The Mendocino 'Trip'

The Burgdorf family tradition has been to take a big week long vacation together in...the first time we went to Hawaii and the next year we went to Fort Bragg for what Otto called the "poor man's Hawaii" (I find it all to be fantastic). This year, we went to Mendocino just minutes away from the house in Fort Bragg (since the year before was such a big success). Prior to leaving, I was telling a friend {Molly} we were heading off for a vacation. She quickly responded with, "you are going on a trip...a vacation is without children!" She could not have been more right.  Don't get me wrong, we love our kids, but they sure make it tough to relax. Nonetheless, we managed to enjoy ourselves. 

Our house was beautiful and located right on a bluff looking over the Caspar beach (in between Fort Bragg and Mendocino). We could hear the sea lions "ark-ing", the seagulls, the waves, and we could watch the fog roll in and out (it never really rolled out unfortunately, except for the day we left).



The house



the view of the beach from the house


The trip got off to a rocky start for the Burgdorf's and Hustad's (traveling together). Upon Tanya's arrival to the ranch, she opened her trunk and out popped an entire container of lego's. By the look on Lucas's face, it must have been his box.






still in good spirits

Then, once they left the ranch, after traveling over an hour, they realized that due to a fire, hwy 20 was closed and they had to turn around and head a different direction. Since we left from Davis, we went 80 to 37 to 101 to 128. We made it in 4 1/.2 hours. It took them 7. It was a good thing it was our night for dinner :)

The house was perfect for our family...maybe a little too perfect. Many times we just wanted to veg inside instead of exploring what the city had to offer. I also blame the dreary weather for that. I am really a pretty lazy natured person, and sadly, I think my daughter has inherited that trait from me.  On a walk to the lighthouse, she had Brandon carry her most of the way. 

Even a bike ride (with her in the Burley trailer) seemed daunting to her. I have to say, it was not easy pulling Elle in the trailer...it was a little too daunting for me. Brandon "bjorned" the boy while he was riding. Not sure how safe that is, but it was our only option, and it makes for a great story (and picture).

We also practiced some sports while we were there...hitting the baseball, throwing the football, catching, etc.

The highlight of this was Elle saying to Tanya and me, "you know what would be funny...if I throw the football at Daddy's beer and knock it over!" I am not sure Tanya or myself actually thought she would/could do it, but before we knew it, she had. On her first shot, even. The best part was that it wasn't Daddy's beer, it was papa's! Not sure if he thought it was as funny as we did. Sadly, shortly after this, Elle tripped on a baseball and fell on the gravel, hurting her hand, knee and elbow. It put an end to this fun time. Poor thing still complains of the pain on her elbow (it really was pretty bad).

We also spent a lot of our "lazy" time in the hot tub, or the "hot pool" as Elle so adorably calls it. There are certain words and phrases I don't even like correcting her on because they are so cute. That is one of them for sure.



Who knew that Barbie's would be the hit toy amongst the cousins...funny faces, yes. Otto's gonna hate me for this pic, but it is too cute to pass up. There is nothing wrong with two XY chromosomes, playing with Barbie's anyway!

 

When we weren't in the hot tub, or playing ball,we were at the beach.

 we relaxed

 did cartwheels

 Drank beer

 did funny moves

 wave walked

 played in the sand



 and we launched rockets ( we never did recover it). It was one heck of a launch. I couldn't even see it the sky it shot up so high.

 the launch

off it went


 We also did some bike races.

 I don't like to brag, but I did win one. If I were on a regular bike, Tanya would have smoked me for sure, but this time I had an advantage...

Either way, victory smells nice!

 Lucas is our photographer

piggy pile

If we weren't doing ay of these fun outdoorsy things, we were playing inside. They had a Wii with a ton of video games, and though I am not for many of them, they had the dance video one, and Lucas and I had a blast and worked up quite the sweat, I might add. This maybe something I would like to purchase in the near future (maybe then I might actually exercise).

 We also did some reading

 

 

Trudie, Tanya and Brandon managed to sneak away to go horseback riding. The story was told that Brandon was riding the horse for Mongo, from Blazing Saddles.  It was just massive and a true Clydesdale...When he got off he looked like the quintessential cowboy bumper sticker...you know the bull-legged one. Tanya's horse was a butt sniffer and I am not sure what attributes Trudie's horse portrayed, but I think they all had a lovely time. I do know, they all came home and poured themselves a stiff drink :) 

 



 

Despite Harlan keeping us (Brandon and me) all night, every night with his cold, and sweet potato FPIES reaction, it was a restful trip. I wish the weather god's  shined a little more light , but it did beat the triple digit heat wave we were having in Davis. A big thanks to my amazing in-laws for yet another generous family trip!





A day in the Life of a Preschooler

 Well, another year of preschool has begun...

September 5th, 2012

 Elle, attends Davis Parent Nursery School (DPNS), a parent cooperative school, meaning I have to "work" one day every other week, attend parent lectures/classes, do weekend cleanings, etc... I know what your thinking, but it really is quite wonderful. My favorite part is getting to see Elle interact at school, and to get to know the other kids and parents of her classmates. Last year she was in the 2-day session (T,TH). Now, she is in 3-day and goes M,W,F. I already LOVE this year. The children are so much better at problem solving, they do more interactive play, and are way more self sufficient. Today was a work day for me. Thanks to Trudie, for watching Harlan, I was able to.  Despite being chaotic as all get out, it was a lot of fun. I was in charge of the "block area", which is the big rug area, the kitchen, dress up area and the quiet area. Wow, was there a lot of kids all at once, but a lot of other moms were there helping their children transition, so they lent a helping hand. The kids were all so adorable, and dress up was the choice of the day! All the girls, and one boy (Gabriel), wanted to be princesses and get married. Yes, married, and to each other...so, I performed a wedding ceremony.  Elle, Resse, Siena (Cece), Hannah, and Gabriel, after some carefully worded "typical" wedding jargon on my behalf,  all said, "I do". Elle thinks to get married you say "I do", throw your bouquet of flowers, and then dance...so they did. I filmed them dancing and some how, some way, it is not on my camera....argh! I guess some pictures will have to do...

Elle, Reese and Siena moments before the big nuptials

Hannah gearing up

Gabriel's ready too!

I couldn't take pictures of the nuptials, but here is one of Elle dancing afterward.



Afterward, they had some snack bar

cheerio-o-e-oo's

 

 Then it was circle time. This is always interesting because Elle is not the quietest, most well-behaved child there (shocker, I know) but it went relatively well. Her and her BFF, Kennedy, are always chatty Cathy's so that is a give-in.

Kennedy and Elle in a loving embrace?

As there teacher Laura says, "circle time is a work in progress".


Teacher Tina doing story time

After story time, comes snack. Working parents are in charge of one table of usually about 5 kids, and you tell stories, color or read to them while waiting for the food and during the chow time. My table today was very quiet (well, except Elle) but they really enjoyed the book I brought ("If Dog's were as big as Dinosaurs") and we chatted about vacations we took during the summer break. They are really just sooo cute.

Today's snack: rice cakes, cream cheese and nectarines

 After snack, comes outside play (so us parents can clean).

 Elle had a blast jumping with Teacher Tina

The day ends with a line-up to head back inside for ending circle

 

They sing the "good-bye" song and get ready to do it all over again on Friday.

A wondrous day of firsts...

Today was a wonderful day for our little doodle. Last week, not so much. Elle had two pretty big tantrums (one I even tried to film), extra clingy, and was testing my every nerve. But today, a huge developmental break through! There are theorist out there that believe there are "wonder weeks" for babies and toddlers. The research says, "there are predictable times during the first few years of a child's life when the child may be more demanding (fussier) than usual. These fussy times have been called the 'Wonder weeks' by some writers, because it is during these more difficult weeks that babies are making big steps forward in their development." She has done just that. All in one day, Elle became incredibly helpful, she drew her first "portrait" type drawing (up until today she had never made a person-like figure that was recognizable),

she learned to recognize and spell her name, and she learned to pedal all by herself. I realize that many 3 year-olds do these things, but for my non dexterous, clumsy daughter, it just seems extra special. Now, of course it didn't go off without a hitch. She completely ate it off her trike and badly cut her elbow, again (insert sigh) after catching some serious speed. That's my girl...i think I will be going to Target tomorrow for some elbow, shin and knee pads.

p.s. I am not bragging, just sharing :)

Glamping

Awe, another year camping "glamping" at New Brighton Beach. I wasn't sure how easy it would be to camp this year, with 2 kids and all, but Brandon makes it LOOK easy enough and pretty much does all the work anyway, so I said what the heck. My only complaint ended up being that we didn't stay long enough. With the amount of 'crap' we bring, we should be staying at least a week, not a measly 2 days.

Brandon, looking proud of his pack job (a neighbor camper referred to it as a puzzle...quite fitting)

The view from our campground #22

New Brighton is an amazing campground nestled on the bluff of Capitola. My family has been going there over 20 years on this same weekend during the "Wharf to Wharf " race. My mom runs it every year, along with my aunt Debbie, some other takers partake occasionally. Brandon, Elle (via stroller) and I even ran it a few years ago.

The only draw back to the campground is you have to book a year in advance (and even then, within seconds, the sites are gone). Good thing my mom always remembers January 2nd at 8 am to click away. This year was a particularly special one for me, and Elle especially. I had my sister and my adorable niece stayed the night one night. Kelly, Brad, Tyler and Briana usually only stay for the day (Tyler makes camping a little too difficult for them) but this year they took separate cars so the girls could stay. Elle, had the pleasure of being around great company. Not only were her cousins and "Mimi" there, but a plethora of aunts and uncles all willing and able to play with her (Kelly, Brad, "Reno" Debbie, Debbie, Sandy, David, Kirk and Linda, Lee-Ann, Chuck and "Cobra" the dog, Dax and "Shelby the dog", aka STD). All those people meant lots of help for Brandon and I too.

Reno Debbie "ergo-ing" Harlan so we could unpack

Sandy entertained Elle for hours with felt boards

I was doing some heavy lifting too

Brad, David, Kirk and Lee-Ann lent Brandon a hand setting up the "palace"

Saturday was AMAZING weather, so we soaked every last drop of the sun at the beach. It is only a steep stair walk away too!

Kelly and Briana making the trek (the picture doesn't do it justice)

Mimi and her grands

Elle enjoying time with uncle Brad

wave chasing

Reno Debbie, Briana, Elle and Brad running from the waves

Brad, Tyler and Kelly enjoying the water

Siesta time for Harlan and beer time for Brandon

The boys (Dax, Brandon and Harlan)

Adorable Briana loving the beach

Sandy and Linda building sandcastles with the girls

Cobra and Shelby making quite the dynamic duo

Me feeling left out

Sandy and David sharing some love

Brad and Harlan catching up

Tyler getting buried

The girls too

They loved it!

 

After a great time at the beach, we headed back up the dreaded stairs, and we hit the showers. Yes, they have showers...coin operated ones (25 cents for every 2 min). They also have bathrooms with mirrors, and some with electrical plugs too (if you stand by one long enough you will eventually see my mom there blow drying her hair), hence why I find glamping to be an appropriate term. After we cleaned up, we feasted on delicious appetizers and had an amazing spaghetti dinner (provided by Chuck and Lee-Ann) paired with Caesar salad, garlic bread and pie and s'mores for dessert.

S'mores before bed

Dax with Tyler in the hammock

Harlan enjoying his bath

Once the kiddos went to bed, we enjoyed some cocktails, and some hilarious conversations. The new drink of choice is vodka lemonade. We couldn't get enough of them. So much, that we had a flask on hand so we didn't even have to get up to refill our glasses. We did however, receive a buzz kill phone call from Brad informing Kelly that he had her car keys with him at the house (two cars, remember?). After some phone calls, David saved the day and the drinking continued!

of course the video monitors came along

The wiener roast off

After the late night hot dogs, we all called it a night. The morning would come soon enough. Sooner than we wanted. We slept pretty well until some strange cat moans woke us up in the wee hours of the morning. Not sure if the cat was in heat, injured, or mentally ill, but whatever it was, did not sound good. We officially said good morning around 7 am, just in time for us to bide farewell to the runners. Brandon and I wanted to cook breakfast for everyone, so we got the camping stoves fired up. We made breakfast burritos, pancakes and sausage....yummy! It ended up being a great joint effort and one heck of a feast.

The chef at work (eventually he went into a management role)

The goodness

Mickey Mouse pancakes for the girls

Formula for the boy

After breakfast we sat around the campfire, the girls played some games and had a blast in the hammock. The weather was not very good, so we were waiting for the fog to burn off. It never really happened, so we just hit the beach after awhile anyways.

Elle loving Chuck's sense of humor and giving it right back!

Felt boards with "Chucky"

   The girls having some vodka lemonades

 my mom was slightly over served

 Chuck and Cobra

climbing the drift wood

it made a neat little cave

After another fun day at the [cold] beach, we headed back up to take showers to get clean and warm. We had leftovers for dinner that were just as delicious as the first time around, if not better. I would like to say that we hooped it up all night again, but this time we were all tired and turned it at 9:30! I know, we should be ashamed of ourselves. I think Debbie was a little disappointed to be going home with so many FULL bottles of wine and champagne. I have to say, I was happy we did go to bed when we did, because we had an early morning meltdown to deal with. Not sure why Elle has the meltdowns she does, but WOW. Nothing like waking up everyone to Elle saying over and over again that she wanted to "run outside". Not sure what was going on in her brain at that moment and I am not sure she did either. Anyone else have a child who does these outrageous tantrums? If so, please speak now!

Anywhoo, we all recovered and laughed about it later (or not). It is always a bummer to have to take down camp. Brandon, once again made it look easy, and I did a lot of supervising. Thank goodness for my mom, and amazing aunts for entertaining Elle, so we could do so. They even took her to the stage and danced with her and acted like monkeys. I took pictures of them from our campground. What troopers they all were.

 Debbie had the best Monkey for sure...

As usual, Harlan was playing on the floor entertaining himself

We finally got out of there around noon, only to get stuck in traffic on hwy 17. It took us an hour to get down the "forest" (as Elle called it) to go 13 or so miles. Gees, but wonders never cease...Elle ended up falling asleep on the drive home.Of course it wasn't in the beginning of the 3 1/2 hour long drive. Instead, it was in the last 15 minutes. Just our luck.

 This really is a first

Thanks to all the campers for another great year!