Haircut!

We got to enjoy a really exciting Padres v. Giants baseball game last night in San Diego! We left by the seventh inning because the boys were getting really tired, but we heard on the radio that the Padres tied it up 7-7 right as we were leaving, and then we found out late last night that the Padres won it in the twelfth inning! There's no way the boys could have made it that long, so it's a good thing we left when we did. It was a really fun game, though, with at least half the stadium (or more) representing Giants fans, so it was full of noise no matter which team was doing well. So fun!

The pictures from the game also make great "before" shots of Levi, before we took him to get his first "official" haircut today! Dee took us to a kids' hair salon in Liberty Station, and it worked out perfectly for Levi and his big event. He was definitely a bit scared when he realized that something strange was going on, but as soon as he was offered a lollipop, he was good to go. He got to sit in an airplane, suck on his blue lollipop, stick his tongue out frequently to admire its new blue color in the mirror, and watch a Disney movie on TV, all while getting a very nice and very thorough 'do. Seriously, the lollipop made the whole thing possible. He also got to pick out a toy from the treasure chest before we got started, and he was in love with his pink airplane covered in hearts. All while dressed head to toe in blue and wearing the same Padres shirt that he's had on for over 24 hours (he even insisted on sleeping in it last night). Such the Renaissance man.

Before the haircut began, but already loving the lollipop.

And I'm loving all of this Levi face; I swear I feel like I haven't really seen his face properly in about a year. Or his ears. We're really noticing his ears.

Okay, well, I actually also am in love with this look. I was very tempted to request a proper pompadour at this point; very Rockabilly cool. Maybe next time ;)

I'm glad he was amenable to the hairdrying, I wasn't sure if this might push him over the edge since he isn't a fan of loud things.

Cute boy!! Check out that blue mouth and the airplane in his right hand.

Handsome man. This is pre-pomade...

And here he is all slicked back, giving me one final show of the blue tongue. He seriously looks so cute, the woman who cut his hair did a great job. Jared feels like Levi doesn't look as much like him anymore without the big hair, and it's true that he doesn't look the same...it's been fun getting a real look at his face!

Spotted Bass

Parker caught this spotted bass all by himself in the San Diego Bay last weekend, on his first cast as we headed back to the launch ramp after dinner with Dee and Niki. We were all so proud of him! I think we gave him a round of applause.

Lake Nacimiento

After our first camping trip was blown right out of the water (literally), we spent a couple of relaxing days at home and then wondered where on earth to go next. We decided to check out a lake that we had never been to before, Lake Nacimiento, near Paso Robles. 

"We" forgot Levi's fishing pole at home, and as soon as he realized this (about an hour or two into our six-hour drive), we began promising him that we would buy him a new one as soon as we got to "the store." Who knew that there are no Target's (or anything remotely similar) along the I-5 between north of here and anywhere? Well, thank goodness the camp store at the lake had one fishing pole in stock, and thank goodness that Levi couldn't care less that it was a pink Barbie pole. He was plenty happy to have a brand new fishing pole. 

Momma caught the first fish, and it was her only fish. I really need to get a new hat.

Parker filling up his squirt gun in the bait tank. 

Our campsite, with a view of the lake in the background. The lake was at less than 50% capacity, so the water would have been much closer to our campsite if it was closer to full. 

That's our Levi. Black eye, no front teeth, food all over his face, messy hair, hat askew. I think we should have named him Bruiser. Or Chuck.

The boys couldn't wait until dark to start our fire and roast marshmallows our first night. 

As soon as Levi woke up on our first morning, he insisted on making himself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It kills me to watch him try to spread the peanut butter without intervening, especially since it's that "natural" peanut butter that hasn't been genetically engineered to spread easily.

Drinking hot chocolate with a spoon...

You can see this house's private dock splayed high and dry on the rocks here...too bad the water line wasn't as high as it could be!

Jared with his bass...

Parker caught the biggest white bass of the trip...he was so happy.

Levi looks a little skeptical of his catch. He loved touching the fish, though.

It was fun to fish within sight of cows...that's a change for us! 

Now here is how I want to be camping, in a vintage yet perfectly restored travel trailer. How come no one is on board this train to daydream town with me?

Momma.

Happy boy.

Silly boy.

Jared helped both boys fish with a new kind of lure.

Levi waking up on our second morning. I promise, the toilet paper roll was for wiping his nose, the campground was furnished with perfectly functional toilets.

Daddy and Parker reeling 'em in on our last morning.

Big fat bass.

Picacho State Recreation Area

We've wanted to check out the camping/boating/fishing on the Colorado River for a long time, so we headed out to Picacho State Recreation Area at the beginning of Parker's spring break. It's located just north of Yuma, on the California/Arizona border, and is on the Lower Colorado River. We figured that this would be a good time of year to go there, since the temperatures would still be fairly nice before it starts to get as hot as 120 degrees in the summer. We thought that there might not be much to do in this spot without some kind of a boat to get out on the water and fish, but learned that Jared's fishing boat wouldn't be suited for this part of the river, and knew that fishing in the kayaks with the kids wouldn't really be possible. So, on the day that we were planning to head out to the river, we picked up a small plastic boat at West Marine and drove way far away to Bonita to buy an outboard motor that we saw listed for sale on Craigslist. Needless to say, by the time we had made all of our purchases, it was too late to head out on our trip. Luckily, we were able to stay with Dee and Niki in Point Loma for a night, and then start our trip the next morning. 

Our camp site was about an hour and 45 minute drive down a dirt road, and the scenery was really pretty. The place where we camped had four designated camp sites right on a beach, but the sites are literally on top of each other, and the beach was very small. There was no one else there when we arrived, but by dusk two truck loads of guys arrived and camped next to us. Despite being bummed that we weren't going to be camping alone, we really lucked out that the people who arrived were really nice--if they had been drunk and loud and obnoxious, it would have been a serious nightmare. 

We were able to get the boat out on the river for a little exploring before sunset. The current was moving pretty quickly, although I wouldn't call it "swift." The boat handled fine, but I was still a little nervous about the current since it's something I'm not really familiar with. The mosquitos were about as bad as we expected, and although we made an effort to cover up and use bug repellant, by the time we got back home from our trip we realized that we were all bitten nonetheless. Parker seems to be the yummiest member of the family, and is covered in bites on his hands, lower legs, and hairline (pretty much everywhere that was exposed). Luckily the bites don't seem to bother him too much, and he didn't swell up like he has in the past. 

Sadly, we only camped one night before heading home; when we woke up in the morning, a fierce wind began to build until we were being full-on assaulted by a dust storm. The other group of campers hurriedly packed up and left, and we did the same. When the sand began to blow too hard, I'd stick the kids in the car while we packed. After we were pretty much packed up, the wind died down enough to head out on the river one more time. Jared caught two largemouth bass, the first fish he's ever caught on the Colorado River. We headed back to shore as the wind began to pick up again, concerned by the haze that covered the horizon in the distance, obscuring the mountains like fog, guessing that it was probably sand blowing on a really large scale. This confirmed our decision to call it quits, and we headed back out the long dirt road to the highway. We drove home along the 8 in the strongest winds and craziest sand storm I've ever seen in my life. When we got home, I read in the news that winds had gusted in the deserts over 80 mph. It was truly amazing, and bad timing for a camping trip! We've got the second half of the spring break week to fill now, so we're trying to figure out what our next adventure will be.

On the drive out there:

Parker playing Angry Birds...

... and Levi is a goofball. He loves making "tents" and forts at home, and put this towel over himself in the car, then asked for me to give him books to look at under there.

I modified his tent for him a little bit so he had a little more breathing room :)

The dirt road out to the Recreation Area. I wish I would have taken the time to take more photos along the drive, it was actually really pretty.

The beach in front of our camp site, along with our new boat and motor :) Fishing soon upon our arrival.

My six year old boy! I love this picture of Parker :)

I'm glad we bought some oars just in case :)

Not the best picture of Levi, but the only picture of mommy :)

It's a small boat...try to picture me in there along with the boys...

Jared's first fish caught on the Colorado River, a largemouth bass.

And here we are on the way home: 

Parker playing Angry Birds...

...and Levi's second improvised "tent."

Here's a video of our drive home--seriously crazy wind and blowing sand (who knew that I could say "oh my god" so many times in one minute??):

It's no wonder we had to cut our camping trip short!