Hello, dog Takk!

Ama and Adad hitched up their cute red trailer and headed north this morning, after a fun weekend of cuteness, celebration, and exploring. Caden and Finn had both gotten used to having Takk, their big yellow lab, in the backyard. In fact, Finn was so excited about "dog Takk" that he would frequently wander over to the sliding glass door, knock on the glass, and call out "Hello, dog Takk!" And this evening, when Finn came home to find Ama, Adad, and Takk gone, he sadly looked out into the backyard, saying "dog Takk?".

Ama and Adad weren't our only visitors this past weekend. Auntie Sally decided to book a last-minute ticket and surprised Ama and Adad by hiding in Finn's cupboard and popping out while they were touring the house after their arrival on Friday. Hiding and snuggling in Finn's cupboard became something of a theme this weekend. 

The boys were especially keen to explore the red "jellybean" trailer parked in front of our house. 

On Saturday, we went to the farmers' market, swam in one of our neighborhood pools, and had a late birthday cake celebration for Sally. 

And on Sunday, we headed down to San Juan Capistrano and Laguna Beach for antiques, shopping, and a beach picnic. 

Finn stayed home from "school" yesterday with a cold, providing more snuggling opportunities. 

Just before Ama and Adad's arrival, we received a couple of packages that Finn was very interested in. The first was by design; after watching him turn the sink in his play kitchen into a basketball hoop, we decided that he would have fun with a real one in the garage playroom. We also got a new ladder to facilitate our painting project in the guest room. Of course, Finn decided that the ladder was a toy for him, too. 

He *loves* to climb. Next on the list: a climbing structure for Finn. 

Celebrating on Catalina

A week ago, we all - Mama, Dada, Caden, Finn, Nana, and Boopa - boarded the Catalina Express in Dana Point and headed over to Avalon to celebrate Dada's birthday.

It was a great trip! Highlights included whales on the ride across, mini golf, a tasty dinner out, playing on the beach, and exploring the town.

Nana and Boopa headed back north on Tuesday. Finn was sent home that day with a bit of a fever, but we think he just wanted to have more fun with Dada. Here he is garaging his Scuttle Bug "bike":

And riding on his truck, which is *not* a riding toy:

What a little mugwug!

Caden R.O.C.K.S.

This morning, at Caden's school, there was a special "R.O.C.K.S." assembly. These assemblies are held monthly to honor students that have demonstrated the school's core values of respect, organization, cooperation, kindness, and safety. Today's assembly featured awards for safety, and Caden was one of two kids from his class selected for an award. We are very proud of him!

A birthday surprise

Nana and Boopa made a surprise appearance for Dada's 40th birthday.

Exploring

We had a lot of fun exploring the Portland area while visiting family there after Christmas. It was especially neat to check out some things near where Aunt Erika, Uncle Brad, and cousins Rowan and Sawyer live in Hillsboro. The weather was chilly while we were there, so one of our first stops was the Outdoors In indoor playground operated by Hillsboro Parks & Rec. Not only was there great play equipment there, but they also had fun riding toys. 

Note Caden running in the background of the second picture, above. That afternoon, we took Finn over to Target to exchange the bike helmet he got from Nana and Boopa for a bigger size. Turns out our 17-month-old has a 3-year-old sized head. Target was next door to the pet store, so we let Finn check out the fish. 

The next day - New Year's Eve - we headed over to the Washington County Museum. A local model train club had set up some neat train layouts. All three boys - Caden, Finn, and Rowan - liked the trains, but Finn kept asking (and signing) for "more, more, more."

There were also several displays related to technology and computers - Intel has a huge presence in Washington County - and Caden and Boopa had fun clowning around in the bunny suits. 

The following day, we got together with several of Mama's cousins on Ama's (Godard) side of the family at the Oregon Zoo. It was great to see everyone, and especially the kids. There were a couple of new little (2nd? 3rd?) cousins that we hadn't met yet, and the others had all grown so much.

On the day after that, we headed back to Orange County. But en route to PDX, we stopped at the original American Dream Pizza for lunch with our friends Amy, Brian, Owen, and Grace. It was great to see them and to check out the origins of one of our favorite Corvallis eating spots. 

On the flight home, Finn was being absolutely hillarious. He ended up with his own seat and tray table, where he spent several minutes working to balance a Toblerone bar on its end. 

Happy New Year!

Finn's new "bike"

We just returned to Irvine, and Caden and Finn are rediscovering their gifts from Christmas morning, when we left the house right after breakfast and presents to fly to Oregon. Finn figured out how to make his Scuttlebug go: