Oh, Spring Break.  You’d think after four years of undergrad, two years of master’s work, and now almost one year of doctoral studies (all consecutively, might I add), I wouldn’t think of spring break as a big deal anymore. 

Well, let me just say that this career student looks forward to Spring Break just as much as she did her first year in college. 

I think this is especially true this year, because I am always excited to leave Oregon and come back to Cali…plus, Dustin and I are going back to San Diego for the first time since moving away last June!

Making this vacation for the Huang-Vissering clan means that we must first drive to my parents’ home in Sacramento, where the kids are reunited with Baby Boy, the family dog and huggable cutie, and super cool kitties Winky and Blinky. 

All of the kids have their own reasons for loving their trips here: Pom Pom gets ridiculously over-babied by my mom, Casper gets all the room he needs to run around like crazy (including a backyard!) and Beau kitty gets to play with his best friends Winky and Blinky. This trip also marked our new cat Athena’s first trip to California, and so far she is also enjoying the room and attention.  And they all love the fireplace.

As you can imagine, there are a lot of animals in this house right now.  Let’s see…that’s a total of three dogs and four cats.  It SOUNDS chaotic, but I honestly love being home with these pets — there’s something very calming about seeing all the kids living a life of comfort and relaxation.  Plus, we don’t have to leash the dogs every time they go out since they can just go out in the backyard, and there are nicely landscaped cement walkways that are clean so Pom and Casper aren’t stepping into puddles of wet mud everytime they go out to walk…something I can’t stand about Eugene because they come back into the house with wet dirt on their little paws! 

Dustin and I are leaving for San Diego on Sunday, and leaving our kids behind here in Sacramento.  As excited as I am about our trip (which is very excited!), I always have a hard time leaving my babies.  I would LOVE to take Pom and Casper with us — picnics by the ocean in La Jolla was Pom Pom’s favorite outting, and Casper, a native Sacramentonian, has never seen the Pacific Ocean!  I’m been trying to convince Dustin this is a good idea, but I think he’s winning this argument…