Hiking!

We have been wanting to check out the hiking trails at Mission Trails Park for a while, and we finally did last week. It turned into an all day activity, when we realized we had to hike a mile and a half to get to the river. Now, that may not sound like that long of a hike, but with two boys, who don't walk very fast and stop to look at every little bug, it seemed to take forever! Plus, Max and I each had to carry a sleeping boy all the way back to the car. Nonetheless, it was a fun family activity and the boys loved it!

Part of the hike was paved...not that cool!

Mason testing how deep the water is.

Crossing the river

San Diego River Dam

They loved finding sticks!

Funny Story

I swear Archie is the smartest 22-month-old (I can say that because I'm his mother)! The other day I was out running errands and when we passed the bank he said, "Bank!". Then I pulled into the post office parking lot and he said, "Boring! Boring!" I said, "The post office isn't boring." To which he replied, "A little bit." I about died! It was the funniest conversation I've had with him. Love him!

Typical Archie

...that's what I call this picture. This is what he wanted to wear the other day. He is such a funny kid. Once he makes up his mind about something, he has to do it, and he will not be distracted. It drives me crazy most of the time, but this outfit was just too funny! I love him and I guess I'll keep him. :)

Ignore the mess in the background. It only looks like this about every other day. :)

Museum Fun!

Last week I took the kids to the "dinosaur museum" otherwise known as the Natural History Museum. It's free for San Diego residents on the first Tuesday of the month, so I decided to take advantage of it since it is usually expensive. I had taken the kids there before, and they had a special dinosaur exhibit with real fossils and dinosaur bones. This time, they had a special snakes and lizards exhibit with all kinds of exotic reptiles. At first Archie was scared of all of the displays, like the dinosaurs and polar bears, but he warmed up to them. There was a whole room full of taxidermy animals and Mason would point to the animals and say, "Why is the mountain lion dead? Why is the bird dead? Awww." I hope he didn't freak out the other kids. In the lizards and snakes room they were showing a movie and we sat through it twice. Both of the kids were enthralled with it! Mason and Archie both had a blast there and we will definitely be going back!

Mason inside a cave petting a snake! (It's fake).

The kids loved this exhibit. You spin that little black wheel and a dinosaur hatches from one of the eggs.

Mason was very impressed by the size of this snake...

...and this lizard!

If you look closely, you can see the boys through the display case. They were making the dinosaur and monkey run and climb.

Snow!

For our family vacation this year, we decided to go to Pittsburgh to visit my brother Mike and his family. Of course, Max's vacation days were in January, so we got to experience winter! We thought the kids would especially love playing in the snow, something they don't normally get to see. Mason did not like the cold at first. We had a layover in New York City overnight, so we went outside to catch the shuttle to our hotel and Mason was SCREAMING. He would not walk out the doors because it was too cold. Everyone looked at us like we were crazy. I had to explain that we are from San Diego and do not know what cold feels like. We eventually dragged him outside, but he was inconsolable until we were warm in our hotel room. When we got to Pittsburgh and he saw how much fun his cousins were having outside, he joined in. :) And, he and Archie played outside every day that we were there. They loved it and were so sad to leave their cousins and the snow!

Archie loved eating the snow! His lips and chin are still chapped from it. (And yes, he is wearing a pink snowsuit. It's Violet's. We didn't have our own.)

The best family picture we could get, with our uncooperative kids.

Me and my newest nephew, Leo.

Archie hiking back up the hill after a trip down on the sled.

Max, the boys, and Violet and Thaddeus trying to build a snowman. They weren't successful, the snow was too powdery.

Christmas Time!

Okay, I know it's January, but better late than never. A couple weeks before Christmas, we went to look at lights in a neighborhood by Max's mom's house. Max and I have gone every year since we met. Plus, the kids love it! We also got the chance to go to Disneyland a few days before Christmas. It was super crowded and we didn't stay the whole day, but it was fun to experience Disneyland for Christmas!

Us

Mason and Archie love Charlie Brown! Don't they kind of look like they belong in the cast? :)

Mason was most excited about Small World, even more so when he realized they decorated for Christmas!

Of course they had to "drive" the fire truck in Toon Town.

We went on the carousel a few times. Archie, for once, wasn't scared!

Legoland

A few weeks ago we went to Legoland with my brother, Ben, and his family. Mason and Archie love their cousins! Legoland and cousins? What could be better?!

Mason just adores Sadie and clung right by her side the whole day.

Checking out the Christmas lights.

Mason went on a lot of rides that he has refused to go on in the past, because he was scared. The horse ride was one we had been trying to get him to go on for a while. When he saw his older cousins going on it, he couldn't resist!

It just wouldn't be a normal day without Archie getting injured. He tripped and hit his head on a cement planter. He had the biggest goose egg we had ever seen and it really freaked us out. Security at Legoland sent over a medic who gave us an ice pack and sent us on our way. Of course, he bounced back quickly. :)

I call this photo "Beauties and the Beast." I think you can guess why! :)