Saturday, August 29, 2009

Staycationing

Dear Kate and Riley,

We are about to have some big changes around here. A few months ago Dad started working some extra hours at a small firm just in the evenings for a little extra cash. Well, I guess he did too good of a job because they offered him a full time job a few weeks ago. So with MUCH sadness (at least on my part!) Dad said goodbye to Sunstone (and the Marriott discount--sob!) and will head back in to the world of public accounting, starting Monday! I know he's excited but I'm a little scared.

To help make the sting of switching jobs a little less, Dad took off this week before he starts at the new job. We debated going somewhere but decided to stay local. We "staycationed" at home for the first half of the week and spent the second half of the week close by in San Diego (hey that Marriott card is good until the end of the year so I have a few trips left!). Our WONDERFUL friends, the Bowens, took Zach for the last few days so Dad and I could have some alone time, it was great!

We went to Disneyland twice, the beach once, the pool a few times and to Sea World! Then Dad and I got to spend some alone time at the pool and got to see my favorite Neil Diamond cover band, Superdiamond! It was lots of fun. We were spoiled all week to have Dad around so much and it will be hard to give him back!

We already went to Disneyland on the rainiest day of the year, I think we may have also hit the hottest day of the year!
Zach was a trooper, with no nap he still lasted until 10:30 that night! He fell asleep for a bit in his stroller but was awake (and relatively happy) for the most part. He LOVES Dumbo.
The beach with Dad is so much more fun. He digs big holes to sit in.

Our first night down in Coronado. We went for pizza with a great view.

View of San Diego from Coronado
Sea World
So how is it that my kid who gags on juice downed almost this entire thing of frozen lemonade!? Next thing I know its going to be diet coke. Heaven help us. This is before the dolphin show where we got SOAKED!

Of COURSE the splash pad was his favorite part

Zach and Addie loved the little kid playland too. No big kids allowed. They would set up the soft blocks...

and then knock them over. Apparently it was really fun!

Megan took Zach home from Sea World for the rest of the weekend so Dad and I were on our own. We went to a sweet breakfast place in Hillcrest called Hash House a Go Go. Look at that pancake! It was banana brown sugar and it was delicious! (and no I didn't finish it)

Superdiamond was giving a free concert after the races on Friday so we caught the last couple horse races before the concert. I'm making such a lovely face in this one.

Love,
Mom

Aunt Jenny

Dear Kate and Riley,

I have a lot of stuff to catch up on but not a lot of energy to actually write about it all. I'm going to just hit the big ones.

A few weeks ago, we got to have Aunt Jenny come to visit. It was so much fun (for us, not so sure that Jenny had fun!). Zach LOVED Jenny (je-je) and did whatever she wanted him to and followed her around all day. We went to the beach a couple of times, the water park, and the Spectrum. I thought that my life was pretty fun until I realized that for someone without kids getting to sit at a table and drink a diet coke while watching Zach play in a fountain was not exactly the most thrilling thing on earth. Funny how quickly things change! Jenny, someday you will RELISH the day you can sit at a table for 2 hours with nothing to do!

I was sad when Jenny left because it was really nice having an extra set of hands around and nice having someone that Zach would actually listen to! But we decided if Jenny actually lived here Zach would eventually stop listening to her too.

Beach with Jenny


Look how happy he was!

At Wild Rivers. Zach loved the little slides that were just his size.
Besides Aunt Jenny, Zach's true best friend is Jack. Jack is a year older than him which apparently makes him MUCH cooler. He LOVES Jack and copies everything he does. And yes, my kid is eating cheetoes. Don't judge.

Of course at Wild Rivers Zach loved the splash pad the best.

Can you tell these pictures were all taken with my crappy camera? I'm no photographer but I can sure tell the difference between these and my good camera!

Love,
Mom

Sunday, August 16, 2009

More Summer Fun

Dear Kate and Riley,

I have been WAY too lazy about posting lately. All of our summer fun is taking it out of me! But when I saw these cute pics on my friend Lisa's blog, I had to steal them and talk about one of our favorite summer activities.

The Irvine Spectrum is our "outdoor" mall. I love it for shopping and Zach loves it for playing. I mean really where else can I go to all my favorite places-- Target, Nordies, Rubios AND sit and relax while Zach has HOURS of fun at the splash pad? I really think its one of the best things to happen to our summer. I love that I can get a little shopping done then sit at a table in the shade with a huge diet coke and chat with my friends while Zach has the time of his life. Dad thinks it is trashy to let your kid play on the splash pad but I don't think he gets that it was made for that express purpose (I think he pictures me letting Zach play in the water fountain or something).

Zach with Quinn and Landon

Zach is FEARLESS with the fountains, it is hilarious to watch him get sprayed in the face, but he loves it!

He usually fights other kids for a spot on one of the turtles

Quinn is very lady like and uses the bucket like a purse

Zach is more of a maniac and runs around with the bucket on his head! He seriously did that a ton that day and actually did a pretty good job of not running into other kids or falling down. Quite impressive.

Thanks Lisa for letting me steal your pics and your cute post!

Love,
Mom