Cabo Vacation Recap (pt 2)

As I mentioned previously, we spent a portion of each day in Mexico in the pool. I'm shocked that we didn't look like a group of prunes by the time we headed home, in fact!

The resort has numerous pools, which kept the atmosphere fresh in many ways. A few pools have swim-up bars (we like those the best!) and all have plenty of space for the kids to splash and play to the point of exhaustion. 

One of our kids' favorite pool activities was being catapulted into the water by any willing participant. Eric and Troy were the primary work horses in this arena, but I did my best to contribute... and my resulting sore arms could attest to how hard I tried to keep up with the guys.

When the adults were tuckered out, we would park ourselves on a lounge chair under a big umbrella, sip on something cold one of waiters ever-so-kindly brought to us, and watch the kids have the time of their lives.

We brought our underwater camera casing and point-and-shoot camera, as well as the big DSLR, so we could capture as much of the water-based play as possible. Enjoy!

Our little fish

Conor getting ready for another plunge

Annika: up close and personal

Cheese!!

Mama and Annika

Annika took this of us

Eric and the kids at the sky pool

Staci catching up on her poolside reading
(and from the looks of the waiter behind her, drinking)

Kat soaking up the poolside fun

Our tuckered out little fishies

Conor getting in a few laps

Up and away!

Flying Conor!

Ian showing us perfect cannon ball form

Underwater Eric

Ian gives Cabo a thumbs up

Water baby

Eric's cannon ball

Conor, Eric, and Annika... one, two, three.... GO!

Conor with his treasure .. the Toypedo

Uncle Troy taking Conor to new heights

Troy sends Annika flying (again, and again, and again)

Cabo Vacation Recap (pt 1)

Two weeks ago today (how has that much time already flown by????), we boarded a plane and headed south to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico with my brother and his family.

As soon as we were seated with our tray tables locked and in the upright position, I was able to take a deep breath and feel a moment of relaxation. The days leading up to our departure were borderline chaos because, not only were we prepping for our trip, we were also prepping to have our wood floors refinished, which meant we had to move all of our main floor furniture into the one non-wood floor room on that level. Our front room was furniture galore by the time we headed out, but it was well worth the extra work ... our floors look GORGEOUS!

Because of our floors needing to be cleared, which meant our main living areas were basically unusable, and because of our freakishly early flight time (6 AM) and airport arrival time (4 AM), we decided to spend the night before our trip at a hotel across the street from the airport. Smartest move ever! All we had to do was roll out of bed, get dressed (the kids remained in the PJs, actually), brush our teeth, and load ourselves and luggage on the shuttle to the airport. I'm not certain that we did any of that with our eyes open, but did manage to do it.

We had an easy time getting through security, ate a leisurely breakfast in the food court, and then quickly shifted from walking to sprinting to the gate as we heard the final call for boarding. WHAT?!?!! We thought we had plenty of time, but that was definitely not the case. Whoops!

Conor ready for takeoff

Conor and Annika watching
their VTech tablets (best travel tool ever!)

Meredith's "we're on vacation!!" face

 

So, fast forward through the flights (and countless trips to the airplane bathroom, thanks to a potty training Conor .... yes, it is possible to fit one adult and two children in one of those bad boys, by the way. Clown cars have nothing on us!), a private taxi ride that included cold beverages (thank God!) and a stop for a few supplies at the store, we made it to the ever-gorgeous Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach Resort. Let's all pause for a collective sigh.... AHHHHHHHHHH!!!

I kid you not when I say that the view from the resort is something I could look at every single day of my life. It is a truly stunningly gorgeous panoramic view of palm trees and the Pacific Ocean. Breathtaking.




View to the right

View to the left

While the guys got our room squared away, the kids, Staci, and I hung out by one of our favorite go-to pools at the resort. We ordered something to eat and drink, and soaked in a few moments of tranquility. We also had a visit from a local gecko, who was rather curious about us ... until Annika and Conor decided to get a closer look. That was the gecko's queue to exit stage right.

 

Senior Gecko

Originally, we were told that we'd have to change rooms after 1 night if we wanted to be in the building we'd always stayed in before. The perk of that building is it's backyard is our go-to pool. We had the option of staying in another condo the entire time, if we wanted to, or moving after 1 night. After weighing out the pros and cons, we decided to give the further away condo our base camp; two things sold us: not moving was a definite perk, plus it had a hot tub on its balcony, which was a selling factor for us because the weather looked a little questionable due to an off-shore hurricane. (Now ask me how me how many times we got in it. Yup.... not once!)

 

Troy and Kat catching their breath

Eric chilling out for a few minutes after settling in at the condo

Ian taking in the view

Before leaving for the trip, we told the kids that they could swim EVERY DAY while we were in Mexico. They made sure to hold us to that deal. We were in the pool each and every day of our stay; couldn't have gotten any better!! We brought a few diving toys and the kids' lifejackets ... we were set!

Annika playing with the Toypedo

Conor gearing up for another jump into the pool

Underwater Annika

Our wet monkeys

Conor, Eric, and Annika having fun in the sky pool

The Olson Four ... soaking up the fun in Mexico

 Stay tuned for more recaps of our trip!

Fulfilling a Life Goal

For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to swim with a dolphin. I think the idea first got into my head while watching old "Flipper" re-runs as a kid. I find them to be incredible creatures: the perfect balance of power and gentleness.

Back in 2003, we tried to swim with wild dolphins while in New Zealand, but the cruddy weather kept the dolphins out of sight, much to my great disappointment. While searching for them, we did swim/dive with other memorable creatures (manta ray, seals, a whale), but the lack of dolphins was a bummer for me.

Flash forward to our recent trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. As we prepped for our vacation, I saw a reference to the fact that you can swim with captive dolphins in Cabo. OMG! I about burst with excitement right then and there. I knew this was something that I HAD to do while on our trip.

The morning of my dolphin swim, I woke up insanely early ... I was like a kid on Christmas morning. All through the night, I woke up to look at the clock to make sure I didn't oversleep. When it came time to head out on my adventure, fatigue wasn't anything on my radar. Instead, I was buzzing as if I'd had a few straight shots of espresso.

When I arrived at the dolphin center, I was given a wrist band which identified which dolphin experience I registered for, changed into my swim suit, and then hung out in the designated waiting area with the rest of my color group until the trainer (Mariu) arrived. After a brief poolside overview session, we jumped into the pool and had some time to get to know our dolphin—Aqua. As we floated in our lifejackets, Aqua swam in and out of our line, giving us the opportunity to pet her and let her get to know us a bit. I was struck by how soft her skin was; Mariu told us that dolphins shed their skin 12 times per day ... who knew?!?!?

We had a few photo ops, watching a few skills/tricks, and listening to Aqua sing under watery, we got to choose two of three rides with Aqua. The three ride options were a belly ride (slow), a dorsal fin ride (fast and splashy), and a dive to the bottom of the pool. I chose the dorsal ride and the dive... DUH!

The dorsal fin ride was a hoot. It reminded me of riding a skittish horse because of Aqua's swimming motions. Not only was it incredibly exciting, it was also a great core workout; I had to lift myself up to avoid getting an insane amount of water splashing up into my face.

For the dive, I ditched my lifejacket and donned a mask; even though I had the ability to see underwater, I don't recall seeing much. I was so caught up in the "Holy moly! I'm swimming with a dolphin" realization that my other senses didn't connect with my memory bank... not to mention, the dive only lasted 10-15 seconds. That said, I do remember the water being kind of gray at depth and I also distinctly recall the feeling of Aqua swimming and the power she possessed.

Best hour I could have ever hoped for! Even a week later, I can still hardly believe one of my life's bucket list items is checked off and was such an incredible experience.

Smootches from Aqua

Yup! I kissed a dolphin!

  

Dorsal fin ride

Big breath before the dive

Going down

And we're back

 

Aqua and me ... BFFs

 

I'm pretty sure I had that smile on my face from the second I saw her!

Conor's first day of pre-school

Today marks Conor's first day of pre-school! The boy couldn't have been more excited if he tried.

(His parents were just about as excited... but for a different reason. We're thrilled to have one location to take our kids ... talk about simplifying our routine!!)

Was he excited about the new classroom? Sort of.
Was he excited about the new adventure? A bit.
Was he excited about having new teachers? Meh.
Was he excited about his Spiderman lunchbox? YES, NO DOUBT!

All morning long, he kept saying "Spiderman lunchbox!" in his gravelly superhero/tough guy voice. It was adorable and highly entertaining. As soon as I started filling his lunchbox, he wanted to leave... mind you, he was wearing his PJ shirt and underwear at the time, but that didn't matter to him in the least. He was all about traveling with Spiderman!

Big sister offered to show him the ropes and help him adjust to pre-school.

I couldn't help but reflect on Annika's transition to pre-school and how horrible it was. She had only been in the classroom for 1 visit, so everything was still very foreign to her. She sobbed.... my heart broke. Conor, on the other hand, is already very familiar with the classroom and teachers. The routines and expectations are still new to him, but having Annika there will definitely ease his transition.

Two Olson kids in one classroom ... may God grant their teachers the gifts of patience and humor!

June Daring Bakers Challenge: The Life of Pie

Funny thing about going on vacation... no Internet access! Hence this month's baking challenge post is a wee bit late.

This month was THE PERFECT challenge for me: (A) it was a pie challenge and (B) it wasn't a time-consuming project, which was perfect considering how busy June has been for us. I think I set a record for how early I completed a monthly challenge; we got the challenge on the 1st and I completed it on the 2nd. We had a family get-together and I was in charge of dessert... how perfect!
I had hoped to make the chocolate caramel pie and the crack pie, but then realized that I was going to wind up making WAAAAAY more dessert than our group needed. So, I stuck with the crack pie and called it good at that. 

I had never heard of a crack pie (and our group had no shortage of crack jokes during the baking, serving, and eating processes!) but thought it sounded like a good one to try, so there you go! As it turns out, crack pie is basically a pecan pie without the pecans and with a slightly different crust. BTW, LOVED the oat-based crust of this pie. Really tasty!!

Our entire group really liked the pie and I am definitely going to add it to my binder of recipes so I can make it again!

Blog checking lines:  Rachael from pizzarossa was our lovely June 2013 Daring Bakers’ host and she had us whipping up delicious pies in our kitchens! Cream pies, fruit pies, chocolate pies, even crack pies! There’s nothing like pie! 

Crack Pie
Preparation time: 20 + 20 minutes
Baking time: 18 + 50 minutes
Cooling time: 1 hour + 2 hours, approx.
Chilling time: overnight

• 5 1/2 tablespoons (85 ml)(2½ oz) (70 gm) (packed) light brown sugar, divided 
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) (30 gm) (1 oz) white sugar
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (210 ml) (80 gm) (2¾ oz) old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) (2½ oz) (70 gm) all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon (2/3 gm) baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon (2/3 gm) baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon (1½ gm) salt
• 1/2 cup (packed) (120 ml) (100 gm) (3½ oz) light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) (8 gm) (¼ oz) dry milk powder
• 1/4 teaspoon (1½ gm) salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) (120mlk) (4 oz) (115gm) unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly
• 6 1/2 tablespoons (100ml) heavy whipping cream
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Powdered sugar for dusting
  

Directions:

Oat Cookie Crust

1. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4. Line a 13x9x2 inch/33x22x5cm metal baking pan with parchment (baking) paper. Lightly spray or butter a 9 inch/22cm diameter glass or ceramic pie dish.

2. Combine 6 tablespoons (85 gm) of the softened butter, 4 tablespoons (50 gm) of the brown sugar and the white sugar in medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

3. Add egg and beat until pale and fluffy, about 1 minute.

4. Add oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and beat until well blended, about 1 minute.

5. Dump oat mixture into prepared baking pan and press out evenly to edges of pan.

6. Bake until light golden, 18 minutes. Transfer baking pan to wire rack and cool cookie completely, about an hour.

7. Using your fingertips, crumble the cookie a into large bowl - there should be no identifiable pieces of cookie remaining. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons (45 gm) butter and 1-1/2 tablespoons (20 gm) brown sugar. Rub in with your fingertips until the mixture is moist and sticks together when pressed between your fingers.

8. Transfer cookie crust mixture to pie dish. Using your fingers, press mixture evenly onto bottom and up sides of pie dish (about 1 inch/2.5cm up the sides if your pie dish is deep). If your pie dish is shallow, place it on a baking sheet in case of overflow.

Filling

1. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4. If possible, use bottom-only heat, or the filling may brown too quickly.

2. Whisk both sugars, milk powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.

3. Add melted butter and whisk until blended.

4. Add cream, then egg yolks and vanilla and whisk until well blended.

5. Pour filling into crust.

6. Bake 30 minutes (filling may begin to bubble up). Reduce oven temperature to 325°F/160°C/gas mark 3. Continue to bake until filling is brown on top and set around edges but center still jiggles slightly, about 20 minutes longer.

7. Cool pie completely in pie dish on wire rack. Chill uncovered overnight.

8. Sift powdered sugar lightly over top of pie. Cut pie into thin wedges and serve cold.

Conor's Last Day of Day Care

Today marked a big day for our family... it is Conor's last day at day care! His next educational step is joining his big sister at her school!

We started at the day care when Annika was just 3 months old. We've seen quite a few teachers come and go over the past 5 1/2 years, and are so grateful for the wonderful care they provided to our children. Some have even become babysitters for us, ta boot!

To mark his "graduation" and to say a proper thank you to the teachers and staff at the day care, we made a little going away present. Because there are so many teachers, individual presents simply wasn't going to happen. Instead, we (aka I) decided on a classroom present: a painted terra cotta pot with a leafy plant. After I painted the pot with white primer, we decorated it with colorful flowers made with Conor's fingerprints; not to be left out, Annika did one of the flowers, too! After the flowers were in place, I painted "Thank you for helping me grow" on the pot. The last step was applying some clear sealer to the pot so everything stayed put! I think it turned out quite cute and believe it will be a nice addition to Conor's (almost former) classroom.

I don't think Conor really grasps the concept that he's moving on after today, but it'll sink in soon enough. I think having his big sister in the new classroom with him over the summer will really help his transition from day care to pre-school. This morning, Annika said that she'll be Conor's teacher once he joins her at her school. I quickly pointed out that she can be a helper, but the teachers will be his teachers. She seemed OK with that, too. Whew! :)

As I returned to my car after dropping off Conor, I realized how funny it is that as a parent, I want our kids with us forever, but as parents, our real job is to prepare our kids to leave us and become independent beings. Before we turn around twice, we're going to be dropping this little boy off at his college dorm... pardon me while I wipe a few tears away from my eyes now. (sniff sniff)

Our big boy on his last day of day care

Thank you to all of the Whizz Kids teachers; we'll miss you!

Back of flower pot