whales playing

whales at Dana Point from cherl willardson on Vimeo.

Not as easy to see in the video, but one whale stopped to play for a few minutes in front of us. So fun to see!

After 2.5 hours on a boat in the ocean...

Dana Point, Calif.

A nice woman offered to take our photo today... and what a nice photo she took!

whalewatching in Dana Point

Thomas' K class has been studying whales since this is the time of year that the Grey Whales pass San Diego during their migration south to warmer, calmer waters. Last spring I put whalewatching tour on my list of things to do with him but, of course, that was the wrong time of year. With the kids on their mid-winter break this week (aka "ski week") and a nice break in the rains early this week, I knew today would be a perfect day for us to go.

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There are lots of companies offering whalewatching tours out of San Diego, but I chose one north of us out of Dana Point. They have special pricing on Tuesdays (half price!), the time of day worked well for us, the tour length was just right (2 hours vs. 3 to 3.5 hours or more!) and they offer a guarantee: if you don't seen something that day, you're given a ticket to come back again for free. The people on board all around us had been on previous tours within the last week and were all back using their "free ticket". This had me a little concerned but I figured we'd just chalk it up to a nice 2 hour cruise on the ocean if nothing else.

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But we got so lucky today! The boat left the harbor at noon and headed straight out into the Pacific Ocean. Within the first 10 minutes, I spotted a water spout straight ahead. It was pretty far away but I saw it! I was the first one, then the people around us saw it and about 20 seconds later the captain above us announced that a whale had been spotted. We got as close as we could without disturbing the two Grey Whales (which really isn't very close) and followed them from Dana Point to the San Clemente Pier. It was almost a full hour of watching these beautiful creatures surface, spray water, play with the sealions and dolphins, fluke (when their tail only is above water), wave their fins... It was incredible and, of course, photos and video don't do it justice.

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During the return trip, we came upon 10 common dolphins. We've seen dolphins from the piers and while standing on the beach, but to see them up close was really cool. When the boat slowed, the dolphins played around the boat. Amazing! When we started up again, they followed the boat and played in the wake. Later, a sealion also swam up alongside and then surfed in the boat's wake.

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Thomas and I loved this experience! I wish Mike and Meredith could have joined us, but Mike gets motion sickness and I didn't know what to expect so I thought it best to not bring Meredith. However, next time she'll definitely go with us. What a memorable afternoon!

Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve

Our family enjoyed a great afternoon hike today at Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve near Escondido. We hadn't been since we first moved here but at that time we had Meredith in the BOB jogger and both dogs with us. It's a steep, rocky hike straight up so we didn't get very far that day. But today, with their little legs, these kids did a great job hiking the approx. 1.5 to 1.75 miles to the top (elev. 1140 ft) and back down. Along the top ridge, the views are incredible. Cleveland National Forest with its snow-capped mountains to the east, Lake Hodges to the south, and the beautiful Pacific Ocean to the west. At one point, we could even make out a landmark just 3 houses away from ours!

San Diego Natural History Museum

We haven't explored Balboa Park in San Diego as much as we'd like. For one, it's a 40 minute drive away. And two, the park is expansive with 14 museums, a botanical building, outdoor gardens and trails, the San Diego Zoo, amusement attractions, performing arts buildings, puppet theater, golf course, tennis club, outdoor amphitheater, restaurants, playground... you get the picture. You could spend weeks exploring all that is at this incredible park. Needless to say, there is a lot to see and do! Every once in awhile we try to explore another area of Balboa Park. Today, that meant a visit to the San Diego Natural History Museum -- our first visit to this museum!

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We all agreed during the drive home that our favorite part of the 3.5 hour museum visit was watching Thomas hold the 50lb Boa Constrictor. He didn't hesitate when the expert asked for volunteers and the grin plastered on his face let us know he was enjoying every second of it. Definitely the highlight for us all today!

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If the weather cooperates, Thomas and I will do a (grey) whale watching tour Tuesday afternoon out of Dana Point. The last photo is a Grey Whale's (skeletal) head. Hope we catch sightings of the real thing out there during the tour!

Meredith's swollen lip

Meredith got a little fat lip this morning on her way to preschool. Mike is out of town and Thomas wasn't feeling well (he had been up all night with a low grade fever and upset tummy) so I had her walk with our neighbor and his two girls. But, that's how it always happens, isn't it? The one time you aren't there an accident happens. Today, it was a curb that tripped her in her brand new shoes.

Thomas' note for daddy

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LEFT (note posted on the front door):

Daddy, there is a envelope on the wall.

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RIGHT (note posted on the hallway wall):

It is up above.

Daddy, do not forget to take the green envelope.

It is on the wall.

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Clearly there was no help from me with this little writing project Thomas came up with earlier today. The kids always miss their dad when he is away and are super excited that he'll be home tomorrow!

scooting around the park

This afternoon the kids and I met up with a friend at a Farmer's Market for lunch/snacks and play. We all had a great time, but Meredith was disappointed she couldn't ride her scooter (the playground didn't have any hard surfaces). Afterwards, on our way to the grocery store, we stopped at a park so they could ride around. Both kids are getting really good, often going much faster than I feel comfortable seeing. Today I told Meredith to slow it down when she seemed to be losing control. Her response? "But I like to go fast!!" She's always trying to keep up with her big brother.

monochromatic dressing

Thomas has been in a stage for a few weeks now that I've dubbed "monochromatic dressing". He picks a color to wear for the day and insists that both the top and the bottom have to be that one color. Today, in the photo above, you can see he was red. Yesterday he was gray but last night when we dressed in warmer clothes to go out he was black. Earlier this week he had a blue day and a green day. I've thought it odd in the past but didn't think much more of it until yesterday at the park. I couldn't see him and when my friend asked me what he was wearing I had to say "Gray, today he's in gray and gray." Kids go through the strangest phases, don't they?

family photo

Coastersaurus, Legoland California

Meredith & Mommy

One of my favorite features of the iPhone is the ability to turn the camera around so you can see yourself when you snap a self-portrait. I don't take enough photos of myself with the kids, but with this phone I'm beginning to do it more often. Meredith and I enjoyed almost 2 hours at Legoland this afternoon and went on every ride she wanted to do. We love that the park is nearly empty this time of year!

the sweet tooth

Meredith got some chocolate this morning at a playgroup playdate. Some was for her and some was for Thomas. She brought one along when we went to pick him up from school but decided to eat it herself instead. I didn't notice until she had already eaten half of it and when I asked her about it...

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Me: "Did you just eat your brother's chocolate?"

Meredith: "No."

Me: "It looks like you ate it."

Meredith: "It melted."

Me: "Inside your mouth? You have chocolate all over your face."

Meredith: "Oh! That's so weird."

Zoo day

polar bears to climb ~ 19 month old Panda chewing on bamboo
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an anteater taking a stroll ~ always a favorite: petting the goats
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Thomas requested the polar bears exhibit and Meredith wanted to see the pandas. We made sure to hit both of those exhibits and spent the remainder of our SD ZOO visit today in the new Discovery Outpost. This area has a playground, petting zoo and lots of fun animals that kids love. Other favorites: the Insect Hall, the Reptile Hall and a funny show we caught inside the Discovery Outpost that was full of magic tricks and science experiments. It was a nice way to spend this 78* day.

phonetic spelling

Thomas' class is given a sentence every day and asked to write their own sentence(s) following it. Below are some that he's written lately. Bold is the given sentence, italics is the sentence he came up with. In some sentences, the phonetically-spelled words are tricky to decipher so I've written in blue what he was trying to write. I love these.

The pig is big. The pig has a rat.

The rat has a cap. The rat is sad.

The man has a dog. The dog likes to listen.

The pig ran to the hut. He went to slep.

A rat had a nut. The rat likte the nut.

My dad got a bat. My dad has a mitt.

The bug sat on a dog. The dog said "Give me a hat". The bug did give the dog a hat.

The rat said, "Here is a hat!" The dolfin wlr (wore) the hat to the stlr (store).

The bug dug in the sand. The bug faond a pes uv glld (piece of gold). The bug brot it hom.

I have a cup for my mom. I filld the cup with hot coco.

My dog digs in the sand. I dig in the sand.

The cat hit the rat. The cat bit the cow.

Zig the pig is big. Zig the pig is not fast.

The man is not hot. The man duz not ned the fan.

The frog sat on a log. The frog kot a fli. The frog is happy.

The bug sat in a can. The bug flu wa (away).

My dad and I have fun. Win we ar all dun we have icrem (ice cream).

movie morning

This morning I had the bright idea of taking the kids to the KIDTOONS movie they show every Saturday and Sunday morning at the movie theater near our house (2 miles). Every month they show a different movie. Tickets are just $2.50 each for these 45 minute movies. We've taken the kids once before when it was a wet day but only the one time. Today I wanted to get us out of the house for awhile so Mike could get some things done without distraction so I suggested to the kids that we walk to the theater. They were so excited about this different adventure. I figured we would walk down to the theater, see the movie and maybe grab a bite to eat nearby after the movie before calling Mike to come pick us up. I didn't know if the kids could do the full 4 mile walk without too much complaining -- but they did!
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They were amazing and I was so proud of them for walking the whole way. During the walk down we hadn't allowed much extra time so we needed to keep a steady walking pace to get to the movie on time. A friend drove by and stopped to chat for a minute, but other than that it was a pretty uneventful walk down. On the return walk, we took a different route to make it a full loop -- and we took our time. We talked about the flowers and plants we passed, met a ladybug and bumblebee, watched a hawk soar above our heads, and saw all the lovely things we don't see when we're driving these same streets. The kids did such a great job. I often find myself expecting too much of them, and then other times they surprise me when I totally underestimate what they are capable of.

Character Award

Thomas w/pal Taj (this sweet boy tells me T is his best friend)

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Thomas was presented with a Character Award this morning during a school assembly with the Kindergarten classes. Each month all the classes at his school focus on a different character trait and the last two months have been Caring and Respect. The award today recognized those students who exhibit these two character traits both in the classroom and on the playground.
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During the assembly they showed a video that talked about Caring and Respect. We were surprised to see Thomas "interviewed" in the video! Later when I asked him about it he said he volunteered to go talk to the kids producing the video. He was one of three kids in the whole elementary school to be interviewed in the video. And it wasn't just shown to the Kindergarteners because later we learned that our neighbors had seen the video during a different assembly this morning.
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We couldn't be more proud of this awesome kid. Way to go, Thomas!!

Thomas' special things

Thomas uses this bookshelf in his bedroom to keep his special things. I don't know exactly what constitutes a special thing, but these are things he treasures for whatever reason. I love looking at these shelves from time to time and watching him add things to the collection. Most of the items are things he's received in the past year, from school. His teacher has a treasure box and the kids earn opportunities to pick something for themselves. He sure loves rewards.