Thanksgiving Road Trip

We are back from our Thanksgiving roadtrip to Santa Barbara, San Simeon, Willow Creek and Fresno. Our trip started with a short visit with some of Brian's college friends in Santa Barbara. We took Nathan to some tide pools just below where Brian lived in college. We saw some starfish, mussels and a good size octapus. The next day we drove up the coast to Jalama, where Brian surfed and Nathan and I hung out at the campground playground until the rain started. We grabbed a quick lunch and headed up to San Simeon where we checked into our hotel, walked on the beach, ate dinner in Cambri and then went to bed. In the morning we drove up to see the Elephant Seals, which Nathan loved then we drove further up the coast towards Big Sur and walked around Willow Creek. We drove back down to San Simeon so Brian could surf befor heading East to Fresno. In Fresno, we had dinner with all of my mom's sisters who were there from Bakersfield, Minnesota, Iowa and Tennesee. On Thanksgiving Day, Grandma kicked us out of the house so we went to Woodward Park, where Nathan and his cousin's from Iowa, Wyatt and Caleb burned off some energy at the playground and we walked around the Japanese Gardens before going back to grandma and grandpa's for a yummy meal with even more family (my brother, sister in law and their kids). On Friday, grandma, Annemarie, Nathan, Brian and I went to the Fresno Zoo, while grandpa took Kyle, Lori and the boys to Yosemite and Aunt Bonnie, Aunt Susie and Uncle Jim went to gamble at the casino. On Saturday before we left, we spent some time with another of my mother's brother's and sister in law who came down from Oregon. All in all a fun trip, but we still wonder why Nathan does not sleep in Fresno???

Daley Ranch

We headed up to Daley Ranch just outside of Escondido today to do some hiking. Weather was great, though we did encounter short bursts of rain. It finally felt like fall. Milo kept up great and appears to be an outdoor Pug. Nathan enjoyed it for a bit, but get tired and uncomfortable toward the end (looking at him falling asleep in the backpack made my neck hurt).

20-months

Nathan is now 20-months old. What does that mean? Well, in just 4 short months, we will be parents of a 2-year old. Seriously once you pass that newborn adjustment phase, time goes into lightning speed. So what is it like to be 20-months old? Well life according to Nathan goes something like this: question everything, exert independence, be stubborn, apologize for mistakes, enjoy life. Nathan has taken to exerting his independence whenever possible. He loves to try to climb into the car, fasten the straps on the carseat, climb into his highchair, undress and the list goes on. While he is not exactly successful at each task, he does not want help unless asked. Translation: you must be VERY patient, as any of the above tasks can take several minutes before help is requested. Nathan has started showing more interest in his potty, often asking to go sit on it, but as of yet he has not gone. He can tell you when he is going number 2, but still no connection between using the potty. Still, the prospect of him being potty trained is becoming more of a reality.

Reflections

As I have been preparing for another year of running deployment groups for children who's parents are deployed (obvious) and I am faced with the another holiday season where children are without one of their parents, whether they be in Iraq or on a mission elsewhere, I have started to reflect on how we shape our own lives with the choices we make. Just this morning, as Nathan and I were walking in Balboa park with our friend Cheryl and Nathanial, I started to think about those kids again who will be faced with the holiday season without one parent. The thought that Nathan would spend any length of time without one of us is something I couldn't even bear to think about. I was talking with one of the mom's at my school whose husband recently left for an entire year. That is one whole year of his three children's life that he will only know through emails, pictures, videos and phone calls. I realize what an important job our military has, and I am in no way disrepecting what they do, but it makes me sad to think that anyone would have to miss even one day of watching their child grow up.