President's Day at Morro Bay

We went to a fun little museum on Monday that we'd never been to called the Museum of Natural History in Morro Bay. It was all hands-on science stuff, and my boys just loved it. They're already asking when we can go back. And Spencer said he especially liked that it wasn't annoyingly environmental, like these things tend to be. Kids under 16 are free, and adults are $3.

It's right next to the bird estuary at the end of the bay.


There were birds flying all around us, and the boys all got binoculars to use. There were also a bunch of stuffed birds and animals inside.

Spencer took this one. It's some kind of whale. I think he has an eye for composition, don't you? His pictures are so artistic and creative. Plus it has shallow depth-of-field and bokeh. Pioneer Woman would be proud.


I don't remember what he was pointing at, but I really like this picture. It's such a natural expression, and I like his reflection in the window.

They each got a worksheet when we arrived, and they had to find the answers throughout the museum. If they made any effort to fill it out, they got a free prize at the end.


Their prize: bird whistles! They were very excited, and the sound was so soft and pretty that it didn't annoy me to have 4 of them chirping.

This is down the hill from the museum. I love boat docks.


Afterwards we drove around the bay to hike at the Elfin Forest. The last time we went there was probably 2 kids ago and Spencer was the only one who remembered it. This is a perfect hike for little kids. It's short and easy and has pretty views and lots of different kinds of vegetation to see. Plus the name is super cute.

The boys would run on ahead while I kept stopping to taking pictures of flowers.

When they got to a bench or crossroads they'd stop and wait for me to catch up.

These are the perfect flowers for shallow depth-of-field.

There were lots of short trees (thus the name Elfin) covered with moss. Too bad we couldn't climb on them - we were supposed to stay on the path.


California poppy, our state flower. I love looking through the viewfinder, seeing nothing but blurriness, then turning the manual focus until a little flower pops into focus. It's so fun.


The hike winds around a hill and ends at a beautiful spot overlooking the estuary.

As you can see, Levi was pretty beat by this point. He even fell asleep on the way home, which is almost unheard of for him. He's getting a cold. Again.

Brennan started getting tired and lagging behind by the end, and I had to hold his hand to help him keep up. I love this picture of him walking slow and making truck noises.

It was a chilly, cloudy day, but at least it didn't rain. Afterwards we went to In-N-Out for dinner. It was a fun outing, and the boys (who started the day cranky that they had to do chores), thanked me profusely for my fun ideas. Sometimes we just need to get out of the house.

Double digits!

Spencer turned 10 today! We all met at the bay for fish and chips. The restaurant wasn't very busy, which is good because, dang, there's a lot of us (20), and we took up half the tables.

We figured cupcakes would be easiest to transport and serve in a restaurant, so Spencer had the idea of putting them in the shape of a dolphin. He's so clever. And I always have fun making birthday cakes.

Good food, casual atmostphere, gorgeous view. We love this place.

Most unique gift: 200 ft of bubble wrap from his cousins. Spencer's main gift, which is tentatively scheduled for Memorial Day weekend, is snorkling at the Channel Islands with Dave.

Kayaking on the bay

We finally got the chance to try out Dave's new kayak this past weekend. Between rainy days, illnesses and other activities, we hadn't been to the beach since Christmas.

We borrowed this little blue one from my friend Nancy, and the boys all took turns paddling around the bay. It was really foggy there, but at least it wasn't windy.
The boys loved the new kayak! First Tyler paddled Dallin around. Then he showed him how to do it. By the end he was kayaking all by himself and loving it. He was really concentrating.

Spencer spent most of his time finding sea life.

Brennan went out briefly with Dave, but then he spent the rest of the time playing in the sand. The boys were all so self-entertained, and we just sat and watched them while relaxing on the beach. Well actually Dave was busily studying for his recertification exam he has next week. It's a 6-hour exam he has to take every 6 years in order to keep his PA license. Next time we go he'll be able to do a little more kayaking.

Quick trip to the bay

My sisters and I went to the bay to do some Christmas shopping while the big kids were at school. We got what we needed pretty quick, and then we headed over to the park at the end of the embarcadero to have a picnic lunch. It was a little chilly, but at least it wasn't too windy. The kids had fun playing at the park, watching the "water truck" dredging the bay and throwing rocks into the water. These are my favorite birds at the beach, with their long dark legs and contrasting bright white feathers. There's always a bunch of them near the bird estuary there. I thought this one looked especially cool with the little boats docked behind it.

Another Beach Blog

I'm sorry I keep posting beach blogs, but it's one of my favorite places to take pictures. Plus maybe it'll make someone else in my family want to move here. Hey, it's worth a try.

Saturday morning Dave put together our new bedroom end tables (love them!) while the boys and I continued to clean bedrooms and organize closets. I'm always so motivated to organize when I'm pregnant. I don't know if it's nesting or the fact that messes drive me more crazy than usual.

Then we loaded up the car and headed over to the beach. It was the most perfect day there! And Tyler is one of the most photogenic people I know. Have you noticed I take a ton of close-ups of his face? I just can't help myself.

And of course Spencer had to dig a big hole to lie in. We bring the big shovel now - no messing around with little plastic sand shovels.

Dave putting together our new trick kite. Unfortunately there wasn't enough wind to keep it in the air. But the lack of wind meant I was totally comfortable, relaxing in my chair in the shade of the beach umbrella. Dave pulling Dallin around on the boogie board.

There was a lady near us with a baby about 6 months old who cried on and off the whole time. Babies don't like the beach - all that sun, wind and sand. It made me realize that our kids are all great ages for the beach right now. They all entertain themselves and don't cry when they get wet and cold or when sand gets in their eyes. Of course that will change in a few months, so we are taking advantage of this while we can. Then we drove down the coast a few miles for fish and chips at the bay. By the way, I learned a cool silhouette trick from Pioneer Woman. The camera reads the light at the center so that the subject, which is usually in the center, has the correct exposure to be seen clearly. When I did that, it totally washed out the big rock and boat in the background. But you can trick the camera by first focusing on the brightest spot in the sky and holding the button halfway down while moving your camera to the right position; then you push the button down the rest of the way to take the picture. This makes the subjects dark while keeping the background visible. I thought it gave this picture a cool effect. Plus this way you don't have to see mouths full of food. We're working on that whole eating with your mouth closed thing, but we're not there yet.

The Bay

After Saturday morning chores, Spencer and Tyler asked if we could go to the bay so they could spend allowance money on shells. We had spent the last few Saturdays doing projects around the house, so we agreed it would be fun to go somewhere.First we ate lunch at our favorite fish and chips/french dip restaurant on the embarcadero. It was so warm we decided to eat outside. In fact the boys complained they were too hot, the crazies.

Then we walked down to the Shell Shop where Spencer and Tyler spent a very long time deciding what to buy. Tyler ended up getting a huge sand dollar (upper right) and Spencer got choral and a shell. And we made it out of there without breaking anything, which is always an accomplishment. After Tyler bought this shell, he went around showing us all the money the cashier gave back to him "because she's so nice!"

Then we drove to the bike path down by the rock and road scooters and such. We ended up at a little beach on the bay side, where the kids explored, climbed on rocks and found lizards, hermit crabs, sea anemone and of course more shells. And no one got too wet, which is amazing.

Catching up.

The basic problem with blogging/journaling is that the more you have to write about, the less time you have to write. Quite the catch 22. So let me just summarize a few highlights of the past couple weeks.

Last Saturday (10 days ago) we got another load of wood chips and put it all around the front yard. We've been wanting to do it pretty much since we moved in, and it looks tons better.

Our frogs have returned to the backyard with the spring weather, and the boys are thrilled. They really are the perfect pets - sitting under our big rock waiting to be played with then returned when we're done with them. They require no upkeep on our part, and of course they stay outside. Recently they found 3 frogs, put them in the driver seats of some toy trucks and raced them around the yard. (See how yucky and weedy my herb garden is next to the patio? Well Dave weeded it and put down weed barrier and the rest of the wood chips there Saturday, as well as planting that rose tree his office gave him in memory of Kevin. It looks beautiful.)

Last week was the Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet.
Spencer earned his Wolf badge, a whole 3 months early! It helps that I'm his leader.

We went to the bay on Saturday. I'll do another post about that, since I took lots of pictures.I watched Kristen's boys while they saw Ben's play Friday night, then they watched our boys so we could see it Saturday night. My brother played Lysander in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and we really enjoyed it. They did it Bollywood style, and my favorite part was the big Indian wedding dance at the end. They did a great job of keeping Shakespeare easy to understand and interesting. You know how boring those monologues can be.

But our most exciting news is that we have started giving Brennan wheat!!! We just had a feeling that we should try giving his some to see how he'd do. So last week I made apple oatmeal muffins, which have flour, eggs and milk in them. We gave him one and he devoured it. It was like he'd never eaten anything so wonderful in his life. But the best part was that he didn't get a rash! A year ago he would have developed hives all over his face after just one bite. We were going to start him out slow with just one, but then he wanted more and more. Can you blame him? He ended up eating 4 or 5 that day - no rash. Then we watched for diarrhea, his other main symptom last year. He didn't have any problems. Since then he has had sugar cookies, wheat bread, regular pancakes, cake (homemade and store bought), graham crackers, and pizza crust. I walked through the grocery store Saturday giddy with excitement about all the yummy foods I want to give him. But I realize we should still take it slow, so I just bought fish crackers (not cheddar). We are still watching for eczema, but he hasn't had any so far. I'm so happy I want to cry.