California

I just realized that I had this post in a draft and never posted it... oops!!

In January, we were lucky enough to get to take some time away from the frozen tundra that was home and head to California.  We started in Northern California for Blake's Great Aunt Betty's 80th birthday celebration.  It was a great time!  The party was fantastic and it was fun to see lots of family.  The three of us also got to spend one day in San Francisco.  I was so happy to be back in a big city, I do miss it being out here on the farm.  I love visiting all the tall buildings, and living out on the farm I miss the ability to walk to "things".  Being back in the city it was just nice to walk around, see the sights, and snap a few photos.

We were also able to stay at the beach condo, which was great.  It overlooks the ocean and is a wonderful place to wake up and relax.  While we were there the weather was fantastic and we spent as much time soaking up the warmth and sunshine as we could.  Bennett really enjoyed being able to sit in the grass, and not having to bundle up every time we went outside.  It was so much easier to go places! I never realized how much stuff we had to take with us, and how that will get better once the weather gets a bit warmer.

Blake had never been to Monterey, and I hadn't been there since I was very little, so it was great to drive over for the day.  We went on the 17 mile drive, and then ate lunch in the cute town of Carmel.  The highlight of the day, however, was when Bennett got to swing on his very first swing.  I think he thought it was ok, and we tried to get him to be able to get to the park as much as possible while we were there.

We also got to see our friends Matt, Clara and little Noah.  Matt is a friend of mine from college, and Noah is 3 weeks younger than Bennett.  We had lunch at their house and the boys co-played.  They weren't really into hanging out with each other yet, but hopefully that will change with time!

From there, we went to Orange County to spend a few days with Jon and Donna who were nice enough to let us stay at their condo that they were renting for a month in San Clemente.  I was excited to get back to my old stomping grounds, and to soak up more of that sunshine.  We walked around the town, met up with our friends Mark and Jocelyn who had moved to San Diego, and went to Laguna for sushi and the most amazing pina coladas.  Bennett also got to dip his feet into the ocean, but I don't think he was that impressed.  It's amazing that he has been in both oceans that surround the country before turning 1!