Weekend Recap: Waterfalls & Gardens

Saturday: Hiking + Park

 

 

Another weekend, another hike. I know, I know, it's getting repetitive. What can I say? We love hiking! It's free (or really cheap - we paid $5 for parking this time), we love being outdoors, and we keep finding new trails to explore. This one was actually really close to our house, and we've known about it for awhile, but we just got around to actually hiking it. It's such a pretty trail, and Saturday morning was overcast, which always makes the green plants and trees pop even more. The park rangers claim that the trail is 1.5 miles, easy, shaded, and flat. By the time we got back to our car we'd walked about 5 miles (according to Joe's pedometer), and the trail narrowly wound along the side of a cliff. It definitely wasn't flat. It was shaded though, and that's kinda rare around here. Plus the scenery was beautiful. We'll definitely be back. In the evening, once it cooled down, we did a family walk to Starbucks and then to the park. Ezzy loved kicking the ball around and climbing the steps at the park. He slept well that night. Well, kinda. He slept 7 hours straight, but then woke up before 5, all bright and cheerful, and not at all sleepy, which led to this:

We went out for breakfast bright and early at 6 am and ordered one of everything on the menu. Not really, but we did get coffee cake, french toast (for Ez, but I ate some too), a breakfast burrito for me, and an omelet + tater tots for Joe. We've been wanting to try this spot for awhile, but it's always packed with a line of people waiting outside, and I'm not one to wait for my breakfast. It turns out there's no wait at all at 6 am (right when they open). Thanks, Ez! Afterward we all took a nice nap before we started the day for the second time.

Even though it was pretty hot, we decided to explore the gardens at the Huntington Library. Last time we were there, they hadn't finished the Chinese garden yet (not to mention Ezzy was still in my belly), so it was fun to check it out again. Ezzy loved pointing out the koi fish, and I got a kick out of the fact that he actually noticed the fish and pointed them out to us. That feels like a huge step toward actually knowing what's going on his head. He also loved plopping down on the grass to collect sticks and leaves. 

The Japanese garden had a ton of steps which Ez insisted on climbing. After about 20 steps (down and back up) we came to another (much shorter) flight of stairs and Ezzy turned around at the sight of them and buried his face in my legs. He's a trooper, but he had to draw the line somewhere. He went back in his stroller and was asleep in less than 30 minutes.

All of our walking this weekend set a new record for us: 50,000 steps (25 miles)! All this walking has also been great at wearing out a very energetic toddler. We've all been sleeping great at night (knock on wood)!

Finish This + Random Shots of the Week

Today I'm linking up with Nicole at Three31, Jen at Arizona Russums, Becky at the Java Mama, and Lisa at Coastlined to share some random facts about me:

1. I have a quarter to use a pay phone, I call...
This makes me realize I need to memorize more phone numbers. If I had to call anyone from a pay phone, I'm sure I'd want to call Joe, but it might take me two or three tries to get his correct number...

2. I found $25 in my pocket, I buy...
Sadly, the first things I can think of that I need/want to spend money on are an oil change and a car wash. It's kinda boring, but after all the crappy cars I've owned through the years, a running one really is a luxury.

3. I have 25 minutes to watch anything on TV, I turn on...
Anything on my TV, or on a TV with good channels? Right now I like Bachelorette or So You Think You Can Dance. I'd want to watch the last 25 minutes of Bachelorette though, so I can see the rose ceremony. If we weren't already caught up on our shows, I'd want to watch Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, or House of Cards.

4. A meal I can prepare, from start to finish, in 25 minutes is...
Breakfast for dinner: veggies omelets + toast and fruit. Actually, I eat this for lunch a lot, and it probably takes more like 10 minutes to make.

5. At the age of 25, I wish I'd known...
I wish I'd known that you should just go for jobs or opportunities that you aren't necessarily qualified for. When I was unemployed and job searching, I passed over a lot of jobs that I would've really liked because I didn't have all the experience or qualifications they were looking for. The only jobs I was qualified for right out of college were retail or administrative assistant positions. I had to practically beg for my first marketing job, which turned out to be awful, but I'm glad I did because I learned a lot of useful skills that led to my next job.

6. If I drove 25 miles due East from my home, I'd be in...
Rancho Cucamonga, which is where I lived for a few months back in 2011. At the time I was renting a room in a friend's house and commuting about three hours a day. A lot has changed since then...

Some random shots from our week:

Ezzy's first taste of lime. Despite the face, he went back for seconds, thirds, and fourths.

Exploring at PCC

Ezzy was obsessed with this stream.

He kept running back and forth along the stream to examine the water.

Dinner at Green Street.

After dinner walk with Grandma.

Checkup time!

Ezzy had his 1 year checkup and shots today. (Only a month and a half late.) What a difference this visit was from the last time we went, in March. For one thing, Ezzy was dragging me around the waiting room, walking up to kids and staring at them (which is kinda like interacting). But more importantly, Ezzy's weight and height jumped way up. (Last doctor's visit stats here.)He gained 5 lbs in the last 3.5 months, putting him at 23.8 lbs and in the 70th percentile. He's 29 1/4 inches and in the 30th percentile for height. That means he grew more than 2 inches! Last time he was in the bottom 10th percent for height and weight, so that's a big jump. Even his head circumference (which has always been large) grew an inch and jumped into the 90th percentile. I know I keep saying it, but he is officially my big boy instead of my baby now. And where the heck does that big head come from?

I hate seeing Ez get shots, but he took it all like a champ. The doctor commented how brave he was, because instead of full on crying, he did a silent tears-rolling-down-his-cheeks cry. I actually found that much sadder than his real crying. But that was just while she was doing the checkup. Once it came time to get the shots (2, this time), he was full on wailing. But he was over it in .3 seconds, and fell right asleep in the car afterward.

Waiting room fun (pre-doctor):