Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Convict Chaos

Our stay at Yosemite Cabin on Convict was full of fun, adventure, and just an eensy-weensy bit of total chaos. We went with good friends and our two girls loved fishing together, causing havoc, and running wild...all good things.

When did things get crazy? Well, when we stuffed four adults and four children into one room to sleep. Between snoring, farting, and having to get up to pee I don't think anyone got much sleep. The lack of sleep was a problem, but even worse was the fact i somehow didn't drink enough water on Saturday and ended up dehydrated. I was miserable...something I never want to experience again.

Gorgeous!

Not quite realizing how far the boys were going to walk for an early morning fishing session, I sent Vera with them. Feeling quite bad about the whole thing and realizing they were going to be out there for hours and hours with no sunscreen on her, I ended up hoofing it out to them and picking her up...then, carrying her back on my shoulders. Hmmm...good times? But, the kid did love fishing and J is already planning a session off the pier in Santa Barbara.


Peek-a-Boo!


A very tame little chipmunk or squirrel. How do you tell? :) Keller and I were playing on the porch (see the above picture) and I thought this critter was going to scamper over my feet. He knows a good thing when he has it, the girls and Keller were constantly dropping food.

Keller with his hair styled by Rae.

Jamie and I chilling on the porch. It was so relaxed.

Vera at the hatchery. Or, as she would say, the place where the baby fish live.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Road to Convict Lake

After leaving our house at 10am, we were treated to a 7 hour drive to Convict Lake with two kiddos in the back of our car. Surprisingly, there were very few rough spots...and by that, I mean that Keller didn't scream the entire way...always a good thing. Our new trick, that worked like magic (fingers crossed that it will do it again) was that I had a basket with 50 or so small toys + straws, spoons, and other random items. If he started to get fussy I just threw a toy at him and this continued for 7 hours interspersed with bits to eat. A toothbrush ended up being a big hit.

First stop on the road was in Red Rock for lunch. Temp had to be in the 90s. It was also where J and I realized that we only had two water bottles in the car. Good planning, but I had lots of toys!


Our 2nd stop was in a random park in a random town with a stream running through it, clean bathrooms, and a drinking fountain where the water didn't taste half bad. Basically, heaven on a car trip.



Thursday, June 25, 2009

Father's Day 2009

We have been lacking in family time these last couple of weeks and so Father's Day gave us the opportunity for some good old-fashioned bonding. Our goal, as we set off to Downtown Santa Barbara, was to find J a new hat. Not only did we succeed, I found one as well. Gotta love Black Star Trading for funky accessories.

Our almost weekly visit to the zoo ended the day nicely and gave me the opportunity to play with the camera some more.



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Wednesday, June 24, 2009

BBQ

Took me a bit, but here are photos from our BBQ last Sunday with my stepfather. It was the same day as the Solstice Parade, which explains the continuing theme of the tie-dyed family.




Love this photo!

Walking practice!



Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Ta-Ta's House = Good Times


Keller disappears for just a couple of seconds and this is what happens. He discovered the toilet paper roll, then as I was trying to take a picture he noticed that the toilet water was right there...it is never left unguarded at our house. Hours of fun available in this bathroom. One thing to be thankful for, he didn't yet discover the toilet brush. At home, that is his favorite destination.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Solstice Par-Tay!





Friday, June 19, 2009

Mocha





It will come as shocking to many that we have been dogsitting for the last day and a half. J and I are not dog people, fully admit it. In fact, we are not sure that we are pet people in general. Other people talk about our kids, they like them to come over and play, but are ready for them to go home with us at the end of an exhausting afternoon. That is how I feel about pets. I love to cuddle them and play...and then leave their poop and 6am wake-up calls to their parents.

However, Vera has been in a dog/animal stage for the last several months. She leashes her little brother to pretend he is a dog or wants to be leashed herself. Her dog (the current one is named Icy) will ride in our car and when we go into a store she asks if her dog is allowed. She fully understands that he is pretend and if I tell her dogs are not allowed in the store or restaurant, she will ask about pretend dogs and whether or not he can come in if he really isn't there in the first place.

This is how we ended up dogsitting for Mocha. We figure it would be a good test. Could we be dog people and not really know it? The verdict - Mocha is one of the best dogs. He is mellow, gentle with the children, and most importantly...doesn't shed. But, until the kids are older and I don't have to worry about them whacking the dog (Keller) and we have a backyard of some sort...a dog is still waaaay in the future.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Playing with Our Food

Monday, June 15, 2009

Dinosaur Park

Vera is almost 3 1/2...wow, that is crazy to write...and we just discovered a new park. Dinosaur Park in Isla Vista is cool for what it has that is different and older. By older, I mean those types of apparatuses and play structures that they no longer put at playgrounds because they can be dangerous, which sounds so bad when I say that they are so much fun. There is a merry-go-round, teeter-totter and a sand digger (which I had never seen before). Also, a huge stegosaurus for climbing adventures.

My only complaint was that it was also a dog park and quite a few people forgot their poo bags. Yeah, at one point I was fishing a brown thing out of Keller's mouth and just about had a heart attack. Thankfully, it was dirt and not poo. However, that didn't stop him from turning directly around, climbing the dinosaur structure, and licking the only spot on the entire thing where a bird had pooped. YUCK!

Vera was in heaven each and every time a new dog approached. Then, our friends came with Mocha and his leash never left her hand.





Still would not drop the leash...such a good dog, he put up with so much.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Catching Up

There have been a million (well, at least 5-7) photos that I have wanted to post and just haven't felt like sitting at the computer. So, here they are all in one bundle jumping around between events last week and our action packed weekend.

Vera had a big day on Thursday, she got a package from Amazon! In her mind there really is nothing better than getting a package and this one was from her very own Aunt Stephanie. Aunt Steph sent her the new Fancy Nancy book Explorer Extraordinaire. In it, Nancy and Bree (Nancy's best friend), explore their collective backyards for creepy-crawlies and all kinds of nature goodness. There is also directions for a pinecone bird feeder.


We of course had to make one. As J said, looks a little disgusting. To date we are still waiting for our birds.


In other news, Vera and Keller have reached a stage where they are starting to finally play together. I have high hopes that they are going to be best friends...or at least like each other a bit.



Our weekend ended on Sunday with a BBQ at friend's house. Keller discovered a new toy, which was awesome.

Vera discovered the fun of water play.


She also discovered our friend's twin's carseats. Hours of imaginative play were at hand. Her babies, who she talked to for a good hour, are Racy and Raisen. Raisen is a boy and Racy a girl...just in case you couldn't tell. Oh, what, you can't see them. They are right there in the carseats.


But, the biggest news of the weekend is that our friend CC had her baby! We have a faux niece to shower with love and are so excited. She weighed in at 6lbs 14oz and mom and baby are both doing great. So precious!

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Big Man on Campus

Such a little dude!


Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Daddy's Pride and Joy...

...the Malibu!

Monday, June 8, 2009

San Luis Obispo - Part 2

Remember how I mentioned the food that we ate in San Luis Obispo...well, dinner was at Splash Cafe. If you have never been to Splash, next time you are in Pismo or SLO you have to give it a try if you like clam chowder. The SLO location is new (which is where we went), but for us, the Pismo site holds our memories. Our first date was there and many dates and grub fests afterwards.



It is all about ordering the bread bowl on the side of your chowder, otherwise the bread ends up too mushy.


Vera, hug the clam...or that weird thing pointing to the restaurant.