This guy wins Dad of the Year on this vacation. While I went shopping with Noni, Peter rented the infamous four person bike with the kids. And then proceeded to pedal it on his own. Winner! Winner! Dad O’the Year!
Tag: blog
Sunset on the Beach
The last night in San Diego, the light was amazing. It was an overcast day, but still a little sunny…it was strange but in a good way. It made for some spectacular pictures:
No filter, no special settings.
This is my favorite. Do you see the sun in the very top of the frame?
The Beach
We always have a ball at the beach and this year was no exception. Each year keeps getting better as the kids get older and they’re able to do new things.
Both of them are crazy for the water. They like to run into it, swim, dive, fall over, run from it and repeat. As Baylor and I were holding hands and jumping over the waves that rolled our way, I asked her if she wanted to try boogie boarding (body boarding? I don’t know what the kids are calling it these days). I love to go out on the boogie board. As kids, we spent hours sitting, watching, waiting, riding and paddling back out. We learning which waves were the good ones, when to catch them and how to ride all the way to the sand. Being on a board in the cold, salty water on a hot day are some of my most favorite childhood memories.
“Should we go get the boogie board and give it a try?”
“No. We should wait for daddy.”
“No because there’s a chance daddy won’t let us do it so let’s go get it now.”
A few whiny minutes later, I convinced her to lay out on the board between waves. As she began to protest, I shoved her and the board into a breaking wave and then watched in awe as she rode it all the way to the shore. When the board stopped, she waited a second before jumping up. She turned and looked at me with the biggest, toothless smile and screamed “LET’S DO IT AGAIN!!!!!!!!!”. Which we did. For the next 2 hours and then for hours more the next day.
Ahhhh. Such a gorgeous day!
She may have my eyes and hair, but she has her daddy’s walk
Getting brave….
Loving every moment!
(She also lost another tooth. What is it about vacation and losing teeth with this kid?!)
Someone else wanted in on the action
Auggie! Let’s build a sand castle! Let me take your picture while you work. Auggie. Auggie! Over here!
Auggs! Auggie! Just one picture!
Ok I lied. One picture where you don’t look so pissed off.
Ok thank you! As you were.
Sharks? SHARKS?!
Phew. Just a pod of dolphins.
Break Time
Whew. It’s been a long couple of weeks. Auggie boy has decided to drop that whole sleeping through the night thing and wake up multiple times a night and then for good by about 5am. I’m barely sane with a full night’s rest. Give me multiple nights of no more than a few hour of consecutive sleep AND no end in sight? Holy moly. It’s not pretty. Picture me and another mom standing outside of the preschool, barely holding back tears as we carefully and in great detail describe all the things we’ve been doing to get our 23 month olds to sleep longer and later. Teeth? Reflux? Growth spurt? Backout shades? Humidifier? Sound machine? Temperature? And couple the crabby exhausted toddler with a sassy five year old who knows how to push her momma’s buttons and you’ve got yourself a recipe for a major mommy meltdown. And melt I did.
I’ve come to learn as an adult, that I’m not great at taking a break. I’m really good at digging in when the going gets tough, which is not exactly a good thing.
I remember about a week after Auggie was born, Peter announced that Grandma was coming to watch the kids and we were going out. Going out?! Going OUT?? Who’s going out? Us?? Where? How?? But he insisted. We drove to the mall, walked around a little, sat and ate cupcakes, talked without being interrupted. It was maybe two hours, but it was a break that I so desperately needed but didn’t know it.
Which is why it was so good we planned our annual trip to San Diego months ago. Reservations were booked. Dog boarding set up. We were going despite the fact that it was one of the busiest weeks ever. End of the month billing for me, closing time for Peter, Parent’s Night at school, back to school meetings, and on and on. The beauty of San Diego though is that you don’t need much and anything you forget is easily replaced. That said, our crew still takes a lot of gear…as I surveyed the living room that was piled high with the beach wagon, sand toys, umbrellas, suitcases, wine, snacks, pack n play, both joggers and a bunch of other crap that I can’t even remember, I decided if we didn’t have it, we’d figure it out.
We piled into the truck and we were off! And despite the fact that Auggie still didn’t sleep well until the LAST NIGHT of vacation, it was the break we all needed but didn’t know it. Auggie has decided to start sleeping better. Baylor has decided not to try to push mommy to the point of needing a straight jacket. Grandma took Auggie for a day and gave me *gasp* 6 whole hours to myself (which I spent working…but at least it was without distraction!). We’re going to survive. Thank goodness for the beach.
Sophia’s Amulet Popciles
Oh man. If you have kids who watch Sophia the First and or anything on Disney Junior, I’m sure you’ve seen, heard and been asked about Sophia’s Amulet Popsicle. I gave into the pressure and so we set out to get all our ingredients and supplies – which was an adventure in itself.
Our overall experience was a good one. However, those jerks over at Disney make the supply list sound like a walk in the park; “fill an oval shaped ice cube tray”. Who the hell has an oval shaped ice cube tray handy?? More over, where do you find such a thing? Same goes for the popsicle molds – they have horizontal, flat molds. Which are impossible to find unless you want to spend $20 on Amazon. Arg.
So, we improvised. We used on sale, grocery store molds for both the pops and the amulets. We filled the ice cube trays less than half way to make small amulets. Then after the popsicle were set, I pulled them out, laid them flat on some foil, put the amulets on and then back into the freezer. Turns out after the first round, Auggie did not like the amulets and Baylor was content to eat them separately so I call it a win!
If you want to try them out on your own, here’s the link:
http://cdn.dolimg.com/magic-of-healthy-living/pdf/recipes/disneydishes_sofiapopsicles.jpg
Happy chefs
Not too shabby, huh?
Row Row Row Your Boat
This summer in Montana, we decided to try rafting down the Yellowstone River. Peter, was so completely opposed to going, it was laughable. He said that the rafters screw up the fishing for any anglers on the river and he did not want to participate in ruining someone’s day fishing. There was also the big question if it was safe enough for Baylor and for her buddy M to go. Wild West Rafting Company assured us that the girls would have a blast. And did they deliver – for everyone! We had such a great time, we went back for two more white water trips and each time we had a ball.
The ONE thing about the rafting that killed me is that you can’t (or shouldn’t) take your camera or even phone. You get soaked while rafting and there’s a chance you could fall in – or jump in and go for a swim in the calm sections. Thankfully, Wild West thought of that and they snap group pictures before your float and then hike down and snap action pictures down the river. Love. Love. Love.
The girls were a little freaked out…
![IMG_5420[1]](https://thegoonroom.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/img_54201.jpg)
And ten seconds later, they were both up front, begging to “ride the bull” which is sitting on the front of the boat, legs over the bow, holding onto a strap.
![IMG_5446[1]](https://thegoonroom.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/img_54461.jpg)
B was also the second over the side of the boat for a (voluntary) swim!
Our last trip included our niece and nephew, my sister Ali and her mother in law, Vicki. Who was terrified but thankfully was loving it by the first rapid!
She was so pumped to have an oar
Don’t let the fact that B was covering her face fool you – she just didn’t want her face wet
Quinoa “Oatmeal”
I came across a recipe for a breakfast dish made with quinoa when looking for the Princess Sophia Amulet Popsicles (if you have a daughter, you know). I made some adjustments to the recipe to make it less for kids and more for adults and it is delicious!! I made a bunch so I’ve been able to have a quick, healthy breakfast all week.
1 Cup Quinoa, cooked
1/4 Cup Chia seeds
2/3 Cup Coconut milk
1/4 Cup water
Big handful of chopped, dried cherries
1/8 Cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 Cup slivered almonds
2 Tsp honey
2 Bananas – smashed
1 1/2 Cups fresh blueberries
Cook quinoa according to the box. Mix remaining ingredients together and taste for added ingredients. Refrigerate over night and add with additional strawberries, blueberries and or bananas. Enjoy!
Head ‘Em Up
The last week in MT, PW and I snuck out for some horseback riding. It’s always been my favorite thing to do and I just can’t wait until B is ready to hit the open fields with us.
My step brother, Mike, was planning to take us on a gorgeous trail ride up to an old saw mill. I’ve been there once before and it’s really gorgeous riding up and there’s a Sound of Music moment at the top of the mountain that would make anyone sing about the hills being alive.
As we headed out, we noticed four cows across the road headed away from the ranch. So our plans changed to go round up some cattle and get them back to the right pasture. Which is a bonus for me because there’s a lot more action moving cows.
The blue blue sky with the yellow grass is gorgeous!
Finally some pictures of me on a horse where I don’t look like a man
PW working hard
A few hours, 5ish miles and 13 pairs of cows later – everyone was back where they were supposed to be!
Last First Day
I can’t believe that this is Baylor’s LAST First Day of Preschool picture! I told her that I sneak into her room when she’s asleep and squish her head and feet together to try to shrink her. I can’t believe this little face will be shipping off to kindergarten next year. 
And this guy? This guy will be having his first day on his second birthday in October. When meeting his teachers, they squealed they were so excited. He’s so lucky that he has such a cool big sister to pave the way for him. All the teachers wanted B’s little bro in their class.
Yellowstone Adventures
Our Yellowstone adventure as a group of 7 looked more like the Griswalds headed to Wally World. We were packed into our rental SUV…but still, 7 people is a lot to squish into one vehicle. Not to mention Auggie was a particularly unhappy camper that day. We also imposed a “no electronics rule”. No iphone or ipad games. We were in nature, dammit. And everyone was going to look out the window and enjoy it by God.
We also had a loaned “Audio Tour through Yellowstone” CD. It. Was. Awesome. Mostly because for every feature that it described, it usually included a cautionary tale that was less cautionary for us and much more hilarious. It went something like:
And that brings me to the story of little Andy Shmandy from Portland Oregon and his dog Moosey. While visiting Noris Gysier, Moosey left the boardwalk and jumped into one of the boiling pools. Andy, defied those around that were trying to restrain him and jumped in after Moosey. He was able to climb out, but was severely burned over 90% of his body. While first responders were removing his clothing, his skin came off with it. He was transported to Salt Lake City where he later died. His last words were “that was pretty stupid, huh?”.
No really. I’m not making it up.
The stories were so gruesome, they were hilarious. We were sure to remind each other often about each victim often. Stay on the boardwalk kids! You don’t want to be the next Andy Shmandy!
Warning: picture overload ahead
I love that you immediately see elk when you drive into the park. They are really really close to the cars and you realize how big these guys are.
(Side note: run fast little elkies! Please don’t come home to my home in the stuffed form!)
First stop: Noris geysers. But first, a warning illustration. Who the hell draws these?
Everyone of these pools is hotter than the boiling point of water. But they don’t bubble because of the altitude. The color comes from a special form of bacteria that only survives in super hot water.
It’s like the surface of the moon
We caught one of the geysers going off
The Griswalds Do Yellowstone!
Not the happiest camper….
But he does like a camera so that helps – take a look at his shoes. He loves them because they look just like “dada’s”, but he wears them between his second toes!
“Pose in front of the boiling hot water!!”
The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone is amazing. The only problem is that it never looks real in pictures. The dads win parent of the year award for carrying each girl UP the 200+ steps from the bottom of the canyon. Jeff still can’t feel his shoulder. Auggie fell asleep in the car so someone had to hang back and nap with him. I was happy to fill that position.
These two kill me.
Can you see the lip gloss on her eyes??
We did pretty well with the wildlife sightings. This guy was just off the road scratching his head on a tree. It was awesome. 
We passed a horse drawn wagon. Some go out for tours, others for overnight camp outs and they are original to the park.
The wildfire devastation is still very visible. Some is very old – from the fires in the late 80’s. Some is more recent. I was really surprised to learn that they don’t thin the forest to prevent large fires. They found after the “Summer of Fire” that a lot of the pine cones will only open when introduced to the extreme heat of forest fires, thus self regenerating the forest. 
Baylor and Morgan had the way back seat to themselves. They are fold down seats so they were a little isolated in the back. At one point they asked the moms for lip gloss. We made the mistake of not asking for it back. Eventually we looked back and realized they had “done” their hair and used some of the lip gloss as eye shadow. Then they passed out.
The Goon Room 
