Weekend Recap: Lazy Summer Days

The days are heating up just as I'm ready to say goodbye to Summer. Figures. While part of me is so ready for pumpkin patches and corn mazes, the weather says otherwise, so we'll be soaking up these last few pool days, enjoying family walks and backyard time while the days are long, and taking advantage of mid-week trips to visit family before we have to worry about preschool schedules. 

Also on the agenda this weekend was a visit to the petting zoo, where Declan immediately bonded with all the goats (he is my mountain goat after all) and tried to ride the less-than-impressed llama. Ez has been obsessed with hitting his t ball around the backyard and we've only lost one ball to a neighbor's yard (my fault) and had one bat-related injury. We escaped the heat for a bit with a day trip to Berkeley, and we managed to convince Daddy that a weekend pool trip was a necessity, despite the crowds. It really was. The boys loved showing off their stomping grounds to Joe, since we normally only go mid-week while he's working. Bonus points that after all that jumping and swimming everyone slept through the night for the first time in what feels like months. 

On second thought, maybe I'm not quite ready for summer to end. These lazy summer days are shaping up to be some of my favorite memories.

Our Weekend: Free Museum Day

It's been a long while since I've done a weekend recap post (or really any blogging at all), but since it was our first full weekend here I felt the need to document it ;) 

This Saturday was free museum day in Sacramento AND we happened to get a brief break from the rain so we headed straight over to the train museum since Ez and Declan are both obsessed with trains, or "choo CHOOs!!!" as Declan calls them. Turns out it's a good thing we went on the free day because Ez was totally intimidated by the giant life-size trains. He planted his feet and did not want to go anywhere near them. Declan was the complete opposite and wanted to crawl right over the "DO NOT CLIMB" signs and explore every nook and cranny of each train up close and personal. Two very different and equally stubborn personalities those two have. One thing they both agreed on and loved was the miniature model train set upstairs. But since they've got a free one of those right up the street at the toy store we'll probably stick with that in the future. Despite the mixed reviews from Ez and Declan, we all had fun burning off some energy and enjoying the sunshine for a bit.

On Sunday we kept up with the museum theme and walked around Sutter Fort. I've never been there before and it was pretty cool that you could walk right inside a lot of the rooms and check out all the old furniture and tools and weapons from the 1800s. They had a room full of rifles that was locked (thankfully). You could look through the door but not actually open it. Declan was not having that. He made it his personal mission to try to break into that room and every time we tried to move on he'd run back and tug on the door knob, then try climbing through the window, and at one point we even saw him trying to open up the sewer grate. Just a little glimpse into what we're dealing with on a daily basis from this kid. All signs seem to be pointing toward him being a criminal mastermind in the near future.

Aside from the rifles the boys' favorite part of the trip was definitely the water fountain outside of the fort. Pretty much the whole time we were wandering inside the fort Ez was solely focused on either collecting rocks to throw in the water or asking if we could go throw rocks in the water. Priorities. A close second to the water fountain was probably the cake pops we got afterward. Who can say no to heart sprinkles?

Declan sitting at the tables yelling for "CAH!!!" (aka - graham crackers)

We're already looking forward to exploring the city more just as soon as these torrential downpours we're getting let up a bit. Hope you all had a nice, cozy, dry weekend with your loved ones!

Our Weekend: Soccer & Airplanes

We've been having lots of gloomy rainy weather lately (which I love) but we did manage to get out this weekend for Ez's first soccer practice, which was thankfully indoors, and for a trip to the aviation museum. I took enough soccer pictures to make a full length feature flip book film, so I'll save that for its own post, but I will say that he absolutely loved it. 

On Sunday there was a break in the rain so we jumped at the chance to get outdoors for a bit. We asked Ez if he wanted to see some airplanes and he grabbed his toy Skipper and jet (from Planes) and ran out the door yelling See airPLANES! On the way there we asked if he wanted to see jets and he stated several times: NO! I want to see biplanes! Ohhh! Ok then, mister aviation expert. Thankfully there were plenty of biplanes. The museum was right next to a tiny airport, and there was a platform to watch the planes take off and land. We literally couldn't drag Ez away from there. Every time a plane took off he'd get all tense and start jumping up and down and then he'd mimic it with his own planes. Eventually we had to bribe him off the platform with the promise of a new toy plane from the gift shop just so we could go get lunch. The rest of the day and all day yesterday he kept asking, "Go outside and watch planes?" So far I've told him that planes don't fly at night because they're sleeping, and they also don't fly in the rain because it's dangerous. I'm running out of excuses though. Next time we're gonna skip the museum and just go sit by the airport for free, since that's all Ez cares about anyway. 

Our Weekend: Sick and Icky

Most weekends feel much too short, but this weekend couldn't go by fast enough. Declan cut his top two teeth, which has made sleep and nursing a challenge. We've got a biter on our hands. Ez had the diaper rash of the ages. Picture 3 adults vs. 1 toddler to do a routine diaper change. And the toddler nearly won. My wisdom teeth started causing me excruciating pain last week, so I got the two on the right side out on Friday morning. And Joe went out of town for a boys' weekend, where he promptly got sick and was confined to hotel bed rest. Apparently you can run, but you can't hide from whatever family curse we had going on this weekend. 

Since Joe left on Friday my parents were kind enough to come over last minute to help with the kids and take me to the dentist. I opted for just local anesthesia and the whole thing only took about 40 minutes. It went as smoothly as any procedure with someone drilling into your skull can possibly go. So far I've only needed ibuprofen to deal with the pain, knock on wood! 

Afterward my parents brought us all back to their house for the weekend so they and the uncles could entertain the kiddos while I rested. I seriously don't think we would've survived the weekend without them, so a million thanks to Gangy, Grampa, and the uncles! 

Even though half my face was pretty puffy, I decided to still go out for my bff's birthday dinner on Friday night. It's probably a questionable move, but I think taking my mind off my teeth was the best thing for me. I've known these girls since elementary school and they're the type of friends that no matter how long it's been since we last hung out we can always pick right back up where we left off. Happy Birthday Jen!

The rest of the weekend was very mellow. We watched the original Cars too many times to count, I ate lots of soup, mashed potatoes, and pudding, Declan made it his personal mission to hunt down my parent's cat, and Ez literally ran circles around the uncles while they tried their best to keep up with him. Ez did not want to leave come Sunday, and screamed and cried on the car ride home. I guess that's the sign of a good weekend in Toddlerville. 

All was well in the world for him once we were reunited with Joe, so we could all snuggle and be miserable together ;) 

Sincerely hoping you all had a MUCH better weekend than we did!

Our Weekend

On Saturday we took an impromptu trip to Berkeley. We grabbed some lunch then walked around the campus and the town for a bit. Ez and I had a little mother son dance near the student center where they were having some kind of Lindy Hop. That kid is so into dancing lately. Anytime he hears music, even if it's just a commercial, he stops what he's doing so he can sway along. 

We brought Ez's soccer ball because that's his other obsession of the moment and spent a good amount of time chasing the ball around in front of the clock tower.

In other news, we officially have a crawler in the house. Declan is obsessed with moving all over the place and is no longer content to just sit in our laps watching the action. He's gotta be right in the mix, following Ez around, stealing toys, and tugging on every electrical cord he can find. Life just got a whole lot more interesting.

On Sunday we checked out another wedding venue which we didn't like nearly as much as the first one and then we went out to lunch for my brother's birthday. Happy Birthday Uncle Avery!

Such a fun weekend and I'm sad to say goodbye. Especially since Declan is getting shots today. Hope you're all experiencing a more mellow Monday than what we've got in store!

Anyone else constantly joined by little "friends" when dining out? #momlife