Our Big April

First there was Easter. We painted eggs, hunted eggs, ate eggs. Found Easter baskets. Wore Easter-type clothes. The whole thing. Here is an impromptu photo we talk on our morning walk to church.

And then, as any decent self-respecting parent would do, I loaded the kids in the car and drove them out of Utah. It was originally planned to be Randy and Brooklyn's wedding the weekend of the 14th, but some snags have pushed the wedding date back a little. But what the snags DIDN'T do was to change our reservation we had set at the Capo Beach beachhouse. So here it is. Our "For-No-Apparent-Reason-Trip-To-California-And-Everything-That-Entails".

We pulled in Friday and stayed with Brandon and Meghan Brown in Laguna Niguel. I always try to spend one night a trip with these guys. They are just too nice to not visit. The next day I took Addie to her first Dodger game. She even got to wear her LA helmet I won her so many years ago!



Then it was a luxurious rest of the week sitting on our butts enjoying the sunny and 75° conditions that Southern California was offering. Rick and his family, Gary and his family, and my parents shared with us a 6 bedroom 4 bathroom 2 kitchen home right on the sand. It was the same place we stayed last year when Mike took us for Christmas in March.

Reggie somehow spotted this toy truck about 1/4 mile away and took off for it one day. We finally tracked him down, but I think he was hoping to bring it home with us.

We rode our bike down to San Clemente Pier a few times. Addie and Reggie tolerated the ride knowing I would pack treats and let them chase those dirty pigeons.

I even let Adelaide fish with the Old Man who sits at the pier all day offering fishing lessons to kids. She set up her own pole, baited the hook and even caught a fish. It jumped free before she could reel it in but she had a blast.

And then, of course, it was time for my 6 year-old to hit Disneyland. We had high expectations on ourselves this time. Last year we did 28 rides and spent 11 hours at the park. We knew we could beat that this time, we just had to focus. 14 hours and 33 rides later, we kinda had to pat ourselves on the back.

The beach also provided us with tons of time to explore, play, and be with with family.
Reggie was a big fan of shovel and buckets.

He is also a big fan of his Pa. Whenever he saw my dad he would say, "Hey Pa". Hmm, maybe he thinks his name is Heypa. We may never know. Another Reggie-ism perhaps.

He carried a flier for LegoLand around with him ooo-ing and awe-ing at the pictures and probably wondering why we weren't going there.

Addie couldn't get enough of her cousins, playing dress-up, and getting free makeovers from Ma.

Adelaide even loved to practice paddle-boarding.

So I let Uncle Rick take her real paddle-boarding. The water was cold and re-entry through the surf was a little rough. But Rick did a great job and I THINK she had fun. That night when I asked her the favorite part of her day, she responded, "NOT being in the water."

As part of my groceries for the week, I bought a bucket of red vines. I am still waiting for the red stained lips and cheeks to fade from Reggie. As you can tell in this picture, there was hardly a moment where he didn't have one in his mouth and one waiting its turn in his hand.

Two Is Always Better Than One

Reggie loves two binkies. He puts one in his mouth and holds the other in his hand. Then he'll swap. And swap back. And swap again. I have actually seen him wake up from a nap and the first thing he will do is swap his binkies. It's become one of his greatest skills. Until he discovered this morning that he can do this:

If he actually turns out to be as funny as he thinks he is, we are in for a hilarious life.

Particulars

Reggie's blonde hair is the most fun thing to see. A. Why is it blonde? B. He has about 58 cowlicks. C. He hates having it washed, cut and even touched. Even so, every now and then I brave the blonde haired messy storm to deliver him a boy's haircut. How do I do it you ask? How do I keep his head still, his tantrum quelled and his mouth quiet?

Red Vines.

Addie also has a new way to fall asleep at night. She is loving her winter hat i bought her this year. There just wasn't enough winter however, for her to fully enjoy her new hat's abilities. Until she discovered this.

Sweet Dreams.

Reggienstein

Reggie loves his baths. "Baff" was one of his first words. He loves to play, splash and pee in the bath as any normal kid would. But sometimes he really doesn't like the whole soap and shampoo thing. And by sometimes, I mean every time so far in his life. SO there I was soaping my boy up when he started to pull away from me. He slipped but I caught him before he finished his fall. And yet I still heard a strange thud. He looked ok. The bathtub looked ok. Then I looked at him again. And there I saw, between his eye and his nose, a hole wide enough to fit a sharpie marker through. He had nailed his head right into that little ceramic soap dish that pokes out (the one that isn't there anymore thanks to my favorite hammer) And soooooo... I rinsed him off. Dried him off. Put on a diaper and dressed him. Then I dressed myself (I was still in a towel from my shower. The shower in which I did NOT hit my head on anything). We got into the car and drove the point three miles to the hospital where they stitched up my little man. Sorry Reg.

Fort Saunders

She's six. She needed a fort. A fort that sleeps 11 stuffed animals, 2 pillows, 1 pillow pet, 7 blankets, and one giggly little girl. She slept in the next morning. Might have to do this again.

Animals

We hit the Bean Museum this weekend on BYU's campus. Reggie couldn't believe all those animals would hold so still for so long just so he can get a peek at them. Addie can't believe she used to believe that too. Here are their favs.

Cleanliness ...

... is next to godliness.

Choo-Choo

I decided it was time for the kids to learn about their Pa Idaho. So I took them to the Train Show that came through town. We walked by all the exhibits and train displays. We watched the trains run and marveled at all the tiny model towns and delicate landscaping. I bought them each a conductor's hat and a tiny train.... Then I told them Pa Idaho had an almost 400 square foot model train set-up that he destroyed and has yet to rebuild. They are pretty disappointed Pa.

Davey Poppins

Who said I can't clean and organize? That's right. Nobody.

IPhone

Addie has taught me many uses for my new phone. One of the games we have let's us run a virtual zoo. That includes going on safari to find new animals, breeding them, washing them, feeding them, and naming them. Then she discovered we can take our pictures with them too. One day I may even use the phone to make some calls.