Patrick told me

He drew a big M that has wind :)

Sleep over

Patrol had his first overnight sleepover at Aunt Katy's with Nana and his cousins. We're not sure if much sleeping went on. Here's how we found him before dinner this evening.

Wild imagination

Patrick "made a sweater" for his monster truck out of a piece of yarn the other day.

Yesterday he took care of his baby raisin named "Fruity." Fruity cried (just like Gretchen), he needed water because he was thirsty and he watched tv inside Patrick's mouth (Patrick being careful not to eat it for several hours).

She just rolled over! Yay!

Front to back. On the tile...ouch! :)

Going to the office with Mama

Means you get to ride a fancy tractor with a farmer. Awesome.

Happy Gretchen

Family Circus

This is was today's comic. I love it!

So long swing

It appears that today she's really not liking the swing and would rather nap on the floor.

Matchy matchy

We like to match his lunch to his toys

So sweet

Mmmm

Friday: last restful day

Gretchen napped well yesterday, Patrick even took a midday nap, yay!

We grabbed Roberto's for lunch and swung by this great thrift shop in Del Mar at St. Peters Episcopal Church. Tons of kids vintage clothes. I got several things but one was this cute dress. G is going to be Heidi for Halloween. :)

Patrick the photographer

He's really gotten into taking pictures lately. I have a lot of these now...I love it! It really shows you what they focus on. :)

Thursday: winding down

We're starting to realize that our time here is just about over.  I will miss the cool breezes but I will always miss Sean more.  Patrick has even mentioned that he needed his backpack and he thinks it might be time to go to his home in Arizona. :) 

Patrick found his first potato bug today and it was quickly lost and probably eaten by the big bad vacuum cleaner.  

We went and ate lunch al fresco at St. Tropez Cafe in Encinitas.  Talk about yummy food.  Check out that custard filled brioche cake thing.  Wow.

We visited a cute little park in Encinitas called Cottonwood Creek Park so Patrick could play and I could feed Gretchen.

Then we cruised around Leo Carillo Park and found a white peacock.  Sorry for the teeny picture.

Last day tomorrow!

Patrick's first roly poly/potato bug

He named him "Buggy"

Wednesday: Cardiff Oggis & Legoland {again}

The kids slept in and Patrick made a magic wand with his tinker toys this morning.

We grabbed some {Stuft Stix} at Oggis and brought it with us to Cardiff Beach for a quick late lunch visit. It was my first time there and it was great...a true locals beach.  The first time I'd seen board racks at a beach too.

We had another great evening at Legoland. We tried a new ride and hit all the favorites. The shortest lines yet!!

Monday: legoland evening part 2

Top left: Patrick and I watch movies on the iPad in the bedroom at night in the dark while Gretchen sleeps

Top right: the flowers we got at the SB farmers market. They do a good job perfuming the house. Bringing them home, I had to open the windows. Powerful!

Bottom left: Papa and Patrick last night on the helicopters at Legoland {again}.

Bottom right: Patrick holding the strap skipping and jumping back to the car. I think he could live at Legoland. We're sure making use of the membership. I think we're going again tonight. We've already mapped put our plan.

Sunday: breakfast alfresco & farmers market

The weather is just gorgeous right now. Patrick and I went and picked up Honey's doughnuts in Encinitas this morning to add to our beautiful breakfast on the back patio.

Sean was able to get his errands done here before he left to go back to Phx. He didn't want to have too much to do tonight at home since he leaves for Chicago tomorrow.

I was able to get both kids to nap in the car this afternoon. I parked us right next to the Solana Beach Farmers Market so the when they woke up we could just run over before they closed. We found a new citrus fruit from the Philippines, a calamondin. It's like a small sour mandarin orange.

We're attempting an early(er) bedtime tonight to see how it goes...we've been staying up way too late having too much fun.

As I write this, the strong scent of skunk wafts through the room. PeeeeeUuuuuuu! That's the California I remember too. I wish I'd put the farmers market flowers in the bedroom tonight. :)

Saturday: great eats, late day Legoland

This morning was slow with a yummy breakfast (including danishes - my favorite are the cheese ones). We played with Tinkertoys and watched cable cooking shows.

We had a totally yummy lunch at Pelly's in Carlsbad. I did a taste test of the crab sandwich (comparing Point Loma) and this was better!!

Patrick napped in the car while we cruised the coast and Del Mar.

We ate (again) dinner at Tip Top Meats - yummy! Great chicken cordon bleu and the best carrot cake!!

We spent the evening at Legoland running from ride to ride. We still think the Coastersaurus is the most fun.

What a fun day!

Friday: Dada and a movie

Sean (plus doggies) is here for the second weekend in a row and we couldn't be happier. Patrick and he are at the movie Cats and Dogs. I just put Gretchen down and we are all going to have fun this weekend!

Thursday: Legoland & cruise thru Rancho

Now that we're members, we'll be at Legoland a whole lot in the next year. We met up with Becky and Annie and their kids today at Legoland. They are high school friends of mine. I haven't really seen them since hs except for our reunion. We brought ham sammies (Patrick took the picture onout meal - he really loves taking pictures) and rode the helicopter ride.

Then we attempted car nap as we cruised through Rancho Santa Fe. Patrick finally fell asleep in Carmel Valley and we drove up the coast home, stopping at fun beachy kids shops along the way.

Tonight we're having Alexis' chicken and hanging at the house. We're so excited for Sean to come out again tomorrow.

Wednesday: Chinese and Mexican

After having the best experience at a sit-down Chinese lunch at Chin's in Carlsbad, we cruised around with napping kids. During the nap, my mom got to run errands and I got to stroll the outlet mall. The whole day was full of lots of hugs and compliments from strangers about how cute the kids are. Handsome and a doll. Ya, we think so.

Patrick is learning to take pictures on my camera. There are lots of pics of "the remote control on the coffee table" now on my phone but he did take the top left of Gretchen and the middle of Papa. We love the hipstamatic app for the iPhone.

Grandma Kimmy is making tacos and we're watching Wheel (of fortune).

Tuesday: Keena and Connor at Las Olas

Yesterday we went and grabbed lunch with my old friend Keena who still lives in Cardiff-by-the-sea. She's doing great and her 7 month old son Connor is absolutely adorable! The lunch special at Las Olas was unbeatable. 5 bucks for ocean breeze, enchilada, taco, rice and beans. Awesome!

Monday: Legoland Water Park

Patrick wasn't thrilled about the water.  He just didn't think it was for him that day.  Oh well, I really enjoyed it. :)

Sunday: Dinosaur bones and seafood sammies

Yesterday we went to the San Diego Natural History Museum. Awesome!!

Then before Sean hit the road we had to get lunch at Point Loma. Perfect!