Annual Trip to the Carlsbad Flower Fields!

That time of year is here once again-- SPRING!! The kids absolutely LOVE going to the flower fields. (It was Keegan's "high" of the day! Every night at bedtime, we do our highs and lows. Favorite part of the day, and least favorite part of the day.) We got there early in the morning, no crowds, sun shining brightly, and the flowers are in full bloom! We had such a fun time, as you will see in the photo journal that follows. As you can see by one of the photos, Tustin is following in Mommy's footsteps, and starting to enjoy taking pictures too! (The one with Keegan, Chris, and Tif in it.)

Beautiful!

Stop and Smell the....

RANUNCULUS!! (Yes, I had to look up the spelling of Ranunculus.) Of the many things we learned on our tour of the flower fields, the Ranunculus have no nectar, no pollen, therefore they do not attract any type of bugs/bees at all... AND, they have no scent! But, the boys sure love "smelling" the flowers!

Tractor Ride

We got to the fields nice and early, so we didn't have to wait in lines for anything.  We got right on the tractor ride and cruised through the fields.  On the southern most side of the fields, they have a huge American flag that a lot of people miss unless they go on the tractor ride.

Play Time at the Fields

After the tractor ride, we went to the play ground. They have this really great play area next to the flower fields, with little kid-sized houses, slides, climbing equipment, etc. And they have a really fun sweet pea maze that we went through-- a few times!

Panning (Sifting) for Gold

The last thing we did before leaving the flower fields was panning for gold. They had this great area set up with all these big sifters. The kids got to pick their own bucket of dirt, and once it was dumped in, they just swished it around in the water until all the sand was gone. They were left with some great gems. They really had fun.

Day at the Docks

Last Sunday, we spent walking around at Day at the Docks, at the Point Loma fishing piers. It was warm, and quite crowded, but I think we all had a nice time. They had some great live music that Tustin was groovin' to. The boys got to take a tour of a US Coast Guard boat. The boys' favorite part of the day-- they got to go fishing! Real fishing poles; real bait; and real fish to catch! Their least favorite part-- they didn't catch any fish. So, they decided playing with the squid (before it was cut up for bait) was the most fun of all! Pop bought us snacks and drinks at the Yacht club after, while we watched little sail boat races, and where Tustin took this great picture of Nonny, all by himself!

Keeganism...

I brought two Mylar balloons home from work on Thursday. One, a large tropical fish, with a tail and fins. The other, a more simple, but still pretty, round sunflower. Instantly Keegan said "I want the sunflower." And Tustin said "I want the fish." Later, Keegan tells me privately, "Mommy, I think the fish is prettier, may I please have the fish instead?" I told him no, that he already made his choice, and Tustin is expecting the fish. About an hour later, I hear Tustin discussing the situation "privately" with Keegan. "Tustin, may I please have the fish balloon?" Tustin said no. Keegan then said, "Tustin, I think the sunflower is so much prettier than the fish, are you SURE you don't want the sunflower?" Tustin said "okay." And that was that. My four-year-old white liar!!

Heat Wave!

We broke a heat record yesterday that was set in 1899. No, I didn't mis-type, that's 110 years ago!! It was 98 downtown-- that's along the COAST (where Chris and I work)!! And it was 102 degrees inland (where we live). Thank goodness for air conditioning. Funny, because we just had the heater on a few nights ago!

Wild Animal Park-- Take Two

You fall off the horse, you get back on and try again!! That is what Keegan decided to do. We went back to the very site where he cut his hand open, and he posed for a picture for me. He wanted to Google the tree that cut him last week, so we Googled "thorny acacia," which is what the park ranger thought was the tree on which he cut himself. That was definitely not the tree, so I did a little more Googling and found the White Silk Floss tree. We decided to make it Crazy Glasses Day, so we put on our fun glasses and had a blast at the Wild Animal Park today.

More FUn at the WAP!

They boys' friend Dylan (and his mommy Lisa) were able to join us at the Park today. They kids had so much fun playing around together. Nonny joined us as well-- the butterflies loved her hat!

Tustin

He was SO calm and relaxed when FOUR birds landed on him to drink the nectar. He just smiled, and stood very still so he didn't scare any of them away!

Keegan

Keegan was VERY excited to be able to hold one of the butterflies. He was a bit more timid with the Lorakeets than Tustin, but equally excited. (Yes, he wore is "cool" shades ALL DAY LONG!)

Butterflies

Butterflies