Maya and Nolan's blog: Papa and Nonnie

Last week, we took a trip to California to visit Papa and Nonnie!! Maya and Nolan have become such good travelers and really did a great job on our 8-9 hour trip. They even do a pretty good job with the time change. Anyway, when we got to Ramona not only did Papa and Nonnie have lots of hugs and kisses for Maya and Nolan....they also had presents! The kids have become present experts after Christmas and their birthday, so they knew just what to do.

Here is Maya opening up her first present...The Very Hungry Caterpillar book!

Nonnie read it to the kids right away.

Storytime! Nolan opened up a cute book called "Spoon" which was ready many times as well.

They also got these play snakes which Papa wiggled and jiggled at them. Hee hee!

Haa haa! Silly snake!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar was the buildup to these beautiful blankets that Nonnie made for the kids! They look the same on the top, but the bottoms have different backings and are personalized so the kids will always know which one is theirs. They are so cute and fit right in the kids cribs/toddler beds. Right now they make fun blankets to sit on and crawl on.

We also worked in a trip to the San Diego Zoo during our visit. This picture was so funny...Darin wanted me to put it in. This camel was mesmerizing to Nolan. He didn't care that Mommy was trying to take his picture. He turned his head my direction for a split second and then all attention was back on the camel, who was literally foaming at the mouth. Gross.

We also saw the polar bears, elephants, monkeys, flamingos, koalas, pandas, and various other weird animals and strange birds (one was even called the Go-away bird).

The kids wanted to walk for much of our zoo trip and they definitely ran off a lot of energy walking around the park.

This was the best family picture....except for me! I decided to take one for the team since everyone else looks so good.

We also took a trip to Collier Park one sunny morning. We were the only ones at the park (people probably thought the 50 degree day was cold while we thought it was warm!) so the kids had fun having the equipment all to themselves. These side by side slides made for some cute pictures....Nolan would climb up the steps faster than Maya and then wait for her so they could slide together. What a cute pair.

Wheeeee!!!

Of course we had to try out the swings. Neither of my kids are wild about them, but I helped Nolan find a new way to swing that was fun.

There was also a tall twisty slide which Nolan attacked head-on. He went down at least a dozen times.

Maya really wanted to go down, but she needed a little support. Daddy slid down with her once and then with some coaxing, she slid down holding my hand while I walked around the outside.

We also had the opportunity to Christen the kids while we were in Ramona at our church, the Lemurian Fellowship. Here is our family picture just after the ceremony.

There were such beautiful flower arrangements with flowers found locally in Ramona. This particular arrangement was as tall as the kids in a gorgeous vase. The orange Bird of Paradise flowers always remind me of home...they are simply beautiful! The kids loved them too!!

We had a delicious spread afterwards too with sandwiches, punch and cake. What a memorable and beautiful experience!

Of course, we left plenty of time for unwinding, relaxing, and resting up since we all were fighting colds. Nolan became obsessed with being outside almost every moment of the day, rain or shine. The fresh mountain air was absolutely refreshing and delicious...I completely understood why he wanted to be outdoors! He also loved walking on the curbs around Papa and Nonnie's place and was practicing putting one foot in front of the other.

Ramona is set up in the mountains so it has beautiful views everywhere you look. We walked up a short hill one day, just Nolan and I, and along with some great pictures of my happy boy, I also got lots of beautiful shots of the countryside. So peaceful, so quiet, so joyous!

Nolan running up the mountain!

Like I said, lots of time for running and playing!

This is what my parents call the Upper Reservoir. They have had so much rain this season that the reservoir is full! A beautiful picture.

There's always time for hugs with Nonnie!

Can you see how wet Nolan's pants are? He got soaked up to his knees walking through tall wet grasses and traipsing through the mud... and he loved every minute of it!

Don't these girls look so happy to hang out together? They really bonded on this trip. Nonnie put Maya to bed with hugs and songs at night when we were visiting.

We also had some leisure time inside. One night the kids were being silly and laying on the kitchen floor. They were sliding along like snakes on their bellies and then we found them "reading" books on their backs like this.