Hot Dog Bun Cell Phones

1/26

 1/26

No GoPros over here, only this thing.

 1/29

Skin, bones, ebony, and ivory.

1/29

He was totally into the firemen, until one came crawling at him.

 1/31

The best way to enjoy the Super Bowl (thanks to our neighbors).

1/31

Finally binky free.

But that means his bedtime request list has gotten longer by one: lights on until he falls asleep.

Milk, applesauce, sleep sheep playing ocean sounds, and stuffed animals are standard.

 2/4

Sarah set up a treat stand, but instead of money the kids paid with nice notes or hugs.

Never seen these boys get so huggy.

2/6
Makes up for the crazy mornings.

 2/6

Seriously.

 2/7

Most likely inspired by Sarah's stand.

We literally had no supplies except a few random cups and some strawberries I turned into juice.

A nice neighbor and some girl scouts bought out all 4 cups.

2/8

Nathaniel and Drew found out they're on the Giants together (coached by Nathaniel's dad).

Nathaniel had joked that they should have cake and party hats if they got on the same team.

Made all his dreams come true with those super fancy hats.

2/9

 2/10

Justin set this up for fun and it took over the living room for a week.

2/10

Owen found out he'll be on the Phillies with Nolan (not pictured; Nathaniel's brother),

so he needed Philly Cheesecake.

 2/11

2/12

Justin thinks his drinks are safe in the fridge.

2/12

2/13 

My favorite parts of our yard: wild calla lilies (look good) and pittosporum (smell good).

2/13

2/18

Pancakes were taking too long.

2/21

Short-lived "Go Dog Go" obsession.

 2/22

2/23

Hacienda Hay & Feed (got permission to break the rules).

 2/24

2/24

 3/5

Sometimes we take a break from our morning exercise routine to build rock stacks on the beach.

And sometimes I come home and ruin any exercising that happened with pancake stacks.

3/5

Seriously tempted to let him go to school like that.

3/6

Justin got a new phone app.

 3/6

Group picture from Talen's birthday party.

3/7

Williams Sonoma's free cooking class: sandwiches and wraps.

Her wrap included cream cheese, hummus, strawberries, cucumber, banana, egg, and swiss cheese.

 3/7

The leprechaun trap Auggie made at Beverly's Crafts.

That, a few pinches, and a corned beef were the extent of our St. Patty's Day celebrating.

3/14

Cheering section at Drew's first game of the season (which was way too hot for Pacific Grove).

3/16

A typical afternoon with these girls.

Mvsevm

August has developed a love for the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, aka, "Whale!"

 I've talked about this museum before.

It's weird.

But it's free and down the street. And has a big whale out front.

In an effort to make it more hands-on, they've added some new exhibits.

Like the above "match the correct eyeballs to the skull" installation.

Or the below, "try the fur on the taxidermy form to see which one fits."

This whale eyeball gets me every time.

Also, the (not pictured) preserved giant squid. Ew.

The maximum occupancy for the upstairs is 30 people. I don't know why that makes me laugh.

 Another new thing is the taxidermy scavenger hunt. AKA, "Homework."

Two not weird things:

The Spirit Nest

And Sandy the whale.

(pictures from 2/24 and 2/27)

I'm So Glad We Did Meat

The usual for Valentine's Day:

 - Giant Hershey Kisses.

- A scavenger hunt to find a small gift (I was extra proud of my clues this year, one of which included how smart they were to be figuring them out. Um, they needed help decoding more than one).

- A date (we went with Sarah & Jeff to Salinas City BBQ - not the fanciest, but SO good).

The Life

I posted this picture on Instagram the other day and a friend commented that I live the life.

That day I most definitely did.

We met friends at Stillwater Cove and kayaked our little hearts out.

Owen and Drew, who were pretty scared last time we went (in a 2-man kayak, me in charge), had a change of heart. They did awesome on their own and just took off.

I went out with Auggie for awhile and it was my own personal heaven. He was so content and I'm gonna assume he loved it as much as me. He didn't want to go back to shore. When we finally did, his hands were purple from the cold water dripping on them as I paddled. Never complained once.

2/17

The day before we had a great time, too (the kids had the week off from school).

Justin loaded up the bikes and an extra kid (Owen's friend Kevin) for a ride to the old bunkers and watchtower at Fort Ord.

(first kid was Kevin, followed by Drew)

2/16

So fun. So pretty. Love where I live a lot.



But then Wednesday came and my work week started.

And oh my gosh it was one of the worst work weeks of my life. Beyond busy and stressful. I worked literally nonstop. Neglected the kids and missed out on the rest of their school-free week. Justin was here so they weren't fending for themselves, but he was sick. It was horrible.

(thank goodness for awesome friends and neighbors that gave the kids some breaks)



In summary, some days I do live THE life. And I'm grateful for it, trying to take full advantage of this amazing place.

And other days, I just live A life. A crazy, busy, and stressful life.

And sometimes we even eat Life.

2/20

The end.



PS Work fried my brain. Then we took the kids to see SpongeBob on Saturday, and my brains got fried even more.

2/21

The River + The Beach

  

1/26

I love how every trip to the beach is different in a good way.

(same goes for every Disneyland trip)

This trip to Carmel River State Beach was great because there were huge king tides.

There was a river with no tides.

We saw dolphins.

And there was a trail just above the beach with amazing views.

The only not good part was that FREEZING river water gave Benjamin a little shock when he fell in.