Monterey: Big Sur and Point Lobos

Once again, we decided to leave town last minute. I really have a hard time planning anything beyond a few hours right now, so this spontaneity is working for me! We headed down to check out Monterey and a portion of the Big Sur.

Road Trippin'!

The addition of the headphones was a huge success.

Myles is unsure of this whole headphones thang.

We rolled into the the timeshare (shout out and thanks again to Bryan's parents), made dinner and swam in the pool. We cashed in early to prepare for a busy tomorrow.

The next morning we headed down to the beach. The kids loooovvveed playing in the sand. I should have thought about this twice and done this at the end of the day. Oh well!

After the beach, we headed down the coast to check out some Big Sur country. It was breath taking. 

Bixby Bridge.

We "hiked" to a view point of McWay Falls. Amazing. 

We were warned about this…

it looks like this…

…and if you touch it, it can look like this.

They weren't joking when they said, "may cause a severe rash or blisters." Check and check.

 

We saw about a dozen California Condors. These guys are huge. We learned that a sighting like this is extremely rare. They almost became extinct, as in only a couple dozen were left in the 1980s and 1990s. Today, there are a little over 400 in the world. Each bird was tagged on its wing. Maybe there was some truth to this story we were told.

Myles' first selfie.

Stopped for a treat on our way to Point Lobos.

Made it to Point Lobos and hiked around. Spotted seals. We actually smelled them before we saw them.

"Smile! We're having a great time, Dang It!" :)

That night we decided to check out the tide pools. Well, low tide was not that low, so we mostly just played on the rocks and watched the waves roll in. Love the ocean.

Bring on the Heat!

We have already hit the low 90s here! It has cooled off since, but I remember how quickly the weather heats up here. We busted out the slip n' slide the other night when it was still 80+ degrees. Summer is here!

Emma was more into strutting on the slide. 

This is the third summer she's worn that swimsuit! Talk about getting my money's worth! :)

2013

2014

Meet Vinny

The kids found a new pet: Vinny, the snail. They were very resourceful and found "a cage" for Vinny so he wouldn't escape at his lightening-fast speed crawl. I may have shuddered when they opened that cage door. Vinny lasted quite awhile-and then was released back into the wild.

The Itch for Service

Last Saturday, we headed down to Auburn Ravine Trail to help with a service project. We were assigned to remove the grass and weeds from around the trees with cages.  We learned that the cages are there to keep the beavers out. It is such a pretty area that we have visited several times for walks or to take pictures. After the project was complete, they had chili hot dogs, chips and a drink waiting for us. Uh, so much for trying to teach our kids about service without that "immediate reward." :) They actually tasted sooo good.

As it turns out, the chili dogs weren't the only thing that Bryan walked away with on Saturday. A day or two later, he started with a rash that has now evolved to this. We're guessing Poison Ivy or Poison Oak? We have no idea how everybody else stayed clear, but are so glad the kids don't have anything. 

We are open to suggestions if someone has a miraculous cure for this dang rash!

NorCal

We spontaneously decided to go explore a little more of Northern California last weekend. It helps a ton when we can use the Bonus Time on Bryan's parents' time share---thanks Steve and Carrie! We escaped to Windsor for a few nights and did a day trip to Bodega Bay. Luke and Emma were ecstatic to be going to a "hotel" and go swimming. Myles did really well with the trip. The hardest part was just that dang car seat. He still views it as his personal torture chamber after 20 minutes.

Emma offering her help to hold things down on the luggage cart.

We couldn't get settled fast enough! These kids were ready to hit the pool!

I stayed on the sidelines this time with Myles. Bryan was more fun that I ever would have been in the pool. Train rides, canon ball contests, "shark" etc. He was definitely the "fun dad" at the pool.

The next day we headed to Bodega Bay. The drive there was beautiful. We stumbled across this spot for our lunch. Not too shabby of a view. I imagine on a sunny day it is even more stunning. The waves were breaking so hard on the rocks that it gave it almost a geyser effect. Very entertaining.

Hiked Bodega Head. 

This is where we also saw whales! This was my first time seeing a whale in the wild, so awesome! They had volunteers out on the point that wore green vests that said "whale watchers" and would help you spot the whales and tell you about them. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

The wildflowers were gorgeous.

After our hike, we headed down to the beach. NorCal beaches are not warm. Gorgeous-yes. Warm-no. I feel like every time I go to the beach here it might be "semi-warm." Nope. Not once. The kids had fun until Luke got caught by one of the waves, that was "checkmate." We swam again that evening and everyone was in bed early that night to recover from the busy day.

Sunday morning we had a slow start. So nice to have those mornings! We headed to the pool after breakfast for one more round of swimming and then we packed it up. We took a detour on the way home through "wine country." My pictures are extremely lacking. I couldn't believe hillside after hillside covered with vineyards. The wineries were impressive, to say the least. Bryan and I really wanted to go inside one just to see it all. Can you imagine the looks we would get strolling in there with our 3 kids?!? Who knows, maybe they would have insisted on more than just a sample for Bryan and me. Yeah, we kept driving.

The only purchase we did make in wine country…and some grapes that were freshly picked.

It was a great get-away. Now, back to reality!

2 Months!

Myles is 2 months old! We had his check-up and his stats are as follows:

Weight:  12.35 lbs …...(55th %tile)
Height:   24 inches……(90th %tile)
Head:     15.75 inches...(79th %tile)

I was relieved to see that he is growing well. Sometimes with that darn reflux I wondered if he was getting anything at times! Obviously, he was and is. :) I think his relfux might be a little improved, or I've learned how to better help him. Either way, I'm hopeful that we'll just continue to find what works. I love when his stomach is settled, he really is so smiley and sweet. We love this little guy. Luke and Emma dote on Myles so much that he is never deprived of attention.

He loves:

• Being swaddled
• Binki
• Snuggling with mom
• The Moby Wrap
• Emma and Luke's antics to get him to smile, which they have a high success rate

He doesn't love:

• His carseat (however,  we are making progress, a few weeks ago we did preschool carpool and he didn't cry the entire time!)
• Being put down to sleep
• Bumbo chair-I thought he might like to be a "big boy"-yeah, I struck out. He is still too little for that and he let me know it!