The homies in the LBC!

One of the perks of living in G-town is that we are relatively close to each of my three siblings. And living with my parents means that if they come to visit Mom & Dad they cannot help but get a visit with the four of us. We've been up to see Lyndsy & Jon, we're going to Alan & Jen's at the end of the month, and on Monday we got to see Neal and Meleah. They bought a condo in the LBC. We've been there several times - this time takes the cake though! We got to meet Neal at his office in downtown, walk to the Port of LBC, go to their house for dinner, and play lots!

Neal and Meleah are a good mix for our family. They both like to play, have fun, joke around, and have a good time. We had such a blast! I'm looking forward to our next N&M family adventure!

The boys at Neal's office.

Walking across the bridge to the port.

The train that takes the containers from ships to trucks.
So cool, especially for the two little boys.

Helping to wash Meleah's car! Nothing like kid-labor.

"Driving" the car. A favorite past-time.

Getting to take a bath in their bathtub! A treat!

Reading stories in our jammies.

Belly raspberries from Uncle Neal.

Balboa

We were thrilled to hear that my cousin Stephanie and her husband James were going to be in town last weekend. Stephanie grew up in a town near my hometown so we have always been close. It was fun to get to know James before we moved away. They came down to visit her family and have a vacation. We were tickled that they wanted to see us. I actually think James just wanted to see the boys and see if they'd talk about body parts or bodily functions.

We met them at Balboa Beach. It was a ton of fun!

James played Frisbee and badminton with the boys for a while. Well, you cannot actually play the game with them - rather you just hit the ball, they scream with delight, and then you have to go pick the ball back up and hit it again. James was a good sport:


Steph's Mom (my Aunt Cindy) and sister Stacey were there when we first got there. It was fun to get caught up on the whole family:



We couldn't wait to start the campfire though. It was fun to sit around, chat, watch the boys' delight in such simplicity (hot dogs and fire), and enjoy a little bit of nature.

The boys treated us to an original song:


Thanks Steph and James! We had a glorious time!

Chinese New Year's Party!

We had our annual Chinese New Year's party this past Saturday! We had so much fun. It was great to have some of our friends and family with us to eat good food, talk a lot, and encourage Eric's inner-Chinese man. Plus, as I mentioned to the party-goers, I am hoping that the God of Fortune will smile down on us and send us some place international...soon!

The goods...

Our offering to Buddha

Curry Vegetables
(my personal favorite anytime!)

Sweet & Sour Pork

Lemon Chicken

The boys attempting chopsticks...

The piece de resistance - gluten-free homemade fortune cookies!
Eric and I had a blast making them.

The party begins!

Valentine's Treats

Valentine's Day was so much fun! A lot of people are not interested in Valentine's Day and label it as a Hallmark holiday. They aren't wrong. From the huge chocolate covered hearts to the overpriced cards the holiday, like the rest, has gotten out of hand.

Still I will always be in favor of a holiday that promotes the sharing and verbalization of love. Regardless of what tacky card that love might be written in.

At our house we had an abundance of Valentine's excitement...

The boys and I made gluten-free (GF) orange yogurt breakfast muffins for our friends:

and frosting-free GF M&M cupcakes for Will's class:

Will made this adorable Valentine collector in class
and brought it home filled with cute notes and goodies:

I got a package from my uber-talented friend Susan
with some homemade sugar scrub she made:

and surprised me with this incredibly cute wallet
that she sells through her company, Freshly Picked:

Grandma Steph sent the boys a great package with lots of treats. They carried their heart slinkys around all day and colored with their fan crayons after naptime.

One of the highlights was getting to have a Valentine's Day date with Walker at a local bagel shop. He was thrilled to have a chocolate chip muffin with just his mom. He chatted my ear off the entire time and was utterly charming.

The boys then got to spend the evening with Papa, Goosey (who is in town), Aunt Pat, and Uncle Doug. Eric and I had a unique evening spending the first part in therapy (what better way to say I love you? Really!) and then enjoying a nice dinner together. I got gorgeous flowers but forgot to take an individual picture. (You can see them on the table in my Chinese New Year party post.)

Pearly whites!

(The event depicted in this blog originally occurred on Friday January 6th, 2008. All people in this blog are real.)

We are so fortunate to have a wonderful dental hygienist in our family! Our GreatAunt Patti made it so easy for the boys to have their teeth cleaned for the first time. She let them explore the office, the tools, and even the electrical equipment. In the end it made everyone more comfortable to have their very 1st dental check-up!

Goosey and Walker checking things out:

Will, the big brother, went first:

There is our friend Slurpee:

Check it out Will - it spins like a fan!

Nice and clean:

Walker's not too sure about this:

Getting his teeth flossed:

A drink from the special water hose:

Cousins: The Next Generation

At this point in our lives the boys don't have any official cousins. I guess 'official' depends on who you are asking - but what I mean is any direct cousins with which they can play. Sorry Michelle, but Alium is not quite big enough!

Fortunately they have second cousins!! Especially ones like Liza and Landon. Liza and Landon are the children of my cousin Sarah and her hubby Tyler.

We have had a picture of Liza on our fridge for most of the boys' lives. When Will was learning how to talk he would talk to Liza on our fridge...and up until a week ago he still thought Liza was a cute 1 year-old in her pink dress. Well she is still very much cute - but no longer one and no longer in a pink dress...at least not this day!

Sarah and her kids were in town for the Thanksgiving holiday. We took advantage of them being here to do some much needed bonding. Sarah and I have always (well, I'll speak for myself) been fond of each other, but never close. We are both at new, and similar chapters, in our lives and have found a new kinship. I cannot even say how excited I was to see her and chatting and let the kids play.

It was a hoot! The kids played like they always do - with one eye on the toys they were playing with and the other eye on the other kids. It took Will and Liza a little bit of time to warm up - pretty normal - but I suspect that given even more time they'd have been best friends. Sarah, in her ever-creative-mommy role, got them playing a game outside. What fun to see our children play together. Not to mention to see Sarah as a mom.







Liza is a vivacious little girl! She wanted me to notice her Princess Aurora hair (I had to ask who that was!), she put on a little modeling show, and cracked me up with her conversation! I could have a whole afternoon with Miss Liza and no doubt be smiling the whole time.

Landon was so refreshing! He is a happy-go-lucky little man. And he really is a little man. He looks so much like his Dad that it took me back a couple of times. He toddled around the house. It wasn't until 1/2 way through the visit that Sarah mentioned he did not feel good - you could have fooled me! Wish that everyone could have such a good-natured one.



Sarah and I got to sit (mostly) and chat, and finally catch up on some of the things we've missed out on, the life lessons we are both learning, and the myriad of parenting experiences we have had in just four years!

After lunch we headed outside to let the kids have a popsicle. Liza decided to show will 'Bert'. Bert is the pool cleaner, who to Liza (and now Will), is actually alive and lives on the bottom of the pool. She and Will had a great time watching it swim around the pool. She told me everything that he eats and even when he sleeps.



Spending time with their family just made me so grateful that as adults we understand that we can change dynamics. Certainly Sarah and I, and our kids, could live life without a relationship with one another. I am grateful that she and I made the time to change that.

Fond farewell

I posted this already on the site for my Grandparents - but wanted to post it here as well. In case you don't know my family - my Grandparents had six children (some are mentioned below): Gene, Dory, Kaye (my Mom), Patti, Mark, and Steven.

Shelly


Family & Friends,

Thank you so much to those of you who could join us on Saturday for Grandpa's funeral.

It was such a tender and honest memorial to a man who touched so many people's lives.

We met as a family - after the morning viewing - to say our goodbyes. Gene led us in a family prayer which put our hearts at rest.

The meeting was started with a song, sung by a dear friend of Grandpa's, Simon Bolivar. It was soft, yet powerful and set a nice tone for the meeting.

Steven gave the invocation. It was moving to watch him as he signed - his hands gently asking for comfort for the grieving and guidance for the speakers. It would have been apparent what he was saying by the very movements of his hands, face, and body and was confirmed by the words his wife Krista relayed.

Mark spoke next reflecting on the moments from Grandpa's life that he might want us to remember. Mark was humorous and sweet - and included many traits of Grandpa that had us all laughing and crying. It was tender to see him read his notes, smile with a memory, and then share those thoughts through his own tears and laughter.

Patti followed Mark reflecting on the life that Grandpa led. She touched on three things that she knew he would want remembered: 1) his love for Grandma, 2) his love of family and, 3) his unbelievable work ethic. She was right when she said that Grandpa 'would get as close to people as they would let him'.

The speaker portion of the program paused as we were treated to the amazing talent of Sarah (Mark's daughter). Playing Grandpa's favorite song, Clair de Lune, she guided our minds to experiences we had with him.

After Sarah we were treated - and I do mean treated - to remarks by Grandpa's younger brother Garth. Garth and Grandpa were the best of friends growing up, a bond that continued through their life. Garth touched on the man he knew, and the gospel that Grandpa cherished.

We sang as a congregation - a song which include the fitting lyrics - 'When such a friend from us departs, We hold forever in our hearts a sweet and hallowed memory'.

Doug (Patti's husband) closed the meeting and prepared us all to let go of Grandpa at his burial.

Below is the life story video that was played at Grandpa's viewings. It is eight minutes long so if you want to watch it, pull up a chair and relax.

Thank you again for all your words, letters, calls, and shows of love. He was truly an amazing man, one who will be missed.

Best,
Shelly

Aunt Noonie!

Now this is living! Many of you know and love my sister Lyndsy (aka Noonie, Petunia, Lyndz, Inka). But none of you know and love Noonie as much as my two boys!

When I announced bright and early this morning that we were headed to see her, I got grins larger than heads! Of course I had to spend some talk arguing about how she no longer lives in Santa Barbara - though Will was determined to prove me wrong.

So we drove up to visit Noonie at her new apartment. We had a great drive up - singing songs as we listened to Anne Murray, Raffi, and Wiggleworms! The boys were so excited about the trip that the drive didn't really bother them.

We had a wonderful time with Lyndsy - though the boys by that time were quite done with being in the car and quite hyper! I think they about scared the crap out of her cats...on purpose....many times!

The best part of the visit (from the kids' perspective) was that Noonie had brought toys out for them - the CAT toys! And the boys loved them. Walker played, almost the whole time, with a toy that looked something like a cross between a pom-pom and a fishing pole.

And both boys liked the scratching post! Hilarious!

Noonie and I got a little big of bonding time, over Taco Bell and The Office (sweet!), while the boys took naps.





Noonie's apartment is quite cute. She & Jon have two bedrooms, a nice kitchen, a fantastic bathroom, and a balcony!







Will capped off the trip by taking photos of the apartment. Most of them are really white and you aren't quite sure if it's a cat, the carpet, or his hand. He did get a couple of good ones - including this classic Noonie one:



It will be fun when we can head back up there - with a little less time on the road and maybe Eric too so we can tag-team the twosome :)

Thanks for the adventure, as usual, Noonie!

Traveling fools!

In the few short years these two have been alive, they have had so many experiences. One of the best parts of being a parent is watching your children's faces as they encounter something new. Nothing does this quite as good as taking them someplace new. It could be to a new library, a new park, a city they haven't been to before, or an element of nature they haven't experienced (i.e. their first snow).

Recently we were in Mt. Shasta for our annual family camping trip. My family has been coming to Mt. Shasta for 65% of my life. We brought Will here when he was just 4 months old so technically he has been there before, but not really experienced it before.

Watching the boys swim in the lake, play in the dirt, pee in the woods, cuddle up in their sleeping bags, use their first fishing poles, eat camp food every night (all the food they refuse at home suddenly sounds good to them), and ride on the pontoon around the lake, was more than joyful. Each time they did something new you could watch their faces contort with emotion as they tried to take everything in.

I hope to inspire a love of travel and exploration in the boys. Right now exploration is just part of who they are, but I hope that from all of their adventures thus far, and those to come, that they grow their own desire to see the world.

So far they've done pretty good....
(though some of these state visits could be disputed...ha ha!)



create your own visited states map

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Now playing: Tim Knuth - Little Red Wagon
via FoxyTunes