Goin' Back to Cali...days 1 & 2

Last week we took a much needed mini vaca to California. We hit the road and went straight to Mission Beach where we played in sand, sun, and water to our hearts content. We also found a FAB park right along the beach which the boys loved. It had tons of equipment appropriate for toddlers like D and big kids like K, but also lots of picnic areas, grassy areas, and of course a boardwalk along the beach. Every time I go to San Diego I wish I could live there!

Check out my spidey moves!

Super cute!

This is the first time D has been to the beach and was old enough to really play. He loved it!King of the mountain!

San Diego sunset...not a great picture, but when will we ever get another one?

The next day we were off to the San Diego Zoo.... or as Kaleb calls it, the big, big zoo. It was fun, but Ben and I decided a zoo's a zoo. There were some amazing animals of course, and we really loved seeing the panda, polar and koala bears. Dylan loved the fish and Kaleb enjoyed the flamingos (which we see all the time at the Phoenix zoo). Also equally exciting to Dylan was a fly on the glass wall of the gorilla exhibit. Nice. The zoo was really pretty and lush and we enjoyed ourselves, but at the end of a long day thought there should have been more kid friendly fun like our zoo w/ playgrounds, splashpads, carousel, etc. Now we know...been there, done that!

Love bugs in the kiddie zoo.

We had to tear D away from the fish...just like his grandpa!

Taking a break in the shade with a friendly hippo.

2 mama bears w/ their cubs. The panda mama is nursing her cub in the background.

The pandas were really amazing!

We saw enough birds to last me a lifetime, but I thought this pic was quite nice.
We're out of here!

I'm trying to catch up our blog before Halloween, but this may be all I can get out today. More to come!

Just Another Day...

Ben's company had another batch of lay-offs. 5o more are job-less. Even though Ben works long hours, I am grateful that he has a good job in this rough economy and that his company seems to be done w/ the layoffs. He came back from our trip of taking two days off to 500 emails!!!

I busted out the ol' rollerblades today (for the third time EVER) and picked up Kaleb from preschool at Chrissy's. Quite an accomplishment after 5 days of vaca, temps in the upper 80's and two kids in the stroller. Also finished painting K's animals w/ him, washed the bedding, made a yummy dinner, and volunteered to pass out YES on 102 signs.

Kaleb learned the word "predicament" on Sesame Street today. He started using it this afternoon in context, "Mom...I'm having a predicament over here. I can't find the missing puzzle piece. It's a mystery!" He's also been singing and dancing all day long. Mostly "Elmo's World" rapper/hip-hop style and "Down, Down Baby". He changes the words to make them silly & it is pretty cute. We're taking the boys to our youth Monster Mash tomorrow night (Ben & I are chaperones) and I can hardly wait to see him bust a move! He also practiced riding his bike this evening and in his own words "learned to stop and go". Kaleb set the table for the first time today...he loves being my big helper boy!

Dylan is a rollercoaster today...one minute he'll be so happy, the next super grouchy! This morning I took him to the g. store while K was at preschool and he was so cute waving and babbling to everyone. He took a super long nap this afternoon, then woke up on one. Very clingy, not eating, just irritable all the way around. Somehow Ben is able to make him laugh even when he's in one of his moods.

Just another full day of fun in our lives, but one I'm very grateful for. Sometimes I can't believe how lucky I am to have such wonderful people to live, laugh, learn & love with forever!!!

Fall is in the Air...finally!!!

Here are a few pics from this weekend when we enjoyed temps in the 70's! Ah... it was heaven to be outside in the chilly air with jeans and long sleeves again! We enjoyed our Founder's Day festival, Nicholas' christening, and a visit to Gramma-Gramma's & Aunt Michele's. Dylan started clapping in the midst of fourth quarter craziness during the Cardinal's game (which they miraculously clung onto and won). It was so cute! He's already his daddy's boy when it comes to football season...gotta love it!

Little Winky Kaleb in the Tiger Bouncer.

Sneaking a kiss while K's busy bouncing.

My little pumpkin!

You call this a pumpkin patch...really?

Best huggers in the world, Dylan & Daddy.Goofball with Gramma-Gramma & glasses.

And here's a sneak peak, because I think Kaleb is quite "Dash"ing in his costume!
We can't wait for Halloween!!!

He Said, She Said

Over the past two weeks I've finished reading two nonfiction books that I really enjoyed. Not the typical chick-lit fluff, that I LOVE, but good and uplifting nonetheless. Here are a few excerpts I thought were worth sharing from The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch and Mother Teresa, In my Own Words.

He said:
If you can dream it, you can do it. --Walt Disney quoted by R. Pausch. He adds: It's important to have specific dreams.

She said:
I believe that politicians spend too little time on their knees. I am convinced that they would be better politicians if they were to do so.
So fitting for today!

He said:
Have something to bring to the table, because that will make you more welcome.

She said:
Holiness does not consist in doing extraordinary things. It consists in accepting, with a smile, what Jesus sends us. It consists in accepting and following the will of God.

He said:
If you have a question, then find the answer. The instinct in our house was never to sit around like slobs and wonder. We knew a better way: open the encyclopedia. Open the dictionary. Open your mind.

She said:
My secret is a very simple one: I pray. To pray to Christ is to love him.

He said:
Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted. And experience is often the most valuable thing you have to offer.

She said:
In the developed countries there is a poverty of intimacy, a poverty of spirit, of loneliness, of lack of love. There is no greater sickness in the world today than that one.

He said:
All you have is what you bring with you.

She said:
I never will understand all the good that a simple smile can accomplish.

If you'd like to read these and more, check out the thriftbooks link under the Sites to See sidebar on the bottom right. You can often buy used books for only 99 cents! There's nothing better than the simple pleasure of reading a good book....says ME! :)

First Steps...

I've been meaning to post this for a while now, so here you go... finally! Dylan's first steps, just a few weeks after his first birthday. He's gone from super-fast-catch-me-before-I-fall steps, to I-can- do-it-and-I-don't-need-you-Mama steps in just a few short weeks. My baby's no longer a baby... or so it seems at times.