Monterey/Big Sur: one last family hurrah!!

We had been contemplating a family vacay south of here to Monterey for quite some time, anxious to see the famous aquarium, but held off for a while. But when we got the call with Matt's job offer, we decided to take the plunge and a few days later, we were off to Monterey. It was fun to splurge a little after cutting back for a few months. We made a deliberate stop in Gilroy to shop in the outlets, thanks for the tip, Laura! They were by far the best outlets I have ever been. And I have been to many :) They had a Billabong store, SO COOL! We had lunch at In-N-Out next door, another nice bonus to the outlets. By the way, if anyone needs directions from East Bay to Gilroy, don't get them from mapquest. They gave us the farm tour of Gilroy, taking us through cow farms and everything. We got a good laugh out of that. It was an extra 15 minutes or so, but on the positive side, we did see scenic chicken coups and horse pastures.

We arrived at our hotel in downtown Monterey, Portola Hotel and Spa. It was beautiful and overlooked the Marina. We threw out luggage down and headed out on the coastal jogging path that lead to the aqarium. What a beautiful day it was and it felt nice to stroll down by the water.

We have hummmed and haawwed since we moved here 5 years ago whether to pay the 30 dollars it cost to get into the aquarium. I am not exactly a fish lover and Matt is an accountant, so would we get the bang for our buck? Turns out we did. We bought 2-day passes, so that we could go Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. It was worth it, the fish and tanks were amazing. I have never seen so many species so up close.

Even Nolan was amazed!

This seahorse wins the award for "Sharpest Beak." I decided I want to be a seahorse in the next life, the dudes are the ones who get pregnant and birth babies!

"Strangest Thing" award. Seriously, after staring for 5 minutes, I still did not figure out WHAT this is! Something that has to do with garbage.

"Prettiest"

The next two are a tie for "FREAKIEST!!!" I hate snakes and fish scare me, so hands down, this eel below (whose face slightly resembles Chucky the killer doll) and the sand snakes win this prize. I seriously got the chills looking in their tanks. Good thing Nolan was in riding in the baby bjorn to protect me.

"Celebrity look-alike."

"Smelliest." Seriously, the penguin exhibit REEKED! You could smell it before you got there. This was also Reagan's favorite exhibit. Ever since we brought out the Curious George book where he saves the penguin, she has been fond of them.

"UGLIEST." This crab got beat with the ugly stick, that is all I'm gonna say.

"Most Memorable." Throughout the entire 2 days there, all anyone could say to us was, "Have you seen our Great White Shark?" We were like yeah, we did, who gives? I mean, EVERYONE who worked there was going bananas over this thing. We would be in the sea otters or something and we would ask about the diet of the female sea otter and the worker would say, "We give her fish...but have you seen our great white shark over in outer bay???"

Well, we finally found out that this little gal was brought in the day before we got there. So she was like a newbie newbie. Everyone was worried about her well-being. She was being monitored very closely to make sure she adjusted well (she was) and it was just plain a big deal.

So I guess it was really cool to see this great white. She was actually much smaller than some of the other sharks, but hey, I saw JAWS, I am no fool.

Reagan was tickled to get a little wave from the scuba guy cleaning out the tank. Another fun one: this tunnel flushed water over you every 30 seconds or so, it felt like a wave crashing over your head.

Closing time at the aquarium meant finding some food. We are limited in our fish tastes, we mainly keep it to clam chowder and Rubios fish tacos, with an ocasional tuna fish sandwich thrown in there. But I mean, we were in Monterey, I can get a hamburger in Concord, you know? We settled on Bubba Gumps Shrimp Co and you know, for a chain restaurant, it was pretty dang good!!

Matt and I loved our soup (clam chowder) and salad, but Reagan's boat won us over.

We perused Cannery Row a bit, stopping in Candy Land for some over-priced sugar. It was such a fun, lax atmosphere. The weather was beautiful, people were just strolling along, stopping to chat and gaze at the water. We sat on a bench for a while as I nursed Nolan and watched people. There was a guy playing music and singing covers of all sorts of songs. He was really good. I will always remember him singing "Tuesday Afternoon" by the Moody Blues. That song forever ties me to that evening in Monterey.

The view of the marina from the back of our hotel, on the bike path. That is fishermans wharf in the background.

The next day, after the aquarium and lunch, we headed down south for a vehicular excursion. We took the 1 down through Big Sur, stopping at scenic places and enjoying the view. We had a few destinations.

Below is beautiful coastline just past Carmel.

Just us in the pic above because our sweet chillen were doing this:

Destination #1 was Historic Bixby Bridge. Very very cool.

Destination #2 was McWay Falls, just opposite of Julia Pfeiffer State Beach. We parked on the side of the road and took the 7 minute hike down to the overlook. The waterfall drops right onto the beach. Pictures don't do it justice, it was breathtaking.

Oh, my Reggies was so tired and thirsty at this point. But she was a real trooper.

After destination #2, we hopped in the car and headed home. We were all exhausted (the kids didn't sleep real well the night before) and it was a long, traffic-y drive home. We all collapsed and slept rather well that night.

I will always remember this family vacation. It was a special time, the first real vacation we have taken as a family of 4. I felt like, in a funny way, all four of us bonded. The kids have had a special love for each other since then and it was nice to enjoy some time together before Matt heads back to work.

The Sweetness that is 8 Months

Today, my little bubs is 8 months old! What a sweet and fun guy he has been lately. He is one of the happiest, most content babies I have seen...as long as his basic needs are met :) Nolan loves to eat and play and he poops a lot. He is an early riser in the morning (5am this morning, to be exact), naps pretty well, and goes to bed at a decent hour most of the time. He adores his sister, will watch her all the time. He loves Baby Beethoven video and occasionally will peek over at Reagan's shows. He also loves to just crawl around on the floor and play with toys. He is starting to pull himself to a standing position now. I think he will be walking a little sooner than sis.

Listing favorite foods is silly, since he eats anything. While in Utah, he mastered the art of eating Cheerios, he loves gerber puffs, and any pureed baby food, even the peas his sister dreaded so much. He also loves formula and we give him a bottle of it late at night, since he sleeps better with that. He is still nursing quite a few times a day, though, that may be harder to break. I guess I don't mind too much, I'm bonding with him and burning calories, too.

We sure do love Nolan around here. He has brought such a joy to our home, I know I say that a lot, but it is the truth. I am relishing each stage of his life, knowing that they pass too quickly. Happy 8 month b-day, bubs!

Sensing Gratitude

The author of one of my favorite blogs is participating in a Gratitude Challenge and this weeks post inspired me. It talked about how it is felt through all 5 senses. I think gratitude is the one thing in life that makes or breaks us. Matt is probably the best I have ever seen of someone who exemplifies this. Rather than spending the last 4 months miserable over unemployment and the current state of the economy, we enjoyed our time together as a family and even jokingly called it his "mini-retirement." I have thought a lot about gratitude lately. No matter what is going on around us, there is always something to be grateful for.

Sight. We can never get used to the majesty a sunset can create. Just the mere sight of one gives me chills as I think of the world our Mighty God has created. It simply puts things into perspective.
Touch. I love the little toes on my babies and how they react when they touch something for the first time. Grass, water, or in this case, sand.

Smell. I love the smell of fresh air and since I can't really get a picture of air, I thought this might be the next best thing. Flowers contribute to the perfume of the outdoors, don't they? There really is nothing like a fresh breath of air, whether it be attributed to the fresh cut grass on a summer morning or after it rains. Sound. I love the sound of my children. I love when they talk to me (or coo) in their sweet voices and lately, I cannot get enough of their laughter. Tonight as I sat at the computer, I just smiled as I heard Reagan and Nolan in the bedroom going to sleep and Reagan was making Nolan laugh. I thought my heart would burst.

Taste. Of course I am going to put food. I love it and especially when you have to get creative to get your little ones to eat! Really, I should have put a picture of some chocolate cake or something, but I do like this one. Food comforts the soul.

On the Move

Nolan may look like me, but this video is evidence that he has his dads preferences. We found out that Nolan will move in order to get the remote control in his hands.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Adventures with Reagan: San Francisco Zoo

This zoo was made famous (infamous?) around Christmas 2007 due to some tiger attacks, I think. The best part about this zoo is it's location. It is literally across the street from Ocean Beach and you can hear the waves crashing from the front entrance. The zoo itself is wide and open, the animals have huge wanderings, but as far as numbers of animals go, if you are going for that, just go to Oakland ;)

This was the best of the zoo attractions: the childrens petting zoo. It was a barnyard that you just walked through and mingled with the sheep, goats, chickens, you name it. At first Reagan was a little scared to go pet them, but once she saw us do it with no problem, she was fine herself. I am proud of her; this is our little girl who wakes up at night from nightmares of doggies biting her. This was a big step.

Highlight of the day: this grizzy bear. She had quite the personality and was hamming it up for the huge audience at the window. She came right up to the window and lolled around in the water, sticking her face against the glass and everything.

Matt got this video below of two grizzly bear sisters fighting like...well, sisters!! It was a neat thing to see. Enjoy!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Adventures with Reagan: Pixieland

Enjoying every ounce of summer we have left, we took Regs to her favorite local place, Pixieland. We actually had some leftover tickets, so we made sure to go when adults ride free, since she is a wee bit short for riding alone. She still guzzles her water like Napoleon Dynamite. I can't resist a pic of Noly-bubs.

Riding the teacups with dad.

Frog Hopper with mom. This one actually made my stomach tighten a bit...come on! I am getting old ;)

Closure

Ahh, yes, summer is finally coming to a close. I am sad, this has been a fast and eventful summer. But I also love the fall so much, starting with college football, The Office, then the holidays, then January comes and it kinda sucks till around March. My dear sweet Reagan has kept us on our toes all summer. She never ceases to amaze us with her creativity or make us laugh with her antics. She is in the midst of a 2 week stint of swim lessons. A gal in our ward is fabulous with her and offers 8 lessons for super cheap, so I thought I would give it another try for this summer. Yeah, it is going well if you ignore her kicking and screaming everytime she goes near the pool. Today was a good one though, she stopped crying once she got in the pool and actually put the tip of her face (gasp!) in the water. I cannot find the inner strength to scold her for her hydro fears, though, she gets it from her mom. Here she is preparing for basketball by wearing her dad's shoes and ankle braces.

I have been reading Harry Potter and I am in the middle of Order of the Phoenix. I am addicted, I am eating this up. But it occupies my time as well as my mind, so I need a break for a week or so. I have a hard time falling asleep at night and when I do, I dream about flying on broomsticks or pointing my wand at someone and yelling "riddikulus!" It is rather ridiculous.

While on the subject of my weirdness, let me tell you of my pizza mishap. I love bbq chicken pizza and I had some leftover chicken the other day, so I though it would be a great use. Matt hates this kind of pizza, so I just decided to do half pepperoni/half bbq chicken. I carefully drew the line down the middle of my crust and put marinara sauce on one side and bbq sauce on the other. And so on. After a few minutes of chowing down, I realized mine tasted disgusting and Matt only ate one piece, when he usually downs like 3. Seconds later, I realized that I had swapped my toppings. The bbq chicken went on the marinara side while the pepperoni was on top of bbq sauce. We ditched our dinner and had an ice cream sandwich instead. Ironically, Reagan loved the bbq sauce pepperoni side and even ate the leftovers.

Oh yes, here is bubs.

Now onto Matt's weirdness. He has this obsession with cutting things on his body and thinks he is a surgeon or something. He once cut a mole off his arm and it bled for months. He would wake up in the morning, his shirt soaked in blood. Then there was the time he dug out his ingrown toenail which became mighty infected and he had to have surgery on it. Now, he has progressed to a new thing: warts. He cut off this wart on his toe, went and played basketball for 2 hours, so this is the result. Yummy.

And here is bubs again, just a little cutie pie sandwiching the nastiness picture above. Actually he is watching Baby Beethoven here, he loves it, just like sis did (does).

Well, we are trying to enjoy the rest of Summer '09, but bring on fall: The Office begins September 17th! Remember Pam and Jim are having a baby, Pam will be completing her first trimester and word on the street is that this cold open for the season premiere is easily in the top 5. We shall see. I am looking forward to this season like crazy. I like the new receptionist and so does Andy ;) Will Dwangela make a comeback? And what of the annoying temp, Ryan?

Of course, NCIS starts up too. I had to quit watching the reruns on USA because frankly, while I can handle dream of flying on broomsticks, the ones where someone is trying to murder me or I dig up human bones in my backyard aren't as fun. So my limit is an episode a week, beginning this season. What will happen with Ziva??

Love you all!

Baker Beach

We started to get the beach bug again earlier this week with the weather warming up a little more, although I can't complain about our mild July. We headed out to our favorite nudist beach (just kidding), since the winding road to Muir (our favorite) is sometimes vomit-inducing. Truthfully, for our non-San Francisco friends, Baker Beach does usually have a nude sunbather or two, but they hang out closer to the bridge, away from where we are. Matt overheard some joggers say that a hairy nude man was down at the other end. Ew! I think Reagan has the cutest little tush.

While Matt was overhearing the joggers, I spotted a whale surfacing several times. I tried to catch a photo, but failed. You will just have to take my word for it!

Here is what a day at the beach is like for Reagan: build a sandcastle with dad, run away from the waves, watch the water catch up to the sandcastle, wash hands in the water several times only to plunge them right back into the sand seconds later. She loves this place.

Lacy had a birthday - by Matt Rasmussen

Super Franks, In-N-Out Burger, Shopping, Trick Candles, and Chuck E. Cheese all in one day.

P.S. Do not use more than 12 trick candles on one cake or it can be very difficult to put out.