Don't Pee on the Bee

I Need A Vacation!

Yes, another vacation would be nice!  Don't you usually feel like that after you get back?  Re-entry, my friend Janis calls it.  It doesn't help that my mom is on another one and calling to tell me all about it, being that she is back in Washington.  But then that reminded me, for those of you who read my blog to see what is going on in my family's life, I never posted about our vacation.  So here goes . . .

Eight days in Washington state, staying at Discovery Bay on the Olympic Peninsula, was fabulous!  The weather was nice but cool, which we appreciated!  We were super busy which was kind of different from our usual Santa Cruz, hang out on the beach trips, but it was still amazing!  And we had my mom as our personal travel agent, so things went very smoothly for the most part!

 
We rode on lots of ferries!  The kids loved driving the car on to the boat.  On this trip to San Juan Island, we walked on and off since we didn't really need the car while we were there.  (Don't you just love Sarah's choice of clothes???)

 
This is Friday Harbor on San Juan Island.  I plan on buying a house here when I am a rich and famous writer!

 
This was the one freaky thing that happened on our trip.  And although the captain on the ferry said these were "routine exercises," it was actually quite unnerving to be riding in a ferry next to this!  We actually watched them uncover the gun (or whatever you call it!  missile?) and get it ready, turn and point it.  We wondered if someone important (other than us!) was arriving on the island.

 
We went to an amazing Marine Mammal Science Center in Port Townsend.  And what was really cool was that we were the only people in the place!  So we basically had our own private tour and explanation of all the cool things in the tanks and displays.  Since we were the only ones there, the kids even got to feed some of the special fish!

 
Are you totally cracking up at the look on JJ's face?  Every time I look at this picture, it makes me laugh!  We ate at a really fun crepe place in Port Townsend.  We actually shared this Nutella and banana crepe, but JJ took it down to the wire!  If I would have let him, he would have licked the plate!  As it was, he scraped it with the knife and the fork before finally retreating!

 

We went whale watching when we were in Friday Harbor.  If you ever get up there to do this, take my advice and take your trip with the Western Prince.  You won't be sorry!  This is the 9th time that J.R. and I have gone out with them, and this day, we were the only U.S. boat to get out to the orcas.  We were well in Canadian water, and if they hadn't have been willing to go that far, my kids would not have gotten to see the orcas that day.  (And I would have been devastated too!)  As it was, we saw a super pod--which means that all 3 of the resident pods who live around these islands were out at one time.  We saw between 40 and 50 orcas.  You could hear them blowing.  Sarah was sitting on my lap, and she just looked up at me with big eyes and said, "Mommy! This is amazing!"  It was very cool!

 
These guys came very close to the back of the boat!  We were so lucky that day!

 

Sarah pooped out on the way back to the United States!  We had gotten up at 5 a.m. to catch two ferries to get there that morning!

 
We also went kayaking when we were there.  It was quite fun!  JJ loved it and wants to do it again.  Even Sarah did well!  "No lily-dipping!" as the guide would say!  It was low tide, too, so we got to go into the old ferry moorings and see lots of sea life on the sunken piers. 

 
Sometimes I think we truly are a family of dorks!  In Anacortes, we went into an old marine hardware store.  Here is JJ in heaven with all the rope around him!  What kid do you know who wants rope as a sourvenir from his trip?  For his birthday, I am going to suggest that people just give him a gift card to a hardware store or just some old tools or nails, etc. from their garage!  He loves stocking his shed with this stuff!  But the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.  J.R. came up to me and said, "I could stay in here for hours and spend quite a bit of money!"  Uh, yeah, and we have to fly home, so no souvenirs for you!

 
Sarah chose to try on hats.  I think she tried on every hat that they had there!  And believe me, there were quite a few to try on!

 
Anacortes also has all these cool murals painted all over this little town.  I think there are over 100 of them.  You'll have to ask my mom.  She can tell you!

 
The day we left to fly back home, we stopped in a cute little Viking town called Poulsbo.  And look where we ate lunch--J.J.'s Fish House!  He thought that was so cool!

So there you are!  Hope those of you who needed it got a nice little fix! 

Where Did My Blogging Mojo Go?

That's the question I've been asking myself lately.  And I do know the answer.  Between my hand still hurting way more than I thought it would, trying to have some near-the-end-of-summer fun with my kids, and company arriving and hanging out in my office, my house (and I!) have been a little topsy-turvy!  But I'm hoping to get back in the swing of things here, so consider this my start!

And with that self-proclaimed new start, my next confession-like statement will be that, yes, I took the kids to the beach again.  I couldn't help it!  With grandparents here from out of town, a trip to the beach just seemed like a nice thing to do, right?  Not for me, but for them and the kids, right???

But I must say that we have got this beach thing down!  And we've done it three times so far this summer much to the surprise of several of my friends!  They think I am pretty awesome to do a 3+-hour road trip with my kids!

But here's how to do it . . .

Leave the house around 8ish.  Stop and pick up whatever friends you are taking.  Maybe get a coffee for the moms, but no hot chocolate for the kids this time!  Want to limit those pee stops to just one if you can!

Stop somewhere between San Jose and Scotts Valley for a pit stop and to sunscreen up the kids so that they can get straight to playing when you hit the beach!  We love to go to Seabright Beach--lifeguard, bathrooms, and a nice beach.  Play there until about 4ish.  Walk down to the lighthouse at Santa Cruz Harbor if you want.  It's pretty neat up there on the jetty.

Shower the sand out of the kids' pants and off their bodies at the cold outdoor showers at the beach.  Walk back to the car and change into dry clothes.  Then walk a few blocks up the street for awesome burgers and shakes at Betty's Burgers.  From there, walk a few blocks to the pedestrian bridge that leads to The Boardwalk and hit the Boardwalk about 5:15 or so.  On Mondays and Tuesdays, all rides are only one ticket after 5:00 p.m.  (Let me tell you, it makes thinking about paying full price again seem like a crazy thing to do!)  Ride about 3 or 4 kiddie rides in a hour or so and be sure to hit the carousel before you leave.

Do one final pee stop and walk back to the car.  Get everyone situated with lovies, blankets, pillows, whatever and hit the road around 7.  You'll be getting your kids in bed about 10:30 or so (skip the bath and do it in the morning!), but they will have slept part of the way home, so the next morning really isn't too rough.  But if you can, have what we call a stay-at-home-day the next day if you can!

And even though it might sound like a crazy ride, let me tell you, it works wonders for this mama!  Sarah and I agree . . . Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!

 

 

 

Waves on Monday

Well, I couldn't hold out any longer, so the kids and I and some friends headed to Santa Cruz yesterday.  It was our second trip this summer.  (More details on that to come later!  My in-laws just arrived, so time is of the essence at the moment.) 

But here are some fun pics to get you in the mood!

 
This is JJ's version of boogie boarding!  Just set the board in the sand and wait for a wave to move you about 6 inches.  Great fun for a 6 year old!

 
The water felt so good.  The paper said it would be 70 degrees and partly cloudy.  Do you see any clouds?  It was 71 degrees at 7 p.m. when we left!  It was a beautiful day!

 

We saw the most amazing dolphin show when we were there.  A la naturel which made it even more amazing!  For almost 2 HOURS, the dolphins played off shore, jumping out of the water and putting on a show to rival Marine World.  They spun around, lunged, did tail lobs, you name it.  And of course, photographing something like that is nearly impossible, but I did manage to get this one shot as the dolphin headed back down.  The kids woke up talking about the show this morning and couldn't wait to tell their friends.

 

Here we are . . . the happy beachcombers!  Nothing makes me quite as happy as the beach!

 

Toward A June Sunset We Go

It's so nice to feel caught up on all my magazines!  I love it when I can blog about an issue that is still on the newsstands!!!

The June 2011 issue of Sunset magazine has some fun stuff going on in it!  First of all is the description of a new book called Walkabout Northern California: Hiking Inn to Inn.  The book takes the European practice of "trekking to food and rest without having to lug your load" and infuses it with a Northern California environment.  There are treks in Mendocino and in the Sierras.  Maybe it appeals to my memories of traipsing through Europe with a big ol' backpack on my back, but I think that hiking and then having someone prepare my dinner and let me sleep in a nice comfy bed sounds like a cool way to spend a few days!   Maybe when the kids get older . . .

And speaking of kids, I wish that I had taken this magazine with me when we were in Santa Cruz.  There is a new ice cream place called The Penny Ice Creamery where they make their own ice cream on site  And the flavors?  How does strawberry pink peppercorn or cherry balsamic sound?  To me, the cherry balsamic sounds amazing!  And if the kids don't like it, we can always get them their favorites--strawberry and rainbow sherbet--somewhere else!

And for another unusual taste?  How about Crispy grilled kale with creamy sesame dressing?  Kale on the barbeque.  Can you believe it?  We will definitely be scouting out the dinosaur kale at the farmer's market!  And sesame seeds and tahini always rock my world, so I think this sounds amazing!  And there is also a recipe for grilled romaine with guacamole dressing?  Doesn't that sound interesting too?

And for those of you who, like me, loved reading Barbara Kingsolver's book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, you should check out Sunset's blog, One Block Diet.  They took "locavore" to a totally different level!  And, of course, they are Sunset, so they have access to an amazing garden space and a number of experts, but still, this blog and the teams of people who are working on this are pretty amazing and very down-to-earth!  I love it.  And with the additions of our chickens, we just took it to another level too!  Yahoo!

 

The Truth About My Internet Issues

You may (or may not!) have noticed that my posting last week was not up to snuff!  I did cop to Internet issues on one day, and it was true.  What I didn't mention was that I was in Santa Cruz on vacation for the week!  And a glorious week it was--Internet issues aside!  Actually, it was kind of nice to not have such easy access to my computer although I did miss it!  I miss writing.  How did I have so much more time ("so" being a relative term here!) earlier this year for fabulous writing sessions???

But enough pity-partying about that!  Here are a few shots from our week!

Walking home from a fun afternoon at The Boardwalk along the "people bridge" next to the train bridge. The kids had a blast this year here, finally being old enough or tall enough to ride all the kiddie rides!  I've resisted this for as long as I could, but it really wasn't so bad.  The looks on their faces were priceless!

 Entering The Enchanted Forest at The Land of Medicine Buddha.  I took everyone (even Oma) up here to see where I stayed in June.  We hiked up and into the forest.  It was quite magical.  JJ and Sarah spotted fairy dust along the way!

 
JJ and J.R. watching "the boat parade" at the lighthouse.  We walked down the beach a few nights after dinner and watched the sailboats going in and out of the harbor.  Sitting on rocks, eating cookies at the beach is not a bad way to spend an evening!

 
We did something different this trip and went to The Mystery Spot.  This is one trippy place!  I felt nauseated the entire time we were there!  Have any of you been there?  If so, I would love to hear what you thought about the place.  J.R., being in construction, was intrigued by the place and had a hard time figuring out why things do the weird things they do there!

 
We always stop at Roaring Camp in Felton on our way home, have lunch and run around.  We don't ride the train on this trip, but this is a fun place for families.  I have been coming here since I was about 5 years old, so this is always a trip down Memory Lane for me!

Of course, we spent plenty of time at the beach too!  Check out yesterday's post for a cute beach pic!

And of course, I hoped my "vacation glow" would last for days and days!  Alas, though, 2 school picture day websites have pushed me over the edge this afternoon!  And of course, I have no idea what we are going to eat for dinner.  Re-entry has not been pleasant today!  Hopefully some Monday Night Football and some takeout will make things better!  It's not a walk down the beach to the boat parade, but it will have to do!

 

A Little Bit More About That Bittersweet Morning

 

First of all, add to my To Do list:  Learn how to work the flippin' camera on my cell phone!!!  Aaarrrgh!  As you will see, I did not take this photo!

Now that that is out of the way . . . if you recall, last Tuesday I was feeling a bit out of sorts, it being the last day before Kindergarten started.  But we had part of our day planned with a trip down to Daddy's job site--which was completely amazing, by the way!  I was so impressed with this new building at Sac State that J.R. has been working on.  I can't even begin to tell you how proud I was of him, realizing that he was so instrumental in getting this building from a set of plans to a phenomenal new Rec and Wellness Center.  Those kids at Sac State have got it good!

Anyway, we toured the job site and then I decided to take the kids to the Sacramento Zoo.  Even though it was super hot, I figured we'd stay for an hour or so before it got really hot and then head home.  Well, we had a great time at the zoo!  As soon as we got there, we headed for the giraffes.  They have a new feeding platform there, and we had timed it just right, so for $3, each of the kids got to stand as close to a giraffe as they will ever be and feed it.  JJ got kind of grossed out when the giraffe tongue touched his hand.  But it was so cool!  Giraffe tongues are really amazing!  And--here's where my first sentence comes into play--I had forgotten my camera!  And I even handed my cell phone to the twenty-something who was working there to see if she could do it, but she couldn't figure it out either.  I was so bummed.  But the kids still thought it was totally cool.  There's also a new tiger cub that we saw which excited both of them.  We were right up near a window where the baby was snoozing, so again, they were about as close as they will ever be!

Tuesday was also supposed to be JJ's "special" day according to his fortune cookie, so there was the lingering specter of that superimposed on the day.  We were wrapping up our zoo trip with the lame little train ride through the zoo when we realized we had missed the otters and the porcupine.  We walked back to see them, were near the tigers again so I asked the kids if they wanted to look at the baby one last time.  They excitedly yelled, "Yes!" and ran to the exhibit.  When we got to the window, lo and behold, not only was the baby laying there, but the mother tiger as well.  (The window looks right onto a "rock" ledge, so the tigers were only about 6 inches away on the other side of the glass.)  We looked at them for a few more minutes and then started to walk away.  JJ was walking next to me and said out loud but not really to me, "That was my moment."  I looked at JJ and said,  ""JJ, remember what your fortune cookie said?"  Suddenly he had a huge grin on his face!  He thought about it for a minute and then said, "I want to go home right now."  I said, "We are."  Then he said, "I wish for my floor to be covered in candy.  Come on, Mommy, let's goooooo!" as he grabbed my hand and started pulling me!

 As we walked to the car, buzz-kill Mommy tried talking to JJ about the reality of candy on his floor.  But then he asked Sarah what she wanted and asked what I wanted too.  I told him that I wasn't sure.  He said, "I know what you want--more books.  So I'll wish for more books for you, Mommy."  Cool by me!

But here's where it all ties together . . . After sitting down in JJ's classroom on Wednesday for the first day of Kindergarten, his teacher announces that their class is called . . . drum roll please . . . The Talented Tigers!  Kind of cool, isn't it?

The Non-Glamour Shots!

Wait until you see these pictures!  Need a good laugh?  You're going to get one!  Luckily for me, I really don't care how these pictures turned out because I had a fabulous time!

Saturday afternoon my mom and I and some assorted relatives went to the Impressionist exhibit (freshly imported from the Musee d'Orsay in Paris) at the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco.  I love Impressionism, and this was truly a wonderful exhibit, not only for the paintings but for the historical context that was given throughout the exhibit.  I felt so much smarter when I left the museum!  And I also felt like an adult!  No one asked me to wipe their nose (or worse!)  No one needed me to give them a snack.  No one danced circles around me until I wanted to scream.  It was perfect!  (In case I wasn't clear, my children were more than 100 miles away from me.)

After the museum, my mom and I headed to The Cliff House in San Francisco for a drink and dinner.  (On a side note, it is not nearly as charming as it used to be prior to their renovation a number of years ago.  But it is still worth a visit!  Check out the link for some really cool old photographs of the history of the place.)

So here I am, getting wasted on only one glass of wine!  And eating an amazing baked halibut with Italian bread crumbs, yummy potatoes and veggies in a Balsamic glaze.  Yum!  (Definitely not one of my finer photo moments, but you get the idea!)

And since I'm willing to sacrifice my pride for your ability to laugh, check out the dessert picture!  Imagine a wine glass where the water glass is!

When we got back to my mom's that night, I asked her if she wanted me to close the curtains in the livingroom.  She said, "No. We can do it when we're ready to go to bed."  (It was about 8:00.)  I looked at her and said, "I'm going to bed now!  I need to be horizontal."  She laughed as I walked downstairs.  I'm not kidding when I said I was wasted after one glass of wine!  I'm such a lightweight now!!!  All those years of being sober while trying to get pregnant and nursing have taken their toll on my partying ability!  I had a great night's sleep!