Mission Beach

We thought Monday, May 31 would be a great day to hang out on the beach as it was Memorial Day and  knew it would be busy everywhere...well the beach was no exception, but we had a great time all the same.   The sun-drenched, white sand beach with its inviting pacific blue water was peaceful and made any potentially negative feelings associated with an overcrowded beach, quickly drift away.

We also spent some time at the playground (a day never feels quite complete without some playground time),

playing baseball,

and at Belmont Park, an oceanside amusement park.

We laughed when we saw a full-size BBQ being wheeled beach-side for the day.  So many families had brought so much to the beach they looked as though they were moving in for the weekend.  But a full-sized BBQ was, in our opinion, over-the-top.  We snapped this photo as proof for when we retold the story... ! :)

San Diego Padres

We went to a Padres game on Sunday, May 30 against the Washington Nationals.  Ethan was given a special pin because it was his first MLB game ever...I didn't tell them it was my first MLB game too.  We had fun cheering for the Padres and exploring Petco Park (they had a 'beach' area for kids to play in the sand).

Ethan and Jonas both got San Diego Padres bucket hats for being among the first 1,000 kids in the park.

We had good old ball food...hot dogs,

and Ethan had his first taste of cotton candy!

We had a great time relaxing and watching the Padres win!!

Olde Town, San Diego

Old Town, San Diego was a memorable way to spend our first Saturday in California.   We started out by admiring the fire hydrants (always has his mind on the job! ;P).

Then we made our own candle,

toured the museums,

made a purchase at the cigar shop (it was a toy dinosaur),

ate wonderful Mexican food at an outdoor restaurant with live entertainment,

toured the gardens,

and did a little shopping!

We really enjoyed the sunshine, the food and the relaxing pace of the day!  

Cultus Lake Waterpark in May

Reuben was offered free passes to opening day at Cultus Lake Waterpark, so despite the ridiculous weather, we went...who passes on FREE!!  The Cunningham's braved the cold and joined us for the day.

 Aimee and Reuben on the 'Valley of Fear'

The not-so-adventurous-ones under shelter (after it finished hailing)...

 ...while the rest didn't let a little uncooperative weather get in the way.

Predictably, the hot tub was rather popular!!

Ethan is not a friend of water (especially when it enters his eyes) but loves hanging out with Aimee and Beth.  So, we managed to convince him to try a slide with the girls (and dad of course), hoping he would have so much fun that he would forget all about his averse relationship with water.

Who were we kidding...

...kiddie slides ONLY for the rest of the day!

3 Months

T-ball...oh those lazy days of summer!

Ethan is really enjoying playing t-ball right now, of course it helps that Reuben is his coach.  Yes, we are still in that hopefully-soon-to-pass stage of "I don't want to do it with a coach."  It is frustrating because we, like most parents, think Ethan is naturally good at a lot of sports and would like to see him develop his skills and become the next NBA, MLB, World Cup or NHL player supporting us through our retirement years (ok the last part of that statement is of course a joke).  We also know that he loves playing and practicing most sports so we can't quite figure out why he hesitates as soon as a coach is involved.  All that aside, Ethan is playing t-ball and loving it.  Here are some pictures.

The Adventure Race

Nearly three months postpartum, but needing much more than that to motivate me to get back into a healthy exercise routine, I pleaded with some friends to enter an adventure race I had seen advertised.  I figured it would take something like that to jump start my "engine" and force me to find time to exercise again.  I knew I would work hard leading up to the race for fear that I wouldn't be able to keep up with my team and I hoped the routines I developed would continue on after the race.  It only takes 21 days to form a habit, right??

My girlfriends agreed to enter (Courtney actually was actually one of the brains behind its birth) and we started working out... a practice run put one of our teammates out of running, but we found another and kept training.

4 hours and 46 minutes of trail running, swimming, snow shoeing, mountain biking, orienteering, canoeing, firefighting, army crawling and slip and sliding...led to excitement, exhaustion, pride, exhilaration, and bonding.  Sign us up again next year!
 

Courtney snowshoeing

Colleen and I swimming

Colleen and I slip and sliding and army crawling

Courtney and Colleen mountain biking

Colleen and I orienteering...yes there was mud!