11 Weeks & Counting

I know it probably looks like a teeny baby bump to all of you, but this is huge for 11 weeks compared to my other 4 pregnancies. I had to break out the maternity clothes at 13 weeks because I couldn't button up my pants anymore. I guess my skin has truly become elastic & is finally giving up. ha ha ha.

Dinner on Cannery Row

The Friday after we got all our stuff, we decided to take a much needed break from moving furniture & unpacking boxes to go to the Marina & Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey for dinner & some family fun. The beaches here are beautiful. . . a little chilly, but beautiful. Where we parked, there were birds everywhere. The girls LOVE chasing birds. Lorien had her camera & was snapping TONS of pictures of the birds. She is so stinkin' cute.

In the picture below you can see across the peninsula. That is Seaside, where we live. It takes about 10-15 minutes to get to Fisherman's Wharf from our house even though it looks like it is SO FAR AWAY. It's not far at all.

For dinner we ate at El Torito. . . our first Mexican food experience since we moved here from Germany. It was SO wonderful to eat as many chips & salsa as we wanted. We had ice in our water & water was FREE. No carbonation & as many refills as we wanted. I love America!

They sat us right against the window overlooking the peninsula. It was such a beautiful view. It made our dinner even better.

Bladen loves food. He managed to stuff HUGE chicken strips into his mouth all at once. And then he was totally addicted to the salsa. We were cracking up because he would beg for more & then wipe his tongue & cry because it was hot. And then he'd beg for more again. He's so funny.

It was a beautiful night for us. It was nice to take a break & get away with the family in the middle of the hectic-ness of moving. I love my little family.

Partners in Crime

Taya & Bladen have officially become partners in crime. With Cadence & Lorien in school all day now, all they have is each other & boy do they use & abuse it. I swear, while one is peeing on the floor in the bathroom, the other one is emptying all my pots, pans, & tupperware in the kitchen. Then while I clean that up, the other goes upstairs & changes her clothes about 10 times leaving them scattered all around the upstairs area. Then I clean that up while the other one takes off his own diaper & wipes the floor with what's inside. It's like a never ending JOB with these two. And they KNOW they're trouble.

But I absolutely love watching the love they have for one another. The way Bladen looks at & touches Taya's cheeks is so special. And Taya protects him like a mother. They love each other so much & that makes me SO happy.

They broke into the baby "box" when we were unpacking & look what they found. . . Then they crawled around for hours talking like babies.

Costco is one of our favorite places. Bladen loves to pull Taya's hair since they sit right next to each other in the cart. To get even, Taya takes Bladen's "samples" & eats them while he's watching which makes him SO mad!

But they sure do love each other anyway.

They also have this little game of "chase" that they like to do. Bladen screams just as loud as Taya does. It's so cute to watch them interact with one another.

Johnny Rockets

After the museum we were all starving to Trek & I took Tylee & Pierre out to dinner at Johnny Rockets. The burgers were fantastic & the milkshakes were to die for!! Bladen just about ate all of Tylee's milkshake for her. Trek & I shared a peanut butter chocolate shake & it was pure heaven.

It was the perfect ending to a wonderful weekend in San Francisco. Thanks again Tylee for everything. . . we'll be back next month!

The Science Museum, San Francisco

After eating lunch, Tylee & Pierre took us to the Academy of Sciences Museum to show the kids all about science & animals. This place was enormous & we came on a very busy day. There was NO parking ANYWHERE. Tylee was sweet & took our van to park while we waited in the front of the museum for her. She ended up parking over a mile away. How crazy is that?

The girls didn't mind the wait. They played tag with each other most of the time. They love to have the freedom to run!

Once we got inside, we immediately went towards the water & the sting ray tank. The kids were SO excited to see the sting rays swim around!

Bladen, being my boy, decided that he liked the sharks more than the sting rays. He couldn't stop pointing & making "Raawwrr" noises at them.

After the shark tank, we headed into the tropical area. There were several exhibits with stuffed animals as well as exhibits with live animals. The girls LOVED it. There were lizards & snakes & spiders & all sorts of fun things.

And at the very end of this exhibit was a huge tank full of penguins. My kids love penguins. We probably sat there for 20 minutes just watching them dive, dance, & swim. Bladen made a little penguin friend that would follow his finger when he touched the glass. It was so fun!

Once we were in the main hall again, we found some exhibits on bugs (GROSS) & this big turtle. Bladen was SO fascinated with the turtle. He had his entire face pushed up against the glass trying to get it's attention. He even tried to kiss it a few times.

After walking around a little more, Cadence found a sign pointing to "The Aquarium!" Yup, had to do that! Cadence & Lorien could hardly contain their excitement as we headed down the stairs into the undersea unknown.

They had one big room that was completely surrounded by water. Yes, it was slightly terrifying for me, but SO FUN for the kids. Bladen kept yelling "Fsh. . . Fsh!" And Taya was screaming "NEMO!! DORY!!!" at the top of her lungs. Lorien & Cadence just liked to look at all the fish swimming.

They had all sorts of neat tanks full of underwater creatures. Cadence really likes seahorses. There was a BEAUTIFUL leaf seahorse (see pic below) that was just stunning to look at.

There were jellyfish, an octopus, squid, you name it. It was a fantastic exhibit.

After an hour & a half in the aquarium, we headed up up up to the top of the Amazon Rainforest! They had an exhibit where you walk up a ramp to the very tip top of the amazon. You are surrounded by birds & butterflies that land on you. It's hot & humid, but quite beautiful & the sounds of the wildlife was amazing. They also had some SCARY spiders up there too. Taya LOVED the butterflies!

After exploring the rain forest, we found a little kid play area & let the kids play for a while. We were all starting to get exhausted so we let them get their energy out while Tylee & Pierre went to pick up the van.

We took one last picture in front of the dinosaur at the front of the museum & then we were on our way. What a fun learning experience for us all. Thank you Tylee & Pierre for a great time!

The Golden Gate Park

Toward the end of August, we finally snuck out & drove up to San Francisco to visit Tylee. It takes about 2 hours to drive up there which really isn't bad at all. She had a cute little apartment in the middle of the city that she shares with 2 really awesome roommates. We drove in on Friday night & had some yummy pizza in her living room while we watched "Honey I Blew Up The Kid" with the kiddos. Then they all surprised me with a mint chocolate chip ice cream cake for my birthday! (Tylee had my name so we celebrated it now instead of in July.)

Saturday morning Tylee & Talon & Carolyn had bought me an awesome mom-to-be massage at a beautiful spa downtown, so while I got pampered for a full hour, Pierre & Trek took the kids to the Golden Gate Park in the middle of the city. This park was AMAZING! The kids LOVE parks & this was heaven to them. It was a little chilly, but it's never too chilly to play!

Taya found this "queen" swing. She sat there like she ruled the world. She loved it. We had to make her get off to give others a turn, otherwise she would have spent the entire day there.

There were birds everywhere & Tylee had packed a bag of popcorn for the kids. Of course my kids fed all their popcorn to their bird friends instead of eating it themselves!

And we were SO proud of Cadence. She climbed all the way to the top of the crow's nest all by herself. She is getting much more brave as she gets older!

They all had a blast. After my massage was done, Tylee picked me up & we met them at the McDonalds at the entrance to the park. Auntie Tylee spoiled them rotten by buying them each their own happy meals. They were SO excited! What a wonderful Auntie!

Beautiful Day in Monterey

Wow! Summer has finally arrived in the Monterey Peninsula! Talk about blue skies & a gorgeous view of the ocean. I still can't believe I actually live here!

(Our house is the one on the left with the giant tree in the backyard)

(A view from Lorien's School!)

"Where'd it go?"

Sometimes, the best way to capture a little one's personality is through a video! My little guy is so funny & so hyper! He loves the little ball popper toy that Auntie Tylee & Uncle Talon gave Taya for Christmas 2 years ago. Taya is so sweet to share it with him. His favorite part is trying to figure out where the balls disappear to. . . "Where da go?"

Trekkie's New Ride

Since we had to sell Trek's cute little German car before we moved back to the states, he needed a new one here in Monterey. We survived off of one car for 3 weeks & I just couldn't take it anymore. I needed my van! So I gave him a budget of $2000.00 & told him to buy a little junker that will last us the 2 years we will be here. He found a cute little blue acura integra that fits him perfectly (& it's an automatic, so I can drive it when I need to as well). It's definitely VERY old, but it works. He's so cute with it. So far he's installed his own stereo, redone the wipers, & sewed up a hole in the drivers seat. He's made it a hobby/project. I'm glad he found something that brings him so much joy!