Ciao

We spent almost two weeks on the Italian Riviera, first in Levanto, then Genova and Borghetto Santo Spirito and finally Cassigheno. The first half of the trip we were on our own and the second half we were with Garett's warm family.

Highlights:

Renting a car and by a happy accident getting a sporty, speedy Alfa Romeo

Renting bikes for a day

Spending most of our time at the beach

Eating gelato at least once and sometime twice a day

Daily happy hour with tasty beverages watching the sun drop into the sea

Eating tasty pizza and focaccia

Our teeny two bedroom attic apartment just one house from the beach

Garett meeting a fellow man-of-the-sea, Tore, who took us fishing

Renting a boat, anchoring off Bonassola and swimming in the crisp Mediterranean Sea with my boys

Gobs and gobs of sea glass

These are photos from Levanto.

More Preschool

Wyatt's teacher shared more pictures from the semester and these are my favorites. Most of these need no explanation but I will point out that he does have a lamb on a leash below and my boy likes to dress up almost as much as Lady Gaga.

Herding Cats

Wyatt went to his first "soccer practice" today and I loved being a spectator as Garett was the participating parent. There was a lot of picking up the ball and I couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt that we don't own a soccer ball. Or basketball or football or baseball or any kind of ball used for sports. Does croquet count? We have twelve shovels and 300 books but not much sporting equipment.

I so don't want to get into the whole soccer-every-Saturday-with-at-least-one-weekly-evening-practice thing but I can kind of see the draw.

The Small Zoo

We visited the "small zoo" today. When compared to the SF zoo or the San Diego zoo, it really is quite modest. I love it because Wyatt can run around to his heart's content and see every animal six times.

So far, so good for spring break. Wyatt and I are having fun adventures and we're enjoying the change of pace.

Long Lizards

My boys love finding lizards in the backyard. The past couple of days we've found some pretty cool ones and Wyatt even caught one that we're calling an alligator lizard. Wyatt and I both have spring break this week although I am expecting more "spring" than "break". I'm not sure how I'm going to do with the lizard catching and spider grabbing but I just have to make it until 5pm when Garett saves the day.

Happy Easter

This has been a meaningful week. Our church held a communion service on Thursday, a Tenenbrae service on Friday night and a very special Easter service this morning. God faithfully met me during these beautifully symbolic gatherings. This Easter I've been struck over and over by the fact that Jesus chose to suffer. I have heard this often over the years and especially at Easter but this year the reality of that choice sunk deep into my heart and mind. A path of suffering was chosen so the world could experience that Jesus is Lord. I just can't fathom the depth of this love but it moves me. This morning we sang the hymn In Christ Alone and I could not agree more.

We had brunch with friends this morning and an egg hunt later.

Such a cute and fun family.

Checking out the plunder.

Firefighters and Mostly Kindness

We had some fun yesterday. Wyatt's teacher coordinated to have the firefighters bring their truck and do a presentation in his class. I got to run over after my class to be part of it and see Wyatt's joy.

Then we stopped for frozen yogurt because Wyatt was kind to his friends at school (well, "mostly kind", according to him) and we love to eat our yogurt on this bright orange bench outside the barbershop. Am I the only one who thinks it's awesome when your child starts spelling words letter by letter and you get stumped at the end when he says, "What does that spell, Mommy?" because you aren't quite ready to introduce the particular word to his vocabulary?

Happy Pre-Easter

We went to an Easter party with friends this morning and Wyatt had a blast. We glued tissue paper to the amazing windows in the house, hunted for Easter eggs and ate yummy treats.

Happiest Place on Earth: Part Two

Last night we took Wyatt to see Rio at the drive in. We took him when he was 2.5 months old but this time was much more fun. And a bit more crowded. We brought Ruby so all four of us were cozy in the 5 foot bed of Garett's truck.

Wyatt caught my enthusiasm and could hardly contain himself as we drove to the theatre. I love to be with him when he is beyond excited about something. Last night it was the macaw movie but it's always something. It might be going on an ogre (pronounced oogre) hunt or finding a "kind of scary spider" under a block on the side of the house. He does not hold back his joy and I am reminded that he is my boy.

It was a crisp night and we watched the coastal fog slowly roll in to hide the bright stars. Wyatt is going through a very demonstrably thankful phase. He must have thanked us ten times for taking him to the drive in and asked when we could go back as we pulled out of the lot. I'm glad he likes the drive in because it's going to be a regular family outing whether he likes it or not.

I posted a couple pretty bad pictures from my camera but one is Wyatt in the car on the way to the movie. Can you see his excitement? The other is Garett blowing up the mattress with Wyatt anticipating the family cuddle to come.

Happy Sixteenth

My mom's having a big birthday this year. I won't tell you which one but Wyatt does accidentally call it her sixteenth and my mom could not be more delighted. We took a walk on the Montana de Oro bluffs and had Noi's thai food for lunch. We also got a sitter so that we could enjoy a leisurely dinner with appetizers and dessert at Windows on the Water.

Here are my boys doing a little stretching.

Happy birthday, Mom. We love you.

A New Era

Tonight Wyatt and I went to the movie theatre together for the first time. We put our Jamba Juice smoothies in my purse while we walked in and watched Hop which is nothing to write home about but was decently entertaining.

Wyatt was hilarious using his loud whisper voice to profusely thank me for bringing him to the movie throughout the course of the movie.

Garett's in Santa Cruz for the weekend fishing and helping his sister move. Today he caught a 20 pound salmon and I can't wait to eat sashimi and grilled salmon this week.

Last Week

We had a hot spell last week and spent some time running through a sprinkler in the front yard. Wyatt is going through a stage where he loves being naked. All was well until our neighbor walked over to say hello and Wyatt marched up to her, thrust his naked hips forward and said, "Do you see my big penis?" He then proceeded to pee on the sidewalk and narrowly missed her feet.

We also had a nice trip to the beach in Cayucos. Much to my surprise, it appears that Wyatt is no longer in the dirt-eating phase. Finally.