A boat and climbing trees

Saturdays are "daddy days" around here. While I'm at work, the boys get an extra special day with Ryan, and they love it. He does so well with them; they're always outside, building something and happy when I come home.

The exciting story West could hardly wait to tell me was about the boat they built together. West hammered nails and painted it himself, he was very proud. And the true test was setting sail at the creek across the street... It can float well!

When I was little my friend and I made little boats out of supplies we found on the beach. The funnest part was lighting a candle, putting it on the 'boat' and letting it sail away while watching the candle until it burnt out, was blown out, or hit by a wave. I told West the story (he's very into hearing stories about me when I was little), and he was so excited to add a tea candle to the top of his boat.

Merrick is so close to walking. He thinks it's so fun to stand by himself, he just giggles until he falls over. He's a great climber (and biter), but not quite walking. He is getting so big!

Our special time together

Our last night we had a slumber party with the Buetzow's!!! Jared and Weston were instantly best friends reunited. Scott took them to the beach, at night, to explore. I have never seen Weston so excited. They are taking over the house and caring for Chelsea for us.

Speaking of Chelsea, I failed to take a good photo of this little dog. Weston's playmate, who I'm sure is exhausted from being pulled around by a three year old and having her water dish dumped out over and over by a one year old. But she sure was loved!

I love these boys.

They are so beautiful to me and continue to bring so much joy, challenge, transformation, laughter, spontaneity, and priceless memories to our lives. We are so thankful!

Daddy!

This was a very crucial part of our trip... Daddy. Oh how we missed him. I guess I selfishly underestimated how much the boys want and need their time with him. I am so thankful he could come spend the weekend with us. It just makes everything that much better!

They are quite the sand castle builders, sand eaters, sand covered, sand lover boys.

We were able to catch up with a very special friend, Royce. He came to Marina Del Rey with paddle boards from his new company, Pau Hana, just so we could try them! Thanks Royce!

It was awesome. My legs were so shaky, but once you get a rhythm going, I can see how people fall in love with it. Weston even rode on the board with Ryan!

New adventures

With sand in all sorts of hidden crevices of a chubby Merrick, he spent a lot of time in the sink. He loved it, and it helped me have free hands in the kitchen!

We have wonderful friends here, makes it feel like home. Weston loved his new books from Monique and even sweet talked her into some back scratching. Merrick's infamous camera face...

As the boys became more comfortable at Chelsea's home (the little doggy), I began to feel more comfortable letting them play and explore. Until the afternoon I looked up and Merrick had crawled out onto the porch (opened the screen slider door by himself, really), and crawled up onto this chair. As my heart jumped he was very proudly smiling looking over the railing. Lesson learned. Thank goodness for Auntie! Merrick is in love with her and Weston can't stop telling everyone about her cute kitty, Simon.

One of our favorite nights was spent with some very special, old friends. We all met before we were parents, and now enjoyed a good old family BBQ with tons of kids! As you can see, Weston was a little shy around the girls... but that didn't last long.

We're home, and it's SO good to be home!

Once we arrived in CA, first stop, the beach!

Yes, it's great to be home, but it was wonderful to play at the beach too! After getting settled the boys and I headed to the beach. Weston goes straight for the water and Merrick automatically reaches into the sand, grabs a handful and puts it on his head. Seriously, he did this right away every time we went to the beach. Sand on head combined with sunblock is no good. At least he didn't put it straight into his mouth.

It's was so nice to see them at the beach, it made me really thankful we were able to spend so much time outside in the sunshine together. Every time we packed up to leave, Weston cried. We spent a day with our friends, the Lee's at a really cool indoor play place. Weston loved being with Alex and JoJo. They were very serious about their hockey game.

Merrick loved this place; it was all padded and open for him to cruise around. This is his famous toothy grin for the camera. Despite really bright, random paintings on the wall 'Under the Sea' was the perfect place for the kids, we loved it! Although I would not call myself a 'Portlander', I have grown very fond of the amazing parks it has to offer. Many of which are a quick walk for the boys and I from our house. So we set out to find some familiarity in So Cal and landed at the Redondo Beach Wilderness Park. Weston met his buddy Nate and they were off for an adventure. We discovered a pond filled with turtles, tons of Koi fish, and...rolly polly bugs! Surprisingly the rolly polly's were the biggest hit. I was impressed to find such 'wilderness' in the middle of the city! There is so much more to share... but the last week and a half have deprived me of many hours of much needed sleep. As all moms would understand. Many more fun stories and pictures will fill in soon :)

Traveling with the boys

We made it to CA... to the sunshine! I have to admit I wasn't anticipating how long the first 48hours would feel after traveling by myself with the two boys. Weston was great on the flight, he's getting to be such a big boy and understands what's going on so well. Merrick on the other hand is at the impossible age to sit still, reason with, discipline, or keep distracted for longer than a few minutes. That combined with an ear wrenching scream, definitely wore me out (and the rest of the plane passengers).

We're enjoying our time down here and loving the sunshine. Chelsea, the little dog we're taking care of is Weston's new best friend, on and off again with Merrick, and quite the entertainment. We've been to the beach a few times and Weston loves it! He's crazy in the waves, sand, and just loves being here.

We've tried to explore the 'wilderness' of South Bay and found some cool places to explore. It's definitely not nearly as fun without Daddy and we can't wait until he gets here this weekend. Tomorrow we're picking up Auntie (my little sis, Emily), and checking out her apartment and kitties. I can't wait to spend some time with her.