Fun and Filth

Friday was technically the last day of Summer for my boys. I say "technically" because there is a very good chance their first day of school will be delayed due to a teachers strike. But even so, I decided to take them to celebrate one last day of summertime freedom.

We piled into my little earth lovin' car and headed to the local water park. We threw in a couple of neighborhood friends to amp up the fun.

My boys have been BEGGING me to take them to Wild Waves since the first time they were able to see it out the car windows along side the freeway. And seeing as how they are up to my chin now goes to show you how long they've been begging.

I hadn't been to said water park since I was a teenager, some uh, twenty years ago. Yikes. I haven't been in a huge rush to return because even from the freeway you can tell the park has pretty much remained in the same shape since the totally tubular 1980's.

Now mind you all of the boys LOVED the park. From the stomach churning amusement rides to the sea sick inducing wave pool. They were in tween boy heaven.

I, on the other hand, was grossed out. I don't think they've cleaned the park since the day I last stepped foot in it. The stairs leading up to the water slides were caked in mildew, dirt, and who knows what else. The mold growing on the exterior of the water slides was disgusting to say the least. What disgusted me the most of all was knowing that this park is raking in the dough. I know this because I had just spent 24 dollars on a lunch consisting of two stale pretzels, a plastic cup of fake cheese nachos, and 3 small sodas. (You are not allowed to bring food in from the outside world.) Seriously. Not to mention paying 10 bucks to park my car in their own lot. I also dropped $8 to keep my personal belongings safe in a locker. All this on top of the small fortune I shelled out just to get the three of us through the front door. Would it hurt them to purchase a pressure washer and put it to good use? I don't think so.

The rides in the amusement park are the exact same ones I rode on as a kid. I couldn't help but hope and pray that we weren't going to be the ones on the ride at the time it decided to kick the bucket. Rusty hardware, rickety fencing, and completely moldy awnings greeted us at every turn. Nice. I'm so glad I was the only one who cared. All four boys were as happy as can be. They were looking at this fun day with their kid goggles on. I wish I still had a pair of those. You know, the goggles that once you placed them on your face make everything fun and wonderful. Kids are born with those and I think somewhere between 20 and 30 they disintegrate.

Nick was constantly thanking me for taking them to this place he's been dreaming of since toddler hood. The kids were enjoying this last day of summertime freedom. I guess I shouldn't be so critical of a place that can still evoke smiles and laughter from the people it's meant for most of all. I hope they enjoyed it, 'cause I doubt we'll be going back... at least for another 20 years.

Home Away From Home

We have a place we like to visit at least once a year. It's become a family tradition that would be sorely missed if we didn't make the trek. It's the sort of place that once we roll into to town we instantly feel happy and right at home. We've been returning to Cannon Beach with our boys for 10 years now and it's what we like to call "our happy place".Here's her crowning glory, Haystack Rock.

I imagine it must look something similar to an East Coast town with lots of shingled cottages that I often daydream about owning. It is so quaint and peaceful.

Just me and "Goofus and Gallant".

We spent the majority of our time on the beach.

We plant ourselves in the warm soft sand and let the days slide away while we jump in the surf. (We are practically the only family up to our waists in the frigid water, but those people don't know what they're missing! There is fun to be had even with numb limbs.)

This year we kept having to move our "camp" because the waves just kept coming in further and further. It was craziness... I've never seen high tides that far up the dry sand. I have to admit it was entertaining watching the beach combers run in dismay at the sneaker waves.

Nick likes to purchase a kite almost every year. He splurged on this parachute kite that instantly lit up his face on it's maiden voyage into the sea air.

Despite the look of disgust, Nolan gleefully buried himself in the sand. He wasn't happy with our abuse and laughter after he was helpless in the sand. :)

Look at our little sea turtle.

We woke up early a couple of mornings to head out to explore the low tide. Haystack rock is teaming with starfish, muscles, barnacles, sea anemones, crabs, and fish. The boys could spend all day there if the tide would let them.

The smallest starfish I've ever seen and a hermit crab upon Nick's hand.

We spotted this hidden cave that went back about 15 feet into the hillside. It was a little spooky but really cool at the same time!
How did we never notice this in the past ten years?

Brothers unite!

I wish I had taken more shots of the town. It's adorable. Flowers EVERYWHERE flowing over boxes and hanging in baskets that flank the doorways to all of the cute shops. We know every square inch of this town. We can tell what has changed from year to year. Which shops have changed locations, which ones are brand spanking new, which cafes have delicious food, and which ones to avoid.

It's always hard to pack up and leave for home, but knowing we'll be back helps a little.
We'll be back next year, a little older than before.

Today I will...

Talk back to my cat, Maggie...who Never. Shuts. Her. Trap.

Enjoy the silence of a quiet house after all my boys have left for work and Grandma's house.

Think a lot about tomorrow and all the fun we will be having in one of our favorite places on Earth.

Rock out to my newly uploaded and synced ipod on my way to work this morning.

Wear my sunglasses and be thankful for this LOVELY sunny day.

Hope that the retail customers heading my way will only sport smiles and good attitudes today.

Just be happy because life is good.

Gratitude

Not only am I blessed to have two boys, I am blessed to be part of an amazing extended family that will help one another out whenever needed.

We had arranged for my parents to watch the boys while we were in Cabo. Unfortunately, my mother's back pain was getting worse and needed surgery the week before we were due to jet off to Mexico. (Thankfully, her procedure was a huge success and she is relatively pain free! Hooray!) I was a little worried that we would have a difficult time finding substitute child care with short notice especially when everyone has busy Summer plans in full swing.

Connor assured me that we would have to trouble, he had a few ideas up his sleeve. He made a few phone calls and voila- his family came through!

It's hard for me to believe, but I think Nick and Nolan might have had more fun hanging with the fam than we did in Cabo. I say this purely based on the excitement in their voices and the endless stories they keep sharing with us each day.

Their week started off with a four day stay with Aunt Kim and Uncle Ed at the ever popular Cousin's Camp. I believe this is their 7th annual Camp surrounded by all of their cousins on Connor's side. Campfires, paintball matches, swimming, fishing, you name it--they did it! Nolan even told me he got a "third nipple" bruise from one particular paintball adventure. He was beyond thrilled with his new injury. Boys are strange.
Then Aunt Lee and Uncle Terry agreed to take the boys for the next few days... Here they spent almost all of their time perusing the beach in front of their home. They live on the Puget Sound and there are never ending treasures hidden beneath each and every barnacle covered rock. Serious fun for kids in the 10-12 age range! Besides, their aunt Lee provided them with enough food to feed an army and is uber sweet! A short trip on uncle Terry's boat found them at Hope Island... This was Nick's "favorite" part of the whole week. They explored the island with their cousins Madison and Colten. I imagined them looking like Tom Saywer and Huck Finn when they were telling me about their fun day on Hope Island.
They even got to spend a day with Christina and Paul (Connor's cousins) where they played and played 'til the sun came down!
The next installment of fun for the week was spent with their Grandma Pat and Grandpa Joe aboard their lovely boat cruising around the Puget Sound. They were picked up from Lee and Terry's and began their new roles as shipmates. They helped when it was time to dock in the two ports they spent the nights in. The boys got to sleep on the upper deck of the boat out in the fresh air, they LOVED it. They caught some crabs and tried their hand at fishing. I have no doubt they have made memories they will always remember.

I feel blessed to be part of such a wonderful family. Not only did they go out of their way to help Connor and I with our last minute favor, they showed the boys how much they are loved, and made the week away from mom and dad a fun-filled adventure. We really appreciated everyone's help with juggling the boys and all of their STUFF. It was reassuring to know they were in capable and loving hands.

THANK YOU ALL!!!

Cabo San Lucas 2009... "It's All About The Fun"

Several months ago I was sitting across the table from my dear friend, Karen, at the Cheesecake Factory....

This is when she brought up the proposition of Connor and I accompanying her and her husband, Brad, on a fabulous trip to Cabo San Lucas.

A little persuasion, months of anxiously waiting, packing, and a couple airplane flights later and we finally made it!

This is what greeted us every morning out our window....

We were sad to have to leave the boys stateside, but we are firm believers that it is IMPORTANT to take time out to just be a couple. Happy parents make for a happy household. It was so nice to relax in the tropical sun with my sweetie for an entire week. Thank you Connor for making this happen, it was an amazing week. I love you!

Karen and Brad are some of the happiest, loving, funny, and inspiring people I know. Spending an entire week with them was refreshing and undeniably FUN!

We laughed more in seven days than we have in a long time.

I have to add that having Brad along in Mexico is BUENO! He is completely fluent in Spanish and it was amazing to see the looks on the local's faces when the giant Spanish speaking gringo started talking. I have no doubt Brad saved us muchos pesos as he was beyond helpful in bargaining some stellar deals with the local vendors.

Karen is like a sister to me. I guess thirty one years of friendship will do that. I love her more each year and spending time with her for days on end was like going back in time to our childhood... We were giddy, silly, and had so much fun together.

Obviously, we took a lot of pictures from this vantage point right outside our front door. Every time we walked out we were shocked by the beauty of the bay and Lands End stretching out into the distance. Lovely!

Most of our days were spent in the sea or our pool staying cool in the mid-day sun.

This, however, is NOT our pool. Brad conspired to "break in" to a neighboring hotel's pool just to check out how the other tourists were living it up.

We made it "in" and swam around for awhile. I have to admit it was a really nice pool and breaking the rules was a little fun!

This bad boy just appeared one morning smack dab in the middle of the bay. It totally looked out of place because of it's mammoth size. I'm not a fan of cruise ships parking in my view and dropping off masses of tourists to litter my pristine beaches.

In Cabo, the beaches are full of vendors trying to convince you to buy their goods. They all claim to be your "friend" and have special deals "jus fo you, today only". This is my friend Jose, and he did have a might pretty silver ring jus fo me.

My adventurous and nature loving hubby found all sorts of creatures while in Mexico. Luckily, this GIANT beetle/insect/monster was of the deceased variety. But Connor loved him just the same.

This is the beach right in front of our condo where we bobbed in the Sea of Cortez each day snorkeling. It is here that we spotted puffer fish, flounder, long tube fish, and two Sting Rays!

The beaches are alive with tourists, vendors, and locals trying to sell you a ride across the bay to Lover's Beach. Lover's beach is on Land's End and stretches out across the sea between the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific ocean. We ventured there twice and were in awe of the waves and snorkeling to be had there. Sadly, I don't have any photos because my camera couldn't handle the humidity those days. We saw amazing tropical fish and all four of us climbed a giant rock and jumped off of a 25 foot cliff into the Sea of Cortez! (I took a little more persuading than others, but I did it!)

Our resort had a nice roof-top restaurant that had amazing 360 degree views of Cabo and everything below. It also had cool and refreshing misters spraying us while we munched away...it was a popular hang out for all of us!

We ate at "The Office" a couple of times with our feet in the sand. It had a fun atmosphere, delicious food, and every now and then some guy would hose off the sand around your feet to keep you cool!

I love this man!

Another beach front dining experience sans sand between my toes.

In town, we walked around until the sweat was beading fast. Time to duck into the local Haagen Daaz for a cool treat. We were shocked by the ridiculously high prices for ice-cream... and even more shocked to see the scoops were minuscule!

This is the marina only a block from our resort.
It was surrounded by shops and restaurants.

Our pool was divine. It was a welcome treat after swimming in the salty sea. We'd jump in the pool to desalinize ourselves and cool off.

It was also the PERFECT place to catch some rays while reading

Three words. Swim. Up. Bar.

Nachos and a pina colada make Kelly a happy girl.

Thank you Karen and Brad for inviting us to come along on this fun filled trip of a lifetime.

Thank you Connor for making this dream trip a reality and for being the love of my life. I couldn't imagine three other people I'd rather spend that special week with in beautiful Cabo.

For a perfect summary of our trip and amazing pictures, check this out! She's got a gift and I love how she's portrayed our time together!

Old As Mold Part II

My sweet hubby is celebrating a birthday today.

I like to tease him about being so much older than I am... but truthfully, he would probably pass for the "younger" one. He inspires me each and every day. He's a terrific dad, witty as all get out, and my very best friend.

I know this photo is older than the hills, but as I was browsing for a picture to upload, I came across this one and it is one of my absolute favorites... so here it is.

Connor, you are wonderful and deserve to have the happiest of birthdays my friend.

I love you and thank my lucky stars for you every single day.

(Thanks for making the Cabo vacation become a reality sweetie... it was truly a once in a lifetime trip that I will never forget! I will post more about that in the near future!)