Our Easter started with church at Legion Park. It is the first time our church held church here, and it was really nice - great message, great area with blankets laid out for families and goodie bags to keep kids busy, and with them entertained, it was nice to be able to listen to the sermon (with minimal distraction) to remind us why it is that we celebrate Easter.
...And then there were the bounce houses... they were inflated right after the service, and would be great had we been staying for the lunch they offered, but we were trying to rush home to meet everyone, as we were hosting brunch at our house. Getting the boys away from those quickly was not an easy task!
Jimmy gave a try at making deviled eggs this year.
This picture kind of sums up how Caleb felt in his Easter outfit this morning. I think he felt very special with his nice shirt, belt, dress socks and 'dancing shoes', as he calls them. More on the dancing shoes in my April post... :)
After lunch we had a little brunch with family and our new neighbors, Greg, Mary, and Jake, whose family all lives far away. It was a lot of fun, and nice to have them join us! The kids did an egg hunt in Greg and Mary's backyard, then got their (many) turns at the piñata, which doesn't break easily when you have all kids under five swinging at it! I think they had more fun hitting it than eating what was inside!
After brunch we headed out to the country to 'Uncle Nick's house' for a big Greek Easter celebration. Uncle Nick is a little old Greek man, barely five feet tall, who was very sweet and welcoming, along with their Yaya who of course didn't sit down for a second. We are related only by marriage - Delores' daughter is married to a Greek, and since Greek Easter fell on the same day as Christian Easter this year, we were invited out to celebrate. Its very much like 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding', people and food everywhere (the more the merrier), a lamb roasted on a spit, tons of baklava and desserts, and of course, the traditional hard-boiled RED eggs. The eggs are traditional, and you are supposed to have two people knock their eggs against one another to see whose cracks and whose stays in tact (See photo below). As far as we were told, it is just for fun, doesn't mean the loser will have bad luck or something silly like that. We got there fairly late, but enjoyed the time we had there and hope to get to join everyone next year for the entire party. :-)
Cooling off in the water in the fountain
Happy Easter everyone, and thank you Jesus for dying for us so we can join you in Heaven !
After the SoCal trip, the rest of March seemed pretty lowkey... Here are a few more tidbits from the rest of the month...
The boys got some cool new shades, which they chose themselves.
We went to Sonoma to visit my college roommate, Taylor, whom I haven't seen since before Caleb was born. We had a great time at TrainTown with the boys, followed by a picnic in the Square and playing at the parks there. Missed you Taylor!!
Landon is always a fan of the animals, and spent several of Taylor's quarters getting food for them.
Cousins dance party in our living room (video)! For a week after this our boys have been requesting this same song so they can dance around some more.
For those who aren't familiar with this at the Science Museum, this tube blows air out to balance a beach ball, but the boys recently discovered that it is also very fun used to blow their hair around...
One of the WOW volunteers showed us some neat new experiments... When Caleb's hand was on the ball, it transmitted the energy to the light bulb and caused it to turn on, and in the other picture, the energy was sent via Landon's body and actually lit up his light up shoes, which usually only happens when his feet are moving!
The last couple days of February and first week of March marked our trip to Southern California to visit family and take the boys to their first theme park, Legoland. First stop when we arrived at lunchtime... In 'n Out for burgers.
Vacation is great because we see daddy all day long - a little rough for him though when they always BOTH want him at the same time!
Part of our trip was to meet our new nephew, Jackson. Caleb was quite anxious for this sleepy little guy to wake up so he could touch him. He waited quite a while, since Jackson was only three weeks old at the time.
Meeting his new cousin, Jackson, for the first time.
My turn! :) I was still getting over a cold when we arrived to Newport so I had to wait until day two to hold sweet baby Jackson.
Like watching Caleb and Landon together at home starting to really have fun playing together, we saw the same when we were in Orange County and Deacon and the boys played together. Oddly enough, our time there perfectly coincided with one of the much-needed huge rainstorms that drenched California, so the boys had a lot of time indoors to play and run around together.
This place was awesome. When I did gymnastics as a kid the trampoline was always one of my favorites. This place had wall-to-wall trampolines and the adults got to jump too. :) See video below:
My brothers had a great idea for our visit: hire sitters so we could all go out for an adult dinner! It was so nice!
I loved watching Caleb interact with Delanie during our time at their house. He was so sweet with her, and wanted to play with and talk to her, tickle her toes, whatever. She of course enjoyed all the attention, too.
What to do with a faded, pastel colored play house? Paint it to look like a firestation! This is a project our friend, Mike, did for his two boys. So fun to play in.
Pretend City kids museum
Mike happens to be a firefighter, so he invited us to the station to watch while he did his weekly tests on the engine he drives. Caleb, who we though would totally be into the fire station by now (especially since we were seeing a friend, not stranger fire fighters), was having a tired day and wasn't so into participating, but Landon did, and it was cool to watch all the equipment moving around.
Next we headed to San Diego to visit Uncle B(en) and Auntie A(pril). Auntie A was able to get a day off work to go to the zoo with us. The bronze (?) statues of the animals around the zoo were great - a fun way for kids to have more 'interaction' at the zoo instead of only watching the live animals.
Bloody Mary with Octopus! Jimmy ordered it just because it was unique to this restaurant and not something you can find just anywhere.
Hotel Lafayette pool - turned out to be a great family hotel and close to Ben and April's place... bunkbeds in separate room, and blackout shades!
Jimmy and I snuck down to the pool for a short break while the boys took their naps. There happened to be a bartenders convention staying at the hotel that day, so there was a big pool party with beach balls, cocktails, a dj, and tons of hipster bartenders hanging around. It was nice to get some sun and relax for an hour!
We considered taking a tour of the USS Midway, but decided the boys are probably still too young to appreciate it, so we took a walk near the water next to it.
Can't get enough of daddy!
In Landon's mind, the hole in the back of my iPhone cover must have seemed just the right place to stick his pacifier through. Good thing it was a new cover and still relatively clean!
After San Diego we headed up to Legoland where we stayed at the Legoland Hotel. We are so glad we decided to do that - the boys loved it!
Check in, while kids are looking at all the Lego display scenes under the front desk area, right at their level, playing in the huge bin of Legos in the middle of the lobby, and running in and out of the Lego pirate ship / castle that easily reaches fifteen feet high (Very cool).
Then up to our Pirate themed room, which happened to get an upgrade since there was an error in the booking system (score!). Like walking into a storybook, only with everything pirates, and much of the decor built out of Legos, the rooms are an experience in themselves, complete with bunks and trundle bed, blackout shades, a bathroom foot stool and even built-in potty training seats on the toilet! (Excited mommy). My only suggestion would be for the kids' sleep area to have a door. Although the blackout shades make for great sound sleeping, when mom and dad aren't ready to fall asleep with their kids, day or night, it makes it hard for us to stay awake as we wait for our kids to pass out! Other than that I think they have thought of just about everything.
Day one at Legoland was a blast. We were shocked to see the clock at 7:56 am when we all finally woke up. We actually rushed to get ready, eat something and get our day of fun started earlier than the non-hotel-guests (hotel guests get Legoland slap-bracelets that allow for 30 minute earlier entrance to the park). Being here during lower season dates and on week days was perfect. There was a very managable crowd, and lines were almost all very quick, if any at all. The boys ran, literally, from one ride or activity to the next, pushed through half the afternoon before we tried to go back and take naps. They were on an absolute adrenaline high today an of course couldn't wind down enough to nap, not even after watching a short video. We decided to scratch that idea and went swimming instead! The pool was fantastic - about two-thirds of it was a wading pool no more than 2 1/2 feet deep, so kids could swim and play on their own practically. Floating around the whole pool were green, yellow, and blue rubber Lego bricks of various sizes to build, pour, and play with while swimming. The boys played more actively and more independently than we have ever seen them do, especially for being in a pool. It was great.
Here was one of Caleb's favorite rides/activities... Its a pirate ship ride where you spray and get sprayed with water. See video below or click here:
He loved spraying more than being sprayed...another video here:
Everywhere you go there are Legos to play with, including while waiting in line for rides. The adult(s) stay in line while kids play in an enclosed area next to it. Genius.
Caleb really enjoyed seeing the live Lego characters at the park and the hotel. He wasn't shy or intimidated by them.
Incredible that they can build this kind of stuff out of Legos!
Something we recently discovered about Landon: He doesn't like elevators! He seems to get scared by the motion sensation it gives. One earlier in the week at a theater, and the first two elevator rides here at the hotel were rough, but this elevator experience is like no other, with the walls covered in Lego characters and scenes, a disco ball, and jivey disco music playing for the duration of the ride (10 seconds) that he doesn't seem to notice it so much now. We'll see how he does the next time we are in a regular elevator again sans fun distractions...
Our trip was a lot of fun, it was great to see and hang out with lots of family, and Caleb is frequently asking when we are going back to Legoland, and now also when we are going to Disneyland. He's ready for more fun. :)
