Kayaking

We lucked out on a perfectly gorgeous, sunny day with no wind to kayak the Elkhorn Slough. Can't wait to go again!

You can't tell, but this is a mama and baby otter. We saw playful sea lions, lazy harbor seals, birds galore, and jellyfish. Declan was my kayak buddy and we got some great exercise together. He is so much fun and my little buddy this year. I've loved spending so much time with him (even if occasionally I need a break). He has loads of energy, is almost always cheerful, and loves to try new things and be active. 

 

Happy birthday Ian!

Ian turned 12!! He had a great day with all his favorite foods and piles of books for gifts, then got together with his friends at the park, taking one along to dinner with the family at Lalla Grill.

Ian also created a board game this month, putting in a lot of effort into making cards with various weapons and effects. It's a work in progress, but a very cool creative endeavor.

Declan plays it with him occasionally--little brother beta tester :)

This picture is from his birthday when I asked him to smile for a picture. He has an awesome personality, this guy!

Santa Cruz outing

 We spent a Saturday in Santa Cruz, exploring a gorgeous forest and then going out to eat and to a drive-in movie. We had an amazing day!

One more from February

We had a fun Saturday walk through the Rip Van Winkle woods, exploring and photo bombing.

 

February

From one of my walks along Asilomar beach:

One afternoon Ian met a friend to boogie board at the beach. The friend's dad surfed with them and I took a walk along the boardwalk, through the woods along 17 mile drive and back down to the beach. Pretty great afternoon!

I bought Audrey a matching hoodie after she admired mine. We're so dang cute.

 

Mid-winter break

The kids had a few days off for President's Day, so I took them to see some sights a few hours away from us. We stayed in San Luis Obispo. First we hit a beautiful park, then we walked around downtown and contributed our gum to Gum Alley, and saw the Mission and explored the area. We got pizza and relaxed at the hotel.

The next day we headed down to Pismo beach, which is gorgeous. We played at a park and saw the beautiful cliffs; we walked around the pier, played on the slides and enjoyed the beach vibe for a bit; and then we visited the Monarch Grove--fun to see another one. We saw several monarchs too!

After that, we went through the Chick-fil-A drive through for some shakes and headed down to Solvang. We'd hoped to take a trolley tour but they were closed Tuesdays (oops). We had fun walking around the town for a bit--saw some great antique music players and got a demonstration from the store owner, enjoyed the quaint Danish architecture, bought a book from a small bookstore, and then headed back to the hotel to try the pool (just the boys; verdict--freezing) and relax some more.

On our last day, we packed up and stopped in Atascadero before heading home. We visited their small zoo and then played at the park for a couple of hours. The park had a lake and a long line of painted rocks called a rock snake. There was also a great playground and ducks to chase. We went to a lot of parks and playgrounds on this trip, and saw so many beautiful things. We also ate a lot of fast food and candy, because...vacation!!