First train ride up the coast to Zoomers

Today was a very exciting day! Today was Tatum and Ty's first train ride! Ty absolutely LOVES trains and has a few favorite books about trains that we read almost daily. One is called The Whistle on the Train which is a beautiful pop up book that sings to the tune of The Wheels on the Bus, but putting in all things about trains. Tatum loves this book as well so we sang the song all the way to the station! We bought out tickets, crossed this high, exciting bridge...

and waited at the tracks, looking as fashionable as possible. :)

The suspense was killing us but the kids did a great job of waiting patiently on the right side of the yellow line.

And then the train arrived!!

The train was a double decker so we headed upstairs and Garrett sat next to Tatum...

and Ty and I shared a section. The seats were so roomy and even had a part that would flip out and hold your legs up! If only planes could be as roomy and comfortable!

All along the train experience we kept singing the song. Here's where we were singing, "The Conductor on the trains calls tickets please, tickets please, tickets please..." Ty loved his hat and kept pointing and saying Conductor! :)

We also enjoyed these tables! The kids loved them since they were small and clearly meant for kids, as Tatum told us. There was a concession stand in another car and the concession man, Mr. Brown, kept making humorous announcements over the loud speaker, enticing us to visit him and buy some snacks. So Tatum and I went down through the cars to see Mr. Brown and buy a bag of chips. She loved crossing the threshold where the trains connect. I took Ty with me to the bathroom at one point and we had to cross into another car and he didn't care for it one bit. :)

I tried to catch a picture of Doheny, the campsite in Dana Point we use to camp at a lot when I was little. We use to run out to the train tracks and put pennies on the track and wait for the train to flatten them. I'm sure they've fenced off the track at this point but such wonderful memories. And the view from the train all the way up the coast was beautiful.

We made it to Zoomers, a little zoo where we got three trays of veggies to share with all the animals. Here's Ty feeding the Zonkeys (I think that's what they were called). A cross between a donkey and a zebra. Ty was afraid of them since they were pretty big and quick to grab the food out of your hand. I think most of his food landed on the floor. And you couldn't catch Tatum even close to these two, she'd have nothing to do with petting or feeding most of the animals. :)

The zoo had turkeys, roosters, an ostrich,...

llamas, turtles, goats and sheep.

They also had a few things to climb on or ride on...

Her favorite activity at a park! Ty and Tatum were taking turns climbing the ladder up and riding the slide down the front of this structure while Garrett and I lounged on the hay bales behind her here in the picture. Suddenly we noticed a woman picking up our crying son from the ground by the slide and we ran over. Tatum told us a boy had pushed Ty down the slide which caused him to catapult off the end into a hay bale. Nice! But as we walked away, the mother brought her son over to have him apologize which was nice. But that was the end of sliding for us for the day, probably for awhile. :)

They also had a large box filled with corn that Ty loved!

And I took a shot at feeding the Zonkeys again.

Then we went into the pin of bunnies, hamsters and guinea pigs. The kids loved it! Ty loved the bunnies and they were so friendly, sitting still to let him pet them. He's a big cat lover and the bunnies acted very similarly.

Tatum found a guinea pig she loved and he sat on her lap for quite awhile. Glad they got their fill of bunnies and guinea pigs because we're NOT getting another pet anytime soon!

Then for the best part of the day (according to Tatum). Each kid got a horse ride, so fun!

Ty and his horse leader had quite a conversation about horses. I wish I knew what they were saying.

Ty loved it! Yet another pet we will not be getting. :)

Then we hit the train ride...

and checked out the old horse carriage...

We finished up our fun at the zoo, had lunch at a small sandwich shop and then headed back over to the station to catch the train back home. They had some old train cars that were fun to look at...

and to climb on...

We were in San Juan Capistrano, near the mission, and everything was so beautiful. Such a nice day out.

We all really enjoyed our train ride and day of fun!

Kit Carson park

One of my most favorite things to do with my girlfriends when I was little was to braid our wet hair in lots of braids that we'd sleep in over night. We couldn't wait to take them out in the morning because our hair would have this beautiful wave to it. (later, obviously leading to the crimper!) So I was telling Tatum about it and she couldn't wait to try it out. So here she is with her Rapunzel doll and their hair in braids...

And here's the finished product! To show off her new do, Tatum and I along with Grandma and Ty decided to check out a new park. We heard about an interesting play area at Kit Carson park up in Escondido and wanted to check it out for ourselves. And when we got there, we decided it was definitely interesting.

Inside the park, were all these statues and art forms, that you could stand on, run through, or hide behind.

And circling the inside was this maze made of tile and mirrors, so interesting and confusing. Here's Ty running through it. At moments, he'd get out of my eye sight and I'd get a bit worried because there were quite a few people at the park and with all the crazy shapes and patterns, one could get lost quickly!

After we tired of running through the maze, we stopped at a park bench and had a picnic. You can see the tall structures behind Grandma. And it was so hot that day, uncharacteristically hot, in the 80s I think!

After lunch, we took a short hike around the grounds...

with candy and a purse of course. :)

Before leaving Kit Carson Park, we found a few normal play structures to check out so the day was a success. :)

25 Days of Christmas, Day 25!!

Santa came!!! This was the first year that Tatum was up before me, at 6:30 am, and whispered, "Do you think Santa came yet? Can we go check?" I said we better get everyone up to check it out together so we woke Daddy up, Grandma was already up and ready, and we woke Ty up and all headed out to the family room together. And this is what we saw!! So many presents and full stockings!

Ty loved this jeep that Santa brought and he jumped in immediately. But when Daddy turned it on, he freaked out and hasn't be back in it since. :( But good thing his sister can fit in it and it's getting lots of use anyway.

My two Superheros!

My little Diva!

Christmas Day is also Harley's birthday so he got a few goodies too!

It's a tradition that everyone gets a picture with their stack of gifts. Don't be fooled, he has a large stack stashed behind him!

Everyone got cute snow hats!

This year, we tried to drag out the present process so we let the kids open Santa gifts first, then we had Monkey Bread and played with toys, then headed to the tree for family gifts. When all of that was done, around 11, we headed out into the sunshine (it was a balmy 75 degrees!) and tried on some of our new items and brought out some new toys. We also enjoyed mimosas!

We have a very mellow holiday since we don't have any family close by, so we spent the day with our new toys, cleaned up, made a birthday cake for Jesus, and prepared dinner...

I got a new camera so I was taking lots of pictures, I'm not usually a food picture person. But dinner was delicious!

And then we ended the night with a Happy Birthday song to Jesus and a delicious poke cake. What a glorious day!

25 Days of Christmas, Day 24

It's Christmas Eve!!! After a bit of last minute shopping, Grandma came over and we made some Christmas cookies for Santa. Then Tatum, Grandma and I got ready and headed to Mass while the boys finished preparing our delicious Christmas Eve dinner. It's a tradition that we have lobster tail so along with that, we had my Aunt Pat's famous potatoes (using hash browns, so good!), maple glazed carrots, salad, and dessert!

Another tradition is that after dinner, we all get to open one present (the kids two since they have so many!) and it's always a new pair of pjs. Todd came by that evening to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and took this picture of us all. The kids also opened pillow pets! Before going to bed, Tatum got Santa a cup of milk and a big carrot for the reindeer, and Ty was the cookie man. Tatum said that's the one thing he could do that would be ok for his age, but then after he got the cookies on the plate and was walking over to set them by the fireplace, they slide off the plate and all over the floor. :) Oh well, Santa doesn't mind.

25 Days of Christmas, Day 23

Shauna invited us all over for a Christmasy dinner at her house. She made us delicious gnocchi dishes, salad, and dessert! The kids and her exchanged gifts and look at this pile!

Since Grandma is our new neighbor, she was invited too!

Look at this cheesy face! The kids love opening gifts of course, but I think this is the first Christmas that Ty really understands what's going on. The festivities are all so exciting!

Shauna, the camera woman, didn't get in any of the shots, so here's a cute one of her on Christmas day at her parents house with her beloved dog Bailey. We love you Godmother!! :)