Day 128: In One Photo....

In one photo, describe summer. 

Here's ours (in cell phone quality). 

A horde of boys, the pool, endless jumping. This is our summer. Every.single.day.

Day 127: Summer Nights With Cam

Here is what summer evenings look like for Camden, after countless hours of hard play, swimming lessons, and football twice a week. 

Asleep sitting up watching Shark Week

This was at 6pm before dinner. We barely got him to wake up to eat. 

Life's tough when you're playing hard. 

Day 126: Christmas In June

When the kids were very small, they had an abundant collection of Imaginext toys. Castles with knights and space shuttles and pirates, especially. Over the years they had stopped playing with them, but I boxed up the pirate ship and accessories, thinking that they were so timeless we could store them for whenever little cousins come to visit, or even grandkids 100 years from now. 

We happened to go to Toys R Us today to fit Cam for a new bike that we plan on getting before school starts (darn growth spurts). The boys were drooling over a new line of Imaginext pirate toys, which made me think of this abandoned cardboard box up high in our garage. So I pulled it down today to see what the kids would do with it. 

You'd think it was Christmas morning. 

The kids spent the next two hours playing pirates. Calen went back and forth between it and his beloved Legos, but Cam was hooked. He snatched two pirate "guys" and they had an entire afternoon of dialogue, adventures and peril. 

I should do this with all their toys. Reduce, reuse, recycle. 

Day 125: Shark Week

It's the most anticipated week of the summer for my kids. They pulled out all their shark stuffies and shark Legos and shark books and shark clothes, and Shark Week has been on the TV 24/7 since this morning. 

My kids (Calen in particular) are in heaven. 

Shark shirts, shark tooth necklace, stuffed shark, shark faces, SHARKS. 

The kids brought down all their shark stuff. They forgot one stuffed hammerhead and about 3 books

According to Calen: "The shark with the white head is a Lemon shark. The two grey ones are Bull sharks. The white one is a Great White shark. And the octopus and the crab is bait. And the divers are going to go take pictures of sharks"

Day 124: Sol Food

Brad and I had a much needed date this afternoon. But because there was a big pride parade to the south in San Francisco, and a NASCAR race to the east in Sonoma. So there wasn't a lot of places we could go that weren't overly packed with people. 

So we went two cities south to San Rafael and had some authentic Puerto Rican food at this restaurant everyone raves about called Sol Food. I had a pollo sandwich, which is baked chicken, ham, swiss, tomato and lettuce, and a side of mofongo: fried plaintain (banana). The food there was ah-ma-zing and might be our new favorite. We then tooled around at a local bookstore before heading back. It was much needed time together. 

Pollo sandwich, mofongo, and an orange/lime mango iced tea

Also, Calen took his new dog on a walk today. All in all, she's a good puppy, needs to work on house manners and needs to realize that she's HIS dog and has to stop following ME around. 

A boy and his dog

Day 123: The Adventures of Onyx

We've considered getting a second dog for a while now. 

It's been nearly 3 years since we lost Chance, our first dog, who turned aggressive to the kids when they were very young. Since then Juno has been Princess Dog in the house and gotten the 5 star treatment. She's the perfect dog, really, mellow and sweet and really wants nothing more than a spot on the couch to chill with us. And though she's infinitely patient with the kids, she's my and Brad's dog, not the kids, and there's little connection to them. We've tossed around the idea of getting a dog specifically for the kids for a year or so. But we kept putting it off, and even though I've frequented the shelter facebook sites to see if there's a young lab/pit mix that catches my eye, we were wanting to wait until Juno was significantly closer to her lifespan (she's 9 now) before becoming a 2 dog family again. 

But that's not the way it always works out, is it?

Last night at the fair, we went to the World's Ugliest Dog Contest. And conveniently next to the contest were several event tents loaded with dogs available to adoption. And let me tell you, just about every dog in those tents looked ten times more adorable than normal when they're 15 feet away from these ugly effers. I mean really. Imagine coming to home to THAT in your home every day. Yikes. 

We wandered through the tents with no intention of adopting a dog. But you know, God is funny and suddenly there's this tiny little black lab mix happily snoring on her bed amidst the chaos of the fair and a dozen other dogs in the fenced in area around her. 

So we had to meet her. 

The kids fell in love with her, and so did Brad and I. She's quiet, mild mannered, and liked the kids (instead of ignoring them like Juno does). We said goodbye and went on about our business at the fair but Brad and I kept chatting about the dog. Finally we made the decision that we'd take Juno to meet her the next day (today), and if they got along, we'd make a decision. 

So we did this morning, and sure enough they got along. And sure enough we went home with a dog. 

Suckers, we are. 

The kids immediately started calling her Onyx the Coast Guard dog, named for the Adventures of Onyx children's book series about a black lab (named Onyx) that works at a Coast Guard small boat station. The name has stuck throughout the day, though I'm trying to convince the kids to name her Rufio, after the movie Hook. Because come on, who doesn't want to yell "Ruf-ee-OHHHH!!!" whenever you open your back door? Don't lie. You do. 

She's been a great little dog so far. We don't know how old she is (somewhere between 10 and 18 months), if she's full grown, or what her back story is. But she's super sweet and cuddly, housebroken, extremely mild mannered, HATES water (dammit, another water hating dog!), doesn't give a crap about the cat (who is currently plotting our death), and loves to lounge on her back on the sofa in between me and Calen. We are working on her being very specifically the kids dog, so they feed her, walk her, play with her, and she alternates between sleeping on Calen and Cam's beds. 

Not bad for a puppy. 

I'm still working on Rufio. 

Adoption time! It was 91 degrees and HOT

Home after shopping for a new harness, collar and leash

She found a happy spot

Juno's new sister

How she prefers to sleep. Seriously cute. Also shaved belly because she went to Spay City last week

First day in the books. The only way she didn't follow me out of the room is by Calen cradling her like the big baby she is!

Day 122: Family Night Fair Night

It's family fun night! And it can't be summer without going to the fair!

Photo dump. It's a fair. Pig races, rides, farm animals, petting zoo, and of course the world famous World's Ugliest Dog Contest. No captions needed. 

World's Ugliest Dog Contest runner up

Calen was the red pig flag bearer

Bumper car craziness! Me and Calen vs Daddy and Cam

Day 121: Back In The Saddle

Because in our household, baseball is always the #1 playing sport, even in the offseason. 

We dusted off the bats today. Cam even stepped in the cages for the first time and got (one) hit! Fall ball starts in two months...

Two lefty hitters. Good grief. 

Day 120: And That's Why I Can't Take You Anywhere

Shopping with kids is a total effing drag. 

Actually, it's usually not that bad at all with my kids. They're relatively patient, refrain from many "I wants", and can now be used as slave labor helpers to get things in and out of the cart. 

Today, it was that bad. 

I had to go to Walmart (blegh) to get myself a new swimsuit (double blegh). I had to take the kids along, because summer. I figured it wouldn't be that bad of a trip. 

But what I didn't know, is that the kids snuck some Red Bull, or some cocaine, or something, and were not only more squirrely than usual but had a ridiculous case of the giggles inside the store. You know, where you tell them to knock it the heck off or I'm selling you off to that lady that just walked by sporting Betty Boop pajamas and slippers at 1pm with 9 kids in tow. But they just giggle and don't take you seriously. 

The problem was, this whole trip was setup for failure. 

As the three of us stand in the center of a jungle of women's swimming garments, my two immature, camo wearing boys gawk at the dainty tops and bottoms hung separately at their eye level. I already know what's about to happen, I can see it in their eyes and there's nothing I can do to stop it. 

"MOM....." No Calen. Stop talking. I don't even want to have this conversation we're about to have. Let's go to the boys section. Let's go to the Lego section. Let's go effing anywhere else. He points at a bikini top and I'm immediately at one of those Snickers' commercials in my head. Want to get away?? Yes, yes I do. Name your price. 

"Are these...BOOBS?!" And as I open my mouth about to think of some way to carefully explain what they are in the middle of a store, Calen takes both hands and squeezes the goddamn bikini tops, all while Camden is standing next to him giggling to himself "hahaha....you said BOOBS."

I stand there with my mouth open. Just what exactly am I supposed to say in the middle of Walmart. But before I can answer (and I'm pretty quick-witted), Camden holds up a bikini bottom. 

"Why is there underwear hanging everywhere?!" and then he and Calen both erupt up in laughter, because Cam said the word underwear, the #1 funniest word on the little boy vocabulary list. 

I tried to remain the serious shopper, throwing out obligatory "Boys, seriously. This is NOT that funny." But then I look down at them, and they're cracking up, and then I'm cracking up, because Calen keeps eyeballing the "boobs" and giggling, and Camden is still laughing about underwear, and they're both wrong but they think they're hilarious for being able to legitimately talk about undergarments. 

And that's why I can't take them anywhere. 

Surrounded by "boobs"

Hahahahaha....boobs.

Day 119: Recovering From Beach Snobbyness

I'll admit, I'm kind of a beach snob. 

I kind of deserve to be. I spent four years in what's celebrated as one of the best beach towns in the country (Cape May, NJ). I spent a year living in the Land of All Things Surfing and Beachyness (San Diego, CA). I've swam in the Gulf of Mexico (Treasure Island, FL), surfed in La Jolla, spent my childhood on the shores of Oregon and Washington. I do beaches. 

So going to the beach in Northern California is admittedly a little blah. The water is cold, the sand is rocky. I still love the beach here, but it's just not as impressive. 

But today was beach day with our friends and I'm always up for a new adventure and by God we were going to find a good one and have a fun time doing it, dammit. 

My friend recommended Dillon Beach outside of Tomales CA (about 15 minutes from our house). For being a not free not Southern California or Jersey Shore beach, I will say even my picky beach tastebuds was pleased by it. Real sand with minimum rocks and a gorgeous backdrop made it a great beach. And even though the water and a chilly wind was a bitter reminder that we are still in Northern Cali, we still had a great day. 

Dillon Beach, Tomales CA

Bums

Day 118: When Kids Remodel The Living Room

I've been taking advantage of summer vacation by letting the kids (who normally get up at o'dark thirty (6am)) go downstairs on their own, turn on Disney Jr or Nick Jr or whatever it is they choose to watch, and pour their own cereal, while I lay my lazy ass in bed and get two extra hours of sleep. It's a luxury we've done for about a year now and.I.love.it.

Normally, the kids get in minimal mischief while I'm sleeping. You know, harmless stuff, like eating an entire box of cereal in one morning (SEVEN bowls of cereal) or tossing all the already folded laundry on the floor because it was in the way of their race track they had made on the sofa for their matchbox cars. 

I might have stretched my luck a little. 

This morning I wake up and come downstairs, to the boys crawling out from behind the fireplace yelling "SURPRISE!" and proceeded to hum the Star Wars intro song. "It's a Star Wars living room!!" they shouted gleefully. 

And it was a Star Wars living room. They took ALL the stickers out of their new Force Awakens color/activity book and stuck them all over the walls. The big wall, the window sill, next to the TV, next to Brad's chair. Cam even took his Jurassic World stickers and made a delightful collage of velicorapters next to my chair at the dining room table. 

The boys were SO giddy and pleased with themselves that I didn't have the heart to show them the panic behind my eyes of ohmygawd HOW sticky are those stickers...will they ever come off or do we have to stare at them for the next 3 years? So I thanked them for a beautiful new living room and promised it could stay up for the day and to please please please keep stickers on paper from now on. 

The good news is the stickers come off the walls easily without a fuss. Crisis averted. 

Pick your battles, people. 

All those tiny dots are stickers. Also to the left near our window.

Cam's Jurassic World mural

Day 117: Pancakes Fit For a King

Today is father's day, and even though we celebrated yesterday, I still wanted to make today special for Brad. After all, it's his day right? And the man deserves it. 

The budget for this holiday was depleted yesterday at the races but we still made do with what we had. The kids and I got up before him and I made a pancake breakfast while they made Daddy homemade cards. Calen insisted that Daddy needed a smiley face out of pancakes, so that's what I did. And forgot to take a pictures. 

Side story: last night Calen lost his toy sprint car through the bleacher gaps down into the abyss under the grandstands. He wanted a replacement but 1)They're a million dollars, 2) they break almost instantly and 3) No. So I told him to make one out of Legos, and this morning I found him in his room for a solid hour or two, and came downstairs with this fricken masterpiece of a sprint car he made all by himself without a photo or anything to model it by. 

Smart, Buddy. 

Calen's sprint car. Down to the roll cage and the lopsided wings

After that, per Daddy's request, we laid low and hung out. The kids had a backyard water fight with a friend, and later we went to Lombardi's (local BBQ joint) for a picnic dinner. Then we came home and watched the Warriors lose the NBA finals and I had to try to find it in me to console a sobbing Calen over a sport I don't even give a shit about. 

Oh, life lessons. 

At dinner. Love these two.

Day 116: Because The Cool Ones Celebrate On Saturday

Father's Day is tomorrow. But what fun is it to wait until Sunday to celebrate? Around here, we celebrate an entire day early. Because we're cool like that. 

Actually, it's because the sprint car race schedule told us to. 

Brad's request for Father's Day was to go to the sprint car races in town. Which is the same request Calen had for his birthday. The apple does not fall far from the tree. The races are only on Saturday nights so we decided to celebrate a day early and go to the races tonight. And what a perfect night to do so. For the first time in a week it was warm, and remained so through the night. We didn't need all 250 blankets that we packed with us and I almost regretted putting on that second pair of socks (almost). We had a super healthy Father's Day dinner of onion rings and popcorn, just like it should be. 

The kids both fell asleep the moment we got in the car (around 9:30) so we had to drag their dead little carcasses into the house once we got home, and Brad's already in bed too, which I consider an extremely successful day. 

Day 115: WHERE Are Your Pants

After circus week, we all needed a Nothing day. You know, where we don't have to be anywhere or do anything or even get dressed if we don't want to. 

Actually, we did all successfully get dressed. Be impressed. 

Until swim lessons (the one thing we DID still have to do) was over and as I was watching Calen swim I told Cam we were going to get him changed in his clothes. And then I looked down and suddenly Camden was naked at the side of the pool and I'm left standing there going "WHERE ARE YOUR PANTS?!"  and he looks around and his eyeballs get huge and he goes "Oh no...everyone can see me!!!" and I'm like "No kidding everyone can see you!" and proceeded to have to explain to him I didn't mean get changed right at that very second and to wait to strip naked until we get into a bathroom or something. 

Just when you thought we'd get through one day without some embarrassment incident. 

But for the majority of the day, we enjoyed blissful nothingness in the comfort of our home. I even snuck upstairs with my nice camera and took pics of the kids playing, because who ever thinks to take pictures of everyday life?

And now that we're refreshed, we're ready to tackle the weekend. You can never keep us lazy for long. 

Cam's obsession with Star Wars grows. He played with Star Wars micromachines all day

Oh you know just a quiet street race on the roof of the Lego police station. 

Even Jersey caught note of it being a lazy day. Oh wait, she's like that EVERY day. Fatass. 

  

Day 114: The Church Is Underwater

Today was the last day of VBS on base. Also known as "One Less Thing I Need To Take The Kids To On A Daily Basis Day". This is the second year they've done it here (we literally threw them in it four days after we moved here last year) and they love it. This year's theme was an under the sea adventure. They decorated the church super cute with coral reefs and inflatable sharks and fish hanging from the ceiling. On Monday when they first walked in, Cam goes "Hey! The church is underwater!" 

They went to VBS this morning and this evening was the "celebration" where the parents come to see a slideshow of what happened this week and listen to Pastor Tim talk and then watch the kids sing and dance to their two songs. 

Calen was all about the singing and dancing with the group. Camden sang (what he wanted to sing) and instead of doing the proper moves with the group facing us, he stood by the teacher with his back turned to us FACING the group dancing whatever moves he chose to. Not because he was shy or embarrassed, because Cam does what he wants when and where he wants it. Seriously, that kid. 

Cam deciding he was the teacher. Calen is directly behind him (or in front of him, as it were) where you can't see him

After the parking lot had been transformed to Party Central USA with two bounce houses, face painting and a picnic dinner of pizza and wings. So we stuck around until it closed, and we went home and I suffered through another Golden State Warriors game per request and they had the audacity to LOSE again so I have to deal with yet another game Sunday. Will basketball never end??

Watching the Warriors game with their FACES ON FIRE. I mean painted. 

Day 113: Pool Boys

The kids literally spent four hours in the base pool today. 

Four hours. 

I made a (stupid) promise yesterday that today after VBS and lunch they could go to the pool once it opened (at 1pm) and stay all the way through their swim lessons (ending at 5pm). And even though it didn't even hit 60 degrees today and there's some kind of arctic wind coming from Alaska or some bullshit, they made it. For four hours. 

I don't even know how they stayed awake to walk home after that. 

Taking a breather at the hot tub. Wouldn't you be tired after four hours?

Pool fun with Calen's buddy Mario

Day 112: The Circus Week

I've decided to name this week "Circus Week."

Because we are SO busy and crazy, it belongs under a big top tent. 

And I'm the ringmaster. 

Here's what we did today:

Vacation Bible School

Dressing as cool as possible for summer

Walking uphill both ways in the snow to swim lessons

Attending said swim lessons (times 2, for both kids)

Heading straight from swim to flag football practice (Calen today, Cam yesterday)

I'm tired. And we do it every day this week! Yeehaw!