Saturday, March 26, 2016

Spring Break 2016!

L had his spring break this last week, so in true spring break fashion we headed out of town to the beach.

OK, it was a little different from the college days of Spring Break. Instead of loading up my crappy ford escort with bikinis, Coors light, and too many passengers, we loaded up our family SUV with three kids, snacks for the road, and an audio book. My, oh my…. how times have changed!

But, nevertheless, there was the beach. So without further ado, I give you Spring Break 2016!

The Beach

I mentioned the beach, right? I admit, I was not totally on board with hitting it up this trip. The beach in March tends to be cold and foggy…. not totally my idea of a good time. But the boys (ALL the boys, S included!) really wanted to go, so off we went.

And despite being chilly and foggy, it was beautiful. Mother Nature did not disappoint!



L has loved going to the beach and chasing waves since he was about 3, but it's taken L2 and R a little while longer to warm up to it. Last time we went, L2 didn't move from his spot on the sand and was not having it at all. I'm so happy that both of them seemed to really enjoy themselves this time, although neither of them is quite ready to brave the cold water yet!




And while L is not old enough just yet to go surfing (although his dad is counting down the days!) he enjoyed showing me his surfing moves on shore!



Brunch

Two of my best friends from high school both live in Southern California, and luckily this trip we were able to coordinate our schedules to meet up for brunch! We met at an adorable little restaurant in Hollywood, and even though it's been two years since we've seen each other we picked up exactly where we left of!

One of them is getting married in September, so there was lots of wedding and bachelorette party talk!



Underwood Farms

One of our favorite little places is a cute family owned farm called Underwood Farms. The boys always have a blast running around, climbing on the play trains, riding the cow train, and going through the petting zoo!



L2 didn't want to do the petting zoo, but L and R had fun brushing the goats!



And R was intrigued by this huge bunny! He desperately wanted to be friends, but after a few minutes of R's loving the bunny escaped and hid from him!



The cow train is always a favorite!

(OK, he looks miserable, but I promise he loved it once we started moving!)

And since it was so close to Easter the farm had some extras set up, like a cute little maze through the corn and a chance to meet the Easter Bunny.


(L was the only one brave enough to actually sit next to the Easter Bunny)






Chore Time

My in-laws own horses and the boys always get a huge kick out of helping Papa with all the chores… including cleaning stalls! I wish I could get them to clean their rooms at home, but apparently shoveling horse poop is fun!



So, like I said, spring breaks are a little different now, but it was a pretty amazing trip!

Friday, March 25, 2016

Field Day/St Paddy's Day

It's hard to believe that there is only about two months of school left, and L will be done with Kindergarten! It's been an great year, and I am constantly amazed by how wonderful this school is.

Last week they had an in-school field trip for "Farm Day" and then they had field day. Remember field when you were a kid? It was pretty much the most fun day ever!


S was able to work from home for the afternoon so I could head over to the school and spend the day with L. He gets so excited when I come to his school and I hope that never changes. I know, I know…. it will eventually… but I'm going to cherish this time where he is thrilled to see me!




Field Day had it all….. the parachute, a bounce house obstacle course, potato sack races! L isn't the most competitive kid, but he always has fun with whatever he's doing!

(L and his best friend J!)

Field Day also happened to fall on St. Patricks Day, so that night we headed over to our friends house for dinner and drinks! We are so lucky to have such good friends right around the corner from us, and that their kids and are kids are best friends!


(R channeling ever frat boy ever on St Paddy's Day!)

The boys enjoyed running around and playing and eating way to many cookies and cupcakes!



We stayed out too late for a Thursday, but it was well worth it!

Spring Training and Colorado

After years of begging and making plans that never came through, last weekend one of S's best friends from high school and his wonderful girlfriend came to visit us! We've been wanting them to come out for a Spring Training weekend forever, and the timing finally worked out for them to get out!

Unfortunately, I had a family situation (my uncle passed away) and the funeral was scheduled for the same weekend in Colorado. isn't that always the way things work out? Obviously family comes   fist, and there was no question that I would be going to the funeral, but I have to admit that I was bummed about missing the fun weekend that we had planned months ago.

But, there's always a silver lining, right? Our friends came in late Thursday night and my flight to Colorado didn't leave until late Friday night, so I got to spend one amazingly fun day with them!




After getting the two big boys off to school, we took R and headed to a Spring Training game. We are incredibly lucky  that we live within walking distance of one of the stadiums, and nothing beats hanging out in beautiful 80 degree weather with a hot dog and a beer in March!


(R was very impressed with all the stadium food!)

(This stud of mine!)

We spent a wonderful day at the game and headed home just in time my mom and I to call an uber and head to the airport! It was a long day, but well worth it!

(Mom and I on the airplane!)

And the weekend in Colorado was great, despite being a very sad occasion. I think every family has drama and dysfunction, but at the end of the day these crazy people are mine. It's been years since I've seen my cousins, but being with them again was amazing and felt as though no time had passed!


(Me and my "twin" cousin…. we were born only two weeks apart and are so similar it's crazy!)



As sad as I was to miss time with our friends, I'm so happy I was in colorado and got to reconnect with everyone this weekend!

Thursday, March 10, 2016

Little Red Hen

Want to know what the cutest thing in the world is?

It's Kindergarten plays. Especially plays where they sing.

L's Kinder class put on the "Little Red Hen" play tonight. They have been practicing at school, and we have been practicing at home, for the last month. For the record, I can sing all of these songs also… that's how much we have been practicing!


I'm not sure if i have ever seen L quite so excited for anything. I mean besides Christmas and his birthday. He took practicing seriously,  and listened to the YouTube video and sang along almost every night.

Luckily S was able to get off early from work today, and my mom was also in town, for the big opening night.



The little boys were amazing well behaved. Well, as well behaved as a four and two year old can be. L2 actually did really well. R wandered a bit and kept shouting out and getting excited when he saw L on stage, but for the most part he was OK.

And the play? It was adorable. Seriously. l played a cat, but all the kids sang along to all the song for all the different parts.  And you could see that L could see where we were sitting and he kept shyly looking over and smiling…. he pretty much melted my heart!



I remember when L had a recital about 2 years ago, when he was in pre-K, and he was so shy and pretty much just stood on the stage without singing. What a difference a few years makes! He was all about it tonight and I was so proud of him!



(L and his best friends!)

Tonight's one of those nights were I am so grateful and proud of this little family of mine!