Swimming

Day 2 was spent mostly in the water. The boys and I were up [too] early and in the pool by 7:00. After about three hours, we took a break during the main heat of the day. In the late afternoon we headed out on the dock to see the ocean.

Checking out the boat tied to our dock

Then back to the pool. Finn accidentally stepped off the last step in the pool and discovered he can swim (with his floatie). He ran around yelling, “I can swim; I learnded it this day!!!” They could have stayed there for a couple more hours, but we wanted to go inside before the mosquitos arrived.

In the pool

Happy Finn

Happy Ezra

For Jerri

This one's for Jerri

If the store at the Belize airport that carries this t-shirt hadn’t been closed, you would have had a new item for your wardrobe.

Three Planes, a Van and a Boat

Yesterday was day 1 of our trip to Belize and was a full day of travel: Palm Springs to Dallas, Dallas to Belize City, Belize City to Ambergris Caye, then a van around town and finally on a boat to our home for the next two weeks. The boys were really good travelers (apart from a little craziness in the Belize airport).

On the first plane:

Finn checks out the in-flight magazine

The third plane was a small one — I’d never been on a plane this small. It was a little rough at first but overall a very smooth flight with beautiful views.

Our last plane

Finn, Ezra and me on the small plane

On the way to the island.  Wow.

Once we landed in San Pedro, the kids were excited to see this enormous aquarium (with a little shark in it).

Cool aquarium at the San Pedro airport

We were driven around town for a while gathering supplies (and trying, fruitlessly, to buy dinner for that evening) and then went to the boat that would take us to our house. Across from the dock was this super cool fence that was painted to look like colored pencils.

Pencil fence!

Then Armando and his crew took us “home.” The boat ride was very calm at first but then he went much faster when we got into open water. Finn was not too excited about it and kept telling me, “He should slow down this boat!” He even attempted to tell Armando, but it was too loud.

On the boat to the island with Armando and his helpers

And, finally, we arrived and the whole day just became worth it:

Our pool.  This is the view from our front porch.

Warner Springs with the Heffernans

We went to Warner Springs this weekend with the Heffernans and had a blast. There was swimming, hiking, pony rides, and — after the kiddies went to sleep — card-playing and wine-drinking. We saw a rattlesnake on our hike at Indian Flats — it slithered across the trail right between Jerri and me. Scared us to death. Jerri did the polka and I lost my mind and ran away (stupidly right into the dried grassy area it had come from). We’d never survive in the wild.

The slideshow below shows our Pajama Hike on day 1, the hike to Indian Flats on day 2, sprayer wars and rest time, then pony rides, ice cream sandwiches, spider web making, and finally our failed attempt to find Pena Spring.

This is my favorite shot from the trip (from our Indian Flats hike).

Here’s the slideshow:

Warner Springs

On the second weekend of Jokke and Merja’s visit to California, we went to Warner Springs Ranch for Friday and Saturday night. We had a big group potluck dinner (cooking on camping stoves) and the kids basically all went crazy. Finn really enjoyed his first s’more.

The next morning, we attempted a hike (Hellhole Canyon, I believe), which started out pleasant enough — Ezra and Jokke started off walking together and later bonded over a walking stick; Finn was content in the carrier.

But, it turned out the route was way too ambitious for Ezra, Finn and Thomas. We got about 100 yards in when all the little ones started to melt down a bit. It was already kind of warm, and little guys are not all that concerned with the delayed gratification that would come had we made it in to where the water was. Oh well. Vanessa and I headed back to the trailhead with the kids, while Bruce and Bob went on with Jokke and Merja. The boys were much happier to just play in the cars for a while before we headed back to the Ranch. Finn and Ezra found a rope and played pirates and fisherman in the back of our car (“Man overboard!!!”).

Back at the ranch, we took the boys for pony rides which were thoroughly enjoyed.

Finn looks a little worried here as the guide adjusts the stirrups for the ride, but he settled in and had a good time.

After some time in the hot pool (for the grownups) and cold pool (for the kids), we had dinner at the Mexican buffet, which was surprisingly not terrible. The entertainment was a young Mariachi group and the kids loved it. Finn was basically sleep-walking through the evening since he’d had a big day with about 15 minutes of nap time. We gave the boys a group bath, which was pretty cute.

After that, the boys and I passed out (Finn went from, “I not tired!” to sound asleep in less than a minute), while Bruce visited sleepily with Jokke, Merja, Bob and Vanessa. I think the whole lot of us was asleep by 9:30 — the sign of a good day.

Day Trip to San Diego

We headed down to San Diego yesterday to visit Bob, Vanessa, and Thomas.  The seven of us took the trolley to down town where there was a Chinese New Year celebration happening.  Needless to say, Ezra enjoyed seeing the dragons.  We had a great time, and it was super fun to see the three littlest Moisions playing together.  Here are some pics.

Finn on the trolley

Ezra and Uncle Bob on the trolley

Finn was happy to see Aunt "Nessa"

Ezra spotted this dragon in one of the booths

Finn delights in chasing Thomas