so cal

After the wedding we enjoyed a little of the ocean's waves and a lot of disney. Here's our version of the ocean and the oc.

 

 

 We didn't spend much time at the beach. It was short and sweet. I wish we would have had more time to build sandcastles and search for sea shells but we were on a mission. To Disneyland.

Tate's favorite ride was Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blaster. He went 3 times. And Jack's was the Go Gadget Coaster in Toontown. Twice on that one. We made the small blunder of taking the boys on Splash Mountain (which Jack just made the height cutoff for, we should have known then...) I have a picture but I will spare you the gory details. On the next ride the worker at Winnie the Pooh had to convince them that it was not going to be scary. And Tate's arms may have been shaking just a little bit. We felt terrible and took them on their favorites next.

We were usually beat by about 5pm and headed back to our hotel for dinner and a little swimming. We only spent two days up in Anaheim and it was exhausing. By then we were ready for our next adventure.

Back to Arizona for a little more fun in the sun... 

n + s: a wedding

My little brother got married. In La Jolla, California. To a wonderful girl.

The weather was perfect. The scenery, breathtaking. The ring bearers could not have been cuter.

Here's some of my favorites.

As soon as the boys laid eyes on the ocean they began begging to jump in. I promised as soon as the wedding was over we could dip in our toes. Soon our toes became our ankles, then legs. And then the waves crashed us right over. (See how firmly I'm griping those little arms.) We weren't exactly done with all the wedding festivities so we headed back to the hotel for a change of clothes before the reception. And after the reception the real ocean fun began. More to come...

how to pack a hat

If anyone knows, please let me know. Because I will be schleping her thru the airport in hand or maybe on head. I just couldn't leave her home knowing there are beach days ahead.

what i'm dreaming of this week...

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to you:

dear eggo waffles:
why do you tempt me each and every morning? topped with peanut butter you are the breakfast of my dreams.

dear new jersey tanning mom:
after seeing yourself on tv you might want to lighten up on the bronzer...oh that's your skin...maybe start tanning just once a day then.

dear sunshine:
it's nice to see you. please stay for a few days.

dear jeans:
are you getting tighter? your distant cousin, sweatpants, have stolen my heart. if only there were something that looked like jeans but felt like pajamas...

dear california:
we are looking forward to seeing you soon. please welcome us with your staple of warm weather and lots of sun.

dear new iPhone case:
your cheery yellowness makes me happy.

dear hummus:
your serving size is much too small. i think a minimum of half a tub per sitting is much more reasonable.

dear storage unit:
bye, bye. hope to see you... never again.

high jinks

Jack had a big day yesterday of causing his usual mischief. We were at a fine eating establishment when he pointed down at the table and said "there's a man going potty." And then repeated it in the parking lot.

Since we might just have a few days without rain, we decided to start painting the deck. There's no house project that goes on without a little help from the boys so they each got their own paintbrush and bowl of paint. Instructions were to paint the spindles and try not to drip. About 30 minutes in, Jack had paint on his forehead, legs, shoes, shirt and covering his hands. Always the problem solver, he quickly decided to put his hands in the gutter run off from the house which was still holding some rain water. Here is the sweet before picture. Don't let it fool you.

And I think we will round things off with something that happened earlier in the week. Something to do with going potty in the kitchen and trying to clean up the mess with toilet paper. He's no dummy, that's for sure.

5 senses in the springtime

sound: birds chirping in the morning, music from the iPod, the occasional goose hissing (to protect it's babies) while we walk through the park, the squeals of delight while the boys run around popping bubbles

smell: the freshness after a nice rain, I'd like to say fresh cut grass but sadly we still have only the post flood dirt

taste: time to dust off the ol' BBQ grill and put it to good use. steak, burgers, chicken, potatoes and veggies. now I want steak and it's 8am! oh and how can i forget the dairy queen now open after their winter hiatus. blizzards for everyone!

feel: the sunshine hitting my bare arms. with sunscreen of course. nothing like a hefty dose of vitamin D the old fashioned way.

sight: fuzzy little goslings in the park, green grass in the non flood areas, chalk art on the sidewalks

After hibernating like a brown bear all winter it's time to shed the dreaded 'winter layer' and show that pastey white skin to the sun. To me this is spring.