Monday, August 27, 2012

Newport Celtic Rock Festival!

What better way to spend an August Saturday?

Posing as we start the day


Pipes and drums



S was not impressed. Tired already


Getting the first of her "face" paintings. A panda on her hand


The Screaming Orphans



Being cute


Taking a break in Newport


Stopping to smell the flowers


Getting face paint #2


Tartan Terrors


Sensing a theme


Gaelic Storm!

We had a great time. The food was good, the music was lovely, and S stayed awake almost through to the end. Almost ;)

Friday, August 24, 2012

You parents will understand

The toddler and I bought her first big girl underpants tonight. It's all going on around here.

Monday, August 20, 2012

Corn festival!

One of our local farms advertised a corn festival, complete with farm animals and a moon bounce. We knew we had to take S.

Clearly she loved the moon bounce slide


Checking out the sheep


I think she liked them more than they liked her


Checking out the cows now


They got reallly close


Heading to the playground with Daddy


Enjoying the yummy corn

A good time was had by all!

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

What we did on our summer vacation

While J was off in PA getting medieval on a lot of people, S and I headed west to see my parents for the week. That's right, I took a 2-year-old on an airplane. Across the country. And back again. By myself. Somehow we survived.

S gets settled into her seat. She did really well, all things considered. She loved her seatbelt, the tray tables, and our in-seat video screens. Go Virgin America!


The first morning we were there, S woke up at the crack of dawn. She and Nana checked out the fog.


Once we were all sorted, S and Tapa fed the geese across from their apartment.
Then it was time for a walk.


S doesn't look too sure about this yet


I love this picture


Thank you, California, for giving me this amazing lunch. You rock. Oh, and thanks to Dad for making them just so ;)


S took this photo of my parents' "bar". She loved pulling all the water bottles from the bottom. I said they should get this instead:



When the first day was all said and done, Tapa was SO tired. He never even noticed when S brought him her blanket and otters so he could nap properly ;)

Then the cousins came! My brother and sister in law brought their 3 kids, including my niece who is only a year older than S. The first 24 hours were a lot of "No! No!" and "Mine! Mine!" But before I knew it, they were sharing everything. Like a box:



And clothes. Apparently Miss G doesn't like dresses or fancy shoes, so S gets to wear this sassy pair of Mary Janes


After a few days of fog (oh, how i enjoyed fog and 65 degrees in August), we had some clear days, which meant BEACH!


S wanted nothing to do with the water at first, and preferred to hang out in the sand (or as she put it, her "sandbox"). But I think she caved to peer pressure and finally headed out into the "deep"


Tapa had to hold her hood so she wouldn't dive into the Pacific


I love sand-covered toddler feet


On those sunny mornings, S would wake up early and have her morning milk on the patio. Here she is modeling another dress from her cousin

Since we were in the neighborhood, a trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium was in order. I don't have many pictures, because it's hard to get shots in low light with a gazillion people around and moving animals. Suffice to say we enjoyed the otters, and the sharks and sunfish, and the giant tuna. And the seahorses and jellyfish. But most of all, we enjoyed lunch.


How can you resist that view?

Before we knew it, it was time to pack up and head home. S handled an hour delay on the tarmac pretty well, and is slowly getting back into her sleep schedule. She was delighted to see Daddy return, and we are getting back into the swing of things.

We did find what leaving for 10 days will do to the zucchini garden:

3 lb, 7 5/8 oz. Spam me with recipes!