Hook, Line & Sinker

Once again we (to read: Jeff) drove through the night so we could catch the 6 a.m. boat to Catalina to spend a week on Poseidon.

Boat Papa bought Marco his first real fishing pole, a beautiful, red, lightweight spinning reel. It was love at first sight. I’d say Marco spent about 70% of his waking hours fishing. Hooked. He caught a couple little sea bass (not keepers) and then started bringing in the bait fish. His bait went onto Jeff’s hook. Jeff’s hook went into halibut’s mouth (keeper!) and we ate sushi, grilled fish and fish tacos. See? It’s easy! Marco was BEYOND excited about his role in the sushi catching. And he really took advantage of bringing in the bounty – he ate three WHOLE halibut rolls.

We also had the incredible pleasure of having Uncle Mike and Mariesa and Uncle Brian and Elizabeth. The girls got “Aunt” added occasionally too. ;) These might be four of the most easygoing guests you can imagine. And since it was Mariesa’s first time to the Island, we had to take her to the Chi Chi Club. Obviously.

Jeff also caught a big bat ray and a little shark.  Marco had a litany of questions about do bat rays eat people?  Even little boys?  What about little boy's toes?  Do sharks eat people?  Will that little shark get bigger?  Then will it eat people?  Luckily, his curious nature only made him doubt the ocean, he still braved it.  :)

We kayaked, tubed, snorkeled, swam, ate, drank and enjoyed ourselves immensely.  Here’s proof of thee most fantastically relaxing vacation in the world:

 (Note Marco and Uncle Brian)

 Love this one of the boys.

 So sad to see them go!

 But we quickly got over our sadness.

 Marco adored spending time with Papa.

Dad and I cooked together one night as is our tradition.  My part of the meal was tssk'ed, respiced and grimaced.  Also a tradition. 

Good night Catalina.  See you next year.

Bay Cruiser

I’ve been considering doing this for awhile, but Saturday’s foggy onset and my Friday workout laziness spurred me to invite Marco for a run. Me on foot, him on cruiser.

Just in case you’re not hip with the latest in learning to ride, the cruiser is a two wheel bike with no pedals. He pushes with his feet and glides on two wheels. The theory is your kid will never use training wheels because they’ve already learned the concept of balancing. Marco's "motorcycle" has been on loan to us from the boys down the street. We think we’ll ask Santa for a big boy two wheeler this year.

We took his bike out for a spin and Marco was a great sport!  We raced each other and were a big hit among the running and biking crowd along the Bay.  I've never seen such friendly people on the trail everyone saying good morning and telling Marco how great he was doing.  We only had one mishap when Marco waved back to a runner and fell over the handlebars. Oops. Guess you have to learn to keep your hands on the handlebars somehow! After that, it was smooth sailing.

We did three miles from Chevy’s on the water up past University, where Jeff picked us up. 

I love my new running partner. 

Next up, getting Jeff to join us… here’s the adorable proof:

We love weddings

We packed up and headed for the hills to celebrate Amelia and Chris' wedding.  So many of our family considered getting married up there and we were thrilled to finally celebrate at Silver Lake.

On the way up, I told Marco about all the fun that we were going to have.  We were going to get to see Grammy, Granny, Grandma Claudia, Uncle Roger, Amelia, Darcy, Katie and we'd go swimming and biking and we'd get to eat treats and play outside and go to a wedding and dance!  And he said... "OOH!  I'm so excited to see Uncle Roger!"

We had the great pleasure of staying in the cabin with the family.  We hosted coffee, breakfast, showers, toothpaste, blankets, flashlights, snacks or cocktails for anyone who stepped foot in the cabin - friends, family, some people that looked kinda familiar... 

Marco ran wild and really enjoyed spent time with his favorite person :) and did all his favorite things - dancing, swimming, biking and eating.  Uncle Roger took him out on his sailboat.  I've never seen such a giant smile on Marco's face.  He was even thrilled to wear a pink life jacket.

Amelia and her friends did thee most amazing jobs with all the vintage details and special moments.  Her friends and Chris' family were a joy to meet and hang out with.  Plus, she wore Grandma's dress remade for her, pretty much keeping everyone's fantasy alive about keeping their wedding dress.  Every moment was fantastic. 

Here are a few pics (kicking myself that I didn't take any family pics or Marco all dressed up, so once again, these are mostly stolen):

 

 And finally, my son wistfully admiring a beautiful flower girl.  I know, it's heartbreaking.