The Three Amigos

August videos

2011-09-13T12:15:00.000-07:00

Yes, that is my California boy with the pale skin in the middle. You would never guess that he was out at the beach a dozen times and boogie boarding.

What a fun trip to Salt Lake City!

Kindergarten - Here we come!

2011-09-01T10:37:00.000-07:00

Lined up with his classmates and ready to go in.

Class pets include a frog and some fish.


His teacher read "The Kissing Hand" to help the children with departure. It was perfect and, though many of the parents were in tears, the kids were all happy.

Not a baby anymore!

Happy Birthday and Happy Halloween

2011-03-23T13:42:00.000-07:00

For Daddy's birthday we celebrated with Grandma and Grandpa.

This delicious cake was from Patty Cakes in Altadena. Yum!

The Preschool's Halloween Parade was exciting. Here is our little War Machine . . .
and his best friend Thomas the Tank Engine . . .
his teacher, Miss Janet . . .
and last year's teacher, Miss Julie . . .
and mommy and some dry bones.
Our ward's trunk or treat party had some very creative trunks.

September 2010 Highlights

2011-03-23T12:48:00.000-07:00

First Day of School

One Saturday morning we hiked up to Eaton Canyon Falls . . .
. . . and listened to a wild story time at the Nature Center.

After dropping daddy off at work, we drove up to explore,
play and harvest at Underwood Family Farms. We picked tomatoes, lettuce, eggplant, peppers and raspberries.
He was so determined and succeeded in riding on of these big trikes.
More determination as he searched for gems.

At our last visit to Disneyland before our passes expired, he proved his love of adventure on this zip-line in the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail.
He investigated Mater's dental work . . . .
. . . and made a splash on Splash Mountain. Grandma met us there later for dinner and to see the World of Color, but Michael fell asleep on my shoulder 5 minutes into the show. Maybe next time.

Just goofing off with mom.

A nearby pet store lets you play with the little puppies. They are so cute.

Kidspace in September 2010

2011-03-19T10:09:00.000-07:00

Kidspace Children's Museum is one of our favorite places.
We visited on their farm day and saw some baby chicks.

Michael loves crawling through the ant hill . . .

. . . and sitting on the ant eggs to help them hatch.

There is a dinosaur excavation site,

and some toy dinos to play with.

The bike track is great fun,

but somewhat exhausting on a warm day.

This is our first time churning our own butter.

It was delicious.

Last of all, splashing in the river with the other children is always fun.

We love Kidspace!

August 2010 Highlights

2011-03-19T09:41:00.000-07:00

We attended the Hollywood Bowl for the first time. It was Movie Night with guest conductor John Williams and we knew that Michael would love to hear the themes from Jaws, Superman, and, of course, Star Wars. The music was amazing and despite the late hours Michael stayed awake to the end and enjoyed seeing all of the concert goers with their lightsabers.

We also went to the Will Rogers State Beach one day. It wasn't a sunny day, but we had a great time digging a gigantic "hot tub" and collecting the most fascinating rocks.

We had a great time at the Primary Swimming Party. Can't wait for summer and swimming!

Cherry on Top is one of our favorite spots. It isn't too far to go on the bike, and there is a park and a library nearby if we have more time to play.

Our Patio

2010-10-20T12:12:00.000-07:00

. . . . is crowded with bicycles, barely surviving plants, a lot of dirt, and finally something I enjoy looking at:

We've learned a lot about hummingbirds:

They are territorial, protective, sneaky, playful, love the rain, and can't get enough of the yummy nectar.

Michael's Birthday Party

2010-07-26T15:22:00.001-07:00

The Birthday Boy

The Food

The Games

The Cake

Happy 4th Birthday

2010-07-23T15:11:00.000-07:00

We couldn't wait to open his huge box from Grandma and Grandpa:

Thank You!

Overheard at the Dodgers Game 4/29/10

2010-04-30T22:14:00.000-07:00

About Dodger Dogs:

It's ENORMOUS!

and about the video screen:

Why is there an iphone over there?
I can see why he said it . . .

A few more pictures . . .

2010-04-27T17:50:00.000-07:00

The first one is from the preschool VIP day last month, where someone other than who usually goes to school with the student gets to see the school and play. They had fun.

These next two are from Leo Carillo State Beach. Grandma Carol took them with her iphone and I am glad we have them. It shows how much our son loves to climb on everything and anything.

Leo Carillo State Beach - Part 2 Tide Pools

2010-04-25T21:19:00.000-07:00

After striking camp we headed down to the beach to explore the tide pools.

And, of course, play in the sand!

Leo Carillo State Beach - Part 1 Camping

2010-04-25T16:25:00.000-07:00

Here are pics from our Ward Campout to Leo Carillo State Beach Greetings from Leo Carillo State Beach
Grandma Carol camped with us, too.

We chose the perfect tent site. Right next to Pride Rock.

Roarrrrrrrrrrrrr!

There really were wild animals around. Squirrels and Bluejays kept us guarding our food during the day, and this masked bandit entertained us in the evening. He almost made off with a garbage bag but we chased him down. Then he did grab a canister of peanuts and took off. We didn't really hear him after that. He was probably too busy eating.

We were busy eating, too. We made Lamb Stew in our dutch oven for dinner and there were yummy breakfast burritos in the morning.

We slept well, stayed pretty warm and really enjoyed the setting and the company.

Audobon Center at Deb's Park

2010-04-18T22:40:00.001-07:00

It is spring again and perfect weather for an outing to Deb's Park with some friends.
Look at those cute girls!

Last year we found a lizard on a log, this year a Sammy.

Some of the boys were getting grumpy by the end of the outing. It was time for some reverse pyschology. "Ok boys, I want to get a picture of all of you frowning. Whatever you do, don't smile! No smiling!"

It worked!

We discovered the water pumps this time. It kept us going up the trail and back down but we saw more of the nature center and really enjoyed seeing the water splash down the rocks and into the "river" we dug for it.

How to Share (at least most things)

2010-04-04T21:56:00.001-07:00

Preschool Field Trip - Bus Ride

2010-04-04T10:19:00.000-07:00

Here is our first preschool field trip.

Tournament Park

2010-04-04T10:01:00.000-07:00

We had a fun outing to Tournament Park in March. The park is level with a lot of sidewalks for riding and plenty of grass for running.

There are many ways to play with a bike!

First Day of Preschool

2010-03-18T19:15:00.000-07:00

We are so happy our son is in preschool now. He is happy, too.

Seal Beach Clean Up

2009-12-27T16:47:00.000-08:00

It was a beautiful and sunny morning at Seal Beach. Our friend co-sponsered the Kids Save the Beach clean up day and we couldn't pass up the opportunity to go down for a few hours before family came into town for Thanksgiving. In addition to a lot of styrofoam and other trash this is what we found:

"Slick" the Seal was there cheering us on. We enjoyed a lunch at Ruby's and made it home with enough time to get ready for Grandma and Grandpa to arrive. What a nice day.

Disneyland in November

2009-12-27T16:11:00.000-08:00

Early November is one of the slowest times of year to visit Disneyland, so my sister's family came out then instead of at Thanksgiving. After spending some time on the Beach in San Clemente (where they surfed and boogey boarded, etc) we all went to Disneyland.

My sister and niece!

The little cousins had fun together!

Guess who is now tall enough to ride Splash Mountain and loves it!

Guess who was too tired to even open his eyes again after he fell asleep at 6:00pm!

Meeting Mickey at Traveltown

2009-12-20T22:45:00.000-08:00

Traveltown Railroad Museum is one of our favorite places to play. This time was extra cool because we got to meet Mickey Mouse.

There was a lot of waving.

And even more of this.

Yoda at Halloween

2009-12-20T22:09:00.000-08:00

Here is Yoda training with his green lightsabers, practicing his Force-push and showing what goes into Yoda Stew.

Now for the real deal! This time a red lightsaber on Halloween Night.

We gathered with cousins in Southern Utah and had a huge trick-or-treat party. What fun!

Grandma's Birthday

2009-12-20T21:46:00.001-08:00

I am a few months behind, but here goes.

For my mom's birthday in September my brother's daughters came down to visit. They got off the plane and came straight to Disneyland where we were waiting. It was my mom's birthday, but she ended up treating us all to a fabulous day!

The rest of the weekend the V-girls spent on the beach with Grandma. What a blessing to have such a beautiful playground so close!

And before they got back on the plane, we had a little birthday celebration.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Descanso Gardens

2009-09-30T15:12:00.000-07:00

Our Labor Day outing was at the Descanso Gardens.

Welcome to the Enchanted Garden Railroad - our first stop at Descanso Gardens. He was concerned that the train didn't have a name. I guess only trains with faces have names.

There is so much to see at Descanso Gardens.

"Swamp McDonalds" or "More bars in more places"

One of the many reasons that I love my husband is that he is very imaginative around children. Look at the video at the bottom of our friend's blog for the perfect example of how great he is with kids and how much they love being around him.

The garden hosted a Ford Model A Antique Car exhibit.

I took advantage of Dad being there so that I could get a picture with our son!

Labor Day Weekend

2009-09-14T21:05:00.000-07:00

Our Labor Day weekend was full of fun. First we headed to Las Vegas for a few days with our extended family. First stop, Shark Reef. Not knowing how short the exhibit was, we moved right through it pretty fast. Instead of exiting when we reached the end, we turned around and walked back to the start and took our time looking at things we rushed past the first time. Our favorite exhibits included the aligator, komodo dragon, pirahna, jellyfish, lion fish, and of course, sharks. Our son was excited to see a Blue Tang (Dori from Finding Nemo). He even wore his orange and white striped shirt so that he could be Nemo. Up close and personal with the gator

Here is the spectacular lion fish. Next to their tank was the Jellyfish, but none of my pics turned out. They were magnificent, too.
My name is Bruce. I am a nice shark.

I am not sure what was going on, but there was this turtle just minding its own business and a shark came by and started nosing its way under the turtle's belly. Crazy.

We also had a lot of fun in the lazy river at the MGM Grand. Cousins make everything more fun!

Leaving Las Vegas!

Camping at Lake Casitas

2009-08-29T15:46:00.000-07:00

This week we went camping! We had driven past Lake Casitas over a year ago and finally had some time to go. We invited some friends along to share our campsite and we had a really great time. Lake Casitas is located north of Ventura, near Ojai. The weather was pretty hot, so we were dissappointed that we couldn't get in the water. The lake is a source for drinking water, so people can't get in. Fish can, though, so there were plenty of people fishing and boating.
Payton is a little older than our son and they enjoyed playing in the dirt and throwing rocks into the lake. They threw so many, we are sure that the water level rose a little.

They wouldn't just smile for the camera, but they showed off their teeth.

The kids enjoyed the playground. There were playgrounds scattered throughout the campgrounds.

Their delicious dutch oven goulash really hit the spot after an afternoon of playing at the lake.

There were birds, including blue jays, quails, and turkey vultures, squirrels, rabbits, and coyotes.

After the moon set we could see the stars so clearly.

This site welcomed us in the morning when we opened our tent.

6:45 isn't too early for a walk over to the playground. After breakfast we went hunting for some geocaches. We found 3 out of the 4 we tried for. We also got to ride with our son on a mountain bike. He had so much fun despite his mom and dad not being able to go very fast.

Happy 3rd Birthday!

2009-07-28T08:01:00.000-07:00

It was nice to be in Utah to celebrate our son's birthday. 3 years! Wow! He firmly declares "I'm 3" instead of "I'm 2 1/2". We had a little party with family in grandma and grandpa's beautiful backyard.

This is the sweetest dog. She is his "Favorite dog" and he like to give her big hugs.

His cousins Emily, Becky, and Aunt Alyssa in the background were some who joined us to celebrate.

The birthday boy received "Zen Ties" from his Aunt Vincenza and Uncle Adam

Thanks for the help opening packages, Uncle Adam!

There wasn't any slobber after he blew out his candles on his Finding Nemo ice cream cake. Of course the ice cream was green and the cake chocolate.

Bones for Aunt Vincenza

The new puzzle kept them busy.

Thanks for coming to celebrate, Uncle Chris and Nicci!

Week in Utah - Going for a ride

2009-07-28T07:40:00.000-07:00

Grandpa was looking forward to good weather so that daddy could rent a motorcycle and the two of them ride together. Tuesday night after renting the bike, mom and dad went on a date and saw Half-Blood Prince. Then early Wednesday morning, before it got hot, daddy and grandpa headed south to meet up with another friend and then begin their loop. They rode down to Utah Valley, up Provo canyon, past Deer Creek, Jordanelle, Echo and Pineview Reservoirs, then down through Ogden Canyon. The temperature went from very cold to very hot by the end of their ride. They had a good time.

Week in Utah - Silver Lake

2009-07-25T14:35:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful trip to Utah. The thing we enjoyed most was being able to escape the summer heat in the valley and head up to the mountains. At the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon in the Brighton Loop the temperature was 20 degrees cooler and the scenery breathtaking. We hiked around Silver Lake and found plenty of things to see.

A shot of Guardsman Pass

We climbed up our own version of "Pride Rock" and he promptly wanted to slide down

The water was nice and cold! What a fun outing.

4th of July, 2009

2009-07-07T22:05:00.001-07:00

After a productive morning (cleaning the car, little boy's haircut, and small household projects) we headed down to Newport Beach to play with Grandma Carol. We swam in the pool then had a yummy dinner. For Fireworks we watched the Newport Dunes show. We had originally thought that we would pay the $50 to park and play at the resort all day, but in the end found a great spot to sit and watch for free. Daddy dropped us off at Jamboree and PCH, then parked the car and walked 1/2 mile. Here are a few things that we saw and did.

Going

Gone

I'm speechless.

Somewhere in that Thomas fabric there is a warm little boy

He emerges to throw some pops with Daddy

Happy 4th of July everyone!

Playing with Hannah

2009-07-07T21:51:00.000-07:00

I had to post some pics of our playtime with Hannah. She went with us to the library and signed up for the summer reading club. The week's prize was a paint set and we had a nice time out on the patio being creative. I threw one of my old t-shirts over her cute outfit and the kids went to work.

It is interesting to see how differently they create. My son definitely marches to the beat of his own drum. He loves mixing and pouring, so instead of putting any paint on his paper. He dripped water into the different colors on his tray, then dripped them back into his little cup. We also pulled out some finger paints at the end. The thicker consistency added more dimension to his blending of paints and water.

What a fun day with our friend.

Swimming Lessons

2009-07-07T20:33:00.000-07:00

We hadn't done formal swimming lessons with him since he was 6 months old. Why we did it then, I don't know. This time around it was just the kids and the teachers.

Day 1: He was so excited to go swimming. He followed his teacher down the ramp happily, but then something snapped and for the next 25 minutes the 4 teachers took turns taking him out in the water while the rest of the class sat on the step playing. He cried and screamed for me the whole time. I was a good mom and kept back, letting the teachers do their job, all the while worrying about the emotional scars this would leave on him. He got out of the pool and I wrapped him up in the towel and he says with a smile "Mom, that was a fun swimming lesson!" --repeated at least a dozen more times on the way home and during lunch. Maybe tomorrow wouldn't be so bad after all.

Day 2: He was so excited to go swimming, again. I made sure that he had a snack and used the bathroom. He wouldn't get in the pool. "I have to go potty!" was his excuse. Not wanting to create problems with our successful potty training experience, I took him to the bathroom. It was just a stalling technique because he didn't do anything, and it took me 20 minutes to finally get him in the pool. He screamed the remaining 10 minutes that he had to use the potty. His teachers were so patient. Same as Day 1, he got out of the pool and exclaimed "Mom, that was a fun swimming lesson" over and over again.

Day 3: He didn't want to go swimming. I bribed him with going to the library or something. I also tried to point out ahead of time that they had little water squirters that all of the children could play with, and that maybe he could squirt his teacher in the face. Well, that worked! It was all smiles the entire lesson. And he didn't let go of the squirters as long as he was in the water. He interacted well with each of the teachers and other children. Interestingly, there weren't as many "Mom, that was a fun lesson" comments afterwards. Every lesson since was easy.

Skip to Day 8: Diving board day. I overheard his teachers commenting that this was the same kid who screamed for two days straight. If you zoom in on his face you see that there is no fear, only joy!

On the way to the diving board followed by our new friends Nicholas and Selene

First jump is with a teacher

"Again!"

Oh yeah!

Thank you Caroline!

He has learned to close his mouth so that he doesn't swallow water. Next goal is floating on his back. It will take much more practice and many more swimming lessons, but I feel like his skills are improving and may help to counter his daring personality in the water.

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-22T22:20:00.001-07:00

You are the best!

Happy Father's Day

Utah Vacation - Pt 2 - Baby Shower

2009-06-14T23:30:00.001-07:00

Saturday evening was the baby shower for Vincenza and Adam. The evening was wonderful with so many friends and family there to celebrate the upcoming birth.

Here is the mother-to-be, radiant and lovely!

Alyssa hard at work at this beautiful, shiny and soft blanket.

The delicious cake

This is going to be one lucky baby!

The backyard is a child's dream! I used to swing in this when I was 3. They also have a vegetable garden, chickens, a playground, a trampoline and more. The kids played non-stop for 3 hours.

Last of all, mother-to-be and grandmother-to-be

Utah Vacation - Pt 1 - Air Show

2009-06-10T14:26:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Salt Lake City last Friday and spent time with Alyssa's family. We managed to stop jumping on the trampoline long enough to attend the big Air Show at Hill AFB on Saturday.

Here are some pics:

These bi-planes did the most dare-devil stunts!

We loved our front row view of this F-16 prepping for take-off. That is, until we got the gust of hot, stinky exhaust in our faces.

All the cousins got to take a turn sitting in the co-piolot's seat.

Group shot - minus Alyssa

Too loud, Momma!

(I guess comforting him would've been more motherly than standing there taking pictures)

What a fun day!

Memorial Day

2009-05-29T15:01:00.000-07:00

Like a few of our friends (Andersons and Willards) we visited the Garden Grove Strawberry Festival over the holiday weekend.

We had a nice time and I was thrilled to have a yummy strawberry treat.

The highlight was going swimming at Grandma's, especially now that our little green crocodile can swim around the kiddie pool with us.

I love the look on his face while he is trying to keep the water out of his mouth.

Field Trip to the Fire Station

2009-05-29T14:50:00.000-07:00

What a great opportunity to visit our friendly neighborhood firefighters. We went with our PCC Parent Ed class and had a good time with our friends Stephen and Violet and Firefighter Mike.

The little boys didn't want to stand still so entertained us all by running circles around Firefighter Mike.

The front of the truck looks huge behind this little boy.

How many children can fit in a firefighters lounge chair?

Another Free and Hot Day

2009-05-07T15:08:00.001-07:00

Today was hot again and thanks to our friends' advance planning for extra tickets, we were able to go to the Huntington Botanical Gardens. It was a special day for me because it was our first big stroller-free outing. The past few times we have gone out the stroller just got in the way. We packed light and, though I did carry the little one for a few minutes, he was a tough guy and we both loved the freedom.

"Look! A little stream." Too bad we didn't have some popsicle sticks.

We heard more of these than we saw, but this one stuck his head out in the sunlight just long enough.

Thanks for a fun day April and Adam!

Day Out With Thomas

2009-04-26T20:09:00.000-07:00

Fillmore, CA is nestled in a little agriculture valley and is home to the Fillmore & Western Dinner Train. If you ever want to see a gathering of humans between the ages of 1-3 and their parents, this is the place to be. We knew our almost 3-yr old would love seeing a life-size Thomas.

He also enjoyed all of the tables with toy trains (maybe as much as seeing and riding on the train).

Free Day

2009-04-26T07:54:00.001-07:00

Tuesday was Free Day for a beautiful botanical garden near our home and for a scoop of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream. I was determined not to spend any money that day, and I think I succeeded in having a lot of fun in the process. We split the cost with our friends April and Adam.

First stop LA County Arboretum, which is in Arcadia and is well known for these
We explored the Australia section for the first time and found some wonderful flowers (help Enid, I don't know what they are called).
Then on to the waterfall, with its lava rocks and stairs to the top

Finally, the much anticipated free scoop of ice cream. The unusually hot temperatures made this ice cream taste extra good.

Fun day!

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T23:11:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from our Easter Sunday:

Debs Park

2009-04-02T22:01:00.000-07:00

We met some friends at Debs Park for some exploring. It was a beautiful sunny morning and we had a wonderful time. Here are some pics:

We saw lots of these little lizards on the Butterfly Loop Trail.

The boys slowed down just long enough for a photo.

After a few photos I realized that he was "hiding" and not playing peek-a-boo.

They have this cute Children's Woodland play area, including a little cabin, climbing tree, stream and pond with minnows, a cave, and lots of dirt.

February

2009-02-28T22:02:00.000-08:00

We had some fun times this month. First off, the weather has been beautiful. My camelias are blooming and the jasmine are getting ready to explode. I can't wait to smell them.

We visited the park this morning before heading over to the Rosebowl for a Marine Corps Marching Band performance.

Thanks to cousin Austin for the awesome Army Jeep. We love taking it outside and using it as a bucket, a bull-dozer or whatever.

We weren't able to stay long enough to see the Marine Corps Band, which was a bit disappointing, but we made some great memories, including when our son exclaimed, "terrible" repeatedly during the warm-up band performance. He was referring to the dinosaurs on his cap, but the people around us didn't know that.

All tired out and ready to go home! It is hard work being cute. He was asleep half way to our house and took a nice long nap.

Getty Museum

2009-01-30T21:58:00.001-08:00

Our friends April and Adam invited us along for a visit to the Getty Museum. It was a beautiful day and I tried to snap as many pictures as I could. It wasn't easy considering that I am the uptight mother of a toddler who likes to extend his boundaries and explore (climbing up walls, standing in streams, crawling through rock gardens, rearranging flower beds, etc).

Here are a few that I thought were worth sharing.

This is right before he started crawling up the rocky slope.

I tried to snap shots while he was looking at me. He was really on the move.

In the "Family Room" area of the Getty Museum we discovered some fun activities. The boys made masks and enjoyed parading around with them for a little while.

The photo below is of him taking a turn at illuminating some midieval text. The text is from a 15th century Book of Hours manuscript.

Finally, I couldn't pass up a view of Downtown LA and Westwood skyline.

Trains

2009-01-30T21:51:00.000-08:00

I can't decide what caption to put on this picture. Maybe it says enough without a caption.

I love the new camera!

The Pink Panther Tribute

2009-01-10T06:54:00.000-08:00

In honor of the upcoming release of Pink Panther 2, (or maybe just good timing) here is an English lesson:

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2009-01-02T13:35:00.003-08:00

To celebrate the New Year, we watched the Rose Parade.
In order to get good seats we staked out our position New Years Eve at 10:30 am. We took turns during the day and night with some friends and kept ourselves busy playing games, snacking and reading.

Thanks to some friends (Gunns) watching our son over night, I was able to stay out and ring in the New Year with a Martinelli in a paper cup by the fire with my DH.

Finally morning came and we all anticipated the parade starting.

Pure joy!

The adults took turns holding our position for about 24 hours so that there would be room for our big group.

Here we are with Adam and Sam waiting for the parade to start.

Look Grandma!

Trains are the theme for this little boy's holiday season.

Hope everyone had a Happy New Year!

Visit from Santa

2008-12-23T14:18:00.000-08:00

Here is a special visit to Michael from the North Pole.

http://portablenorthpole.sympatico.msn.ca/watch/f6860abef4f54bde356e2553587a18be

Thomas videos

2008-11-05T07:28:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Daddy

2008-10-24T09:04:00.000-07:00

Daddy turned 32 yesterday. For the past several years we have diverged from the childhood tradition of an ice-cream cake for his birthday. A banana cream pie, giant cookie, and the "Lost" numbers cake are some of the ideas he has comes up with. This year was extra fun with a meatloaf cake and mini pies.

Say Cheese!

New York trip

2008-09-29T13:21:00.001-07:00

Here are some photos from our New York trip: First stop, Salt Lake City to drop off our son with Grandma and Grandpa. I am glad we had a chance to visit with my sister's family while we were there. Then it was off to New York City. It was everything that I expected and more. We went up the Empire State Building to get our bearings and were thankful for the beautiful weather. We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. Over my left shoulder you can see one of the five NY Waterfalls (a temporary art project if you can believe it).

The weather was great for the most part. We did a lot of walking. Our hotel was in midtown and we were able to walk to Central Park and to Times Square. We got tickets for David Letterman and were surprised when they changed the special quest from Meg Ryan to Barrack Obama. Security was tight. It was a fun experience sitting up close and seeing David Letterman in person.

We finally got to see Wicked. It was fantastic, expecially the music and the costumes.

Friday we took the ferry to Liberty and Ellis Islands. The rain started while we waited to take the ferry back to Battery Park in lower Manhattan and didn't stop until well after the Met's were supposed to play. The game was rescheduled, so we didn't get to see them play, but we were still able to get the baseball from Shea Stadium for our collection.

We were more successful at Yankee Stadium (though the Yankees were not). They lost to the Devil Rays. One more baseball makes thirteen now.

Earlier on Saturday we met up with my rad brother and his wife. They were back east for several months and were able to drive in to New York for the weekend and get together. We wondered together around China Town and Little Italy before we had to head off for the Yankees game.

We strolled in Central Park while munching on a bagel Sunday morning before catching the Taxi to the airport. It was already uncomfortably muggy at 9 in the morning.

We were so happy to see our son after being away from him for 5 days. He had a great time playing with his grandparents. They love him so much and took wonderful care of him. Don't let the scowl on his face make you think otherwise.

Ward Campout

2008-09-25T22:05:00.000-07:00

We were up at Trask again this year, with a bigger tent, a tarp, and an air mattress. Things worked out great. We had a fun time and it was nice to be up in the wilderness and away from the city at last.

Daddy loved taking the boys exploring all around the camp.

We especially enjoyed the Boy Scout Fort with the built in jail.

We are happy to have completed one successful family camping trip and hope that we can have more in the future.

Underwood Family Farms

2008-09-25T21:10:00.001-07:00

This was a fun day at the farm. We loved it all and wish that we would have had a little more time to pick some vegetables ourselves. Although, I believe that the tomatoes that I bought at their market were the best I have EVER had. Thanks again to April who drove us there.

The boys were in heaven climbing on all the different trains and mountains.

Krista's daughter Ally joined the boys for a ride around the tracks.

We were glad that they finally got some rest after playing so hard.

Disneyland

2008-09-18T21:27:00.000-07:00

Last month we were able to go Disneyland with our good friends.We had a great day!

Say Cheese!

Hop on the Birthday Train

2008-08-05T16:38:00.001-07:00

He knew exactly what to do with the candle!And he knew exactly what to do with the cake!

He even sang along

Happy 2nd Birthday

2008-07-29T23:34:00.000-07:00

We are making a tradition of our Sequoia trips. This time grandma and grandpa came along. We had a wonderful time. The birthday boy wasn't cooperating with the unfamiliar sleeping arrangements and decided to welcome his birthday with an early morning walk around the hotel and was first in line for the yummy waffles.

We employed a variety of methods to help him sleep. None were effective.

Happy 4th and Not a Baby Anymore

2008-07-07T15:15:00.000-07:00

What a fun weekend. For the 4th we met some friends at a nearby park to hang out and watch the fireworks. Since lasts year's attempt to see fireworks fizzled out bad, I was determined this year. Our son didn't want to be contained on our picnic blanket and kept running all over. After 30 minutes of following him and bringing him back, I thought I would take a break and walk with my friend to get dinner. Turns out our little walk turned into a 1.5 miles, so we took the bus back to save our feet and the chocolate shakes. The fireworks were fun. Our son was pretty scared at first and used his blanket to cover his eyes for the first half. After that he relaxed and we started pointing out the colors of the fireworks and copying their noise "boom boom boom". He couldn't stop talking about it on the way home and it was the first thing out of his mouth when he woke up in the morning.

We got him a toddler bed and last night was the first night he slept in it. He did great. He fell right asleep and we didn't hear him until he came walking into our room at 6 this morning. It was a little earlier than usual, so I let him climb in and he slept next to daddy for another 45 minutes. Today's nap was a little different. He escaped twice and I had to calmly put him back. He fell asleep soon and has slept for a little over 3 hours now, so I think he will be just fine.

The other indicator that he is not a baby anymore is that he successfully told me that he needed to go #2 and then went on the potty like a big boy. We have a long way until he is potty trained, but every little bit closer is a nice blessing.

Sleepy Lunch

2008-06-12T10:13:00.000-07:00

I love this!

Brushing Teeth

2008-06-12T09:33:00.001-07:00

We are trying to teach good oral hygiene and so are doing whatever it takes to get toddler's teeth brushed. Singing a song while we brush helps make sure we do it for enough time, but we didn't count on the other benefit. He sings along, which distracts him from the unpleasant task.

A Magic Day

2008-06-03T12:52:00.000-07:00

We had a fun day at Magic Mountain yesterday. He loved the little kid rides and I had a blast on the new X2.

Chris's Graduation

2008-05-16T13:26:00.000-07:00

Last week we went to Salt Lake to see Chris's graduation. Congrats, bro!

We had a wonderful visit. It was nice that the cousins were around. "Becky, where are you" could be heard all weekend, and even after we returned to California.

We also visited our good friend Kalana and her son Carson.

Visit to the Botanical Garden

2008-05-16T12:54:00.000-07:00

Our Parent Ed class had an outing to the Huntington Botanical Garden this week. It was a very fun trip, with so much for mom to enjoy and toddler to discover. We especially loved the children's garden. Here are some pictures and a video.

This fountain is so beautiful and the kids couldn't resist splashing in the green water. I loved this little umbrella tree. It was the perfect hiding spot. Best of all, the fog kept us cool.

More airport

2008-04-06T22:13:00.000-07:00

We're driving west to go pick up hubby from his class, and I hear coming from the back

"more, more airport"

"more airport!"

I can't help but laugh. He is also doing the sign for more while very passionately expressing that he wants "airport". He has been able to say airport for a few weeks now. Hubby had a few business trips, so on the way to and from the airport I tried to teach our little boy a relevent word to go with airplane. He picked it up right away, but now he says it anytime we head west and/or approach a large parking lot or city area with a lot of concrete.

Keep those synapses forming, little guy!

Here are the other words that he says and we can understand at 20 1/2 months:
(no particular order)
numbers 1-11, hat wet water picture what, Where are you? I love you. Ernie Elmo Sunny sun hippo dog cookie meow cup milk drink juice yellow red purple orange banana truck tractor book color drawing crayon pizza, All done, I pooped, Bert egg yeah no play happy silly head toes nose ear lips hair comb hand table chair kitchen hot cold clock helicopter (hekahoca) puzzle toy airplane diaper sock shoes lunch breakfast basketball baseball football soccer ball wheel car choo choo train track clue help dance Steve Joe show watch bike singing square star circle triangle twinkle hug diamond walk run up down yucky bubble boat bath light lock on off piano park grandma church Owen Hannah Chloe Adam April Sam Barbara crocodile duck bird quack tweet moo cow chicken noodle apple pear peach tree flower butter butterfly penguin bear monkey blanket pants shirt nap sleep lion giraffe elephant bunny rabbit ice cream bucket shovel fish sandwich cheese boat leaf glove pillow blocks Max Jack Talia build climb jump tower tall bug squirrel spider grandpa popcorn mama mommy yummy daddy towel frog cookie bread cupcake cracker snack clean, all clean, gorilla baby, boom boom boom, oh-no uh-oh pancake waffle airport spoon fork straw happened dropped play rock swing

Yeah, we aren't really worried about his cognitive development at this point!

Happy Easter

2008-03-25T16:36:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from Saturday. Our ward had an Easter Egg Hunt and then that afternoon we were treated with a yummy fruit basket from Grandma and Grandpa.

Our friend Sam was very helpful and showed us how Easter Egg hunting was done.

Deb's Park

2008-03-21T09:31:00.001-07:00

We visited the Audobon Center at Deb's Park yesterday and enjoyed a nice hike on the Butterfly Loop. The yellow here is all wild mustard plants. I was amazed at the beauty, especially considering that this park is in the middle of a densely popluated area and less than 1/2 mile from a freeway. This could've been the setting of my favorite childhood show.

We used our backpack, but he has grown so much, we will need to look for a bigger one.

The plants were much taller than I thought they would be. Certain parts of the trail had mustard on both sides, growing 7-8 feet high. Then we saw these plants. Not sure what they are.

Way cool. There was also poison oak on the trail, but we steared clear. It was a wonderful outing. We needed the exercise and the natural surroundings.

Commando

2008-02-07T13:33:00.001-08:00

I've been peed on before, but never twice in one day, by two different children.

Tuesday, I babysat a friend's two daughters (one almost 3 yrs and the other 3 months). They were a joy and I loved it. The older daughter is potty trained and told me that she needed to go, so into the bathroom we went. Perhaps because she didn't like our big potty she ran back out of the bathroom, so I brought her back in and encouraged her to take care of business. We almost had her unbuttoned when she just couldn't hold it anymore. As I rushed to put her on the seat so that the rest would go in the bowl, a little got on me. No big deal. It has happened before. With one toddler needing to be cleaned up and another wondering what was going on and wanting a bath anyway, in they both went, with the baby sitting safely off to the side watching.

Fast forward a couple hours. The toddlers are clean, dressed and playing in the nursery when I walk in to discover a wet diaper sitting on the floor. Where in the world did this come from? I thought. The best answer was my neglect to throw it in the diaper pail after the bath. Ewww. I know better than that. At least they weren't playing with it.

Fast forward another 6 hours. After lunch, naps, and the 2 cute girls back with their own family, it was just my toddler and me again. As we sat together getting his shoes on I experienced a very warm sensation on my leg. He just peed on me. His diaper must have overflowed (since I hadn't changed him since after his bath). How neglectful of me. Serves me right, I thought. Funny surprise when I got him on his changing table and he had NO DIAPER under his overalls. I laughed long and hard and he laughed right along with me. Who would've thought he could reach under his overalls and pull his diaper off. Who would've thought he would go 6 hours without relieving himself. My little boy going commando.

Next time I see a wet diaper laying around there will be a thorough investigation and no jumping to conclusions.

ER

2008-02-07T12:55:00.000-08:00

Our first trip to the ER was not as bad as expected, but not as good as I had hoped. While running around before dinner one night last week, out toddler tripped and hit his face at the foot of our bed. On his right eyelid he had a short, deep cut that bled quite a bit and though we were able to console him after a few minutes, decided that we needed to get him checked out and stitched up. It was a busy night in the ER. As anyone will know who has waited in the ER, you overhear bits and pieces of what happened to the other patients. Hearing about and seeing the toddler who pulled a pot of boiling water off the stove and onto his face, or seeing the man walk by with a bloody bandage on his shin, or hearing the woman outside not able to bear the news of the result of the car accident touched our hearts and we were willing to wait while those with more urgent needs were treated first.

He was a good boy in the waiting area. We made friends with another family whose toddler had hit her head, and he ran around and played in the children's area. Once we were checked in and had his vitals checked by a nurse, Ben ran back home to get us our dinner and some supplies to keep us entertained. He came back with some food and his laptop and DVDs. We had been there for about 3 hours and were discussing leaving and letting the cut heal on its own. Thankfully, the doctor called us back before we convinced ourselves to leave. We were relieved to get out of the noisy waiting area to the exam room where we were able to let the little guy fall asleep. After a while, the doctor came in to inspect the injury and recommended stitches. She had to numb the area, then have it irrigated, and then stitch it up. He was awakened from what was a peaceful sleep to painful needle pricks. The medicine worked immediately, but he was very emotional and it took a long time to calm him down. It was difficult for Ben and I because we had to pin him down using "adult strength". That boy is STRONG and didn't want all of us huddling around him, so he fought as much as he could. After calming down, the nurse came in to irrigate, which set him off again. The nurse left saying she was going to recommend to the doctor to give him some benedryl to calm his nerves. Then we sat and waited, turned off the lights again and were able to calm down the poor guy enough that he fell asleep. After about another hour, the doctor came in to do the stitches. Three of us held him still while the doctor put in 3 stitches. He tried his best to fight, but was so exhausted that after the 2nd stitch he just gave up, his spirit broke, and let us finish without the screaming and kicking. Seeing him like that was so sad. We would give anything to have taken his place.

All stitched up, we came home and he went to sleep without a wimper. He slept long the next morning and other than a little swelling, showed no signs of being effected by the night before.

The facial plastic surgeon checked his stitches on Thursday and removed them on Monday. Other than a little yelling at the surgeon, the stitches removal was painless. We can now barely see the injury that created this whole mess, but we will certainly never forget it.

Our Little Snowman

2008-01-16T15:34:00.000-08:00

Braving the cold weather during our Christmas vacation was more bearable because of the beautiful snow. Michael enjoyed tromping around outside and didn't mind slowing down for a photo. Love those eyes!

We borrowed a sled from the neighbor and pulled Michael and Cole around the front yard. They had fun, even when we turned too fast and the sled tipped.

Downward Facing Dog

2007-10-13T14:58:00.001-07:00

Look at that flexibility! I should take Yoga lessons from him.

Don't miss these other great posts!

2007-10-01T10:24:00.000-07:00

Please see

http://thefoolsintherain.blogspot.com/

For our first few posts. The rest will be ontheveranda from now on.

Socks - a 45 minute adventure condensed into 3 for your viewing pleasure

2007-10-01T09:52:00.000-07:00

Michael is busy all day stacking, filling, sorting, carrying, and dumping. It is very entertaining to watch his mind at work. He is walking now and learning to communicate. The points and grunts are getting more persistent and we hope they will turn into "please" and "thank you" soon. Airplane sounds like "up-ane" and peekaboo is "beekeeboo". Our little genius. He is also getting 4 new teeth, which will bring the total to 10!