May 2008

So I got a new Camera for Mother's day! So excited...it is smaller and like this blog I am sure I can do way more cool things with it yet haven't taken the time to read fine print. In time....

Kieren continues to be the happiest lil man and Cameron continues to be the best brother you could ask for...aside from "close talking" he is gentle and caring.

Cameron sure has bonded also with a good buddy from school and they are inseparable. On Tuesdays when home they try to see each other even then. It is so great to see him excited about his friends. Zadyn has a monster truck and Cameron loves to ride it so we often make the trip a block over to see them..oh yeah they are right near us too so is easy.

I took Cameron and Kieren to Bluebird Park-was a nice day for play and picnic. I had gotten Cameron a dinosaur book and thought he might like to go to Balboa Park and at one of the museums they have a dinosaur exhibit so we went there....he was pretty impressed but told me after "they sure didn't have enough dinosaur stuff!" Disneyland has forever ruined any other place...how do you top that!? We also went to the Museum of Man and saw skulls and mummy's which brought forth talk about death...always uplifting and yes I kept it light ha! We then trudged on to the Japanese Friendship Garden which is beautiful.....amazing bonsai's and a Koi pond where he got to feed the fish. Kieren was a gem the whole day and didn't complain once. It was a very nice day and Tuesday's there are always free museums.

Side note: I had a fleeting yet reoccurring thought that has been bothering me lately. I want to bring it to anyone's attention who may ever read this...please slow down in neigorhborhoods and check any blind spots when driving/backing up.....nearby a family just lost their beautiful, blonde blue eyed lil boy who was full of smiles and life to an accident where a neighbor ran him over and this was on a culdisac. I just came across another story where a man who adopted 3 children from China lost one of them when his teenage son backed up and ran her over in their own driveway with the other 2 witnessing it. I cannot even begin to imagine the torture one goes through losing a young child. So now that I have 2 of my own I drive a little slower and my eyes are always watching.....it only takes a second and these were amazing parents....not negligent in any way.....so those with or without kids-think about that.....I know we are always on the go and running late.....better to be late then live with something like this. Sorry but it really bothered me and I keep thinking of what they must be going through.

It is now almost the end of the month and upon catching up I see how I now need to adjust my blogging to days instead of months or keep notes and do it monthly. Forgive the chaos of me adding to this month as the days pass. It is the last week of May. Cameron and I were talking and I said,"Do you know how handsome you are?" And he said,"yes, really handsome!" and I said,"Oh so you know that already!" and he said, "yep!" I said who tells you you are handsome?" "mommy", he says. I said, Who else?" "no one!"....I don' t think I am biased even for being his mom....he is definetely a cutie. I told him "someday all the girls are going to say "oh Cameron I love your eyes and your long eyelashes" and he said...."nooo mom don't let them take me away!" Maybe he equates girls with taking him away from mom and dad.....marriage....now I know why guys can wait a lifetime to marry or not at all ha!

Chris and I got away for 2 nights in Santa Barbara Memorial Day Weekend. A weekend without kids...could it be real!? My parents got our kids somewhat forced on them this Memorial Day Weekend. There was a chance to getaway and we jumped on it. Chris brought up idea of heading to Santa Barbara. We have gone there for the day before while staying with my parents and enjoyed walking State St. and getting a beer and lunch but never stayed there. It has been longer than I can remember since we had gone anywhere more than one night so this was a treat. We got a wonderful room near Stearns Wharf. We checked into a quaint hotel a block from beach, antiquish style with small kitchen. They had bikes, beach towels, chairs, dvd rentals, you name it to use free of charge. They gave us a basket of goodies to boot. We decided to walk over to Stearns Wharf Pier. We went to Longboards because it has a patio outside over the water...nothing fancy at all but good view. We chatted up another couple from Northern California, mainly due to the fact they had an 8 month old and were apologetic for the noise and we let them know we were more than used to that! This lead to kid talk as it always does....For once we could say "we" were the ones who were kid free this weekend. Anyway...after that we walked the long pier of which Chris could not believe there were no fences or railings at the far end.....guess the drunks who'd fall off don't get that far?! It was a lil weird...kids could fall. We passed some touristy shops and museum and headed back towards State St. I had made the realization.....the painful realization that I had forgotten a restaurant/bar itinerary that had taken me far too long to put together at home. I had it detailed down to those voted the best...verified by comments/ratings...to the exact directions..to the price range.....kinda of irritating. Anyhow as we passed many streets I would recall the many but not to the degree I remembered which direction or what it was. We headed up Chapala St. trying to find a good happy hour place and passed by Chad's which was more of a dinner place...ended up after much walking at the Sandbar which was voted best happy hour...we enjoyed some drinks and headed back to room......we decided to go to a seafood restaurant nearby-Chris with his oysters, scallops and more and me with Mahi mahi. We enjoyed a night of uniterupted conversation and peace! The next morning we hunted and I mean hunted for one of my places....Jake's...we after about an hour of driving....found Jake's...not cottage like with a cute patio like I pictured but undoubtedly was a yummy meal. Thank goodness as the ambience was lacking and although relaxing the "live" music was questionable. ..but relaxing so I give it an A. We went back and decided that instead of driving or walking we would take advantage of bikes so we both got a couple crusiers and biked to the wharf...walked out to Sandspit Beach point, and biked along coast...they had put up hundreds of crosses in the sand in rememberance of those who have died for our country..I think we all forget it isn't just 3 day weekend but one that is/should be acknowledged more for the loss and bravery that those put forth while we go about our sightseeing and normalities of daily life. They apparently have voluteers that put the flags up and light them at night. We passed that and stopped off to check out crafts and Art that lined the coastal sidewalks. Nothing I saw that I needed and much of the crafts were a little to "crafty" for me and the jewelery just a tad to over the top for my taste but was fun to see and nice to just be outside. We decided to ride our bikes up to State St and go shop and find a present for Cameron for being "a good boy" for the weekend which had to be happening of course! We got him a puzzle at a local shop and decided whew we deserve a beer! We went to a local bar and had Hefferweisen and the Lakers to entertain us for a few hours. We got a chance to talk about Chris and buisness, old times, thoughts on whatever...people watch-was fun! We later got Steak at Holdren's....fyi med rare to them is rare....we ate it anyway but not best steak I have had. Being exhausted...free time, fresh air, beer, good food....too overpowering!! Had to sleep! Slept great that night...7:30am seemed like 11 am and we were up to Starbucks, breakfast at Cajun Kitchen....(voted best but Jakes was way better...wasn't a fan...was like any other ordinary place)....Off to pick the boys up...I am sure my parents were very happy that we took them off their hands....boy was it nice to just be together and relax. At least this time there was someone to waste away the hours.....Mother's Day I took 4 hours to myself while visiting my parents and it wasn't all that exciting alone.