nothing about green coffee beans. In the Kona coffee grading system they are extra fancy, the largest and nearly perfect beans. And they are spendier! He also chose a coconut mocha Kona coffee which is 100% Kona coffee mixed with macadamia nut and coconut and a few others including a chocolate raspberry. And even though I am not a coffee drinker, Hubs monitors my caffeine intake lately. (READ: Almost eliminated it entirely regardless of my cravings.) So he sweetly surprised me with a bag of chocolate covered peaberries, high in caffeine! I ate a handful and all of a sudden my head relaxed with a familiar caffeine buzz. A Wal Mart stop and lunch drive through later, we were finally on the two lane highway to Hilo!

We arrived at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park shortly after 4pm. This was one of the only things on Son1's TO DO list. He remembered his time at Thurston Lave Tube with our family and Gradma T., and was intent on walking through the cave. Just before the bend in the road to Thurston Lava Tube is the Kilauea Iki entrance. So we made an unexpected stop and jumped out. Our plan was just to take a picture from the rim of the collapsed crater. But as we peered over the edge we spied a handful of people walking across the crater. I was positive this was the four mile hike our friends Kevin and Sarah once made across the collapsed crater.
We checked the trail guide, and sure enough, this was it! So Hubs and I stood there and we pondered the hike. We knew Son1 could easily make the four mile hike. He had walked that far over the Coronado Bridge. But the trail was not stroller friendly, and this time our two year old was in tow. We had some bottles of water and some cashews and chocolates to hold the kids over until dinner. We hemmed and hawed long enough and finally called Kevin and Sarah on the east coast hoping not to wake them. Did they think our kids could make the trip? They don't have kids yet, but they do know and love our kids. We trusted their judgment, and they said to go for it. By the time we packed our stuff, and hit the trail it was nearly 5pm.The trail was dense and thick and jungly. The ground was moist and the mosquitoes were awake. Parts of the trail were steep downhills and some were steep uphills. The jungle canopy shaded the trail so well, and blocked out much sunlight. It was all beautiful, and I made many stops with Son1 to take pictures of all the beauty around us.The trail is a 450 foot drop from a rich sea of green rain forest into a dry and desolate volcanic crater. Hubs quickly decided to hoist Son2 on his shoulders while Son1 and I brought up the rear. Hubs and Son2 walked ahead and kept up with the momentum of a down hill trail. Son1 and I talked about the vegetation, the insects we heard, and the birds we saw. I took so many beautiful pictures of him, of all that we saw, and Hubs and Son2 along the trail. In so many ways I could not believe that we were back again, just six months after we had moved from Hawaii. All of the thick and tall trees, the smells of the rain forest, the sounds of the birds and insects, I took it all in. I loved it differently than I had loved it before, because this time, I knew I could only enjoy this beauty for a few days. Son1 and I talked about saving, and I reminded him that to come on special trips like this we needed to to save money. We talked about spending less money on McD0na1d*s, and what it means to save money.

My thoughts wandered to my three pregnancies. When I was pregnant with Son1 and living in VA Hubs spoke at a conference in Hawaii. I tagged along, and made the long 13 hour flight, pregnant with Son1. I had no inkling we would move to Hawaii just a year later. Then I thought about how my second child was born in Hawaii, and how our third child was just teeny tiny in my womb when we left. And so I had all of these mushy emotional pregnancy thoughts, how I have spent part of all three of my pregnancies here. I watched as my eldest flew down the trail so easily in front of me, in his laced up tennis shoes, how I never thought a day like this would come four years ago. I thought he would be in velcro shoes forever. I listened as he shouted, "C'mon Mommy; we have to catch up! I can't see Daddy and brother any more!! Stop taking pictures Mommy! We have to get to the crater!" Sometimes we stopped long enough to touch and talk about the plants, trees, and the exposed roots.

And I snuck more pictures.

We talked about the cooling lava, and the rich soil, and the new growth. We talked about God, and all that He created, and all that we delighted in seeing, hearing, and touching.

And I took more pictures.

I took some awesome pictures of my big boy's sweet smile, of his excitement, of his understanding of all that was around. I took pictures of my husband, and captured the moments of him loving the minutes with our little toddler, helping him climb over the carved out trail in a most protective way, sometimes with the little boy perched on his shoulders. They were pictures of the little boy who was turning into a little boy, and would soon not be the baby in the family. More pictures, and Hubs told me we just had to hurry. He was sure I had taken a whole mess of pictures already. He was right. I easily took close to 100 shots . The light was disappearing from the trail. Both of the kids had tripped. We realized that we would need to turn back at the crater floor, for a 2.5 mile round trip. We would not cross the crater.

Soon enough we reached the crater floor. A few people looked at my well formed belly, just 8 weeks from my due date, and cautioned me to be very careful. The lava rock was crumbly and loose and they were struggling to climb up the trail. I promised I would be super careful. Finally our feet hit the floor of the crater, and I asked Hubs to let me take a few pictures. The landscape was so different at the floor! The crater collapsed in 1959 after a red lava lake spewed and formed after 1,000 earthquakes. It took 36 years to cool. And it is still cooling. In the distance we could see steam vents from the ground. I zoomed in and took some beautiful shots. I must tell you that none of these shots in this post are mine. Not even this one, of the ohi' a lehua, one of the first plants to form in the rich lava soil after it cools.
This a view of the new rock that forms after lava cools.
In the distance you can spot some of the steam across the rest of the trail.At this point, we knew it was still over a mile back to the trail head. The sun was setting already, and the trail is not lit at all. We all agreed it was time to go. I handed Hubs my camera, and asked him to take a few shots of me and of the kids. He promised he took a handful of great shots, and we should start back. But I asked him to take one more with the timer, one more of our entire family. I explicitly made a point of telling him "of our family of five." I smoothed my kids' hair, wiped sweat beads from my forehead, and we positioned ourselves. We did not have a tripod. In the vast open space, Hubs found a little rock lava sculpture. He grabbed more lava rocks from the floor of the crater, and lodged the camera into a precarious position, guaranteeing me the camera would be fine. He set the timer, and we took a few pictures this way. But when the very last shot finished, he grabbed the camera, played back the digital image, and we all were absolutely amazed. There we were, dressed in bright blue against the dark black lava rock with the rain forest towering along the crater rim. The picture captured the landscape behind us so clearly, and our family so crisply, our family of FIVE. I praised him for such a great shot, and I told him I could not wait until Son3 could one day see this picture. I wore a smile all the way back up the trail, because that picture could not have been any better. The boys were smiling, and Son1 wore a sense of accomplishment. Hubs and I agreed that this hike was one of the highlights with our boys thus far in the life of our family. We enjoyed the hike all the way back. Finally, we arrived at the trail head, a little tired, 2.5 miles later. We were so proud of both boys, shocked that even our two year old hoofed the majority of the trail back to the parking lot on his own two feet.

Hubs loaded the kids back in the car, and I snapped a few more pictures of the early evening over Kilauea Iki. Hubs asked if we should still make the short jaunt through Thurston Lava Tube. The entrance was just across Crater Rim Drive. The sunlight was definitely escaping us. But the dusk was enough light to make the short hike. Yes, we all agreed we wanted to make the short beautiful hike. We even had a little family cheer. YAAAAYYYY!!!!!

We found parking. We crossed the street. We stood at the overlook at the entrance to the lava tube. I tried to get a good shot of the top of the canopy, but I thought Hubs could get a better shot leaning over the rail.

I asked him to take the picture.

I extended my arm to him with the camera.

I let go before the camera met his hand.

And it slipped over the rail and bounced off the top of the canopy of trees.

It tumbled.

We heard it go deep, deep, deep down.

And Hubs looked at me ready to say something.

And I burst into tears.

And he said nothing.

Very determined, he suggested we look for it. Quietly we descended into the tube. We rounded the bend closest to the probable landing spot, still no less than 30 feet from the trail. Below the canopies of the ferns and trees several stories in the air, the darkness started to settle in for the evening. A folding sign blocked an entrance to where we needed to cross. It warned not to enter, it warned of danger. Hubs picked the sign up and crossed into the slippery green floor. It was muddy from recent rain. I kept hushing an inquisitive Son1. He looked at me and said,

"Mommy, is Daddy doing a bad thing??"

And the words tumbled from my heart. I looked into his sincere eyes and said, "When a man loves a woman, he will do crazy things." He was strangely satisfied, and repeated that phrase all night, and through the week. In fact, he is still saying it in San Diego.

Hubs never found the camera. I cried the rest of the night. He bought me a steak dinner that could not fix my heart. He offered to buy me another camera that could not bring back my SD card. He listened to me cry for two hours back to Kona about that one picture, the picture of our family of five. I was not angry. I was feeling so sad. I heaved. I blubbered. I thanked him for showing me the picture on the screen, the one I would hold in my heart. That man has a heart of gold. He understood me even if he did not understand.

A pleading phone call from my emotional pregnant heart to the park ranger led to a rescue mission two days later. At that moment all I wanted was my SD card. I did not care if the camera was shattered. All I wanted was that one picture, the one I saw on the playback screen. The amazing folks from the park sent four workers deep into the bowels of the tube to look for my camera with no such luck. I was told that they searched for half a day. They found many other lost items, though. The emergency dispatcher said my camera probably slipped through a crevice and plummeted over a hundred feet below the ground.

So there is no picture of that day. That is OK. But if there is one thing I hope that the boys learned that day from their daddy, is that if a man loves a woman, he will do crazy things for her. I hope they learned from their daddy to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. Their wives will thank them one day.

Sick!!!

2009-07-21T05:55:00.003-10:00

An unexpected illness took a firm grip over my 61 inch frame.

A horrible case of the stomach virus attacked me. LITERALLY for five days.

I saw my practitioner. She told me to hydrate and take an over the counter medication.

I did not hydrate.

The contractions started.

I called the doctor's office when the contractions multiplied the next day.

I called Hubs to come home before I called the doctor.

I knew I was in for it.

My kids knew something was very, very wrong.

They were dolls.

Who knew the 4 year old could make meals?

The triage obstetrical nurse said I wasn't having "enough" contractions in an hour.

She told me to drink MORE water.

I told her I could not.

She wanted to know WHY I could not.

Liquids made me more nauseous.

I started to cry. I told her I was never this irrational about liquid.

She gently shook me through the phone and told me I had no choice.

Six contractions in an hour and it was hospital time.

NO!

She told me the hospital would only give me IV fluid and put me on monitors anyway, and maybe just give me a touch of medication and send me home.

"Angry Booty" (an Usherism) is not pregnancy related, yet going around pregnant women now.

I was still in painful tears when we hung up.

Hubs came home and catered to the kids and to me.

Six contractions in an hour came. He held my hand. I drank more water.

Six contractions in twenty minutes came. I refused to hear about the hospital.

I drank more water.

I drank more water.

I drank more water.

Six hours later the contractions subsided.

I drank more water.

I was sweaty all night.

I drank more water.

I could not pee. There was nothing to waste.

I drank more water.

Hubs went into the office for a few hours the next morning.

I drank G2. It literally saved my life.

It was salty and sweet from beginning to end. I did not like it at first.

The water was not enough, though. I needed more salt to retain liquid.

I drank more G2.

I drank more G2.

I drank more G2.

Hubs was home again. He did not let me move one inch.

I slept several hours.

I drank more G2.

I drank more water, too.

Stomach virus was still in full swing.

I stood up only *to go*.

Hubs disappeared with my kids.

I slept more hours.

I was sweaty for more hours. It all came out my pores.

I drank more water. I drank more G2.

Two days later, I felt my stomach relax from knots.

It had now lasted Sunday to Sunday.

Today is Tuesday.

I am good, thank the Lord.

Read more about the rest of the Hawaiian adventure here soon.

Big Rock Fever

2009-07-10T10:07:00.000-10:00

When we lived in Hawaii people NOT from Hawaii always asked if we ever got rock fever. And my answer was always a horrified "NO!" I generally stayed in the state except for one trip back to California a year. On holiday weekends and during some holidays we traveled to the neighbor islands. Each island is so vastly different that I never felt whatever people refer to as "rock fever." However, after living on the Big Rock (what local people in Hawaii call the lower 48) for just under six months, Hubs, myself, and Son1 all had Big Rock Fever. Um, and why yes, that is a Farmerism. We missed the culture of aloha the most as well as local food. It was time. We had to get off the Big Rock. So with time share points expiring this year, and a hunk of frequent flyer miles, the four Farmers arrived at the airport two hours after dropping off Vitafamiliae. The total flight time before us was seven hours, with an additional 3 hour layover in SF. That is 10 hours of travel time! From San Diego to San Fransisco the kids sat with Hubs. And they were the quietest kids ever. Yes, I was jealous. They always give him the royal treatment. Humph!!!

We never mind layovers in San Fransisco, because we always score the same terminal. I have no idea what it is called, but it is the one with the kids play area and the food court. By far, our favorite stop is called Just Desserts. They are a local SF company that bakes premium desserts from scratch with no trans fats. The desserts are all natural. They do not use any artificial flavors, colors or preservatives, bleached flour, or hydrogenated shortenings. The dessert on the left is mine, which was a marble mousse, and Hubs had a mango mousse cake. Those sweet children of ours did not even ask for a bite! We swallowed these after our mondo Mexican food lunch.
Three hours later we boarded the flight to Kona, Hawaii. Kona is on the "Big Island." All of the other seven main Hawaiian islands could fit inside the Big Island. It is Son1's favorite island, and he was crazy excited to fly back to Hawaii. Son1 and I had a row to ourselves and Son2 and Hubs sat in the row across from us in their own row.
The seating arrangement was just fine with me. Son2 is our more active and vocal child. Let's just say he doesn't do his best in confined spaces. About 10 minutes into the flight I peered over Hubs and saw this:
I asked Hubs how he accomplished to do that. He just smiled a cocky smile at me and said, "I am the Son2 Whisperer. I just told him to lay down and go to sleep." Well, Daddy-O have I told you how happy I am you are on this trip?!? He just shook his head at me, pulled out a charged ipod and the rest of the flight went like this...for just over 5 hours folks.
We landed in Hawaii, and after two hours of calling every rental company to find where we reserved our rental car, we finally made it to Costco one minute before they closed for the essentials. And of course, that included a macadamia nut pie for me. ALL ME. Aloha y'all.

The Vitafamiliae Visit

2009-07-08T10:17:00.001-10:00

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, ..., it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, ..."

Ever read that quote from Charles Dickens in a Tale Of Two Cities? Did Dickens know The Farmer Files personally? A LOT of life has happened over the last six months. A LOT. And blogging took a back seat. A lot of chaos, emotions (HELLO remember I am pregnant?!?), upheaval, and prioritizing my husband and kids absorbed our days. Moving to San Diego has been wonderful and exhausting all at the same time. The construction around our home is finally complete and we are adjusting to a new "normal." We have hosted company for 27 days in the last four months from understanding friends to understanding family.

Our latest and greatest guests came from the house of Vitafam. I have not seen them in four years, since before the twins' first birthday. And their visit was like water for my blogging soul. But before I tell you all about my revelations here is the quick story...if ever such a thing.

We first met LL and Andrew nine years ago in Northern VA at church. I knew I liked them immediately because they wore jeans to church inside the stuffy suit and tie Beltway. See, despite was LL says, they could live in CA. They have since moved back "home" to the South. Andrew scored a work conference in San Fran last week, and LL and three of their five kids boarded the plane with him. Go visit her and read about their adventures in the city. OH MY. Then they jumped on ANOTHER plane one hour south to our house. She tells you all about Legoland, swimming at our house, and playing with our Vitamix here. And it was tons of fun. They even let us sneak out one night for dinner ALONE. Oh, and those kids she blogs about? I have no idea where she left them. The twins she blogs about are not the ones that showed up at my house. They were polite, obedient, cleaned up their plates and toys, every single time without fuss. In her post, she skipped the part about how they spanked us in Euchre after a lot of trash talking. Hmmm I can't decide if she left that part out because of her Southern politeness OR if it is because Hubs swears the game is a game of LUCK and not SKILL. I mean, it's not like Euchre is HEARTS, PINOCHLE, OR TEXAS HOLD 'EM. Not that we are competitive or anything. But seriously, it was awesome to play cards with sweet competitors that understand the beauty of a poker pack. They speak our love language.

But the best part of the visit for me were the long convos. Well, that, and them doting on my pregnant self. What pregnant lady doesn't love folks that don't let her lift a finger?? I was spoiled. When they come back, I think I will just shove a pillow under my shirt and pretend and see if they are just as good to me. HA! But as LL said, there was no "starting from the beginning." I have known them long enough to know them. There was a lot of sharing of our lives and our walks by faith. You know, mushy stuff. And then there were tech moments. The dry stuff that I thoroughly enjoyed talking about with LL. Hubs and Andrew did their tech triage stuff around our house, too, but I totally didn't understand what they were saying in computer-ese. Um, and pretty much it was Andrew doing his thing. Computers, those are his bag, folks. Meantime, LL broke down the whole twittering thing for me and hooked me up on tweetdeck. So follow me, I'm thefarmerfiles.

Talking to LL was like water for my blogging soul. I am encouraged. I am back. And because you have been reading and you know us, we will just take LL's advice and not start over from the beginning, m'kay? Now these photos are on her blog, and I totally don't care if you see them twice, because they make me smile. Marinate on these, people.

Sea World San Diego

2009-07-01T19:00:00.001-10:00

On the Harveys last full day in San Diego, we visited Sea World San Diego, sprawled along Mission Bay. There are three other Sea Worlds in the country, but Sea World San Diego is where it all began, by four graduates of my college alma mater. The first place I ever collected a real paycheck was at Sea World. I was a restaurant cashier. Growing up, my parents brought us on several Sundays. Things have sure changed! Now, season pass holders are finger printed and use machines for admittance. I am holding my finger to a machine just like the one to the right of me.
Our first stop was the dolphin show. Supposedly, a family from Las Vegas was picked to participate in the show from the audience. Unexpectedly, the mother fell into the huge 26 foot deep pool. We all gasped, and all fell for their trick. The mother is a new dolphin trainer at the park and continued the show. That was a bit of a let down. In my heart I wanted her to swim to the edge and for us all to clap because she bravely survived the trip and fall.

We saw Shamu's Believe, which is a choreographed and musically synchronized show with the orcas, or killer whales. "Shamu" is the stage name for the orcas, but Sea World San Diego actually has several orcas that perform under the stage name Shamu.
At Shark Encounter we walked through a 57 foot acrylic marine tube. Four types of lively sharks swam overhead. The kids loved it! Son2 sat on Hubby's shoulders and was awed by a close up view of the sharks. And it was so cool, both of the two year olds knew exactly what those things swimming with rows and rows of teeth were called, and that they could be dangerous. People often ask me if I think kids are too young to visit different attractions. My general answer is no!

The kids kept asking for the Sesame Street Bay of Play. We passed it on the way into the park, so we made our way back to the two acre play area.
The first ride the kids boarded was Oscar's Rocking Eel. I tried to board the ride until a ride attendant asked if I was pregnant. In my sweatshirt I suppose I could have passed for just FAT. But I lifted up my sweatshirt and showed off my bump to her and all of the other riders. Don't ask what got into me. But she apologized and told me I could not ride. I was actually shocked. The kids and the dads got a kick out of being whirled around back and forth, faster and faster.Next we rode Elmo's Flying Fish. And by "we" I do mean me, too. That is me making my shame, shame, shame sign. Now in a little defense of myself, the attendant did not say I could not ride. And the other way I weighed my decision was that at Legoland I am allowed to ride the helicopters and two airplane rides. And technically I am allowed to fly in a real airplane until I am 36 weeks. But obviously I know I am breaking the Sea World rules.I also jumped on Abby's Sea Star Spin in a teacup. Hubs gave it one whirl and I just did not think I could take any more spinning of the wheel since the teacups swirled on their own already. We took Son2 with us, since he does not mind spinning. Son1 hung out in a teacup with the Harveys who promised not to whirl and twirl their teacups.
About this time the Harveys wanted to see more of Sea World, and my boys wanted to see more of the Bay of Play. They headed for the polar bears, beluga whales, and penguins....

...while our kids explored more of the Bay of Play.
We met up again to see the manatees. I was so excited for Son1 who had learned so much about manatees last year. I promised him a trip to Florida one day to see the manatees, but I completely forgot that Sea World San Diego hosts rescued and rehabilitated manatees from Florida! The kids loved to see the manatees swim, and this is another animal the two year olds were familiar with before ever visiting. That was so sweet to see them recognize these graceful mammals!
We wandered to other outdoor exhibits, but one that we had pretty much to ourselves was the California Tide Pool. The kids touched sea stars and sea urchins in a shallow, yet extensive tide pool.But the most memorable exhibit was Forbidden Reef where we leaned deep into the exhibit to pet California bat rays and stare at moray eels. The men bought fish for the women and children. I love this picture of Son2 and me. You can't see our faces, but it makes me remember and feel his little body against mine, trusting that I would keep him dry and safe from the bat rays. Well, I did keep him safe, but I could not keep him dry!!!Those bat rays completely soaked us with their wide body spans. I changed both of my kids because they were soaked from head to toe. They really wanted our fish!!!

Lucky for us, there were nice hand washing stations at Forbidden Reef. But as I was propping Son2 up to wash his hands, two different dads came and ran their hands under the sink I was holding for my own child before I could even get his little hands under the water. Now they both said excuse me when they ran their hands under the water....but mama bear came out in me!! Not that I could not extend them some grace, BUT I finally told one father, "I am sorry but you are the third father that has pushed past me, and I have a two year old that needs his hands washed AND I am pregnant, SO I am sorry but you are just going to have to wait!!" That poor man. He was a little taken aback. But I wondered how chivalry works in their homes. Blah!

The day was SO FULL! Hubs and I loved the day at Sea World with the Harveys! Our last full day was bittersweet. And for the third time ever, Son1 cried the next day when company left. And the other two times that he cried happened to be for the very same guests. Sigh...until next year, Harveys. You were wonderful guests, as always.

San Diego Wild Animal Park

2009-06-07T08:02:00.000-10:00

We visited the San Diego Wild Animal Park with the Harveys. It is double the size of the San Diego Zoo. They had been to the zoo, so we opted to visit the Wild Animal Park. Both the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Wild Animal Park are owned and operated by the San Diego Zoo. The Park is located north of metro city of San Diego, but is still in the county of San Diego. It is a loooooong 46 mile drive from my house. The whole way there Son1 kept asking if we were still in San Diego, OVER and OVER. He was so sincere. The Harveys and I cracked up each time. The park is also a ways off the freeway, around and around through some desert areas of Escondido. Finally, we arrived, piled out of the car, and were through the entrance. Many of these pictures are courtesy of the Harveys. We were blessed the weather was in the 60s. Escondido can be one of the hottest spots in the whole county during the warmer months, into the triple digits. See all of the gorgeous landscaping at the park? You literally feel like you are walking through the jungle.
Many people come to the Wild Animal Park just to enjoy the beauty of the different gardens. The Wild Animal Park displays plants used with special permits from all over the world, including endangered plant species. Both the SD Zoo and the SD Wild Animal Park are also rescue centers for endangered plants. There are different elevations all around the park, so the plants are varied and truly their own eye candy. San Diego keeps a mild Mediterranean climate, so that is why almost anything grows here! The SD Zoo and SD Wild Animal Park have expert horticulturists. The healthy plants and gardens are vital to keeping the animals healthy. J and K kept commenting on the different plants and species all around the park. I told them that there are plenty of people that hold season passes to the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Wild Animal Park (like my parents) that come and enjoy the landscaping as much as they enjoy the animals. The plant collection at the Wild Animal Park cannot be replicated hardly anywhere in one spot in the world.

One of my favorite spots in the Park was Lorikeet Landing. Lorikeets are colorful little parrots from rainforests in Australia and New Guinea. We walked into this spacious aviary, where over 80 birds live. The birds were super friendly. They landed right on different people's shoulders. My kids were somewhat timid, but little A was not. The birds sensed this and came right up to her. The birds were loud and chattery, and quite friendly. The excitement of the other guests caught on to my children soon enough. The bird noises were beautiful, their colors were vibrant, and their friendliness was mesmerizing. The Wild Animal Park is unique because the animals are kept in free range exhibits. In other words, the animals have free roam within large open spaces, but they are still somewhat confined. See this pelican?J and A watched the pelican from this extensive pathway that encircled the lengthy pond, that was bordered on one end by a large waterfall. We also watched the pelican take off and soar high above the pond. We felt like we watched the pelican in a natural habitat. That is what makes the Wild Animal Park special!We walked a two mile trail that wound us through distinct habitats. We spiraled through the rain forest, open savananna, and along shaded trails. The cool thing about the Wild Animal Park is that you can choose different ways to see the animals. At one point in our journey, we came to the viewing deck at The Great Rift Lift, and we had an inspiring view high in the air. The deck wraps around for many, many feet.
We rode the elevators down to the bottom, and boarded the open sided African Express cars at Simba Station. Our guide took us on another 2 mile excursion through the African desert, where we saw the animals up close, roaming in mass open spaces. The cheetahs were lazing in the sun, the giraffes were grazing on leaves, and the rhinos were enjoying family time.

We departed Journey into Africa and wandered up to Lion Camp. The big cats were asleep, but the kids loved watching them. See those rocks? They are heated in the winter for the lions.
At Lion Camp (and most exhibits throughout the park) the information surrounding the lions is available at different reading levels. It is a noticeable difference from exhibits at other zoos. The SD Zoo is uniquely committed to both conservation and education. Around the corner are more lengthy information boards mounted higher for adults. For children, there are interactive learning aids with shorter questions and answers about the lions.The Harveys generously treated our family to a ride on the Conservation Carousel. The animals on the carousel are purchased in memory of loved ones or as donations to conservation efforts by the Wild Animal Park. Many animals on the carousel are endangered animals. Son1 and A loved their animals, unlike Son2. He is usually my fearless super action kid, but he was too afraid he was going to fall from the carousel.
Instead Son2 and I chose a bird's nest that spun like a tea cup. Apparently speed doesn't frighten him, just heights!
The Harveys shopped a bit while we entertained ourselves like frogs at the entrance to Nairobi Village. The waterfall behind us was designed after the ceremonial chamber of a Ugandan king.
We packed a lot into four hours at the Wild Animal Park. We mounted a replica of a bronzed life sized white rhino for one last goodbye.

We finally got back to my house....and have I mentioned how great the Harveys are every time they come? After a long day at the Wild Animal Park they made our family dinner! They pulled spices from their suitcases, shopped for food, and made dinner! Hooray!

In the Same Boat: San Diego Maritime Museum

2009-06-01T07:47:00.001-10:00

We met the Harveys nine years ago on the East Coast, when J started her law degree. The last time we saw the Harveys we lived in Hawaii, and our house was for sale. We were clueless about our timeline for a San Diego move. But one thing J promised me before they left was that they were going to visit us in San Diego in 2009. And they did!They graciously visited during an unpredictable week at our house. They are fabulous and considerate house guests every time they come.

The kids were thrilled to see this arrive at 6:30am after the first night the Harveys arrived.

Yes, I did say 6:30am. They were not at all phased. Aren't they great friends? The cement truck pump arrived and our concrete was poured that morning. The crane dipped into our yard, not pictured.

The next day, we visited the San Diego Maritime Museum. It is in an outdoor museum, on the east side of the San Diego Bay, at the Embarcadero. We boarded the Star Of India first. It is the oldest regularly sailing ship, and the oldest iron hulled merchant ship.

The Harvey Four! J is expecting a little boy.
The Farmer Five

I was surprised how much the kids loved all of the ships, and how much they touched and interacted! They rang the bells, ran up and down the decks, and checked out the wooden paneled captain quarters and dining areas. Below they investigated the cargo hold and passenger areas. Small model ships were displayed below and Son1 loved the teeny model life boats that hung from the decks of the ships. Quickly, Son1 picked up on so much nautical vocabulary.

In one of the cargo areas a small scale ship allowed more climbing, more ringing, and some washing of the deck.

Next we boarded the H.M.S. Surprise. "H.M.S." refers to "Her Majesty's Ship." This was built as a replica ship, once called the H.M.S. Rose. In 2001 it was sold to make the movie Master and Commander, and called the Surprise. It is now registered as H.M.S. Surprise in honor of the movie. This is a view of the stern.

While on the ship, I grabbed a big, fat, plastic rat from an exhibit and jiggled it in Son1's face and said, "WOOOOO!!!!" This passerby looked at me in shock and awe and belted out a loud laugh. I assured her it was fine; Son1 laughed gleefully. After all, I am a mom of boys. But then I had a girly moment with J when we took our picture with Russel Crowe.
We boarded the former B-39 Soviet Navy attack submarine. It was designed to kill American and NATO Navy ships and submarines. It is over 300 feet long, making it one of the longest submarines, but it sure felt small to me! We climbed through many low small openings, and checked out the control room, torpedo room, and all of the quarters in between.

And Son2 checked out the USS Midway from the periscope.Our last stop was The Berkeley. It is steam ferryboat that is over 100 years old, and operated on San Fransisco Bay for over 60 years. By this time, the Farmer family was near expiration, so I have no pictures to show you. But you can check out The Berkeley here. We told the Harveys we would meet them at home, after they dined at the Embarcadero.

The First Stake Out Births the Marshmallow Roast Ten Years Later

2009-05-25T06:39:00.001-10:00

Ten and a half years ago, we were very newlyweds. I was the first of my friends to marry and then I moved an hour and a half away to a quiet suburb in the next county. Our new town was small and a family oriented community, different than when we lived on the west side of Los Angeles, in YUPpyville (young, urban, professionals). In our new town, Hubs and I wanted married friends, but it didn't happen. He was traveling over 50% of the year, and it was hard to make couple friends as half a couple. One Sunday we visited a church, and right in the bulletin there was an announcement for a marriage study that Wednesday night.

We pulled in front of the house, just a few minutes late, and noticed three cars parked in front. All three were minivans. Uh oh. At this point in life, Hubs and I both drove sports cars. Two doors, that was our limit. I will cut the story short and tell you how it was a very painful evening for us. The three couples were old enough to be our parents. One couple had grown children our age, and let us know that. But at prayer time, they were so thankful that God finally brought another couple to their study. Their exuberance and thankfulness was enough to make us squirm. Maybe we were just unthankful. Still resolved to make married friends, the next week we attempted the study again. Well, not really. We parked on the cross street, and waited and watched for 15 minutes past the start time. The same three minivans were parked in front of the house. Yep, we drove away. Newly married, we did not want to hang out with people old enough to be our folks. We have often laughed about that night, and dubbed it "The Stake Out."

Two years later, Hubs landed a job inside the D.C. Beltway. I had never lived anywhere except three cities in Southern California. This was no small move for me. This was a coast to coast move for a California girl. And I did not want my life to change. I was used to Hubby traveling 50% of the year. I still wished for married friends, though I had none. I was used to life. I loved my workplace. I loved our rental house a few blocks from the beach. On the weekends we drove to see family in San Diego, Phoenix, Las Vegas, and San Luis Obispo areas. I traveled every now and then on business trips with Hubby. I had no desire for change. None. But it was inevitable. When the final news came that our move was definite, we had four months to prepare for our move. At night for nearly four months we prayed for our new life. And one consistent prayer request was to make married couple friends in our new place to call home, Northern Virginia.

Well, the story is a long one. I shared some of the story before. But the short story is that we found ourselves at a church with a class called Teammates, and first were greeted by LL and her husband. Yes, we knew them B.K., before kids. However, the majority of the class was moving out of the transient Northern Virginia area. New couples were moving in. The people that attended this class were other DINKs (double income, no kids) like ourselves. And these people were active! In February 2001, Hubs dreamed up the idea of a Hearts Tournament. We sponsored an event for the Teammates class, without really knowing anyone, except our friends, J and K. I was SO NERVOUS no one would show up. Ha ha, an answer to our four months of praying, our house was full of card players! We made so many great married couple friends from Teammates that continue to be our friends, no matter that almost none of us live in the Northern Virginia area anymore.

An hour before the tournament, Rebekah called for directions. We had never met. I told her there was no way I could give directions to our house "because I am from San Diego," which became my excuse for everything unfamiliar in Virginia. We lived not too far from the "Mixing Bowl" where the highways split into seven directions. Some go clockwise, and some go counter clockwise, and some are inner loops and outer loops. This was totally different than San Diego, where signs north point toward Los Angeles, south point toward Mexico, east point toward the mountains and dessert, and west point toward the ocean. Freeways did not make loops or circles, they were straight shots. She laughed. I couldn't tell if she was laughing at me or if she was laughing with me. Later I learned she too grew up in San Diego! So that was the start of the friendship between the Eekhoffs and the Farmers. A desire in our hearts from nearly eleven years ago to make married peers, that ended in "The Stake Out," remained with us two years later, when we moved. When we met the Eekhoffs back in 2001 we never dreamt we would live in San Diego in 2009, and our eldest children, just seven days apart, would pretend to roast marshmallows in our pool room. And if you know our mutual friend, Michelle, then you know that those marshmallow skewers are actually bamboo sticks she once gave me. And those marshmallows are actually cotton balls.

The Eekhoffs stopped by for just a few hours while in town. We had not seen them since they visited us in Hawaii a few years ago. But this time, they pulled up in a minivan alongside ours. Gone are the days of sports cars, and full are our days of loud little voices and unfinished adult sentences.

Coronado Bridge Race

2009-05-21T12:44:00.000-10:00

This weekend our family walked the Navy's 23rd San Diego Bay Bridge Run/Walk over the Coronado Bay Bridge with eight thousand other people. The sold out event benefited the Navy's Qualify of Life programs for service members and their families. Hubs and I have run in races, but never with our children. Son1 was so thrilled to wear an event bib. He talked about the race for a couple of weeks before the event, but we had not really practiced long walks. The kids and I practiced two longer walks the week of the race, but that was the extent of Son1's "training."

The four mile course began in San Diego's historic Gaslamp Quarter. This is a historic Victorian neighborhood in the heart of downtown San Diego lined with gaslamps.

We walked a few blocks to the start line, at the edge of the Gaslamp Quarter, to the convention center, right on San Diego Bay. We were grouped with the walkers and strollers. It was a new experience for us, walking in an event with wall to wall people. Most people brought cameras. The people that stopped on the course did so long enough to take pictures. The Coronado Bridge does not have a pedestrian walkway, so this is the only day of the year when people can run, walk, and take pictures on the bridge.

Just after the first mile, we left San Diego's waterfront, and wound our way to Chicano Park. The park is located in central San Diego, in the Mexican immigrant community of Logan Heights, just under the Coronado Bridge. There are nearly 70 murals under the bridge expressing many cultural and political views, making it the largest collection of outdoor murals in the world.

About this time Hubs needed to "use the facilities." Oh boy. The pack was moving right along. He promised he would catch up with us on the bridge. I was really nervous, since I did not have my cell phone with me, and the crowd was thick. How was he going to find us? I seized any opportunity to slow down with the kids, hoping to stall for time. Just before the entrance to the bridge (a traffic off ramp in the opposite direction) was a water station. Just above the kids you can see the folks above us, already on the bridge.

The three of us ascended the bridge with the pack, camera around my wrist, pushing the stroller with one hand, and snatching Son1 from his constant desire to peer over the bridge with my other hand.

One one side of the bridge we saw many San Diego trolley cars sitting quietly on the tracks, alongside some tank cars. My kids are dying to ride the trolley. It runs on a light rail system in the metro San Diego area. It is the real deal. Black and white striped railroad gates drop, with red flashing lights, and railroad horns blow. The trolley often crosses through major intersections all over metro San Diego, and along the freeways, and is cheap entertainment from our car windows. So the sight of these multiple trolleys from the bridge was eye candy for Son1.We continued to climb the bridge, and soon the naval ships came into view. This was enough to tantalize Son1 and nearly give me heart failure as he pointed to the airstrip on a ship below. We were standing right at the bridge barrier. I am afraid of heights but he clearly is not. He was just doing what most everyone else around us was doing, gaping at the views below, from the edge of the bridge.
Many people commented on my pregnancy as we walked. They probably secretly thought I was crazy to keep grabbing my 4 year old from peering over the bridge, and pushing my two year old in the stroller, with a popping belly, by myself. But while pregnancy is a miracle in a multitude of ways, my own pregnancies do not make me a hero. The most inspiring person that day was this marine, walking with his friend and his wife. I watched them closely, as I walked behind, quietly smiling at the way she gently touched him as they climbed the bridge. They were deep in conversation, laughing and joking. I wanted to thank him for his service to our country, but I did not get the chance. So, thank you, sir, for serving our country. His shirt read, "The only way to find the limits of the possible is by going beyond them to the impossible." -Aruthur C. ClarkeA girl ahead of us stood a few feet from her family so she could take their picture on the bridge. I stopped and offered to take their family picture, and then asked her to take ours. Just as I posed the kids, guess who jumped right in the photo? Hubs was back!

We climbed the bridge until we were over 200 feet in the air. Since the bridge is so high naval ships can pass under the bridge. It is also the third highest suicide bridge in the United States. These signs line the bridge:Many people thought it was funny to take their picture under these signs, but I settled for a picture minus my family members.

Looking across the bay, there is a nice view of the San Diego skyline. This is also a great picture of the morning marine layer that hangs over the city this time of year. It is called "May Gray and June Gloom" by locals. A thick cloud cover keeps the coast damp and cold, but about 5 miles inland it is totally sunny. Just about here we could see the finish line at Tidelands Park in Coronado. We could also see the sailboats in the harbor.
We began our descent and I noticed a man on the ground. Soon after he got up I took the same shot on the ground.The Coronado Bridge is a prestressed steel bridge. There are grates in the middle of the bridge. Through the grates, you can see the water in the harbor.
Finally, we reached the city of Coronado while still on the bridge. The bridge connects the San Diego metro area to the peninsula of Coronado. The word Coronado means "the crowned one" in Spanish, and that is why Coronado's nickname is "the crowned city." It is one of the most affluent cities in San Diego, and even California.

We came off the bridge for the last mile of the race course. We passed around the old toll booths. The Coronado Bridge stopped collecting a toll in 2002. We came through the finish line, and rounded the sponsor booths. Son1 walked the entire way!!! We were so proud our four year old walked all four miles!

Soon, the emcee announced different prizes. Son1 was one of three children that won a Sea World prize pack for youngest entrant. The other two children were five years old. He was such a ham on the microphone that the emcee asked for his microphone back or he was going to be out of a job.

I won my own little prize pack to the Wild Animal Park for my pregnant participation.
The event was over, and it was time to get back to metro San Diego. Hubs and I decided the free bus shuttles were not the way to go. With our race bibs we could take the Coronado Ferry across the harbor for free. We walked from Tidelands Park to the ferry landing. The line must have been over 400 people. It wound around and around the ferry landing, and we were at the end of the line. We all needed "to go" and the lines for the restrooms were horrendous. Then we spotted this little boat sitting in the harbor. Hubs whipped out his cell phone, and I asked the guy on the other end for rates. It was $7 for each adult and the kids were free. The fare was music to our ears. I told him we would be right down. The line was still growing behind us, and a lady I passed asked me the price. I leaned over, informed her, and started running. Then our whole family was running. No more answers for anyone!! I asked Hubs for his cell phone again. I called the water taxi man again, as I noticed other people were running out of line behind us. "Hi, I just called. I am pregnant, and I have a FULL BLADDER." Please DO NOT give away our spots on your boat!!!" He offered for me to take the next boat, and I said NO NO NO. I told him to HOLD THAT BOAT. We were on our way down the ramp.We jumped on the boat. I settled onto the cushion, and the man in this picture asked me if I was the pregnant lady with the full bladder. Everyone on the boat heard I was coming! Goodbye Coronado, goodbye bridge!Soon enough the engines started up, and the skyline ahead of us was beautiful. The marine layer was lifting.
We docked, found clean facilities, and grabbed our car from the parking valet. It was time for lunch. We were all starved. With our bib numbers, we ate lunch free at Chipotle. They were amongst the race sponsors. Enjoy our "before" sad little hungry faces....
...and this "happy I finally have food" shot!

Casa Farmer

2009-05-18T10:28:00.000-10:00

Okay! So here are the pictures that so many have asked about. Keep in mind our home was a bank owned foreclosure. No landscaping was completed by the previous owners. We are still minus most of the plants, but we hope to change that in the next few weeks. We planted more palms and other fruit trees than I am posting, but here is just a glimpse.A man in a nearby suburb grows banana plants all over his property. We loved our banana plants in Hawaii, and wanted them in California. However, these are peach banana plants rather than apple bananas. We bought four plants. We thought we had killed two, but they now have green shoots. Notice I said banana plant and not banana tree. They are plants, not trees!I forgot the big deal about locally grown foods in California. Even Costco carries locally raised fruit trees. We purchased many varieties of dwarf trees that include a plum tree, Asian pears (cross between an apple and a pear), a Fuji apple tree, and a peach tree. I also found a blueberry tree (I may get a few more) from Home Depot, and a dwarf lemon tree. Dwarf trees don't mean they produce smaller or less fruit, just that the tree itself is smaller. The hooks on the left side are for pool towels.
Our property was open on either side of our home to the street, with a big cement hole dug in back for a pool. It was cemented, not plastered, so it was that grey crumbly stuff. By building code, the pool could not be finished until our house was gated and pool alarms were installed. Our walls and gates in Virginia, Hawaii, and California have varied by region. In California wrought iron gates are quite desirable. They are hand crafted and welded. These are the gates we had fabricated on either side of our home.

Our grey crumbly cement hole, filled with nasty water run off from the hillside now looks like this:The spa and pool are directly behind our house. We built an extra deck above the pool, and it accommodates our patio furniture.

The kids and I love to check out our remote control for the pool and solar power many times throughout the day. As long as it is sunny, our solar gets pretty close to 90 degrees in the pool every day. If you look really closely it says that the pool is 89 degrees, and the solar water is a warm 95 degrees. The air temperature is 84 degrees at 5 in the afternoon. But in Southern California it does not resemble the mugginess or humidity of 84 degrees like when we lived in Virginia.
If we keep pushing buttons we can make the pool do this:
Our larger yard is our side yard. Until recently it looked like this:See where the rectangular hole is at the bottom of the picture? It was a footing for this:
This is our barbecue gazebo. The wooden framing holds the counter top. And just to the left of the gazebo is this:

Our fire ring with built in seating. And finally, finally, the concrete was poured and my kids can run outside! The side yard is complete, and we will plant grass in the back space.

And somehow...I was talked into this, with the "romantic" sentiment that the flags were bought with our Fourth of July anniversary in mind.Life has been busy at home. The kids and I have cabin fever and are finally ready to get out about this summer. But after all of this work, we might just settle for a lot of back yard time.

Family Dayz

2009-05-13T22:24:00.003-10:00

Hubs is one lucky man. See the view from the front door of his office building? Every morning he gets to hear, see, and smell God's creation. For Cinco de Mayo we were invited to a family event on his front lawn. Our family was joined by Hubby's mom and grandma.
Cinco de Mayo is often mistaken for Mexican Independence Day. Wrong! It is not even a national holiday in Mexico. Cinco de Mayo commemorates the underdog Mexican Army at the battle of Puebla when they defeated the French Army that had not been defeated in 50 years. In the United States we adopt this holiday across cultures like Oktoberfest, Chinese New Year, and St. Patrick's Day. Since San Diego borders Mexico, Cinco de Mayo celebrations are all over town. Hubby's workplace went all out with some seriously delicious and catered carne asada and pollo asado. I am so sorry, no food pictures, due to my inhaling way too much meat, beans, and rice. Carne asada is a northern Mexican food. Mexican food is just as different from North to South as food in this country. Oh, and there was a mariachi band that I didn't photograph. They played while my hands were clutching some crazy good Mexican food. I was deprived of good Mexican food on the East Coast and in Hawaii. I am really sorry I have no mariachi pictures, because mariachi bands only occasionally include harps, and Son1 LOVED this mariachi harpist. Mexican food to the tune of Cielito Lindo at the beach?!? Can you see why I did not pick up my camera?A few days later we celebrated Hubby's birthday. He was out the door at 630am that Saturday, preparing for the ongoing construction work at our house. But before he left, he requested a crab omelet. Way to spring something new on me, completely off my radar, only for him to tell me later that...well you are just going to have to wait to hear that part. I already had in my head raspberry white chocolate muffins, amongst other things. Now these muffins are to die for, and Hubby's absolute favorite muffins ever. Our sweet friend, Rachel, made them we lived in Virginia for Hubs. So, get it, I never needed to attempt them because we had Rachel. SO.... amongst the distraction of instantaneously finding the most fabulous crab omelet recipe to go with the fabulous muffins, and creating them at the same time....I realized that with 15 minutes left in the oven, I accidentally forgot the baking powder in the muffins. Do you know what that meant?!? They had a minimal chance of turning out.

SO.

I threw open the oven door, figuring I could sprinkle them individually, and mix the BP in each muffin. Too late! The muffins already had set up. So I poked a ton of holes in them, and decided to will those little white speckles into those muffins by dragging a pastry brush back and forth over the muffin tops. I tried my best, and shoved them back in the oven. MEANWHILE...when I flipped my omelets a little too feverishly, the egg part went flying and crusting over the stove and counters. By then the muffin timer was screaming at me. Aye yay yay. I grabbed that pastry brush and dusted that stubborn baking powder from the tops of the muffins. And I never cleaned the stove or counter tops because the phone rang. It was my sister, from 2500 miles away...the one whose new job is making it impossible to reach her, so I had to talk to her a little bit. Besides, she was calling for her favorite BIL's birthday. Anyway....about this time Hubs walks in and asks if I am ready for Legoland, and if the kids are ready. He looks at a disheveled me, and tells me he was just kidding about the crab omelet, but I am not laughing. He asks me what happened to the stove and somehow I was at a loss for words. We sat down for breakfast, and he tells me how wonderful the muffins tasted. OF COURSE they did, because they require a butter and sugar topping, which miraculously covered my BP mistake. Then he slowly and cautiously asked me how in the world Rachel used to get hers so big and fluffy. I promised him an explanation later because I still had no words for him. My body was still in a bit of kitchen shock. But the omelets?!?? They turned out deliciously! We quickly opened gifts, and grabbed the kids and the gear for a day at Legoland.

I loved my husband to pieces before we ever had children. We were married for six years, and together for a total of eight years before our babies ever came along. But now? Partnering in parenting with him makes my heart skip a beat. I asked him how he wanted to celebrate his birthday, and he said he wanted to spend the day at Legoland as his birthday present to the kids. Oh...and he wanted me to dress them alike. Is that not precious of him?
Legoland California is located at the northern most end of the county of San Diego, in Carlsbad. It is the ONLY Legoland in North America, and it is geared to children ages two to twelve. There is a ton of stuff for kids to do if they are over 34 inches. And since Son1 is over 42 inches there is even MORE for him. Another reason I particularly love Legoland is that pregnant mothers can ride many rides, too. I passed on the airplanes this time. They made me really sick my first trimester. Hubs rode with the two boys, but Son2 is hidden deep in that seat next to his daddy.Son1 and Hubs rode the roller coasters and this big shot thing. Hubs had lots of fun screaming like the panicked folks strapped near him. But he wasn't panicked!Hubs and I most enjoyed chasing our two year old around The Hideaways. We had never seen him scamper so quickly or laugh so maniacally! The giant multi tiered wooden play structure with rope climbs, catwalks, and slides is a little boy's dream. The slide at the highest point of the structure is the best way for big people to get down without getting stuck in the ropes. The twenty foot drop is ridiculously steep. Well, Son2 climbed his way to the top of the structure twice. Hubs and I each had the opportunity to follow him through the slide tube. Can you see the look in my eyes of recovery?
The evening ended with delicious In N Out. Birthday or not, Hubs and I passed on shakes, even though the kids indulged. At 680 calories those ice cream shakes are too rich for our blood!

The next morning was Mother's Day! Hubs not only cleaned my mess from the day before, but he also whipped up my favorite, strawberry stuffed french toast, a cheese omelet, and a silver can. Yes, I realize I am pregnant thankyouverymuch! And like a true princess, I had seconds and never felt a bit of guilt! There is nothing like eating while pregnant! Do you love how he notched out a heart on my french toast?
We hurried off to church, but we skipped the airbrushed Mother's Day tattoos in the courtyard. Note to my friends that live anywhere but Cali: This is your opportunity to skip your "left coast" and "land of fruits and nuts" jokes. I have no idea what you are talking about.

ANYWAY.

We headed over to a family gathering later in the afternoon. May 10 is always Mexican Mother's Day. My mom's family generally celebrates two Mother's Days, but this year American and Mexican Mother's Day fell on the same date. Now Hubs and I kind of "go together," if you know what I mean. We are both brown looking. We did pass for a "local family" in Hawaii. In some ways, our personalities are becoming more similar. But moving back to California for the first time in nine years points to the obvious need for Hubs to acculturate to my Mexican family. Since everyone has started families of their own, or moved, my mom and her sisters continue to say we are a "small family" now. Uh hem. We had 25 people at this shin dig. But we are just a "small family." You know what we had for our lunch? Carne asada!!! Now, it is not just the name of a Mexican food, as much as it is synonymous with a "social barbecue." But I don't really have a literal translation for it. I guess the closest would be the same thing as a Hawaiian luau at someone's house. Sooo my aunt made some homemade guacamole, grilled corn, carne asada, beans, homemade salsa, and her Knock You Flat On Your Face-To Die For strawberry cake. Now this cake is up there with Rachel's muffins for Hubs. So when the family realized the day before had been Hubby's birthday, they dug out some candles, that spelled Happy Birthday. My aunt covered the words on the cake with a paper towel, so we could sing to Hubs. You can see he was thrilled with the attention from my "small family."
Next we took a picture of the mothers that were present. From L-R, that's me, my mom, and my grandmother, cousins, and two of my mother's sisters. So you see, even in a Mexican family there is diversity in the way we look.

Well we plumb stuffed ourselves with the cake, all of us. You can see my children were far more interested in the cake than in the camera.
So far May had been filled with a bit of family time for the Farmers. How about you?

Unpacking is Like Pushing a Rope

2009-04-30T05:04:00.000-10:00

One step forward...a hundred steps back. I keep trying to make progress but somehow I have two little "un"helpers. They amaze me how they entertain themselves.

Turning Two

2009-04-20T16:30:00.000-10:00

Just over two years ago, Son2 joined our family in Honolulu, Hawaii. When I was pregnant I tried to wrap my mind around a new child with a new personality. There is no way I could have predicted this little guy.

He LOVES his big brother. He wakes up asking for him and loves to be his shadow. He is not really one to be in the shadow, though. Nope. He is our ham. He loves to play tricks on all of us. He hides, plays keep away, and imitates us. His favorite is his dog imitation. We tried to teach him to roll over, but we just aren't there yet. For now, we think this is all cute. When he is awake he is animated and energetic. But when it is bedtime, he falls dead asleep as early as 6pm and wakes up almost near 7. And yes, he takes a nap midday, too. But trust me, by nap time, he is already exhausted by all his activity. It is no wonder he has a voracious appetite. He packs away the food, and shocks us when he eats like a big person.

My mom had a little early birthday celebration for Son2 so that his cousin could be present. And yes, it was held in the land of whimsy and fairytales, in my parents' tropical and themed garden. And Son2 chose to celebrate the way he does at every meal, by fending for himself, and forsaking all others.
On his actual birthday the Farmer Fam celebrated at Legoland, at the northern end of San Diego. Our first stop was the "Foo Foo." The boys were excited to snag the engine seat.This day we picked all of the rides he was tall enough to ride. It is so hard to fathom that TWO years have flown by.Toward the end of the day he ran for a Lego station and relished in Legos all to himself.We spent the last hour of the day at Sea Life Aquarium. It is contained within Legoland, however, it is a separate park. Sea Life is geared toward children ages two to twelve. It is completely interactive and completely worth it. Unlike other aquariums that tend to be dark, cramped and hard to get to a viewing window, Sea Life Aquarium caters to children. Son2 actually climbed inside of this aquarium display to get an up close look at sea creatures.The viewing areas are gargantuan. Some are overhead, and many are floor to ceiling enclosures.We knew from when Son2 was just several months old that he was particularly drawn to animals. Sea Life Aquarium was the best ending to a big TWO birthday for our little guy.

Welcome to TWO, little guy. We love you beyond measure! Life with you is a blessing!

No Longer "A Place to Call Home"

2009-04-04T18:14:00.006-10:00

Our house in Virginia is no longer "ours!" Last week, the sale was final. This is such a humongous praise and quite a heavy burden lifted! We kept the escrow quiet because we wanted to make sure the deal was done. Several contracts came through in the seven months the house was on the market, but none led to a final sale. And in the last month or two no contracts came through at all. We had to sell the house by a certain date, and God came through just before with a full asking price offer! To Him be the glory!

Hubs made some last repairs in November. He called me in Hawaii and I asked a huge favor. Now before I even tell, I am warning you it may seem silly. But it shouldn't sound too silly if you remember the goodbye to my Hawaii house.

I asked him in a cracking voice to stand specifically in Son1's room and say goodbye for me. For emphasis, I told him to say it out loud. NO cheating and thinking a goodbye in his head. Oh that man! He loves me. He performed twice for me. Right after we hung up, he said goodbye to Son1's room, and then once again before he left the house for the very last time.

I am sentimental. I am a sap, and overly sensitive. We had a lot of special memories in that house. But what meant the very, very most to me was that room where my first born child slept. It wasn't so much that it was his room. No. It was in that place that I felt so very much, feelings I never ever felt until 2004. Watching my newborn sleep, watching his chest rise and fall, wondering whom he would become, and praying for his future all happened there. It was in that room that I cried tears of frustration, of exhaustion, and of immense love. That room was where I started to get my bearings as a mother, a new and permanent phase in my life.

I am honestly glad the house is sold. No matter where we live, those memories no longer live in that room. They live in my heart.

The Farmer Files: Spying on San Diego

2009-04-02T22:03:00.002-10:00

Welcome back to The Farmer Files! Do you love the new look?!?! I LOVE it! Tell me you love it, too!!! I still need to tweak the side bars a bit over the weekend, so extend some blog grace, people! In the meantime, grab my badge, right over there----> on the side bar, and post it on your blog!

A while back, I was surfing blogs, and I found Lindsey down in Panama. She had posted honeymoon picture from Kauai, and wrote how she missed Hawaii. I poked around more, and found out she is from California, just north of San Diego. Like me, she had once upon a time been a teacher, and now is a stay at home mom. I invited her to visit my blog any time she was missing Hawaii. After our move, a redesign was inevitable. I could no longer be LOST on Oahu now that I was found in San Diego. HA! I asked Lindsey to redesign my blog. She and her husband are missionaries in Panama so she blog designs part time. Woo wee did she have patience with me! But Lindsey was flexible and captured The Farmer Files better than I imagined it could look! Thank you!

In the meantime, I searched deep into my blogging soul about what I wanted this blog to be about. I had so much fun sharing Hawaii with you, and (I think) so many of you loved coming along on our family adventures. (Which believe me, people, I WILL take a week some time and tell you the last of our adventures!!)

Truly, I want to do the same again in San Diego. This is my hometown, my old stomping grounds. I love it here. (Now I do love it differently than Hawaii, but I do love it here.) There is so much I want to share with you. San Diego is California's second largest city, with over 70 miles of beaches. There are so many world known family attractions here. We border Mexico, and since my heritage is Mexican, I will even share how that colors what I see in San Diego! And since tourism is one of the largest boosters to San Diego's economy, I promise to take you to some really beautiful places!

But before then, I have to tell you, I will be back here blogging for those of you that have been reading for awhile. And that means that I will share with you much of what is going on right here at Casa Farmer. It means that I may not get to "Spying on San Diego" immediately. Expect to hear more about the usual shenanigans that befall the Farmer family! We have a lot of construction around our house, and most of you know we have a baby on the way. And I am kind of under the gun because I have visitors coming in THREE weeks. Actually there are visitors coming April, May, and June! Yikes!

So until then, you are invited to hang out here at my house. I will even share some pictures. Notice I said "some." Ha ha! And I will be visiting your places soon.

(((HUGS))) to you all! Don't forget to grab the button on your way out!

Ultrasound Update

2009-04-02T21:26:00.003-10:00

I thought today would never come. This is my third ultrasound in my 18 weeks of pregnancy. And I was most anxious for this ultrasound.

Two weeks after I missed my period, we saw a baby bean with a heart beat in Hawaii, just a few centimeters long. Still, I did not feel pregnant. With Son1 I was fighting to stay awake at work at this same point. With Son2 I was hugging the commode around the clock. The ObGyn assured me the heart was beating, even though I did not have pregnancy symptoms.

At 13.5 weeks pregnant, nearly starting my second trimester, my new practice wanted to peek at the baby. I felt no pregnancy symptoms, and was really worried. I had not gained any weight. The nurse practitioner spent a lot of time peeking, and assured me once again all was fine. She showed me my super active baby. I had not gained any weight to this point.

At 17.5 weeks I expressed my concerns to my ObGyn. Both of my boys were really active at this point already. She suggested maybe I was so stretched down there that I could not feel anything. I had no linea negra for the first time, and still no pregnancy symptoms, except for dry heaving over a dirty diaper. We listened with the doppler and she found kicks far before she found a heart beat. She heard movement all over my uterus. People were shocked when I said I was pregnant. If you saw me either of the last two times you would understand their shock. Before I always stuck out as soon as I took the pregnancy test.

This week was my high level ultrasound. The technician took 60 pictures for the radiologist before she let me see anything. I expressed again that I was so concerned that I wasn't feeling the baby. I had not gained much weight almost half way through my pregnancy. I had not even regained weight to my prepregnancy weight with either boy. I wore my own clothes to the ultrasound, not maternity clothes. She listened without saying much. She left to start paperwork and I sat alone with Hubs and Son1. I asked Hubs if he really thought everything was ok.

She returned and showed us around my uterus. Baby #3 would not lay still! Baby sucked the thumb, somersaulted, and definitely was active! I felt none of this! She kept pointing to body parts, and I kept expecting her to tell us something was very wrong. But finally, she asked if we wanted to know the sex of the baby.

I knew that this is traditionally the last question asked in an Ob ultrasound. We all said YES! And the most relieving words to hear were, "It's a boy!!" I knew our ultrasound had come to an end. I knew that the last thing the technician said was "Congratulations!" And it finally sunk in! A healthy baby boy is joining the Farmer family!

Proof It Happened In Hawaii

2009-03-16T06:38:00.002-10:00

We have known since December. We have held out a long time to tell. Estimated due date is August 29. I took the test and this picture on the Big Island just ten days after moving out of our house.

What I Could Not See Then

2009-03-13T04:55:00.003-10:00

Hotel life was really uncomfortable. And I use "uncomfortable"quite loosely because we did not exactly stay in the smallest or shabbiest of places. Still, the kids were out of a routine, out of their own beds, and eating out all of the time. We had to make the most out of that per diem, you know. Everything was a game, including calling the concierge every few minutes. I finally started unplugging telephones in all but the master bedroom of the eight places we stayed. Quite simply, they were bored. And they were going to make sure I understood that. I doubted I would ever see the end of hotel life. But something very special was happening right before my eyes and I could not even see it. I was probably blinded by the devious giggles and overtired whining.It is only something that is beyond obvious now.. In our months of transition, through the poking at one another, and cavorting that drove me absolutely crazy, my kids grew super close. We had a whole lot of togetherness. There were days we thought it was too much togetherness, and I could not wait to move into our spacious home so the kids would not be in each other's faces.

But now, the boys insist on being together. They miss one another when they are apart. They constantly think of the other. Son1 grabs snacks for himself and his brother. He begs me not to put his brother to sleep so they can play. Son2 asks incessantly for his brother while he is at preschool. He calls out for Son1 whenever he wakes in his crib. Now it isn't dreamland. They still have their sibling rivalry. But their closeness tickles my heart.

I love my two boys. I am so glad they have each other. Together they are more than for what I could have ever wished.

Kindergarten Kamp-out

2009-03-05T22:35:00.001-10:00

I teetered and I tottered over Son1's Kindergarten placement. Our local elementary school has an amazing Dual Language Immersion program. Son1 is motivated to speak Spanish, particularly since he hears me speak it often. I don't think he ever believed Hubs that Mommy speaks Spanish like the Dora and Diego characters. And now that he hears me speak Spanish in California, Son1 is a wee bit envious.

The number one reason I was hesitant to place him in the program was the fear of teaching my own child English language arts. Which is actually ridiculous. And then my friend Katy commented on my last post. Katy, whom I haven't seen since I moved from Virginia. Katy, who is a non-native Spanish speaker and holds a Spanish degree and is a freak about correct English grammar. Katy, whom I taught with in Fairfax County Public Schools...yes, that school district. Katy, who reminded me that back in the day people actually thought I was a good teacher. Katy, who next to never comments on my posts. But I am really glad you did, Katy. I was down to the wire on time. You tipped the scales on my thoughts, and launched me into really thinking about bilingual education and not my fears about teaching English. Hubs and I had prayed for a few nights that we would have clarity on Kindergarten placement. Suddenly, I felt I was getting there.

So Hubs and I agreed that the Dual Language Immersion program was the right choice for our family, and for Son1's Kindergarten placement. But our choice meant one thing: a Kindergarten Kamp-out. (Yes, I know that is spelled wrong, I was the sixth grade spelling champ you know, but I was trying some alliteration.)

Registration started at 8am, but I arrived at the school at 4:30am, hoping for one of 40 Dual Language Immersion Kindergarten slots. I packed a bag of snacks, my camping chair, a blanket, and my registration packet. And when I arrived, I was number 30 in line. Number one arrived the night before at 8pm, and spent the night on the sidewalk. It was freezing, and the auditorium was not opened until 7am. And when I say freezing, it is all relative. But hello, I just moved from Hawaii. And high 40s and low 50s felt arctic. We looked like a freak show on the sidewalk. The local news channel even sent a camera crew for a story to prove it. But here is my own proof.
So Kindergarten, here we come!