Dad's Day Off

Week before last Jon surprised the boys by taking the day off. We told them the night before and let everyone pick something to do together. Kieran picked a Super Hero Rumble, Reed picked playing baseball, and I chose going to the zoo. Reed also managed to negotiate a bubble bath into the evening as well. We had a great time at the zoo and getting some family time in before Jon gets busy with the tree fruit season.

February Celebrations

I swear I blinked and February was over! Our days and weeks were pretty hectic and subject to change but we still managed to fit a few celebrations in. On Valentine's Day we had our traditional heart shaped homemade pizza dinner and gave the boys stuffed animals representing the animals we had adopted in their name at the zoo. Kieran received an elephant and Reed was gifted a giraffe. Reed loves naming things so by the next morning he had come up with a new moniker for his cuddly gift - "Giraffe Le Jean."

Pepe ended up with a few Birthday celebrations spread out with different family members but the weekend after his Birthday, Zach returned home after three weeks in the hospital and so we were finally all able to be together again. It was a low key celebration but I think Zach being home was the best gift possible. Reed was insistent that he take pictures for Pepe's Birthday which included documenting us making brownies ahead of time. Below are all of Reed's snapshots from the night.

Weekend #2 in Avila

Last weekend Jon and I decided that with a break in the rainy weather, Zach in the hospital, and a ton of stuff still at the beach rental we should return to Avila and bring everyone's things home. We shared our idea with the group and C and Tio instead decided that Lyla needed a bit of a vacation too. Tio and Lyla joined us for the first two days and then Pepe, Nonna, and C came over once Tio had taken over hospital duties. Once again it was hard to have a lot of fun, or talk about much else, when Zach was still hospitalized but I think it was great for everyone to unplug a bit and for the kids to run around and have fun together. The Dads introduced the kids to "Super Boosts" on the toddler swings, the munchkins were obsessed with "High-five Slides," we built an awesome sand castle, the boys played in the surf, the kids took over the boardwalk with their scooters, and we even managed to have a sunset birthday dinner for Pepe up on the rooftop.