Pictures at Carmel Beach

March 2016

On the day before Easter, A.J.'s Dance company met up at the beach in Carmel for pictures.  I dragged the whole family along so that the photographer could snap a few of Peter and Lucy as well.  (Yes I paid her for those extra shots.)  

Funnily enough we brought Molly along as it's a dog friendly beach and I thought she would help entertain the kids while they were waiting.  It worked.  Except Molly was off leash and A.J.'s friend brought her pet bunny along.  Yikes.  Things were going well enough until Peter sort of dropped the bunny down right in front of Molly.  There was a grand chase.  A bunch of other dogs joined in.  Thankfully Molly is dumb and kind of slow and the bunny escaped into some bushes.  All the other dogs were called off.  A grand search for the rabbit ensued and she was located eventually by a nice stranger who witnessed the entire event.

Wow.

That ranks way up there let me tell you.

Thank God the bunny escaped alive.

And in the end, here are the photos of the kids.

Also, here are a couple of the photos of A.J. and her Minis.

St. Francis Blessing of the Animals

Back at the beginning of October sometimes, that children in grades 1-3 invited their parents and their pets to join them in the garden at school one afternoon for a special Tribute to St. Francis and a Blessing of the Animals.

The whole class.  Peter is almost right in the middle, though it might be hard to tell for share since several of the boys all have that same color blondish hair.  I swear that is him in the middle.

The children presented various songs and speeches about St. Francis.  Peter, and the other first graders presented the prayer of St. Francis.  Peter's part was with two other classmates, to act out "where there is despair, hope."  :)  It was very sweet.

Sister Claire, the Head of School said a few words and also prayed for all of the animals we'd gathered with there.

I got kind of artsy with this one.  

Peter specifically requested that I bring Brutus.  I guess he just likes Brutus better than Molly.  That's cray actually since Molly generally behave 10,000% better and Brutus used to detest the very existence of my son.  But these days, they are friends I guess so he wanted Brutus.

I joked that Brutus needed the blessing WAY more than Molly anyway.  

Don't worry, I brought along Molly's collar and had it blessed too, so she wouldn't be left out.

Here's Brutus getting blessed.  At least he behaved.

So that was sweet.  I love these random little family events at school.  It's always nice to get to see Peter in the middle of the day too.

The Easter Bunny

On Thursday April 2 we started our Easter vacation.  

My gosh was I ever ready for the time off.  

As much as I really want to be that mom who has loads of energy and 3 wonderful kids in lots of activities, and still have time for fabulous holiday traditions AND also be a mom that works and has a meaningful, important lucrative career.... I'm kind of beginning to think hat maybe I can't.

I just don't have that kind of energy.  

I just don't have it all together like those mythological pinterest moms who are amazing at everything. 

There isn't enough coffee in the world.

Anyway, so as much as I wanted to spend our first day off sleeeeeeeping, or in the very least laying flat on the couch staring mindlessly at the television, the people who are buying our house scheduled their inspection for that afternoon.  This meant that after A.J.'s regular Thursday private lesson, (which usually happens right after school,) we had to go home to get the dogs and then be out of house all afternoon.  

Well, as luck would have  it, last year we happened to find that there is a pretty nice Easter Bunny set up downtown at the little Sea Port Village outdoor shopping area.  We could go and take care of that tradition with the dogs along in tow.  

The plan was to put the kids in the picture alone.

A.J. was feeling difficult.  Peter was vibrating all over the place.  Lucy, like always, was extraordinarily interested in looking at and pointing at the Bunny from a distance but as soon we got close she started to shriek and cling to me desperately.  This was NOT going to work.

Matt, who had been sitting off to the side with Brutus and Molly waiting for us, while some lovely older couple fed our dogs bits of waffle cone, handed over the leashes to his new friends and came to help me.  Long story short, we were all going to be in this picture or we were not going to get a picture at all.

The photographer got us arranged and then started waving this gigantic fuzzy pink feather around at the children to encourage their smiles.  Her first shot turned out like this....

Well, alright,  Not too bad.  Everybody is looking and seems to be pleasantly grinning.  Except... wait a second!  Matt, A.J., Peter and Lucy all have the EXACT same crooked-ish closed mouth schmirck going.  What the heck.  Related much?  

The photographer giggled about it and none of us knew what she was talking about until we saw the proof afterward

She took several more, the best of which turned out to be this...

This one is, apparently, a perfect shot of what it looks like when the kids all smile like me.  Kind of.

In any case, once that was done we got some lunch and then took a walk with the dogs down the bay front.

If one more person had said something about how "busy" I must be with three kids and two dogs.... Good gravy.  It isn't like I got/had them all at once.

And big families are awesome.  If I had my way we'd have more kids and pets and the whole thing would be marvelous.  So there.

People and their opinions.  Gah.

Over by the Midway museum there were some nice trees for climbing and of course my kids obliged.

While that was going on random people were insisting on petting the dogs.  

And when the people went away Brutus, in particular wasn't ready to be done with it.

He may be a 7 year old, grumpy old man dog, but he's still my sweet puppy boy and I love him so.  

(Molly apparently was feeling camera shy.)

Merry Christmas!

As normal, Matt was up early.  Earlier than me and the kids, that's for sure.  He got up, made the coffee, poured himself a cup, let the dogs out and settled down on the couch to watch the news until the kids got up.

I didn't hear him get up of course.  The sound of Peter jumping down from the top bunk in their room next door, padding across his bedroom floor and popping open the door to his bedroom crept into my ears, interrupted my dreams and prodded at my sleeping mind until I realized I too needed to get up too lest I miss all his Christmas excitement.  It was right around 6:45 am, which, unsurprisingly, is what time I regularly wake him up for school.  

I pried open my eyes.  

I didn't hear anything.  

Had I imagined it?  Was Peter really up?

A.J.?

Lucy?  

No, Lucy wouldn't be up.  She can't get out of her crib on her own.  Duh, and there was not crying.

Why didn't Matt come get me?  Every other year he'd headed the kids off before they got to the living room and made them come get me first.

I blinked in the grey dim light of my room.  Where the heck were my glasses?  When I found them I grabbed the camera too.  I pulled the battery off the charger, stuck it in the back of the camera and checked the photo card.  Good.  All set, let's do this.

I went out to the living room, expecting... I don't know what exactly, but nothing like what I found.

Matt was on the couch sipping a cup of coffee.  He might have had his laptop on his lap. (I'm not sure.)  Peter, clad in his blindingly green fuzzy Santa Claus pajamas was laying on the couch and the coffee table (like a bridge, connecting the two) beside him.  

What.  The.  Heck.  

???

Neither of them seemed to notice me at all when came out until I basically announced myself and asked what was going on?

And see, the really weird part was that our Christmas tree was at the en of the hallway this year.  Basically it was sitting there in this weird limbo area that is part our entrance/ mudroom, part the end of the hallway.  It's actually kind of the most unusable space on Earth.  We moved this big trunk/bench thing that usually sits there and put the tree in it's place this year so that it would be outside of the gated-off baby containment area of our regular living room.  It just seemed easier that fighting with Lucy all month to keep her off the Christmas Tree.  

So like... seriously.... you had to walk right past, nay, AROUND, our Christmas tree to get from the bedrooms to our living room.  

How in the same HILL had Peter just calmly headed into the living room on Christmas morning and not seen or reacted to the PILE of gifts underneath it?

What?  Suddenly at the ripe old age of 5 and almost a half (one week shy) years old he develops calmness and restraint and he doesn't FLIP out on Christmas morning?  

OH. EM. GEE.

My mind spins.

Not to worry.  After a moment, I asked him what was going on and he jumped up to tell me that Santa had come.  "See Mommy?  Look at all these presents!  These are for me, and those are for Lucy and this pile is for A.J."  He showed me around the tree.

That was better then.

Clearly we needed to go get the girls.  Peter tumbled back to his room and started yelling at A.J. to get up.  Matt went to get Lucy up and I perched myself at the ready with my camera.

Peter came back out first.

A.J. came out behind him. 

The older two jumped up and down, pointing excitedly at the pile of presents.  I sent them back to go find Lucy.

Peter came back, leading her by the arm.

Her eyes were barely open, she still had her pacy tight in her mouth, and her
bunny clutched tightly in her hand and she seemed foggy and unsure.

A moment or two went by.  The twinkling lights on the tree, reflecting on all the shiny wrapping paper seemed to wake her the rest of the way and before we knew it she was diving in.

I stepped in and asked everyone to hang on.  First, I needed my Christmas morning picture.  They looked at me with frustration, but Peter and A.J. sat down quickly, wanting to just get it over with.  Matt wrangled Lucy and plopped her down on her brother's lap.  He held on tightly to her so she couldn't escape and prolong the pictures.  

CHEEEEEESE!

At my okay the three of them popped up, vibrating.  "STOCKINGS!" Matt and I both shouted before they could grab anything else.  We helped them each dig into theirs and find the small treasures inside.

A.J. had a hula hoop and an Elsa and Anna "Frozen" blanket, outside and a Frozen puzzle inside.

Lucy, who'd already tried to go get her shoes to put on, as if we had some
place to be, started pulling little V-Tech animals from hers.

A.J. also had a little necklace with an A charm and a J charm.

Lucy also had an Olaf blanket.

A.J. had a rubber Wolf figurine and Peter had a Lego mini figure.

Along with her blanket and animals, Lucy also had some Little Mermaid Little People.

A.J. had to give her hula hoop a try.  She's really close to actually getting it.

Peter had a bunch of Matchbox cars too, an Avengers puzzle and a How to Train Your Dragon ornaments.  A.J. had a Lego mini figure and a small Lego Friends set as well.  For some reason I didn't get pictures to indicate any of that though.

Next, it was time to torture the children.  How cruel of us, after all, to insist that they eat some breakfast?  And Gramma's home made cinnamon rolls at that!  Parents can be so awful sometimes.

When they were finished complaining picking at their food, we finally let them get started on their gifts.  

Peter got his open first, it was a Marble Run building set from his Grandparents.

Lucy got an interactive Tea Set from Santa Claus.

From Santa, A.J. got an interactive Vet set with a "sick" stuffed puppy to care for.

She says she's going to be an animal scientist some day (think, Wild Kratts.)  I still kind of think she'll be a vet.
They're sort of the same thing, technically, if you think about it....

We moved on to round 2.

Peter got a Lego Juniors race car set from his Aunt and Uncle.

A.J. got a Barbie and Horse riding set from her Aunt and Uncle.

Then, lest you think I kept track of the whole  morning and got pictures of everything, let me assure you I did not.

It all got crazy pretty fast.

Here is what I did get pictures of.  (Haha.)

Peter opening the other part of his Marble run set, and Lucy finding a couple of Little People Disneyland accessories.  She had three little accessory sets like these from her Grandparents.

.

See?  It's a Donald duck and stuff....

A.J. opening another gift.  She was fairly quiet the whole morning.
She wanted to study each new toy for awhile before moving on.
I kind of love that she was so content about the whole thing.  Not greedy or demanding, just happy.

Peter with his new Hot Wheels race track set which was his biggest gift from Santa.

Lucy opening her largest gift from Santa.

Under the paper she found this Fisher Price interactive toy chair.  Every time she saw a commercial for it on
TV she became very, very interested.  She seemed extra super happy to have one appear at her house.

A.J. got a Barbie set where there are jumping/swimming puppies.  

Do you see a trend with her yet?  Animals (mostly dogs and horses) and Barbies.  Yeah.....  She's as much herself as ever.  Always very single minded and focused on what she likes best.

A.J.'s next gift (kept on theme and) turned out to be a large stuffed horse from her Grandparents..

Lucy had her obligatory fascination with an empty box for awhile.

AJ. opening a gift from Matt's Aunt Carol and Uncle Jim. 

Peter got another Lego set, this time a Batman one, from Santa.

Lucy got a Baby doll from her Aunt and Uncle.

Here's Lucy checking out one of her Disney toys in front of her pile of new toys.

The kids and I got Matt a Jelly Bean machine.

Peter got me some chocolates and another coffee mug.  A.J. gave me a ceramic angel ornament.  And Matt helped Lucy give me a new picture frame with 3 openings.

Peter thought he was very funny decorating himself with bows.

Here's the mandatory picture of the Christmas morning after-present mess.
Really, it wasn't too bad this year.   Matt is getting started putting together Lucy's toy chair.

Here's Peter watching Lucy drive his toy steering wheel thing from Matt's Aunt Carol and Uncle Jim.
(Matt had left the chair for a moment, to find batteries.) 

Lucy was super mad when he came back to put the batteries in.

SUPER mad.  Give me back my chair!!!!!

A.J. (who seems to b surrounded by the bulk of the torn up wrapping paper)
worked on getting out her toy horse first.

Before long, Matt and Peter moved into the kitchen to get out the marble run.  (Lucy is too little to be trusted around all the tiny marbles.)

The dogs got gifts too.  Rawhide candy canes.  (Brutus wouldn't let me get a picture.)

Lucy enjoyed some snuggles with her Dad.

And when he had to get up to work on fixing dinner, she snuggled by herself in her chair.

The marble run set drew A.J. in soon as well.

Not to worry, Lucy and I played Disneylan little people.  

Not that there are any picture of me to prove it....

I actually spent most of my time (when I wasn't taking pictures) trying to organize the madness.  I sorted out the recycling and trash from the wrapping.  I helped the kids open and assemble their toys and then sorted out the plastic and cardboard trash from each package.  Matt did most of the more complex assembly of course, and also kept disappearing to the kitchen to work on dinner, between rounds of play with the kids.

Lucy also got a whole play set track thing to go with her v-tech animals.  When we got that out and put together, all the kids enjoyed playing with it.

Lucy also got a little Fisher Price doctor's bag from Matt's Aunt Carol and Uncle Jim.
She LOVES it because it sings about a a dozen songs. and she can dance around and
stomp her little feet to the music.

Gosh.  This is seeming like Christmas morning was going on forever.

And it really didn't.  I mean, it wasn't like it started too terribly early or anything.  I guess the present opening part just gt finished fairly quickly this year, so the assembly portion of the day got started sooner and dragged on and on.

Matt getting ready to put in the Roast Beast (Prime Rib.)

Peter with his marble run again.

The TV had been on the entire morning so far, although I have no idea why since nobody was watching it, other than the fact that Matt had it on when the kids got up.  It played The Christmas Story for awhile before Matt changed the channel.  About the time the kids finished unwrapping their gifts he switched it to watch Here Comes Santa Claus and The Year Without a Santa Claus for awhile until those both ended and we settled on Home Alone.

The thing is, I think I saw that movie all the way through once, maybe the year it came out on VHS and never had seen it again since.  Honestly, I don't even remember sitting down to even watch parts of it.  Yet one of my best friends LOVES that movie so I decided that this year would be a good time to give it another shot.

I mean, I didn't pay super close attention what with all the new Christmas toys and everything, but I could at least tell you the major plot points this time and we did make it all the way through.  

Haha.

Lucy snuggling with her Dad and watching the movie.

It was a nice morning.  Eventually, our early (like basically lunch time) dinner feast was ready.  

Matt cutting up the meet to help it get cooked through a bit more.

And that was basically it.  We spent the rest of the relaxing and hanging out together as a family.

There isn't one picture of me from that day.

Oops.

Good job MATT.

To remedy this situation, he did grab the camera the next day or so and snap these few of me playing on my phone with Lucy.

So I guess that's something.

Merry Christmas everyone!