Baby Tuesday, on Wednesday

I knew that yesterday was Tuesday, but I was so-- tired from our frantic coastal visit, that all I wanted to do was sit in bed with my 99 cent mini churros and watch 30 Rock on Hulu.
I'm up early to make up for yesterday.

When the Año Nuevo park ranger handed me the map and said to follow the whimsical dotted line to see the elephant seals, I was naively confident that the kids would be so happy to take a "hike" that we'd have no problems.
We had problems. Before we ever reached that pond (see below), we had problems.
Namely, the just wanted to sit and look at dirt and rocks and bugs.

It was excruciating hiking with an unhappy (and quite hefty) 2 yr old on my shoulders and "sensitive" 3 yr old all the way there and back. Two miles of making promises. First, promising to see the seals, and later, that there would be our car at the end, where we could rest.
We were breaking all kinds of park rules, I gave the kids sandwiches on the last half of the trek back, and I used my cell phone twice. I doubt the seals were bothered by either one. I didn't care, and I sort of wanted to get busted so someone would help me carry the kids out.
And poor Baby R got fleas in his hair on the hike! And then when we got home I found a tick on him! (luckily it was just prowling, and not attached yet!) My baby!
I made them cover their heads with their blankies after the flea attack.

Bad idea. I will return with them after they are big enough for Disneyland. Then I will know that they can make it the whole way. The end of the trail was dissappointing, considering how much effort it took to get out there.

I wanted to see something like this:


But instead it was more like this:


I need more seal population density, people.

It made me appreciate our zoo membership all the more.


This was the only photo I took yesterday, with my phone.
We stopped at Pigeon Point before Ano Nuevo.
(I've always wanted to stay at that hostel there)



Still shots from the recital. I had Kevin give her the rose at the end.
She was confused.
She wanted a pop-tart like Baby R was eating instead.


The big "everyone-out-on-stage" deal at the end.
This was before the umbrella girls blocked Kid C's team.


Oh, my baby. (She does not like it when I call her that...but Ransom does!)


Pre-show excitement, hard to contain.


A few weeks ago we went down to Roaring Camp Railroads on a whim on our way to the beach one Tuesday.

It was surprisingly quaint and nice. And if it wasn't for the amazingly high price of the train tickets, I would have said 5-stars. But whew, those prices were steep. Just like the elephant seal debaukle, I had already told the kids what we were going to do, and gosh darnit, we were gonna do what we set out to do. I said we were gonna ride the train, and we rode that train.


I only had my camera phone so this about as good as the photos get.
This is the other little boy on the train about Baby R's age, and he said "Thomas!" several times. It was cute.


Despite the loud noises, Kid C did pretty good.
Here they are filling the engine end with water, which I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess later turns into steam.
Now, she did freak out that we were going to leave her brother in the mountains, when we stopped at a little picnic area at the mountain top, simply because he was walking slower than me. That's standard for her, I guess.


The train is pulling into the station here. They had this little diesel engine tug it in, and then they backed the old 1897 engine up to it.


She's looking around at scenery like this.


It was pretty neat, because Thomas on TV gets them all excited about steam engines vs. modern train engines. I never thought much about it before I had these kids. But it was neat to ride behind the actual engine that carried logs and lumber down off the mountains on those tracks 100 years ago.
Apparently Thomas does a tour every year and it's a life-size Thomas that carries the coaches up into the redwoods. I'll think about it. My friend took her boys last year and she said that all the tickets to ride were adult prices and that if she did it again, they would just look at the train and go get some ice cream and be done with it, ha.


God bless Kevin's cousins Kathryn and Lisie.
Just when I had run out of steam at his grandfather's birthday party, they took her and dressed her in their dresses and jewelry and she totally loved it. She thinks they are the coolest-- like celebrities. And they're always so nice to her. I know I wouldn't have bothered with a 3 yr old when I was their age. I'm indebted.



Here Baby R is at Kevin's uncle's beautiful house up in Orinda where the party was held. If I didn't have a broken camera (and I keep losing auctions on eBay!) I would have taken more photos. But this one is Jim's movie of the bubble liquid they put in the fountain for the kids. They had a great time. It was a good party.