Roughing It.

We took the kiddos camping to Big Basin Redwoods State Park over Memorial Day weekend.  Camping with two young boys was certainly an adventure, and I'd be lying if I didn't admit that the thought of turning around and going home crossed my mind after only two hours in, but it ended up to be a great trip!  One of the things that Ryan and I love the most about living in California is access to all kinds of adventures within an afternoon's drive.  We want the boys to grow up with overflowing buckets of memories about things we did and saw during their childhood.  With the mesmerizing Redwoods in our sights, we set out to add some drops to their buckets.

Dirt, leaves, trails, bugs... the boys were in heaven.

He found a cave!  With no critter inhabitants, thank goodness.

Exploring the moss covered tree trunks.

The path of most resistance is sometimes the most fun.

This way, guys!

Snug as bugs in our awesome HUGE two-room tent from REI.  Good call, Ryan.

Try to keep up with me, Mom. 

Sword?  Wand?  Just really fun to carry a stick around?

Puddle jumping.

The park rangers put on daily nature club shows for the little ones. 

Tigger acting as Ethan's marshmallow wingman.

He waited all DAY for this!

Thanks to the suuuuuper long skewers from Aunt Kelly and Uncle Troy, he could roast his own!

Marshmallows! 

Marshmallows!!!

MARSHMALLOWS!!!

Yep.  They're *that* good.

It wasn't always easy, or comfortable.  There were moments that taught us that we have to live flexibly - such as when I accidentally dumped an entire pot of macaroni noodles onto the ground when I tried to drain the water, or when we woke up to find that our firewood was soaked with the rain that was not supposed to visit us overnight.  It's nice to get little reminders that nothing is supposed to be perfect, no trip will be 100% smooth, and that most things are worth working for.  And if through these experiences we can teach our boys to roll with the punches, they'll have a lifetime of silver linings and hidden gems.

A Lot of Catching Up

Wow. It's been over a month since my last post. Bad blogger. Bad! Can a super cute photo of the boy put me back your good graces?


Excellent. Now that we're pals again, let's get to the catching up part of this post!

You may notice that Ethan is sporting a new, shorter 'do. We took him for his first cut since the hair pulling incident. We've been waiting for the hair to grow back enough to justify a trip to the salon. He hasn't pulled any hair since back in April, and I *think* we're in the clear and successfully broke the habit. Whew!

My new job has me out of the door before Ethan wakes up, and home about an hour before he goes to bed. Well, that is if I put him to bed on time... I've been letting him stay up past his bedtime quite frequently to steal a bit more time with him at night. It's made our weekend time together so precious, and we've been trying to have as many adventures as we can.

One recent adventure was taking Ethan camping for the first time. We went with our amazing friends, the Hokes, who had their little one in tow as well. After setting up camp we took a hike in the woods with the kiddos and the pups. Ethan loved running around in the woods playing with sticks and rocks and dirt and bugs. Though we intended to have him sleep in a tent on his own, we ended up setting up the Pack 'n Play in the back of the SUV due to 1) lots and lots of bedtime protest in a crowded campground, and 2) the fact that it was much warmer and safer in the car than it was in the tent.

The windows were cracked, don't worry.

All in all, it was a pretty fantastic and successful experiment! Exhausting and dirt-caked, but successful!

Another exciting event was Ryan's recent gallery exhibition. He showed pieces from his Tasteful Torment series to a crowd of more than 500 art enthusiasts! It was such a great night, and a wonderful opportunity to catch up with some friends that we haven't seen in way too long. You can read an interview about him and his work here, and check out the full series on his website here.

Coming up this week is a visit from Ethan's Pa-Pa. We've planned a lot of activities, which includes hitting Fleet Week in San Francisco, going to a pumpkin patch, and taking Ethan to the zoo. I'm off from work for the duration of my dad's visit, and am so excited that I'll get to join in on all of the weekday fun!

Now if I can just remember to post about the aforementioned adventures in a timely fashion...

Ahhh, California, How I Love Thee.

I feel so lucky to live a state with such a diverse and beautiful landscape. It's honestly one of the things I love the most about the Bay Area. Drive in any direction for a few hours and you'll find cliff-lined beaches, bone-dry deserts, snow-capped mountains, and sky-scraping redwoods.

We took advantage of being so close to one of the most incredible National Parks and recently set out on a road trip to Yosemite. Ethan was practically perfect on our journey. He didn't nap much, but was happy and calm, fascinated by the sights. We heard quite a few "Ooooooohs" coming from the back seat as we travelled along, both due to the beautiful landscapes and the big trucks that would pass us on the freeway. Turns out Ethan has a thing for vehicles - the bigger and noisier, the better.

Not daring enough to attempt tent camping with the E man, we rented a little cabin at a campground right outside of the park. It had a petting zoo and playground to keep Ethan entertained, though he was just as happy playing in the dirt. When Ethan was sleeping, Ryan and I would play nerdy board games outside by the light of our lantern. We held a rousing spades tournament. We grilled dinner over a fire. We unplugged and unwound. Okay, we didn't really unplug... the campground had WiFi. But close enough.

If you haven't been to Yosemite, I highly recommend it. The landscape is so impressive, and (WiFi access aside) it elicits a sense of peaceful isolation. Being a newly proficient walker, Ethan shunned his stroller and wanted to discover the park on his own. This was only a problem when we were on the edges of cliffs - which counted for about 85% of the vistas we explored. Thankfully Ryan had a no-fail trick up his sleeve to keep Ethan happy while being carried: the Daddy Shoulder Ride. Worked like a charm, every time.
*For a closer view of the beauty of Yosemite, click on the image to display it in a larger size!*