Laguna

On one of our last days in CA we had the opportunity to visit some old friends. Now, I'm not saying anything about their age specifically, I mean that Rosie and Jerry are friends from as far back as I can remember. My parents knew them from church, and Rosie was a huge favorite of mine when I was a tot, so much so that my dad would sing songs about her to me (at my insistence) at bed time. Every once in a while Tommy gets treated to a verse of "Jesus love the little Rosie," so it was nice for him to get some context too. Rosie and Jerry moved far away at some point during my childhood, but they still come back every summer to spend some time at a family home by the beach in Laguna. We had visited them there before, but it had been a while since I had gone- probably at least twenty years- but it was so fun to take the boys, and to see Tommy fascinated by the same magnetic toy that fascinated me (and probably all kids).

We drove up straight after church, were stuffed full of delicious food, and then took our overfull bellies down to the beach. I'm sure it was a pretty picture. The weather was perfect, but the waves were rough and very dangerous. The lifeguards spent a great deal of time running up and down the surf warning people to stay in the shallowest part of the water. The boys dipped their toes but were content to play in front of us on the sand, which made things much easier and more relaxing. Roise and Jerry had three of their grandchildren staying with them, and Tommy fell in love with them. He is still talking them and asking to go back to "Jeremy's Beach." After the water encroached a bit too far into our space we rode the trolly back to the house for a dinner on the porch at sunset. It was the perfect California way to wind down our trip!

The Skirball

As you may have guessed, I am a bit of a museum junkie. I love taking the boys to museums, because I love going to museums. Thus, it is shocking to me that I had often driven past but never been to the Skirball. It is just up the block from the Getty, which we visit often. This summer the Skirball has a special exhibition on Houdini, and my mom clipped the ad out of the paper to remind us to go. Happily, we inadvertently planned our trip for Thursday, which is also the free day for both the regular museum and the kids area.

The kids area has a Noah's Ark theme, and it was so amazing. There were five separate areas with different ark-themed activities including a craft room and a climbing area. There weren't many things specifically designed for infants, but Nic still had a good time. I think Tommy will have an even better time next time we go back, and the Ark is probably ideal for kids who are 4 to 6.

The Houdini exhibit was fascinating, and the boys managed to sleep towards the end, thus giving us a chance to really enjoy it.

I can't wait to go back and see some of the permanent exhibits, but that will have to wait for another trip.

Two Years!

As of today we've had two wonderful years of snuggles, kisses, "I love you's," blowing bubbles, splashing in the pool, building snowmen, rocking out to music, playing cars non-stop, and waking up to this sweet little face*:





He's grown so much, and is truly a little boy and no longer our little baby. We are so thankful for this sweet time, and are excited to see what God has in store for his future.


*In an attempt to be realistic, lest those of you without children misunderstand the full nature of parenting, let me also add that those two years have included diaper blowouts, getting peed on, sleepless nights, scraping food from the floor, table, and walls, scraping poop off the floor, chair, and walls, kicks, bites, and many timeouts. But, it's all worth it.

Camp Snoopy

Tommy loves Peanuts. He and Jeff enjoy reading the old books together, and watching the holiday specials. Knowing how much Tommy likes Charlie Brown and Snoopy, my dad decided that we should make a trip to Knott's Berry Farm to visit Camp Snoopy.



He and Tommy "prepared" for days by studying pictures of the rides on Knott's website and talking about all the rides they wanted to go on. Tommy was so amped about the trip.

Unfortunately the first few minutes in the park did not go well at all. We had a small incident the night before, and because of it Tommy had trouble getting to sleep. Thus we started the day with a tired boy (we couldn't reschedule the trip because Dad couldn't get other days off), and the combination of sleepiness/overexcitement meant that Tommy refused to ride one of the rides he had most been looking forward to- the Red Baron airplanes. We hadn't realized that you have to be rather short to ride in them and when Tommy found out that he would have to ride alone and not with Papa, he decided he didn't want to ride at all. Thankfully Peppermint Patty happened to stroll by and distracted him, and we attended a character show that perked him right up.



Family members who are reading and lamenting the fact that Tommy wastes time at amusement parks watching shows, trust me, a little bit of me dies every time.

After Tommy warmed up he wanted to ride every other ride in Camp Snoopy, and he had a great time. His favorite was a little car ride called the Speedway. He ended up riding that at least ten times over the course of the day, with all of us as his companion. His other big favorite was the truck ride and the tugboat. We tried the log ride, and, as Tommy has repeatedly said since then, he DID NOT like the log ride. Why? Because Tommy only likes getting wet on his terms. Tommy's terms are that the water be very warm. The log ride water was not warm in the least.

We ended up staying at Knott's from just after ten in the morning to ten at night. Tommy did not nap the entire time despite our best efforts, but Nicolas napped well throughout the day, both in the stroller and in the carrier. Both of them were still going strong when the park closed. Tommy actually closed out the Speedway, managing to sneak in on the very last run before they shut it off. At that point he was more than exhausted, conking out on the way to the parking lot in Papa's arms. It was a long day but we had a great time!

The Tugboat

The Speedway with Mum

The Speedway with Papa

The Speedway with Jjaja

Dad and I went on a crazy huge water ride

The big hit of the day - Snoopy on ice

Nic's First Beach Day!

The weather around these parts hasn't been fantastic. We've had many colder days (read: 60s), and plenty of June gloom. It seems that the clouds burn off around 3pm, giving us a few hours of nice weather before the sun sets. Earlier this week we decided to put the boys down for an early nap and head for the beach as soon as they woke up. We spent a few beautiful hours down at the beach. The water was great, and Tommy enjoyed dipping his toes in but wouldn't go any further. Nicolas was not pleased with the water at all, but he had fun tasting the sand and crawling around in it.

First time dipping his toes in the sand

Adjusting

Brothers playing together

Sampling the tasty sand

Building "sand castles"

It's Hard to Believe It's Been Three Years

Father's Day

Alas, Father's Day was spent apart from Jeff - the boys and I are still in California, while Jeff has returned home to Illinois. Someone has to bring home the bacon. We missed pampering Jeff, but never fear, his time will come. The boys and I have big plans to spoil him for a day when we get back. It was fun to see my dad on Father's Day, and to introduce the boys to my family's rituals. It's been quite a few years since I've been home for it, so I enjoyed being able to participate, even if the sibling count was very sadly low.

In my family we get donuts on three types of occasions:

1. Mother's Day
2. Father's Day
3. When at friend's houses

We never got donuts any other time when we were little, although I'm sure my youngest sibling (Kevin) got them on occasion. In keeping with tradition, we got Dad his favorite donuts and prepared a little tray for breakfast in bed. Over the years breakfast in bed for Dad has somehow evolved into breakfast in bed for everyone...not in our own beds, but in my parent's bed. That works great with teenagers, but not as well with a ten month old. Nicolas did not get a donut, of course, but he did get some bread so he would think he was getting a donut, and within two minutes my parent's bed was covered in crumbs. It felt like someone dumped a bucket of sand in their bed. Happy Father's Day!

Here's the gang:




We went to church together and then came home for sandwiches and naps, then went to my Aunt Annie's and Uncle Kenny's for a Father's Day/Uncle Kenny's birthday celebration.

Nicolas with my Grandpa Kay

Tommy and Micah

Dad, Nic, and Me

Two Hotwheels Lovers - Uncle Kenny and Tommy

Molly and Nic

All the fathers!