Torrey Pines

A visit from Danpa usually means a visit to Torrey Pines beach. This visit was no different.

One thing was different about this beach trip with Danpa. You see, Teigue hasn't always been so brave at the beach. For some reason starting at around 2½ he became terrified of the beach- screaming and shaking occurred any time we got within 100 yards of the water. Going in the water? Forget it. Thankfully he discovered how much fun the beach was last summer when my brother Timmy and his family came to visit. Teigue saw Uncle Timmy go in the water and safely come out again. After that, brave Teigue showed up and from that point on we had a blast at the beach and the screaming was a thing of the past. 

My little man is now so brave, so comfortable with the water, that he walked all by his big boy self across the river that leads to the Torrey Pines Estuary (thankfully we went during a very low tide and he could do this safely). My, how much a little boy can change in a year.

Genetics

Genes are a powerful thing. They decide our eye color, hair color, how tall we are...amazing little things those genes are. Thankfully for Teigue, he has inherited his beautiful eyes and long lashes from Brady as well as his calm temperament. Teigue has also inherited Brady's...umm....toughness? when it comes to injuries. Sure Brady has broken 6 bones and fell out of a car, and I'm sure was very um...brave...during those incidents. But those of you that know Brady you are aware that he can sometimes slightly blow things out of proportion when it comes to his injuries. Sniffles are the flu, bonked fingers are broken or sprained...you get the idea. Well, just in case there was any doubt, Teigue is 100% Brady's son. You see, he scraped his little toe on something and was fine until a wee bit of blood appeared. You would have thought that cute little toe was broken the way that he was carrying on and on and on. Brady's son through and through.

Sunday at the Park

He may look innocent and sweet, but Teigue holds a very large secret. Teigue Fox is in fact the leader of a secret and very important society- a society that protects the local parks and canyons from bad guys- the Little Friends! Today at the park we were able to watch this elite group in action. It was very impressive.

It is important that all Little Friends are able to get to, and away, from dangers as soon as possible, so Teigue taught them how to fly.

They mastered the task quite easily.

All little friends must have an alter ego. Jayno took on Wolverine. She may look sweet and innocent, but look out!

The Little Friends then decided that the training was over for the day in the super secret way- crying and having a melt down. The training will resume next week.

Artist Teigue

Think he has a certain style? Even his coloring books look like this.

San Francisco and Napa

When Brady and I decided to celebrate our anniversary in San Francisco and Napa, we thought it would be a fun idea to drive there- 500 miles With 2 kids under 5. How'd it go? Proud to say that the kids were such good little travelers. We could just do without listening to Cow Planet or the Broccoli Song 200x in a row.

We were all very excited to get a corner room at our hotel with two walls of windows that overlooked one of our favorite cities.

We discovered that, thankfully, San Francisco has some wonderful candy stores to reward children that are able to happily sit in a car seat for close to 10 hours. Candy stores that sell doggie licorice. Happiness.

And while a little lady slept (and slept and slept), a little boy was able to do his favorite things in the world- walk through small ponds, discover houses made out of bushes and attempt to skip rocks while exploring Golden Gate Park in the rain. 

The next day we got up and headed to Napa where we relaxed and played after the grueling 1 hour drive through beautiful wine country. 

Then, the reason why we went up to San Francisco in the first place- our Anniversary Dinner. For my birthday/anniversary/Christmas last year (why did I decide to have everything in one month?) Brady gave me the present of going anywhere in the world to have the best meal of my life. I decided to stay "local" and try a little restaurant in Napa out that we had heard was good- The French Laundry. After leaving the kids with our friend Corey's family (with thankfully no tears and only a "Have fun!" Who are these kids?) we set off to have, hopefully, the best meal we have ever had.

We can now both see why it takes forever to get a reservation and it's one of the top 50 in the world. The food was amazing. Spectacular. Every course was better that the one before. Beef that just melts in your mouth. Oysters in a sauce that you wish you could lick of the plate. Wine pairings that make the food pop and explode in your mouth. Did we love it? Brady had mushrooms- that is how good the French Laundry is. I wish we could go back every week. 

2411 Webster Street

2411 Webster Street. San Francisco. Each time I come to this apartment building, I always wonder what went on behind those doors 53 years ago when my mom lived there. Was she really as innocent as she claimed to be? Or did she have crazy parties? Did she really run out of the room when anyone brought "Douglas" out? For those of you that have no idea what Douglas is- just think of San Francisco. In the 60's. You guess what it is now? Apparently Douglas was the code for it. I love thinking about what she was like then, and I always go by the apartment every time I am in the city. I think the Pat in my brain is a lot more tame than the Pat that lived in that building. I just wish I could get a peek...

Coronado

For some reason, I think that we are going to have a bit of fun at the beach this summer. The kids are at a pretty perfect age. They are comfortable with the water, love to search for animals in the tide pools and whoa... wait... check out those muscles...

We found a channel that only comes out during low tide. Apparently the owners of the Del in the 20's built this wall to make a calmer beach for their guests. Unfortunately for the guests, this wall only shows its pretty little face during low tide. Thankfully for us, it makes a wonderful little channel for swimming.

This excitement was all too much for Jayno. An hour nap was in order.

While the lady slept, my very big boy safely climbed and climbed over rocks, through pools and over some more rocks and went on a great little adventure by himself. 

And then, a moment after this picture was taken, he realized that he was a tad farther away from me that he wanted to be and became my little boy again.

The best part of the day? No, not the blue ice cream with sprinkles or the crab we found walking on the wall. No, my little man found some garbage on the beach and took it to the trash can to throw it out. I am so proud of my little budding environmentalist.

Crazy Hair

On Friday Teigue's little preschool is having a Crazy Hair Day. Basically just a reason for 4 year olds to act silly- you know, because 4 year olds aren't silly at all. Especially mine. We have looked at pictures and thought about what we were going to do- mohawk, colors, spikes. Teigue decided it would be fun to look like Wolverine. With his hair now long I figured that his idea would be perfect. Today we mixed up some gelatin to try out our style...and discovered that gelatin and water on dry hair is not the best idea. Or at least the mixture that I found online. After some tears and a shower, we decided that gelatin + wet hair + pony tail holders = super silly crazy hair. 

Since I can't be 100% certain that Teigue is going to let me do it on Friday (we are going to try Wolverine again, but this time more water mixed with the gelatin), I thought it best to take some pictures, just in case. See not silly at all.

Rollin Rollin Rollin

Remember when you were a kid and rolling down hills was the most fun thing ever? You know what is more fun? Rolling sideways. It takes much more work, but based on the giggles that erupted afterwards, a bit more silly fun.

Mother's Day Weekend

Is there really anything better than a wildflower bouquet picked by a little boy (with just a little help from his Daddy to get the really high flowers) as a way to start the weekend? 

Happy Mother's Day Weekend!

Tide Pools

Ever have one of those days where everything was just perfect? That was today. The kids got along all day long, I was in a great mood all day long, the weather was warm and sunny and the tide at the tide pools was perfect for exploring. I love days like today. 

We found the biggest sea anemones that we have ever seen- big enough to have our hands swallowed up by one, 

about 20 little crabs waiting to pinch our little fingers, 

and treasures upon treasures upon treasures. 

Baseball

Stella decided that she had to play baseball today. When Stella decides something, it must be done. Or else. Thankfully we were able to find the necessary equipment and start a game. Stella batted first. 

Once we worked on her form, she became an expert ball player and then needed to pitch.

Her turn at the mound went something like this:

OK, ready? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7... ummm Stell, you just have to count to 3 and then throw it...Oh, OK. 1, 2, 3...no no Teiguee, come closer to me. OK 1, 2, 3...wait wait Teiguee, put your hands like this on the vat. No no, now put the vat on your shoulder. OK, you ready Teiguee? Teiguee you ready? Ummm, Stella, he's waiting, just throw the ball...1, 2, 3. *throw*

Don't let Teigue's face in this picture fool you. I know he looks like he is about to hit a home run. He probably would have. Unfortunately little lady is much better at the plate than at the mound. Her pitch landed about a foot away from her feet. We'll work on that next week.

Crocodile Rock

Jayno went out on a date with Brady to the mall yesterday and picked out some new swim goggles. Naturally, they needed to be tested out in the bath. 

Helping

My Future Farmer of America member.