Midgets and Memorials

Justin took Owen to the dentist last week.
2 fillings had fallen out.
I miss military insurance.

While in the waiting room, Justin was reading "Weird California."
I know this because I found the above picture on our computer.
We did some online research and found that there was one midget house left.
Last night we went to check it out and here it is:

Disappointed?
Us, too.
It WAS smallish and had a little door, gate, and garage, but it wasn't near as midget-y as we had hoped.

Since we were already on Mt. Soledad, we drove to the top to see the veterans memorial.

This time we weren't disappointed.
The views up there were amazing any direction you looked.
Being there right at sunset was cool, too.

Loved seeing the temple from up there.

Justin took this picture (see the temple glowing?):

I love it.

Apparently, Dr. Seuss's last house he lived in is on Mt. Soledad, too.

So moral of the story is...go to Mt. Soledad to see the memorial and views. And since you're already there for that, might as well check out the midget house. And Dr. Seuss's house. And all the other amazing homes. Maybe bring a picnic (grassy area and benches at the memorial). And some scooters (there's a path leading somewhere from the memorial). And a jacket.

That Time When

4/10

Owen's team posed for a picture since so many were missing on the official day.

 

4/12

I came around the corner to find Sally's friends quietly dancing together.

She had positioned their hands just right.

 

4/12

The Tiger Cubs went on a nature walk to Batiquitos Lagoon.

Binoculars were provided.

Wouldn't want to miss all those cars passing by on the freeway.

 4/12

Drew rode down all the slides at the park with Brent's help.

4/15

I couldn't find my phone anywhere.

 

4/15

Sally and August flew in airplane.

 

4/15

Owen did homework. On his own. Without me by his side the whole time.

(hiring a tutor and Owen's 2nd semester teacher have made a huge difference)

 

4/16

Justin blow dried August's hair.

 

 4/16

Justin worked on his Jeep.

 

4/16

Sally watered my poppies.

(Remember last year, my seeds resulted in ONE plant?

New soil made a huge difference.

I'm so excited by them all, I can't bring myself to thin them out)

 4/17

The Jeep went out for its first ride around the neighborhood.

 Obviously far from finished but this was pretty huge.

Auggie of the Day

4/16

Bruised and Battered

She gets banged up just as much (or more) than the boys.

That bruise and scratch are numbers 27 and 28 she added to her collection for the week.

But since her hair was curled and she had a new bow (thanks to Errin), we took pictures anyway.

The scarf was her own personal touch.

I told her to run towards me and she did this pose mid-run.

Ummmm.....

This one just makes me happy.

4/13

Pajamas

 4/11

 4/13

I love him in his pajamas.

Specifically soft ones that have stripes and zippers.

He's been sick this week, so he had to wear them all day every day.

It Sounds so Fancy

We were just a little excited to get this email on Tuesday.

So happy for Justin and SO excited to go back to Monterey (if we have to leave here, that is).

It's a weird feeling having a pit in my stomach about leaving here, but being so happy to go back to Monterey.

Justin is hoping to get into the summer session as well, which starts June 17...so we are going to be out of here way too soon.

In other good news...we have a house waiting for us. Our former landlord has an upcoming vacancy in a great neighborhood by a good school. Huge blessing. This blessing comes with wood paneled bedroom walls and some mismatched flooring, but I've never been so excited for 1400 square feet in my life.

What Not to Do

4/9

Probably not the best idea to leave him on the table in that thing.

But recalled or not, Bumbos are awesome (thanks Evaly for lending us yours).

He's only managed his way out one time, and thankfully he was on the floor.

Learning to Ride

 Sally is now training wheel free and Drew is a solo rider on the electric scooter.

Sally had been asking us to take off her training wheels for a few days.

Finally got around to it, ran in the house for something, 

then looked out the front window to see her practically already riding on her own.

She was ready.

 Our neighbors love us.

4/6

Wedding Extra

 

 My parents and their 8.

 

 My parents and their lots.

Sally would be the one who got up confused with down.

Photography by Brittney Gurr

Also, Rachel and I had emailed Mara of A Blog About Love with a couple Instagrams from her wedding day. It was fun to see them published on the site.

Keeping it Local

This week is our spring break.

We've gone to the beach, had friends over, and wasted plenty of time around the house.

I think everyone around here is just fine with all of the above, but I need more out of a spring break.

So today I told Justin it'd make me really happy if he'd plan something for us.

He came up with exploring Calavera Hills, just 10 minutes away.

 

Justin and Owen have been there with the scouts, but I'd never been.

 

It was pretty! 

 

But we were not prepared.

 

A. I wore flip flops. They are my favorite and I thought I'd be fine on the trails. I was fine, but being better than fine would've been nice. A couple of decked out mountain bikers passed me and I overheard them commenting, "She's mountain biking (I was sitting on Owen's bike) in flip flops. With kids!" 

 

B. We brought the stroller instead of the baby carrier. This is what Justin looked like some of the way up and most of the way down (on the "shortcut" that would've been a shortcut had we no bike or stroller). August slept through a lot.

 

C. This isn't really a preparedness issue, but right when we got there...Owen flipped over with his bike (I didn't see it) and got spooked. He walked his bike the entire time after that. Say cheese!

Someone needed some help getting to the top.

 The view from the top was cool. Trust me.

And then we headed down.

 

 Oh, there's the maze they ran through at the beginning. (see picture at the top)

3 of the 5 happy hikers.

The whole adventure took like 1 1/2 hours but it was exhausting.

We needed food.
So we stuck with our local theme of the day and had lunch at Al's Cafe in the Village.

We've driven past that place probably 100 times and finally tried it.

And now I feel like I need to review it.

Slow, slow, slow service.

Food was fine.

Free fudge samples were really good...I'd go back for more of that.

Then we napped.

And I'm probably okay with a very low-key tomorrow.

Probably.

 

PS Al's Cafe is famous for its red wall that appeared in Rachel & Jacob's wedding announcement.

Doorway Jumper

4/3

Does anyone even buy or use these anymore?

That thing is vintage from when Owen was a baby.