Marin Headlands

My favorite place in all of Marin County so far is the Marin Headlands. It is the Marin side of the bay by the Golden Gate Bridge. It is amazingly beautiful! When we went for a hike to Point Bonita Lighthouse (which turned out to be closed), it was a gorgeous day. There were over 25 sailboats in the bay.


Since the lighthouse was closed we walked the path as far as we could and watched the seals out on the islands below. This is not a good picture of them but here they are.

Then we went to Rodeo Beach and let Brendan play around since he loves it there. He still won't go near the ocean but loves the sand. In this picture Jason was trying to coax him out into the waves. Kind of a shame to be so near the ocean and have a son who is afraid of it.

Eva loved it too since there was no wind and I just held her where she could check out what was going on.

Because the beach is part of an old army post (Fort Cronkhite) there are still old buildings all around - barracks, batteries, lookouts, etc. Kind of cool. It is now a park and since it is, there is a fire station there. It is by the beach and this fireman was nice enough to let Brendan sit in the driver's seat for a picture.

Smiles

I don't think it gets much better than when your baby smiles at you. Of course I can never get her to smile in my direction for the camera. I must look pretty weird to her with as big black thing blocking half of my face.

Now we're talkin!

Jason here. Today was the day that I have been waiting for in dental school. Injections! Today we actually got to numb each other up. Man, those needles are huge! Yesterday we practiced on oranges. We got the needle ready and then simulated going to the appropriate depth and depositing the anaesthetic. I thought that was hokey so I decided to see if the stuff would work on the back of my hand (why not?). I gave myself about 5 injections before the my left hand started to look all splotchy and got really, really numb. Today I learned that probably wasn't the best idea but oh well, I had to know.

So today I gave my first injections on someone else. I have given IV's when I was in the army but this was a little different. Truth be told, IV's are harder and messier, but these were more fun. We were in groups of three with an instructor overseeing the whole operation. One of us would sit in the chair, one would inject, and one would observe and assist. We would give a few shots and then rotate. I had the misfortune of being last so at 12:30 I got numb as can be and then we broke for lunch. I forgot to bring anything so I bought some cup of noodles from the bookstore. I cooked them and was about to dive in when I realized that I should probably check the temperature with my finger or something. Good thing because that oriental goodness was near boiling and I might not have known it. After lunch I put in a piece of gum and was chomping away when I realized that I had lost it. I looked on the floor all around me, on my shirt and pants, but then I found it right where I left it (my mouth).

Anyways, back to the injections. When I got that needle ready I felt just like Steve Martin in Little Shop of Horrors. My poor partner! Actually it went pretty well. Those shots really dont have to hurt all that much. If they do, your dentist is just not taking long enough. I had an Army Oral Surgeon give me a shot that felt like a horse had just kicked me in the mouth (Greater Palatine for the dental types). Jerk. We took some pictures as a group too. In the first two I am doing the injection and in the last one I am getting one.

Don't know that I'll ever test this theory but . . .

17

Jason can take on 25. Must be the Army Ranger in him. :)

Goodnight kisses

Before Brendan goes to bed he kisses me goodnight. Slobbery, yes, but I love it. Since Eva has been with us, Jason usually asks him to kiss his baby sister too. Tonight, Eva was swaddled and in the swing asleep when Brendan's bedtime came. She also had a pacifier in her mouth. Before he went upstairs with Daddy, he gave me a kiss and then, without being asked, went over to the swing, stopped it, pulled out her pacifier, kissed her on the lips and promptly returned the pacifier to her mouth and pushed the swing so it started again. Eva looked confused at first at being awakened. Next, she looked ready to cry but then fell asleep again when he restarted the swinging motion. It was pretty cute. I tried to get a picture of his kissy face but he wouldn't do it for me. I think this means he has really decided that she is not so bad.

Baby blues

No, I don't mean postpartum depression but the color of Eva's eyes. I know that infant's eyes change color and finally reach the color that they will remain throughout life at about 6 months. I wonder if she'll keep her steely blue eyes like her brother or go for hazel like her daddy. What do you think?

Movie quiz

Jason, do you agree, honey?

Your Love Life is Like The Princess Bride

"Since the invention of the kiss, there have only been five kisses that were rated the most passionate, the most pure. This one left them all behind." For you, love is like a fairy tale - albeit a fairly twisted one. You believe romance is all about loyalty, fate, and a good big of goofy fun. Your love style: Idealistic yet quirky Your Hollywood Ending Will Be: Perfectly romantic

What Movie Is Your Love Life Like?

Chocolate quiz

All this from my taste in chocolate?

What Your Taste in Chocolate Says About You

You are sweet, mellow, and easily satisfied. You don't like anything too intense and dramatic. Deep down, you're a kid at heart... and you're nostalgic for the past. You are emotionally expressive and sensitive. You're effected by everything around you. Your friends appreciate your open heart, but they are afraid of hurting your feelings. You love being by yourself and thinking. Developing your own theories and ideas is fun. You feel lost when you're forced to be social. Being with other people can be lonely for you.

The Chocolate Oracle

Family outing

This weekend we went to a new beach called Rodeo Beach in the Marin Headlands. It is gorgeous and definitely my favorite beach around here. Brendan loved it too. He ran around playing in the dark sand. His favorite thing was going over to the lagoon, grabbing the wet sand and tossing it over the side of the footbridge. At one point he tried to drink the water. Ewww gross!!!




Here is Mom with Eva in the Snugli. That lasted about fifteen minutes. Eva wasn't too happy in the Snugli but when Jason took her out and swaddled her, she was fine. In fact, she loves the sunshine. She just doesn't like to be where she can't see what's going on. Hopefully things will change when she can face outwards in the carrier.



It was a great family outing, something that I treasure since dental school makes it harder than ever to spend time as a family.

What a helper!

This is how Brendan helps with the laundry. When he felt them after they came out of the dryer he told me they were "cooked" since they were warm. He pulled all the clean clothes out and put them on the couch first before he played with the hamper, so I guess I can't complain.

This is how Brendan reads to his sister. I was just enjoying some time not having to hold her. There is such a thing as too much of a cuddlebug.

Conference weekend

Since Eva is growing at such a rapid rate and got so many dresses in this size and the upcoming size, we need to use every Sunday to wear a dress. She got so many adorable ones. And we even went over to some friends' apartment after General Conference, just so she could be seen.


By the way, conference was extra wonderful this time. I really enjoyed the solemn assembly and being able to sustain the new presidency. President Monson has always been one of my favorite speakers. Also I loved the talk about being a mother that seems to come every conference. It always lifts me up and makes me feel better. Now we have to wait six more months. Sigh.
On Saturday we went on a picnic between sessions. One great thing about where we live is that it is a short drive to the ocean. Brendan spent some time after eating throwing rocks into the bay.

Here is a picture of Jason in his new hat (thanks Fred!) and Brendan with remnants of his peanut butter sandwich on his face.

Blessing Day

Here is Eva in her blessing dress. I wanted her to wear mine but she is too big. It fit her like a long shirt. Sigh. So I picked up this simple knit one, which I love. Isn't my girl precious?

Everything went so smoothly. I couldn't have asked for a better day. Family gathered at my house early and we carpooled to the church. We took up three pews. The bishop joked that we doubled the ward size. Jason, Grandpa Jerry, Grandpa Dave, Uncle Aaron and Jason's friend, Chad, were in the blessing circle. It was beautiful. I am so glad she didn't fuss. The remainder of the meeting all the little girl cousins wanted to sit with me and the baby. It was cute!
Afterwards we went to China Camp park to have a picnic. There is the MOST GORGEOUS sites there overlooking the water. We took family pictures and ate a little lunch.

McDaniels

Telfords

Brendan prefers the PB&J and gets it all over himself.
The kids had a great time playing in the trees and rolling down the hill.

Even the littlest one, Hailey, had a fun time there.

Jerry and Nancy are sitting and holding hands, while watching grandkids. I'll bet life doesn't get much better.


Here's a picture of some McDaniel heads. Notice a similarity in hair?

Then we said goodbye to Brad, Danica and the kids as they went back to the airport. My side of the family drove home and we went home for naps. Later we visited with Jason's family again into the evening. It was a wonderful day.
We are so blessed to have such a great family. Thank you to all who came out to be with us during the special occasion. We love you all!!!

Swimming

Another day during break, we went over to Jason's parent's hotel and the guys swam. Brendan was having a ball. He even put his face underwater for the first time so he could grab his car from under the water. He must have held his breath too because he did not come up spluttering.



However, he has no buns so his swimming trunks kept falling down. It didn't slow him down though.

Grandma Nancy held Eva the whole time so I could get pictures. I am sure she wasn't too put-upon. :)

Trip to the city with cousins

Since it was Eva's blessing on Sunday, Jason's family flew into town to be a part of it. The first day was spent in San Francisco. They were staying near Pier 39 and so we took the ferry in to see them. I hadn't been on the ferry yet and neither had Brendan. He liked the "big boat".

Here is a picture of most of the group (me, Eva and my sister-in-law, Danica, are missing). Jason and his brother Brad are holding Bostyn and Brendan (both 2) with Drew, whose 8, standing by himself. Yes, and my son won't look at the camera.

We went to see the sea lions first, which were a big hit with the kids.

Then off to lunch. Too bad I don't like clam chowder but Jason had his in a bread bowl. Yummy! We went to the Aquarium on the Bay which, though small, is pretty cool. The lower floor takes you into a water tunnel filled with sharks and cool fish. Bubba went nuts!! He loved it. He still talks about it. The last part of the aquarium has touch tanks and that is where our son really went wild. He wanted to touch the animals but didn't have long enough arms so he ended up running from tank to tank splashing around.

My niece, Bostyn, liked the touch tanks too as did my nephew, Drew. Here is Bostyn and her mom at the touch tanks.

Next we went back to the hotel where the boys went swimming and the girls rested. Whew! I needed a rest. Danica loved holding Eva. It was sweet. The sweetest thing, though, was Bostyn's attachment to "Eba". Oh how she loved that baby!! Here are some shots of Bostyn loving on her.

Lastly we walked around the pier (back to the sea lions again) and to eat. We caught Bostyn and Brendan holding hands from their strollers. It was pretty cute. Then, it started to rain. Bummer!

Jason and I had quite a ways to walk to the ferry station. We made it with two minutes to spare. We sat with a nice Russian couple and had a great conversation on the way home with them. I fell sleep at 8:30. It was a fun day!

New Car

Check out Brendan's new set of wheels. He LOVES it! Jason put it together and he rode it around the inside of the apartment before he would stop and let us add the stickers. His daddy takes him out for "drives" around the complex. It was given to us by a friend from church. Thanks so much, John!

FYI

As many of you know, this weekend was an important one for our family. It was Eva's blessing. There is lots to tell and lots of pictures but since we still have family in town, we are still busy. I'll post more later.