Beach Week

Asilomar Beach

Wednesday - We were supposed to be flying kites but the cheapos from Rite-Aid were broken even before they got assembled. So even though it was COLD and we didn't come w/swimsuits (hence the undies) they still played in the water.

Pre-Beach Tacos & Shopping in Santa Cruz

Thursday - I would drive 45 minutes just for those tacos... so good.

Then on to Capitola Beach

Saggy undies...nice.

But at least they're on.
Different driftwood forts were all over the beach.

Tide Pools in PG
Friday - This is Drew's view of us...we were busy freezing while he explored w/Shawna.

Asilomar Beach
Saturday - The cheapo kites from Target DO work.

No Pinching Here

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

PS Don't bother to try Martha Stewart's Irish Beef Hand Pie recipe.
If you do, make it better than I did.

Retakes

3/16

So remember that one time I forgot the candles for Drew to blow out on his birthday?

Well, turns out I didn't forget them.

They were in my bag the whole time and I just didn't think I put them there so I didn't bother to check.

Pretty sure back-to-back birthdays kills brain cells.

Frog Pond

3/16

We have a 2-week spring break here and so far it's good!

No crazy rushed mornings, no interrupted naps.

But also, this is only day 2 and I haven't had to go to the grocery store yet. 3 kids at a grocery store....I'd almost rather starve.

Almost.

Anyway, these pictures are from day 1 at the Frog Pond wetland preserve.

Girly

3/15

Is it the 5 years of cars, trains, and planes that make a girl loving her doll the cutest thing I ever did see?

Baby Steps

Her first steps came out of nowhere today in the foyer during church.

Temple

Oakland Temple Visitor's Center 3/14

Thanks to cousin Chad for watching six kids at one time (his 3 + our 3 = 6) so we could visit the Temple.

(and if you saw the 1st version of this post...no offense intended!)

He's 3

Notice my amazing wrapping in the background.

That's what happens when you run out of paper late at night.

I had MANY things I'd redo over for this birthday (starting with making sure I'm stocked on paper).

But also, I wouldn't have had a major lapse of picture taking and missed:

His lunch of choice at McDonald's.

And how he fell asleep in the cart at Costco.

Playing with fishing poles indoor with Owen.

To name a few.


We celebrated tonight with a little fishing/beach get-together at Coastguard Pier.


Thank you to friends who: came on short notice (with gifts even), put up with the cold, brought their own dinner/ate before/ate after even though I planned this right during dinner time and didn't provide any (major faux pas that will not ever happen again), and were patient waiting for Justin to get back with bait.

Nothing was caught, but it was a fun thought.

Drew's #1 cake choice was the St. Patrick's Day cake with a rainbow & a leprechaun on top. I would've let him get it if I thought he'd like the flavor. This was choice #2.

Another mistake...stopping on the way there to pick up a lighter but leaving the candles at home.

So he got to pretend.

But I've never seen his eyes light up so much as they did when we were all singing to him.



I wish I could show how grateful he was, thanking me randomly throughout the day.

And now he's asleep with his new toothbrush.

Happy birthday Drew!

She's 1

Happy birthday Sally!

Sweets for the Sweet

Ghirardelli 3/7

A Rainy Poem

Each morning I check the day's forecast with hope.
Is this the day we get out?
But nope.

The house is no longer a house, it's a jail.
The most exciting event is getting the mail.

We do venture out to get Owen to school.
Then pick him up again...no carpool.

On Sunday I started to go a little crazy
While Justin and Owen were busy being lazy.

So Drew and I left, just him and me.
While the others stayed behind, playing some Wii.

We drove to the coast hoping to spot a whale,
But they were down deep, didn't want to unveil.

Lucky for us, though, it was low tide
And piles of hermit crabs just couldn't hide.

In Drew's little fingers they had to reside.

And the anemones were a beautiful sight
But compared to the sea star, they were just all right.

The star was washed ashore, he's no killer.
He's just a chiller. This find was a thriller.

And while doing our best to keep the Sabbath day holy...
You know, walking back to our car slower than slowly.

These puddles appeared and he couldn't resist
And I didn't call cease and desist.

Back to the present, we've still got rain.
It's a pain, it's a drain.

I do my hair in vain.

But I can't complain cause you've got it worse.
Living in snow, that's the worst sort of curse.

Excited

I'm just a little excited to be able to live near Jones and his parents soon.

Even if our overlapping time here together will be around 6 months... I'll take it!

Brent (my brother) just joined the Marines as a linguist (language TBD) so he, Errin (see the last section of her post for more details), and Jones will be here sometime this summer.

YAY!!!

Happy 1st Birthday to Jones!

My Entourage

Today they accompanied me to Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur.

AKA the "purple sand" beach

That sand Owen's stomping is purple I swear.

And so is that hill coming out of the right of his head.

I had imagined that purple sand would be everywhere.

But that wasn't the case.

It was scattered randomly.
See, here's more.

Foreground: purple sand.

Background: not purple sand.

And then there's Drew and his rocks.

This was on a little path just off the beach:

And we'll end with a few more on the beach.

Purple sandy feet.

We Don't Get Snow

Stair Sledding
2/21

Field Trip

2/20

When again in his life will he walk from school to this aquarium?

Maybe next year.

But still, it's pretty cool.

Not Too Original

Heart Pancakes.

Big Kisses.

A new book (Olivia, which is such a cute one).

And sidewalk chalk.
(from a birthday party)

Ya, not a very original V-day but they were happy.

And I got a hot date so I was happy, too.