Cousin Cyric visits California

Spring break for cousin Cyric brought him, Grandpa Glen, and Grandma Jan down for a visit without Auntie Thea or Uncle Scott. Cyric was very patient with the hero-worshipping Quinn, reading to him, playing hide-and-seek with him and rolling around on the skateboard.

One day we went down to the Birch Aquarium in town and the boys went wild watching the fish, touching the animals in the tidepool exhibit and marveling over the camouflage strategies of everything from seahorses to stingrays.

Cyric, Grandma and Grandpa also went to the wild animal park and got up close and personal with the critters on a photo safari. We were jealous. When Quinn is old enough we will probably give that a try. Then they went to Legoland, too. We'll try that one, as well, when Quinn's a little older. It was good to get a bit of a preview of the things we might be trying later on in the future.
Right now it's all we can do to go to the zoo for a couple hours at a time.

Silly small surf with visiting friends

Jared and Brenda are in town this week. Years ago (well not that many), Jared and I worked together at the APCD and became fast friends. Last summer he was accepted to Lewis and Clark Law School and moved to Portland with Brenda, his lovely bride. (She is a successful graphic designer who designed the AQCS company logo. Her company is called EyeMotion. If you need some slick yet earthy design work, give her a call.)

So, on Friday, we all played hooky in the morning and went surfing at GV. Attendees were: Jared, Wendy, Sterling, Ralf and myself. Problem was: High tide and no swell, (it was so small, Sterling actually used a longboard) . We managed to have fun anyway. Small silly waves that occasionally lined up well enough to get a decent ride in. This was also a special treat for Wendy and I. Quinn was in school and we could surf together. Best part was seeing old friends.

After surf, we went to a local pub for lunch and ate fatty food and drank beer. I was pretty done for the day as far as productivity goes and just wished everyone could hang around all day.

Ralf brought his new underwater digital camera...so here are the photos:

Jared surveying the surf

Wendy the Salty Sea Queen

Dork cross-stepping

Wendy and Dork splitting a wave

Ralf carving

Wendy gliding

Sterling on take-off

The visiting man of honor: Jared

Torrey Pines Trek

We checked the surf today at 8:00. The surf was tiny, but the day was beautiful; warm and a slight off-shore wind. We decided to take a ride down to Torrey Pines State Reserve an go for a walk on the Guy Flemming trail. The ride was mostly pleasant, but the last mile or so up the Torrey Pines hill was a killer. Quinn is growing and getting heavier...or I am out of shape, but this is my story, so I am sticking with the former. We got to the trail and walked slowly...at a two year old's distracted pace. We saw dolphins, surfers, lizards and flowers. Quinn was fascinated with the fine sand of the eroding bluffs. Here are some pictures if you care...

A trip to the hills

Back in December we went up to Julian to visit our good friend Greg who was down from Santa Cruz to help his dad work on some property they own. Joy of joys for Quinn, they were using a small tractor to drag logs to a hydraulic splitter and he got to ride around and around and around! And then we went into Julian for apple pie. Bliss.

School Days

It's amazing to think about how small Quinn was when we first started him at Elayna's, only 10 weeks old and such a little nubbin of a boy. This morning he started preschool at the neighborhood Montessori and walked in the door on his own two feet carrying his Thomas lunch box and wearing his Thomas backpack. We ran him in using the new stroller; 12 minutes door to door, probably less once Mama gets back in better running shape. Although he cried when we walked out the door, by the time we had taken five steps out of his sight he settled down and got busy. Apparently he figured out immediately (Mama bragging, take with grain of salt!) where to go to get puzzles, to get the little chairs down off the little tables, and to get right to work (he's brilliant!). I had thought maybe it might take him a day or so of sitting and watching the other kids to get in the swing of things but apparently he's transitioning well. We're starting up just in time for school pictures in two weeks. It's crazy!

Now comes the interesting part; what else is he going to learn at this new school from all the older boys and girls? Will he remain the sweet little polite (mostly) though somewhat opinionated guy he is now or will he acquire rougher 5 year-old-style (can't believe that's actually something I worry about) habits? Only time will tell but one thing is certain, he's going to be learning a lot and he's going to change.