Monday, April 30, 2012

Sunday in Monterey

So. This is our second trip to the aquarium. You might remember our first trip, which was ok, but didn't send us into throes of ecstasy or anything. But this time was much better. We're still a leetle bit afraid of the tidal surge thing, but the jellyfish were much more interesting...


And we were big enough to get in the tide pools with some help from Dad...


I think we might be kind of into it :)


And I'm sorry I didn't get more pictures at the aquarium, but it's because he loved it so much he never stood still. So here's one more shot of the beach.


Fog Chasing

When I was a little girl, my dad used to chase fireworks with us in the car. Dallas was pretty big and flat, and you could see fireworks in the distance every now and then, so we'd drive in that direction until they stopped or until we found the source. San Jose is not big and flat. It's down in a valley between two mountain ranges. This means that it can get hot in the summer, but sometimes we can see the fog holding its own on top of the Santa Cruz mountains.

I love that. It's something I will probably never get tired of seeing. And now that it's starting to warm up a little, and Austin is walking so well, we've started a new activity. When we're all dressed and finished with breakfast, we go chase the fog. And that is how I found this awesome park.


Sunday, April 22, 2012

Saturday in Monterey!

We went down to Monterey on Saturday. We had plans to go to the aquarium on Sunday morning, so Saturday afternoon we went to the beach! Playing in the sand was great. We dipped our toes in the ocean but it was so cold we ran right back out (and kept a close eye on it, in case it came after us). We chased seagulls and found seashells and it was generally just awesome!























The seagulls did not think this was awesome




Walking back along the trail, we passed a protected area full of Harbor seal mothers and pups. Austin may or may not have noticed, but Mommy and Daddy did.


When we got back to the hotel, it was a zoo because prom was there. The restaurants were pretty packed too. So we went to a brewery just off Cannery Row, where Austin crashed a bachelorette party! Congratulations to the lovely bride who gave him her blinky bride to be pin :)

Ladies love us



Monday, April 16, 2012

Spring Cleaning

You accumulate a lot of stuff when you have a baby. A lot. A lot of stuff. I don't think I can type that enough to get across the true horror of baby accessories. Suffice to say, it's a lot. This doesn't look like it's going to end any time soon and we were kind of running out of space.

this may or may not be our house

To avoid winding up on Hoarding, Mom and Dad elected to get rid of a lot of their stuff. Yes, that is how much we love Austin and seeing the floor. So we cleared out a lot of things, which was actually a good thing. And in amongst the things, Mom saw two opportunities to rescue from Goodwill. Which means it's time for arts and crafts!

Our first project today is, of course, for babyman. Mom neglected to take any "before" pictures, but... it's just a muffin tin. You know what they look like. It was rusty. I painted it with chalkboard paint. Now it's a toy. You could use it to teach numbers...



 Or colors...


Leave secret messages...
Or maybe instructions
You can even make your own ghetto eraser with a piece of felt wrapped around a dowel and secured with a rubberband:

This is the paint I used, purchased on sale for $3... not enough for the fridge I covet on Pinterest, but enough for about 100 more muffin tins.



Next, Mom made something for herself! YES! Daddy has had this shirt forever. Like, since maybe before he even met Mommy. We don't remember anymore. Anyway, it had some moth holes and uh, it's not exactly something you wear to work:

Unless you want people to think you're awesome
Mom could not bear to let it go. And it didn't fit her. And there were the holes. But wait! It totally fits on this canvas:

Get a nice fat one unless you want to frame it
Run him through the dryer to help loosen up those wrinkles...

This tip does not apply to real old celebrities, just ones on t-shirts

Position him the way you want on your canvas and use a staple gun to secure around the stretcher. Fold the corners over like you're wrapping a present, so the edges look nice and neat. Don't pull too hard unless you want to add 30 pounds to your subject, you just want the fabric taut enough to look like a print. After you're done, use scissors to snip out the back of the shirt, behind the staples, so it can be hung on the wall.
Excuse me, I believe someone Shat on your wall
Enjoy!

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Easter 2: The Revenge

Oh yes, there's more. Remember that Mom really really likes coloring eggs...


Lots and lots of eggs!















 And we even gave one to the babyman...







I'd say we had a pretty good day...
We like our Austins over easy



Monday, April 9, 2012

Easter Weekend

Easter is one of Mom's favorite holidays... mostly because she really likes coloring eggs and setting up fun environments for Mr. Austin. We got all dressed up on Saturday to go see Kaki, who brought us this fabulous bunny ball.




And check out this Easter basket, lovingly stuffed with toys by Mom and Dad... PLUS a handmade felt board with felt Easter basket and felt eggs! We're so fancy!




Most mombloggers would probably just post those beautiful pictures and call it a day. But Mommy is not most mombloggers. She thinks there is a lack of honest toddler experiences online, which leads to crazy expectations and disappointments (um, mostly her own). So, in the interest of full disclosure, here is the actual video of Austin's Easter morning...