Next Stop: LA

After saying so long to the O.C., we continued north to LA. Our first stop was the Huntington Library in San Marino. In addition to being a library, there is a wonderful botantical garden, with Japanese, Chinese, tropical, and desert settings. It is truly a beautiful place where you could hang out all day. We had lunch there and took a stroll along the gardens. It was a really hot day and we just enjoyed being outside and resting on the grass along the way.

After the gardens we visited with Matt's cousins, Jimmy and Craig. They lived not too far away in Pasadena. They have twin sons who we had not seen in about 2 years and were amazed at how big they got! We went out to dinner at the Yard House in Pasadena. I was so glad we got to fit in this visit with them, as it was unplanned.
From Pasadena we continued on to our hotel in L.A., near LAX, where we stayed a couple of nights. The following day we ventured to Griffith Park. We met Kim and Kelan again at Travel Town, which is a train museum. Mateo likes the Thomas the Train right now so he enjoyed playing among the real things. We took a ride on the little train that goes around the park and played for a while.




Soon after Kelan had a birthday party to go to, so Matt and I took Mateo to another little train area that was just down the road. It had another train ride that we went on and we also took a short hay ride.
We continued upward and visited the Griffith Park Observatory. Matt got some great pictures of the sights and we enjoyed the views from above.

Northward bound to old stomping grounds: the OC

In San Diego we rented a car and headed north to
Orange County...in particular to Irvine - my ol' alma mater. On the way we stopped for a short visit and lunch with Mateo's great-grandparents. It was the first time they met Mateo, and I hadn't visited since my move to Oregon so it was a nice reunion. Oma made a lovely lunch, even though Mateo was too busy fascinated with all the stairs in their house! From there we continued to my friend's Diana and Doug's place where we stayed a couple of nights. Diana is newly pregnant with her first baby, so it was very exciting to see and spend time with her. They have a lovely place that has a nearby park, pool, and shopping area all within walking distance! We really never had to get the car if we didn't want to! Below you can see Mateo with their friendly dog Ezra...
That evening we had dinner at Cheesecake Factory with Diana, Doug, and our friend Sean. The next day we went to Wahoo's fish taco for lunch (one of my old local favorites that I miss in Oregon) and emptied all the stuff I had been storing in Diana's garage for the last 5 years (umm, thanks Diana - didn't mean to take that long!). In the afternoon we took Mateo to the pool. He had the best time! They have a kiddie pool especially for kiddos his size. We also blew up a floatie and took him in the big pool. That was very exciting for him!
That evening we went to an Angels baseball (my FAVE team) game with Diana, Doug, and our good friends Seanny and Charlie. It took a while for Mateo to get settled, but then he enjoyed the ballpark. We even got a beachball hit our way and Matt held up Mateo with the ball and the whole section cheered! It was a nice evening with friends...and the Angels won too! We had a lovely stay in OC, thanks Diana and Doug for letting us stay with you! Miss you already!

Family Vacation - First Stop, San Diego!

Last month, we packed up the family (ok, well, Mateo) and headed south for a tour de California! We flew to San Diego and spent time with Matt's dad and step mom in their lovely home in Encinitas. They live just a couple of miles away from Legoland, which was first on our agenda. My friends Kim and Chai, and their cutie 2-year old son Kelan, met us there for a day of fun. It was a lovely sunny day which was a welcome change from the then rainy Oregon weather. The boys had a lot of fun there! Unfortunately Mateo fell a bit short (literally) on being able to go on a lot of rides, but there was plenty else for him to do. There was a playground area, train and boat ride, and several mini cities constructed all out of Legos! And the fun didn't stop there! Just down the street are shopping outlets in Carlsbad. Kim and I took the kiddos there and dropped off Matt and Chai at a local brewery. Everyone was happy! We had a great time!

In mini Las Vegas!Mateo's first visit to the White House (sort of!)
Fun at the outlets!

We of course couldn't go to San Diego without hanging out at the beach. It was Mateo's first trip to the ocean. He loved playing in the sand, but found the ocean water a bit cold!

We spent the rest of our time in San Diego relaxing with Terry and Florie, eating great food, celebrating Cinco de Mayo, watching American Idol and basketball, and singing Cherry Pie (don't ask). We had a terrific time!

I know this may be complete new news for some of you. But just to step back a little...Matt and I are expecting our second baby - due in September - and we just found out it's going to be a girl! We are thrilled! Unlike with Mateo, we have decided on a name and are willing to share it: Elise. Maybe just for fun we'll keep the middle name a secret for now! :) Everything is going well and we're preparing Mateo for his new role as big brother!

Happy Easter!

We celebrated Mateo's second Easter by taking him to his first egg hunt. We cheated a little and took him to the 0-1 year old area because the line for the 1-2 year olds was LONG! Mateo didn't seem to mind! He was one of only a few walkers so he enjoyed being the speedy one. At first he didn't quite know what to do but quickly caught on to picking things up and putting them into his basket.
After the hunt we took him to the park so he could run around some more. He had a grand ol' time on the slide and swings, and he had his first go in a sandbox! Oh boy! We had a nice afternoon together and a wonderful Easter!

Bounce!

We had a gorgeous weekend here in Eugene. It was the first sunny and warm weekend we've had this year, so it was pretty exciting for everyone. On Saturday we took Mateo to Bounce Gymnastics. It's an open space for kiddos to tumble, play, and bounce on trampolines. Mateo seemed to have a great time running around and climbing onto whatever he could find. On Sunday Matt mowed our lawn for the first time this season and we enjoyed sitting in the sun while Mateo explored his backyard. Later that evening Matt and I had our first date in a very long time. We went out to dinner and got an ice cream cone. We even fit in an evening stroll while the sun was still out. Thanks to our friends Dan and Megan who came over to babysit! :)

Mateo's uncle Rob got this stylish hoodie on his last trip to Ireland!

Mateo's new blog

Sorry it's taken so long for me to create a new blog site. Along with everyday life holding me up, I'm also not up to speed on designing blogs, so it'll be a work in progress. Just wanted to get the site up and share it with you all. I'll be posting more pictures and giving updates on a regular basis (hopefully!).