Life is all back to normal

Well, life is back to its usual drone (don't get me wrong - I mean drone in the brightest, sunniest, cutest-kid-in-the-world kind of way). Amy left on Feb 2nd, after a sad 5am farewell, Bronson and I hit iHOP on the way home from Burbank and got all-we-could-eat pancakes. Turns out we couldn't eat as many as we might have thought. Bronson sure loves pancakes, though.

The 3rd - Sunday was rainy. I know. Unheard of. So, we went to the zoo. It was awesome! So many animals were out playing in the rain, and so few humans were out, it felt like a show all to ourselves. The zoo is definetly our #1 choice on rainy days. We've recently discovered the tiger pen, there are 3 kids and a mom and they are constantly jumping on each other and climbing trees and stalking the mom (poor woman!) They're great - Matthew is especially taken with them. Bronson is obsessed with the hippopotamus, however. He just watches and watches it circling underwater, then jumps every time it comes us, flaps its ears andsnorts out water. He cried when we finally pulled him away.

The next week was hectic, what with no 3rd adult to distract the kidlit, but we've figured it all out now, Matthew's made nice with the ladies at the Caltech women's playgroup and explained that, no, Amy was not Bronson's mother :). Work is good, and the switching off is working well.

This past weekend was beautiful, sunny and HOT! We went to Hermosa Beach on Saturday to play beach volleyball with our friend Dan, and his friends and their friends... it was great. Bronson loved watching us smack that ball back and forth and is really getting his "sand" legs. We buried his legs and tummy and he thought that was pretty great.

On Sunday we cleaned and tidied and I got some painting in. A very productive morning. In the afternoon I took Bronson to Huntington and he splashed through the children's garden. He really likes to babble to kids and looks at them as if they should understand. I had one girl asking me if she should know what he was saying and I had to tell her "I guess not, I don't!"

Sunday, as per usual we had astro game night and some friends came over post Bronson bedding for 5 hours of gaming glory (I won!).

Now Monday has come and gone. Bronson had a morning at the park with dad, and I took him swimming at the caltech outdoor pool in the afternoon. After a wonderful (if I do say so myself) lasagna dinner, he is sleeping with a smile across his face.

I am excited for the impending 3-day (President's day holiday) weekend and the forecasted beautiful weather it should bring. We are planning to break in our new camping gear (Thank you Teri & Jay!) and head to Leo Carillo State Beach for a night. This will be Bronson's first ever camping trip and it should be fun. I've done alot of campground research using my So Cal guide and Cali camping guides that I received for Christmas, and I am confident that we will enjoy this place. It has pedestrian beach access without being on the beach, boasts tidal pools, underwater caves and sandy beach straights, has biking paths and flush toilets - this shouldn't be too hard - right?

Here is a picture of the beach - it has been a filming location for several movies, most notably the Karate Kid (I had to choose between the Karate Kid beach or the MASH inland campsite :)

Wishing you a pleasant Canadian 2 DAY weekend, think of us sun bathing!