Bonding With Nature

Camping July 2010

Just outside of Flagstaff, where the air is clean and the temperatures are cool. And downright cold at night. Even in July. Talk about brrrr.

But first we had to get there. So pack up the husband and wife and kiddos. Oh and the camping gear. Hopefully we don't forget anything. Anyone want to guess what we forgot?

And we're off...

All Aboard!!!

And 3 hours later, we're here! It had actually been raining a lot in the week before, and since the Matrix doesn't have 4 wheel drive (I know, right), we had to be cautious about where we stayed lest we get stuck in the mud. So now that we found the spot, time to set up camp.

I'm not doing anything

And Nathan helped a lot. He actually built the campfire ring. Okay, no he didn't, but he did enjoy playing with our mini pick-axe.

Hi Dad

Poor Sonoma, we finally get back out into nature and she's too tired to explore. So the next best thing, sleep!

A perfect spot for napping

Right by the fire to stay warm in the 80 degree temp. Since everything around was pretty moist it took a while for my Survivorman skills to kick in, but eventually we got the fire going. However, it did take constant managing to keep it going. Especially when it started raining. But luckily it was only a brief rain, but with more clouds moving in, we figured we should get dinner cooked while we could.

Dinner!

And dinner was EXCELLENT! A little lemon pepper chicken and a veggie dish - green beans, peppers, potatoes. Cooking over the campfire, caveman style. Cavemen used pots and pans right?

Real men cook with fire

It also was a great time for a little father/son bonding. Teach him how to make a fire. Teach him how to grill. You know the basics so he's prepared when he heads out into the real world.

Chillaxin' after dinner

Time for S'mores

You can't have a camping trip without S'mores. And apparently, Laura picked up a new "recipe" for making S'mores. A new "method" from someone from New Jersey of all places. I mean what do Jersey people know about camping? I've seen Jersey Shore. No, no, I haven't. I don't watch that show.

So after dinner and ghost stories, we did our traditional bedtime routine with Nathan, without all the normal routine parts.

Camping buddies

Let's see what we can find in the woods

Go take a hike! What could be better than waking up in the morning and heading out for a morning hike? Be at one with nature. Smell the fresh air. Enjoy all the greenness. Maybe see some wildlife or...

Bones!!!

Seriously, we were almost EATEN last night. OMG. We could have been someone's dinner. A big someone based on the size of the bone pile. OR A PACK OF SOMEBODIES!! OMG I hadn't thought about that. We were surrounded!!! No Escape!

Good thing this is just a one night trip.

The Fam

Enjoying the car ride home

Until next time...

California Love

Woohoo!!! VACATION!!!

Yes we managed to go on vacation this summer. Originally we were going to hit up Boston, piggy-backing on a work trip, but that didn't pan out so we decided that San Diego was the spot for us. The only issue was would Nathan last 6-7 hours in the car? That answer and more, after the break.

Po-dunk nowhere

A long story short (just about the car trip), Nathan was AWESOME!! Sleeping or just being happy baby for 90% of the car ride. We did have to stop for a few breaks, but that was to be expected, with the lunch break in Wellton, AZ. What? You haven't heard of the huge metropolis that is Wellton? Hmmm, neither did we until it showed up right there along-side the highway. Using the (new) trusty Blackberry, we found out that Chuck's Stage Stop is known the world over for their small town cooking. But, now that we are safely outside their "town's" jurisdiction, DO NOT EAT THERE.

Skipping ahead a bit, we made it safely to our hotel and rested for our big day at Sea World.

Shamu and Friends

After a wonderful greeting from Shamu, the park was our playground. We tried to get Nathan to pet the sea stars, but he wasn't having any of that, so we headed to the Shamu show.

Whoooaaa!!!

We were wondering if Nathan would even realize he was surrounded by large animals, but he definitely enjoyed the shows.

From Nathan's view point

Jolly good show, eh?

That's a big fish

This is my favorite picture from the trip. This is also where Nathan picked up the word whale - why can't people watch their language around kids?

Dad, it's a whale. You don't need to point it out.

Dolphins!

On to THE BEACH...

Future's so bright...

On day 2, we went to Torrey Pines beach and met up with some friends who also have a one year old. It was Nathan's first beach trip and he seemed to enjoy it, though the ocean took a bit getting used to.

Nathan organizing the sea shells

Nathan really didn't care too much for the sea shells. He just picked a few from mommy's hand and placed them back on the beach so he could get back to digging. I think we may need to get a sandbox for him.

...and tidy up the A a bit...

Nathan did a wonderful job spelling his name, which is weird seeing as how he can't yet say his name. We think he may be a child prodigy.

and done. A masterpiece!

Or a really gifted artist.

Laura and Nathan

Or just a really cute, squishy baby.

brrrrr

Time to make the sandcastle

Nathan and Aiden playing

Trying to convince the babies to knock down the castle

So just before we departed the beach, we tried to get the kids to knock down the sand castle - a term I use loosely to describe the mound of sand with no real shape the we created. Seeing as how Nathan loves it when he stacks blocks and knocks them over, I didn't think it would be too hard. But no. Apparently they either really loved our castle, or they were afraid of whatever was swimming in the moat that surrounded it.

Sandcastle: 1; Babies: 0

Up next, Balboa Park

ooo, a fountain to play in

Actually this preceded the beach, but I didn't want to reorder all the pictures.

Balboa park has really nice gardens and a bunch of museums and other activities, perfect for a leisurely day with a one-year old who just wants to run around and jump in a fountain. I'm not sure where he picked up fountain, but that kid is drawn to them like a magnet. It must be all those splash pad trips that mommy takes him on.

Balboa Park

weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Balboa park even had a choo-choo, so of course we had to ride it. They also had a merry-go-round, but Laura and I thought it was a bit to fast for Nathan so we opted out of that ride.

And one last beach trip before the 7 hour drive home

Five days of vacation and we returned more exhausted than when we left. But then, that is usually how our vacations roll.

Baby Gaga

Shake it baby, shake it!

Fore?

Golfing on a Monday holiday! Or as Laura apparently called it: Daddy Playdate

So we were kicking it at our 4th of July BBQ, like normal guys do... (see picture below)

Regular guys, doing normal guy stuff

and we somehow managed to get on the subjet of golf. So naturally, being great planners, we decide it would be awesome to go golfing in the morning. Here's a little reinactment of the conversation (which I assume is how most golf conversations go):

"Yeah, we should go golfing sometime. When do you want to go?"
"How about tomorrow?"
"Yeah, let's do it."

At this point wife #1 and wife #2 walk in.

"Um, Laura, do we have plans tomorrow?"
Laura: "Why? What are you guys planning?"
"We're setting up a golf game for the morning."
"Oh really?"
"Yeah, can I go"
Guy #2, turning to his wife: "Oh, yeah, we're going golfing in the morning. Is that cool?"
Guy #3: "I should probably ask too."

Our conversation was actually about how bad we are at golf, so it was kind of funny how excited we were to go out and play a round. Also funny, by the end of the evening, I think all the wives had identified a certain number of items for each of us to deliver to each other. Reinactment #2:

Laura: "Oh, you can take this tray back to Guy #4. The chips are for Guy #3 and the watermellon is for Guy #2"
Gary: "Really? You want me to deliver a watermellon? Why on Earth does he want a watermellon?" Seriously, I think she's was making stuff up at this point just to see what she could make me do...like the wives had their own little secret game of "Let's see want we can get our husbands to deliver." Well played Laura, well played.

So with approval, we nominate guy #2 to find a course. "Honey, what was the name of that course I just golfed at?" And of course, wife #2, having not been at that golf outing, remembers and suggests googling it for directions. So guy #2 stumbles with the google search and offers wife #2 the opportunity to search for our golf course because "you're the better researcher."

So miraculously we manager to hook up a location and tee time: Monday at 8:23am. But we apparently forgot to tell Guy #4 the time and of course none of us exchanged phone numbers.

So in the morning, I get the numbers of 2 of the wives, you know in case I need to contact the husbands before golf.

We arrive one by one, but guy #4 doesn't show up and of course it's his wife's phone number I didn't have. So I call Laura for the number. No answer. So I call wife #4's friend to get wife #4's number to get guy #4's number. That plan worked, but guy #4 is at home because we forgot to provide the tee time. Apprently he left a message with Laura the night before (because of course he didn't have my number), but the message was just static-y and we just assumed it was a wrong number.

I would have more pictures of the golf outing, but I forgot the camera and I'm sure it's probably an unwritten guy rule for the golf course. There's probably a rule about writing about these conversations too.

Artist's recreation of golf outing: Apparently a swing and miss (which did happen, but still, c'mon! That artist is a jerk)

I did manage to hit a really great shot on hole 8. From about 50 yards out, my shot landed two inches from the hole. I even have a picture to prove it but it's on my phone and I haven't figured out how to upload it yet. But I do have two witnesses.

***Names were changed to protect Phil, Justin, and Jeremy***

H2 ooohhhh

Oh, so good on a hot day - 107 degress hot. Pool time!

There's a smile in there somewhere

Moommmm, it's fine. Let's go!

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

I'm done!

Sonoma stalking her prey

DaaaDUM...DaahDUM

Returning with the catch

Plus we found a new gardener! Who knew it was so much fun to play with the hose? Okay everyone knew, but it's always fun to find out for the first time.

A little over here...

A little over there...

And now we can't get it away from him. Well, we can, but not without a fight. Ooo, maybe he will be like this with his chores...What do you think?

Hey, Nathan, you missed a spot

Who's On First? (updated with bonus Allyson picture)

Well that would be Nathan. On his first baseball game, that is. Nothing like instilling a little bit of good ole American tradition. Maybe we'll try some apple pie next...

hmm, what happens if I poke this person?

Nathan playing with Allyson and baby Calli

hee hee hee

Milk Allyson, Justin, Calli (not necessarily in that order)

Nathan was in awe as we entered. I think he was amazed at the size of the stadium and all the people. And when we finally entered our area we opened up to this view:

Hello...hello...Echo...echo...echo

Yes, we were pretty high up, upper deck section 305. Nathan basically had this look of "Whoa" on his face. Until we sat down. That's when he became Mr. Squirmy Man. And here I was hoping that he would sit nicely on our laps and enjoy the D-backs beating up on some Yankees. But alas, no, none of that happened. D-back lost 5-6 in 10 innings...oh, sorry, ***Spoiler Alert*** I didn't mean to give away the ending like that...

A little break from the action

So Laura and I took turns walking around with Nathan and letting him walk the concourse. Being the wonderful husband I am, I let Laura take more turns than me (you owe me one Schmoopie). :)

Nathan seemed to enjoy the game, or rather the experience at least. Whenever the crowd cheered, he started clapping. And when there was music playing, he started dancing. And he really enjoyed running around the concourse. Oh, and poking the people seated in front of us.

Surprisingly, we actually made it to the seventh inning stretch. He normally goes to bed at 7pm and with the game starting just 20 minutes prior, I had only expected to reach the 3rd. Well that and Laura's love for the sport.

International sign for milk