What are little boys made of?

You've heard the poem:

What are little boys made of?
Frogs, snails and puppy dog tails.

Well I clearly and undoubtedly have a boy.

At one of our playgroups this week we were at a park and per usual, Owen is off exploring in the trees, brush and outskirts rather than playing on the play structure. (He waits to hit the play structure until I say that we'll be leaving in a few minutes and then dashes over there saying "I have to play for a minute first!".

Anyway, he crawls through a bush that I cannot fit in (pregnant or not) and comes out the other side gleefully calling out "look mom look!" I go around to see his treasure (usually a rock or flower) and start to panic when I see him swinging around a SQUIRREL'S TAIL, a disgusting, furry, rather large, detached squirrels' tail!!!!! Horrified, I say DROP IT and grab him and run to the bathroom to scrub him down and COVER him in sanitizer!

I tried to explain that it was yucky and that we could not play or pick up animal parts from the ground. He kept asking where his "puppy dog dog" tail was and I just kept repeating, "it was a squirrel's tail and it's very yucky and we have leave it alone."

He told Matt the story at dinner (that I wish I had enough forethought to record) but it went like this: "I found a puppy dog's tail and mom said PUT IT DOWN and washed my hands. She said it was yucky and a squirrel's tail but actually it was a puppy dog's tail." He was very serious in his retelling and would not let me interject.

Two boys! What have I gotten myself into!?!

Home Sweet Home

We just got back from a 10 day trip around California, (and a stop in Nevada) and although we had a fabulous time, I could NOT be happier to be home! There's no way I can bring myself to download all 600 pictures we took along the way right now, but they'll be up soon-ish.

All in all, Owen was a great traveler! On our longest drive of more than 8 hours, he was amazing. We had a few meltdowns on our shorter drives, but we drove over 1,400 miles in 10 days and we had prepared for the worst, so we were overjoyed with his behavior!

Owen was excited to be home as well and especially to see Jackdog! He spent a good hour playing outside with him as soon as we got home. When he finally made it inside and into his room, he kept naming all his toys, "my pirate ship" "all my books" "I love to play with my cars and trucks" "play-doh" the kid was happy. Matt and I were happy too! We were back to place where we didn't have to follow within an arm's reach, we could all finally relax!

Ah, home sweet home! We won't be driving anywhere again for awhile.

Road Trip: The Final Chapter-Tahoe

Right after Legoland we hit the I5 to head to Tahoe. Our plan was to drive until about 11pm (5 hours) and then stop and stay in a crap hotel off the highway and finish the drive in the morning.

We pretty much followed that plan. We made it 11pm, and thankfully, Owen slept peacefully most of that stretch. We stayed in a crap hotel, where we could still see and hear the highway. And we drove the rest of the way in the morning. Owen however, did not sleep so peacefully. He sat nicely watching DVDs and reading for about an hour and then screamed for about an hour, until we stopped for about an hour and then he slept for about an hour. We finally made it and vowed to avoid the car for as much as possible until we had to drive home!

Once in Tahoe we pretty much did the same thing each day. Played with the dogs, went to the park and went to the beach or pool.

Crawdad fishing at the beach. (Matt and Nana loved it most, Owen loved the buckets and rocks, I went.)Nana playing 'hide and seek' on the walk home.
Owen's bed. It was pitch black in there and the kid slept like a ROCK. It was fantastic.
Helping Dad blow out the birthday candles.

Playing at the pool.
Back at the beach.
Playing at the park.

Nana and Poppy enjoying the park!Owen loves to swing...The dogs, Shaq and SierraOwen collected all the toys for the dogs.
And then carried them all around the house.
We had a nice, long road trip. It was fun and Owen loved it. He loved all the amusement parks, beaches and pools and especially playing with his cousins.

I think Matt and I can safely say that we prefer the week in one place, poolside or a beach cabana in Mexico or Hawaii a bit more. It's a little less work and a ton less driving and a smidgen less stressful (insert wink here).

What I love is that it was truly a family vacation.

Road Trip: Legoland!

Legoland was super fun! The little kids really had fun! It was a hot, long, napless day, but all in all a fun one!

Tiffany, Cash and Avry meet Bob the Builder. Owen kept his distance!
Robin and Tiffany on Safari!

Grandma Claudia and Owen coming back from the Safari. The great thing about this is that as soon as the car stopped, Owen jumped out and ran up to the cars at the front of the line and started to climb into another car!! All before Grandma was even out of the original car!!!

Cash driving his lego car! Owen never got the hang of it (pushing the gas) and would have never moved from the start if the worker-guy hadn't helped him!

But he loved riding in the helicopter!

As did Vince and Avry.

And Cash and Grandma!

A tip for future Legoland goers, for most rides you need an adult per kid to ride the rides! You have to be at least 48 inches to ride alone on most things!

Except the stroller ride, of course!

Taking mom on a boat ride:

And and airplane ride!Tiffany helping us keep tabs on Owen!

Sharks!

Everyone on the Swashbuckling ride-minus the pregnant woman!

There was this HUGE play area that we lost all the kids in for awhile!

Matt and Vince get locked up!

Grandma and Owen play!

This is the lego version of our pit-stop on the way to Legoland! Yep, Matt got a ticket on our way!

The Robins Fam had a great day!

The Robins and Maciels.

Just the Maciels! Phew! One more stop until we're home sweet home!!!

Road Trip Continues: Children's Discovery Museum

We're a member of our San Jose Children's Discovery Museum and love it and try to go once a month. I was doing some research for our San Diego trip and found out the the San Diego Children's Discovery Museum was less than a block away from our hotel. Then we realized that our membership was valid in San Diego so we got two adults and FOUR kids in for FREE! At $10 a person, we were pretty excited!

Owen, Trent and Robin try out what ever heck these things are....
The padded-tire-pillow room was by far the biggest hit! They played in there until there was a line and they had to get out. Owen is face down to the right in this picture! Avry is on the left and Morgan, Abbi, Tiffany and Trent are in the back making stacks and stacks of tires to dive into! Good times.The climbing wall:Blowing Bubbles:And tree houses...We ended the day roasting marshmallows for smores back at the hotel. Owen was a big fan of the fire on a stick....didn't care too much about the marshmallows or smores.

Road Trip Part 3: Beach & Park Day

The next day the big kids (Trent, Abbi, Morgan and Kalie) went with Grandma Claudia and Chris & Lori to Sea World. We decided that walking for hours in the heat to see animals jump in and out of water may not be the best place for the under 4 crowd, so we headed to the beach instead!

Turned out to be the right decision. The older kids had a great time, but the adults looked flat out, WORN out upon their return from their visit with Shamu! And the little kids had a blast at the beach.

Side Bar: I'm going to warn you now that if I need to be in a swim suit, it's going to be the one you see here (and have seen previously). I have ONE maternity suit and I'm not buying another one. I am already on count down until I can officially get rid of all things maternity.

Robin and I unload the kids while Matt and Vince unload the 'stuff'!

Owen decides the water is too cold....I'm OK with that. The crowd behind me to the left is Robin, Vince and all the other kids, who thought the water was a perfect temperature!Owen takes a Cheet-o break.In this picture, from left to right: Alexis, Avry, Cash, Markie, Tiffany all loving the beach!After much needed baths we hit the park before dinner.I just love the pictures of the kids all holding hands. So cute!Owen climbs a tree.
Avry and Owen take in the sites.

Owen, Avry, Cash, Alexis, Markie, & Tiffany (standing).
Another fun and exhausting day in San Diego!

Road Trip Part 2: Cousin Fun!

After Disneyland, we drove down to San Diego to meet my family for some fun in the sun! The final count was adults-7, kids-8.5!

First things first, HIT THE POOL!

I'm thankful that Matt has someone else to take underwater pictures of!! Abbi and Morgan where more than happy to make funny faces!

Abbi, Morgan and Trent.
Robin helps Owen ease into the pool.

Matt and Tiffany dive right in.

Grandma Claudia and Owen watch the other kids!