What About Bob?

you know, Bob from the movie. His psychiatrist Dr Marvin told Bob to take a vacation from his problems and we all know how that turned out; "Look at me Dr M, I'm sailing, I'm sailing!"

Well, we've had lots of problems around here lately (mostly with childrearing) and so on Saturday night we decided to follow Dr Marvin's sage advice and take a vacation from our problems by going away somewhere, anywhere, and spending some serious focused attention time with our little kids who used to be so sweet.

For the first time ever, we didn't plan ahead or over-think our trip. We packed up our car at 6pm on Sunday with some warm-ish clothes, a camera, and an ice chest that Dylan packed while I was at a baby shower that afternoon containing a gallon of milk, a box of Crispix, two packages of goldfish, some salami, a bag of cuties, some string cheese and half an avocado and rice cereal for Landon, and hit the road for......

.....Yosemite.

When we got there at 10:30 (pm!) we checked into our heated tent cabin and cashed out for the night. Then 6am happened and the HUNDREDS of sixth graders who were occupying the cabins surrounding ours came out. (No, sixth graders are NOT quiet at 6am in case you were wondering.)

We spent the next two days riding on the shuttle bus, walking around, watching deer and throwing lots and lots of pinecones and rocks into the rivers. We didn't go on any big hikes, we had absolutely no agenda, we weren't rushing around trying to accomplish anything, and our kids had the time of their lives. Hmmm, maybe our everyday lives should somehow be lived similar to this!


Being surrounded by so much beauty and awesomeness was a great way to re-group and re-prioritize. Our children still love us and we were reminded just how delightful and wonderful they are!

ps. No trip to Yosemite is complete without a stop at the trout fish hatchery. It's even more exciting in the POURING rain :)

Marine World Africa USA

well, that's what it used to be called anyway. Now it's Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. Anyway, we went there on Friday and were reminded what a little gem of an amusement park we have right here in the ol' Bay Area. Don't be deterred by the fact that it's in Vallejo, one of the most ghetto and unsafe cities in the Country. The park is actually really nice and clean and friendly; there are animal shows and little rides for the kids and crazy guts-dropping-out-of-your-face roller coasters for Dylan (who forced me to go on one with him). It's only 30 minutes from my house, it's relatively inexpensive (especially when someone else pays for you- thanks mom!), and it's a small enough park that you can do most of the stuff in a day without feeling totally exhausted at the end. And, best of all, my kids pretty much thought they were at Disneyland so we can put that trip off for a bit longer :)

Anyhoo, here are some pics

No Snail Bait Needed

Do you ever have "green guilt?" You know, that guilty feeling that you get when when you throw the plastic water bottle in the trash can because you can't find a recycling bin around? Or when you have food scraps that should go into a compost bin that would make fabulous soil for your summer garden but you've never gotten around to building a compost bin so instead you throw the scraps in the trash? Or when you try the natural remedy for keeping pests out of your garden but when it doesn't work, you pull out the ol' faithful pesticides and obliterate the pest population?

Well, in our not-quite-green-guilt-free garden, we can cross off the need for snail bait. Our solution?

Emma and Grady- the snail population's worst nightmare:(Grady throwing a handful of snails into the bucket)

(yes, literally a handful!)

(Emma showing me the "snail slobber" all over her hands)

("Look mom, these ones are climbing all over each other")

Sadly for my children, their little snail friends will escape tonight- into the trash can! Shhhh, don't tell them, it's our little secret!

What we've been doing...

It's been a month since I last posted because, well, not a whole lot out of the ordinary has been going on around here. Here are some thoughts and pictures about our ordinary life:

This is my friend Maria at her bridal shower. She got married on Sunday. I was her wedding coordinator and I realized that in my other life- the one where I don't have three small children and a husband who doesn't like to be neglected- that would be my dream job.These are my kids eating an afternoon snack of pirate's booty. Apparently they didn't want me to be taking this photo. Landon really, really wanted some but alas, he's not quite ready for cheesy rice puffs.This is Grady and Emma dying Easter eggs. Grady was really patient and got great color on his eggs. Emma just wanted to cover hers with stickers.

This is Landon, child number 3, making sure that we don't ignore him. Doesn't his little face make your heart melt!