Wild in Idyllwild

We just returned from a weekend trip to Idyllwild, a small town in the mountains a couple of hours from here. We spent Friday night at an inn - work, school, and baseball kept us in Irvine until late Friday afternoon - but we camped on Saturday night. The town is great: we found a yummy bakery and a breakfast spot, an expansive and interesting playground, an informative nature center with live snakes to hold and touch, and lots of trails to hike and rocks to climb. One challenge was to keep Finn from climbing the same rocks as his big brother...

Breakfast at Tommy's Kitchen.

Finn meets a gopher snake.

Rocks to climb.

Native American grinding rock. The pits were used to grind acorns. 

Setting up camp.

Playing on a chilly mountain morning.

Other fun events over the past couple of weeks have included Cub Scout activities - the Space Derby race and a Bear Den meeting at our house to learn about cooking - and a great visit from the Walger crew from Massachusetts. 

Building the Space Derby rocket.

Finn has decided that drinking fountains are pretty neat. 

Hanging out with Jack Henry and Oliver

Finn catches a roly poly isopod. 

Caden's new haircut. 

Twinkle twinkle

Finn decided to sing during snack time today:

Baseball, bellyache, and backyard boxes

Finn has been fighting a nasty tummy bug, keeping him and Mama and/or Dada home all week. He is finally on the mend and returning to being his silly, talkative self.

Caden is on the Irvine Ranch Little League Dodgers this spring. He missed the first 1/3 of the season's games while we were in New Zealand, but he has stepped right in, playing 3rd base and left field. We were also able to score tickets to Friday's NCAA baseball game between UC Irvine and UC Davis. Anteater Ballpark is a great place to watch a game, with a grassy berm along the right field line. It was fun to watch the "big kids" play ball.

We've been accumulating large boxes - lots of Amazon orders and trips to Ikea - and this morning, we piled them all on the back patio so the boys could build a fort.

Finn is distracted from his tummy ache by watching "Mighty Machines".

Caden up to bat. 

Watching the Anteaters.

Backyard fort.

Hogwarts at home

On Tuesday afternoon, Mama and Dada did their best to transform our house into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for Caden's 9th birthday party. The front patio became Diagon Alley, a sheet painted with bricks spanned the front door as Platform 9 3/4, and the boys sampled Bertie Bott's beans on the Hogwarts Express before being sorted into houses and beginning their studies: Divination (reading tea leaves), Defense Against the Dark Arts (dressing up in crazy costumes to practice the "Riddiculus!" spell to repel boggarts), and Potions (mixing soft drinks for dinner). After pizza, Dada brought out the castle cake, and the party finished with a wild game of Quiddich. 

Caden was home this past week on Spring Break, and we tackled some home improvement projects, including painting and decorating the downstairs guest bedroom and working in the front yard. 

On Saturday, we headed to the Orange County Zoo to check out the animals and wander around the park. Sunday brought a birthday party - our neighbor turned 5 - and a trip to Roger's Gardens for another rose. Unfortunately, Finn came down with a tummy bug, so we've been cozying him at home these past couple of days. 

Potions at the party

The cake. 

Finn loves Caden's reading nook under the stairs.

Finn tries Mama's slippers. 

At the zoo. Notice the mountain lion playing with its toy ball. 

Finn touches a rosy boa. 

Exploring the park.

Look who's driving

Finn takes Caden for a drive.

First week back

We flew from Christchurch to Auckland to Honolulu on the 26th - arriving a day earlier on the 25th - and spent a couple of days relaxing on Oahu before flying back in to LAX on the 28th. Auntie Sally met up with us in Hawaii - she was en route to NZ - and showed us some of her favorite spots.

Our first week back was a whirlwind of baseball (practice Tuesday, game Thursday) and school for Caden, re-adjusting to the UCI Infant Toddler Center for Finn, and teaching for Mama and Dada. One of the most touching aspects of being back was watching Caden and Finn re-learn how to sleep alone after sharing a room for the previous six weeks. It was clear that both of them missed having someone else in the room with them.

And this past weekend brought not only Easter, but Caden's 9th birthday. His party with friends won't be until Tuesday, but Caden had a fun family birthday on Saturday, including an Easter egg hunt, an In-N-Out Burger picnic at a playground, a self-selected dinner of mac and cheese, a Scooby Doo movie, cake, and presents. Mama and Dada unveiled the surprise they had been planning and prepping for a while, Caden's secret reading nook under the stairs.

Sunday morning began with a jelly bean hunt and Easter baskets. Then we headed over to Costa Mesa to go to church. We got to the parking lot a few minutes before the service started, but when Mama stepped out of the car, she realized that she'd walked out of the house wearing her blue fluffy slippers. So, she headed back out in search of more appropriate footwear, while Dada, Caden, and Finn staked out spots in the church.

Happy Easter, everyone!

Hotel room view.

Beach boys

Swimming with Mama

Shave ice at Island Snow

Yes, Finn crawled into the tiny space under his stroller. He is looking at himself in the mirrored closet door in the hotel room.

Caden with invitations to his Harry Potter birthday. Delivered by owl post, of course.

Easter egg hunt

Finn's first In-N-Out burger

The birthday boy

Easter morning