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. 

Goodnight Hotel

At the Hyatt House,
there nice people,
And nice little seats,
To 806, the patter of feet

There are mini-muffins for eats, fruit loops for treats
There’s coffee for Dad, happy hour for Mom
Two toys, one book and a hallway long

There's a cozy bed where Marco sleeps
It magically was a couch, made for a seat

Goodnight school
Goodnight pool

Goodnight bridges and goodnight view
Goodnight freeways and the headlights hue

Goodnight elevator, goodnight buttons
Goodnight jog, goodnight fog

Goodnight room, goodnight 8th floor
Good night fun day, tomorrow there’s more

Goodnight Mom and Dad too
Goodnight Marco and the sky blue
Goodnight chair, the day is through

Goodnight stars, goodnight balcony air
Goodnight noises everywhere

Shh.

Lord of the Flies

We headed up for our friend trip to Twain Harte.  This year we had a huge cabin filled with very independent kids.  There was a lot of space in the back, a deck, a tire swing and two kegs of tea - perfect for letting the kids run wild.  Marco didn't wear a shirt all weekend and the kids were covered with scrapes, dirt, bruises and smiles.

Here's some proof (stolen from Heather's Instagram account - why bother with a camera?):

 

 

Don't Cry For Me

It's true that being displaced from your home has it's challenges.  I think my co-workers are pretty tired of my five work outfits, mixed and matched.  My friends are over me showing up for visits with laundry in tow.  And Marco's teachers seem to be fully knowledgeable about our flooded house and our hotel.

BUT, lest you think hotel living is all bad, let me assure you that we're making the most of our hotel adventure.  The local amenities keep us well entertained.

I'm enjoying our paired down kitchen, our excellent view, living next door to a mall, running along the Bay, the hot tub and my own gym downstairs.  I also enjoy our half-off happy hour appetizers.  We hosted a fantastic poolside dinner for some pre-school friends for $22! 

The Hyatt House is chock full of interesting people from all over the world - the midwest, Canada, Korea! - most of them relocated for work.  We regularly get to visit and chat with them about their new jobs, their house hunting and visting the local sites.  Jeff is honing his ambulance chasing by closing a handful of deals with new homeowners.  Even I had to chuckle Sunday as we were leaving the pool and I said, "Good luck on your presentation tomorrow!"

Marco cannot believe his good fortune that he gets a handful of mini-muffins and a cup of Fruit Loops every morning on his way to school.  (Don't tell Auntie D.)  Plus, he has completely learned to swim, even making "big arms" to swim the length of the pool easily - and quickly! 

Alas, all good things must come to an end.  We're being relocated next week to a nice, new apartment complex down the street with an actual bedroom for Marco (not a magic couch), a bigger pool and more equipped gym :), but without the happy hour.  :(  Visit anytime!

Here's a pic of our last swim lessons for awhile.  As it turns out, you don't need the YMCA to learn to swim - you need a hotel.