playgroup playdate

We're part of several playgroups in the area and they are all very large. Our favorite playgroup met up for an ice cream party playdate at a nearby sprayground/playground park. Twenty-five moms RSVPd for the event and many of us have two children. Yes, we took over the park, but it was great fun for everyone.

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Meredith loves to stand on the spot where the water shoots up, but once the water actually sprays she's like a deer in headlights. Totally frozen, crying and I have to go get her. Thomas somehow managed to play in the water and not get wet at all. Hmmmm...?

bike ride

Today I took the kids for a ride in the bike trailer. They've been in it together before but only for walks. Today we attached it to my bike and away we went! This particular Burley model is for two children, up to 100 pounds total. I was concerned at first that they might be uncomfortable together, but they actually seem to be okay. I can't imagine pulling the two of them when they total 100 pounds; we'll have to find Thomas something else then. Today we only rode for 20 minutes due to sun and hills, but we still enjoyed feeling the wind in our faces and going for a ride.

Note to self: Inflate all tires on both trailer and bike before next ride. This will make the outing much easier and more enjoyable. Also, find a FLAT area to ride when pulling the kids. Leaving directly from the house and tackling the hills will only cause super sore and tired muscles. It isn't necessary.

"Hi Grandma!"

As all babies and toddlers do, Meredith loves talking on my cell phone and going through my wallet. This afternoon she was "talking" on the phone when it suddenly started to ring. I don't know if it was ring tune or the vibration of the phone, but the look of surprise on her face was priceless!

flying

fun with laundry

Thomas and Meredith really enjoy helping me with the laundry collection. We work together to strip all the beds, pile up the dirty laundry and toss it over the stairs to the floor below. The reward for all their hard work is the movement of dirty laundry from the stairs, down the hall, through the kitchen and into the laundry room. They climb aboard piles of sheets and blankets and I pull - sometimes quickly and sometimes slowly, but always with a little swerve here and there. They would agree that doing laundry is great fun. But for me, I get the added bonus of an easy and quick sweep of the floor (at least the path we're creating anyway!) ~ as well as their smiling and laughing little faces.

learning to save $$

Well, I don't know if they are necessarily learning to save money, but they sure love to put coins in their piggy banks. Thomas said he's saving for college (we sure have him trained well, don't we?) and Meredith, according to Thomas, is saving to buy the girl next door a cactus. Huh?? Either way, it's a good activity that keeps them both busy and we get an opportunity to talk about the different coins and the images on them. And they are both starting to have a nice little pot of $$ for something someday...
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[note: The red stuff on Thomas' feet is ink. He's been drawing all morning. He really gets into his drawings -- laying across the table, standing on the paper...]

Laguna Beach

MTV aired a wildly popular faux reality show titled "Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County" a few years ago. The show followed the lives of rich teenagers living in Laguna Beach and attending the local high school. Needless to say, teenagers everywhere really enjoyed this show and one of our favorite teenagers was no exception. She recently celebrated her birthday so we were delighted to find a small gift to send her from Laguna Beach, the real Orange County. I have a feeling she's going to love it! [K ~ It'll be in the mail Monday morning! Happy late birthday!!]

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Meredith hangs out for a second... and then runs away!

Happy Independence Day!

We celebrated the 4th with a trip south to Coronado. It's a peninsula off San Diego (but feels like an island) that is home to several resorts, a golf course, two naval stations and roughly 26,000 residents who are lucky enough to call this community "home". The older residences and tree-lined (flat!) streets reminded me of our old Portland neighborhood, but much nicer. Coronado is a fantastic vacation destination with beautiful beaches, a long main strip of quaint shops and everything one could want or need to have a memorable stay. We were just there for the day today, but definitely will be returning for a long weekend sometime!

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Today we arrived just in time for the annual Fourth of July parade. With over 150 floats, bands and groups, this was a long parade. Two hours of full sun and not the most comfortable seats left us seeking shade, food and somewhere to just sit. After the parade, we made our way over to the Hotel del Coronado which is as beautiful as I had heard. There we found some yummy ice cream, some live music playing on the deck and great views of the busy beach scene. The day was very enjoyable for all of us!

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As for fireworks, we were back home long before those started. Meredith went to bed at her usual time, but Thomas got to stay up and watch the show at Legoland from our 2nd floor deck. After the display he went to bed and about 10 minutes later all the shows in this area began. From the deck, we were able to see shows in three neighboring cities and from the front of the house we watched the display at the Four Seasons. They are only a mile away so those were quite loud and impressive. It was a nice (quiet?) way to end the day after such a busy morning and afternoon in the sun and crowds.

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above: approaching Coronado and looking back at San Diego

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the military was well-represented

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left: old (little) cars with old men - always a favorite!

right: Meredith directs the parade participants

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left: enjoying the parade

right: enjoying ice cream at the Hotel del Coronado (yes, our family is very serious when it comes to eating ice cream!)

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Hope your celebration was enjoyable, too!

dot to dot

It's always fun to see the kids do something I didn't know they could do. I explained to Thomas what connecting dots is all about, drew a line from 1 to 2 and was distracted by Meredith... A few minutes later he said, "Mommy, look! I'm all done."

art gallery

Late this afternoon we were at the library so Thomas could give his "book report" and decided to step into the art gallery adjacent to the main library (but part of the library complex) to take a look. I hadn't taken the kids into an art gallery before and thought this small, one room gallery would be a great first experience. Before entering we talked about appropriate gallery behavior and I reminded both several times that we do not touch anything and we keep our voices down...

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The exhibition featured a local metal sculptor and included more than 40 pieces of his work. All quite industrial and simple in form, but beautiful and interesting just the same. And all were things that looked like great fun to touch or drive Hot Wheels cars on. However, Thomas did a great job standing over them and looking and talking but never touching. Until the last, large piece that hung on the wall. He raised his foot to step on it (the form was similar to a street lamp with a large base) and both myself and the curator gasped. I guess it was a little loud and it definitely echoed in this small space which scared him so that was the end of our art gallery visit.

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Between Mr. Active I-want-to-climb-up-on-and-jump-off-of-everything Boy and Miss Shrieking I-love-to-hear-myself and I'll do whatever I want because I'm a princess and being a princess is hard work Girl, it may be awhile before we go back. Not a long while, but a little while.

WHY the quad is in the garage

fearless toddler

testing her balance and skills

smiling, laughing

finger paints

left: Meredith's creation - I call it "twister"

right: "Strawberries in a field" by Thomas

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The kids love to paint. Meredith hasn't spent as much time painting since she also likes to taste (read: eat) the paint, but Thomas really enjoys the activity and does a great (mess free!) job. He paints at home, at preschool and at the botanical gardens. Sometimes he'll title the piece and talk about what he's painting as he goes. I love that he loves to paint and do art projects. It's fun for me!

county fair

Above: Kiddieland from the ferris wheel (main fair is behind the grandstands on the left) ~ ocean is beyond ~ what a view!

It's fair season and the San Diego County Fair is in full swing! Held at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, this fair is huge (largest annual event in San Diego County and one of the largest fairs in the country for attendance) and, as with all fairs, so much fun. I love the smells, the sights, the foods and fair people - both the workers and the visitors! It's all fun...

Thomas enjoys the rides
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...especially this one with daddy!

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Meredith is bummed she isn't tall enough for rides

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mmmm... fair foods

future lifeguards?

This morning we enjoyed some beach play time with friends and about 100 kids (8 to 16 years old) training to be Junior Lifeguards. What a great opportunity for kids to stay active and enjoy hours at the beach every single day for weeks. I love this program and would love to see our two participate in this. But for today, we were onlookers of the program and sandcastle builders and pool diggers and explorers of aquatic wildlife and rock gatherers...

That pickup in the photo is the lifeguard. The ocean was a little rough right in front of us so they pulled up, the guy jumped out with his life preserver gear and he ran out into the ocean to warn boogie boarders and swimmers to move down shore and to not go out beyond waist deep. It was no Bay Watch moment (no, I didn't watch this show), but an older, not quite as in shape, guy who ran rather slow. It was not spectacular in any way.

preschool

Upon arriving at home after picking him up from preschool today...

Thomas: "I don't want to get out [of the car seat]. I wish I could stay at preschool. All. Day. Long."

Really? We could look into making that happen...

no "training" necessary

You know when you really dread something and you just put it off hoping that one day it'll go away or the problem will solve itself...? Potty training is one of those things. I sort of hoped that if I dragged my feet long enough then maybe Thomas would just potty train himself. It wouldn't surprise me given his personality.
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Interest has been on and off again for the past year, but during our trip to Oregon recently he became interested again after watching his dad pee. Starting preschool this month has also helped. So, last Tuesday we put all the pull-ups away and brought out the underwear. A couple chants of "Underwear is fun to wear!", a little dancing around and lots of show & tell one afternoon ("Mommy, look! My penis is out.") and he's been doing great! I initially thought we'd continue with pull-ups during naps and bedtime, but he didn't want to wear them during naps. And he's woken up every morning (but one, and I know it's because he had a tall glass of milk right before bed) dry so we could probably do away with them at night, too. Only one accident early on and he's been using the toilet like a champ -- at our house, at a friend's house, public toilets and urinals... He's done it all and is doing fantastic! I knew if I waited long enough he'd figure it out himself. :)

SeaWorld

Our family skipped our usual Tuesday activities of work, preschool, etc. It was our 8th anniversary, some friends from Portland were in town, the weather was perfect... all were great excuses to visit SeaWorld for a day of fun! A new area, Sesame Street Bay, had opened since our last visit so we spent a lot of time in there and Thomas loved it. The rides and activities were all perfect for him. We also caught the dolphin and whale shows and rode the SkyTower. On a clear day, the view at the top is amazing!