last weekend, and last-last weekend

in a cage fight, between last weekend and last-last weekend, i think i know who would emerge victorious... but, you tell me.

last-last weekend:

we took the boys to the san francisco zoo.  they had fun.  we had fun.  we took family photos and looked toward the camera.  we saw a hippo, both in and out of the water.  we got souvenir pennies.  and rode a speedy little train.  we stared (sort of endlessly) at a colony of peacocks and admired their confidence.  we were not stalked by the snow leopard.  (that part was important.  the sacramento zoo snow leopard has us on its "if-i-ever-get-out-of-this-enclosure-i'm-gonna-eat-you" list.)  

good times.  see below.

 

last weekend:  

we took the boys miniature golfing.  for the first time.  ever.  

i blame saturday's good weather.  and the 7+ days of amoxicillin.  combined, they created a sense of invincibility.

as the photos may indicate, we had no interest in observing the rules of miniature golf.  

we did not keep score.  we did not line up the ball.  we sometimes swung the club like a baseball bat.  we sometimes clocked our little brother in the head.  we yelled into the lights that looked like megaphones.  

on the bright side, we made it through all 18 holes.  we did not cut into anyone else's game.  we didn't throw any of the balls.  we didn't recall any of the many episodes of america's funniest home videos where someone gets hit in the groin with a golf club, and try to re-enact it.  

i think we get bonus credit for that last one.  

and super-bonus credit because we learned something new.  we forgot (temporarily) that this type of activity might be really hard for us, and we did it anyway...

so, maybe, we have a tie.

under the boardwalk... down by the seeeeeaaaaa

there are probably all kinds of guilt. religious guilt. done-someone-wrong guilt. ate-all-your-child's-halloween-candy guilt. and those are all pretty rocky, and maybe even, vomit-inducing... but one form of guilt that i cannot seem to fall asleep through is the your-kid-missed-out guilt.

isaac told his teachers before school let out that we were going to legoland this summer. despite isaac's power of positive thinking strategy, we had no such plans. i laughed it off, but inside i worried. is a summer break really a summer break without a momentous excursion? probably. but just in case, i wasn't going to let guilt get the last laugh.

i was beginning to weigh various day trips when i was talking to k one afternoon. she suggested santa cruz beach boardwalk. her kids love it. top three selling points: beach, crazy rides, and garlic fries.

** i hadn't been to the boardwalk since i was about 15. and my family went one summer during a weeklong camping trip. yep. i said weeklong camping. on that trip i ended up with 19 mosquito bites ON MY FACE. 19. it was like vacation leprosy. it cannot be overstated that i do not like camping.**

k was planning to take her boys this past friday, and we decided to make it a two-car caravan.

the ride down, including 3 pit stops, went very smoothly. the boys like car travel. ragain likes listening to the radio. and i like eating chips and buttery pretzels. (crunch, crunch, crunch)

when we finally arrived at the boardwalk parking lot, jacob didn't want to get out. he said he wanted to stay in the car and take a nap. the trip took an abrupt nosedive. we convinced him to get out after a few minutes, but i was a little concerned. i hoped he would get into it once we started riding the rides...

first, family photo to prove we made it to our destination and were all still claiming to be related. in reviewing the photos, i realized i looked like a man. image omitted.

ride #1: ghost blasters. lucas and i ride together. he screams for the entire ride. i tell myself that the 19 mosquito bites were still infinitely worse.

next, the twins ride their first roller coaster. isaac buries his head in one of k's son's shoulders during the scary bits. but still, when he and jacob get off the ride, they look completely exhilarated. lucas looks jealous.

rides, rides, rides.

lucas and i foray into the world of dippin' dots. we're converted and have blue-stained mouths.

rides, rides, rides.

i almost have heart-failure as isaac and jacob soar over my head in the "superman" ride.

log ride. we get SOAKED!!! lucas looks like he wants his money back.

i scream like a maniac during the tilt-a-whirl ride. worse, i try to regain my composure over and over again by pointing out the ocean to the kids. then, the screams bubble out of my mouth again and the kids spend the rest of the ride imitating me saying, "look, the ocean. mmmmmm- aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!!"

while putting lucas on a helicopter ride, the band, flock of seagulls, begins a beachside performance. no, seriously.

we dash out to the beach for a quick slosh in the waves, but by this time it's after 8 and freezing out in the sand. we run back to the boardwalk for several helpings of fries, and ok, maybe one corndog.

mmm fries...don't mind if i do...

lava-hot fries!

yikes!

we trudge reluctantly back to the parking lot with a warm bag of cinnamon glazed almonds jacob wants to be carried. he cries as he looks back at all the winking lights. then, kisses ragain's face, strokes his arm, and says, "thanks for bringing me."

isn't summer so good?

great expectations

if you don't think that sometimes the expectation of something is just as good, if not better, that the actual delivery. you have:

a. never ordered take-out

b. never bought shoes online

c. never seen this photo of lucas, waiting for fireworks...




we had a very nice fourth of july. little bit of sleeping in. quick visit with k and her family before their vacation departure. (so sad. i had a lump in my throat when we left. that might make me slightly pathetic.) bbq chicken, mound of potato salad, corn on the cob and strawberry shortcake with ragain's parents. watched fireworks in old roseville with the same sweet family who hosted us last year. we thanked them by breaking a glow stick and spilling it all over their blanket. see you next fourth!!(?)

in bad taste

sometimes monday is like a crushed baby aspirin in honey. surrounded by thick sweetness, and kind of gag-inducing. i feel like you might know what i mean.

you know, usually, mondays seem especially awful when you had a particularly enjoyable weekend. which we did.

shall we cover the bad news first? the weekend was bookended by two very unfortunate incidents. friday afternoon: the stomach-knotting school meeting. (p.s. i think the crossed fingers may have worked as far as keeping my composure. p.p.s. i didn't call anyone any names out loud.) sunday night after 11pm: the discovery of a presentation/project for jacob due this morning (!). please insert fist-shaking.

on to the highlights:

1) tried to take the boys to burr's for what we (still) hoped would become a new ice-cream-filled family tradition. when we announced our destination, isaac cried, "but we already went there!" bewildered by any manner of ice cream-refusal, i asked him where he wanted to go, and he said, "mc donald's". please insert rant against commercialism and shrek-soaked marketing.-- oops, fake highlight.

2) dropped off some long overdue information packets and 3 bags of donation items. i am now 37 pounds lighter and no longer screening my calls from uc davis.

3) went to the dump with k. this was more fun than a truck bed full of carpet tacks. so literally. also, if you're ever in need of some undivided attention, make an all-girl trip to the dump. "have a nice day, ladies." "don't work too hard today, ladies." "you drive safe, ladies." in my head, i hear barry white saying that, but that's not really accurate.

4) davis ranch market in sloughhouse. i love this place. and i love watching it fill up with more and more awesome produce. it's almost corn festival time ! meet you there!

5) swim. swim. swimming. i didn't swim. but my boys sure did. thanks for hosting swim time (twice!), k. maybe i'll make it into the pool, myself, before the summer ends.


goggled jacob

6) bowling at strikes! i pulled something. and fell down. and i wasn't even bowling. i am so uncoordinated, i should wear reflective tape. but, you know what was strange? i wanted to bowl. like really wanted to! and i used to HATE bowling. or maybe i hated the inevitable rear view that bowling offered. whatever the case, i now have bowling fever. as does lucas. bowling league, anyone? no. seriously.


isaac and i, hoping for a strike!


lucas, future bowling league captain.

7) saturday night trip to whole foods followed by diligent baking efforts with a new cupcake recipe... and the results proved, sometimes it's all about the journey. (good thing we had pita chips.)

8) isaac's uncanny impersonations. the details are not family-friendly enough for this blog...

9) lucas saying, "i love you, mom." without prompting, when i first woke up. (he has said "i love you" before, but only in reply and never with my name attached.) it made for a very good morning.

10) family sing-along to this song.