Lance's Trip to Sunny San Diego

Lance got to spend an entire two weeks with his cousins in San Diego earlier this month. What did he do in those two weeks? 

First and foremost, he got to be with this fun family. Scott (Lance's dad) grew up in Poway and most of his family is still there. His family is awesome and tons of fun, so there was no question Lance was going to have a good time.

Scott's family (sister Denise with husband Dave--their four kids--, his dad Bob with his wife Kari and her daughter Shi, his brother Pete and his wife Jessica and their little boy). The only one missing was Dan, Scott's youngest brother.

Lance and Calvin, his "best buddy". Apparently, they were thick as thieves (literally) and got into all kinds of mischief together.

Lance with his Dahlquist cousins--Clare holding Jo, Alexey, Parker, and Calvin

Lance and Grandpa Bob

Lance and Scott

The boy cousins--Lance, Parker, and Calvin

Grandpa Bob with all the grandkids.

The first thing Scott and Lance did when they landed in sunny California was to get summer hair-cuts. Lance got a short buzz that he loved.

One of the many great things about San Diego is there are so many neat places to go. Lance got to go to Sea World at least twice with his cousins while he was there!

Starfish! Scott told me he reached so far into the tank to grab the starfish he almost fell in (his feet were off the ground and flailing as he tried to regain his balance) and sported a wet shirt for a while afterwards.

Lance with Clare and Lex at a show.

Calvin and Lance with the sea turtles.

There are tons of outdoor things to do, too. Lance's obsession lately has been biking (handy because that's his dad's obsession, too) so Scott took him biking around a couple lakes and parks.

They picked up this bike off Craigslist for Lance's visit and then gave it to Clare to keep.

He's quite the pro now.

On this ride, they biked more than 5 miles! That's pretty far for a 5 year old. Good job, Lance!

I think the highlight of the trip for Lance (besides getting to swim every day in his cousin's backyard pool) was visiting LegoLand twice with his dad.

He got to build and race his own car!

There were rides there, too.

And lots of Star Wars characters and scenes made entirely out of Legos. Pretty impressive!

Meeting a celebrity.

Darth Vadar.

About to go on a ride

More Star Wars

 Mount Rushmore!

Lance thought it was pretty neat he got to drive the car.

Lance took this picture of Scott.

He told me he liked this exhibit because it was Washington DC, our hometown!

They have a mall close to his cousin's house that has a pet store inside. Lance and his dad went there a few times just to hold the puppies and wish they could get one. Lance is dog-crazy and has begged for a dog since he could talk. One day... one day, I promise.

A puggle puppy. I love that he has his nose buried on the puppy's head. So cute!

Lance's favorite kind of dog is a Chihuahua, thanks to the movie "Beverly Hills Chihuahua". This white one was really cute and would retrieve the tiny ball Lance threw for it.

Lance climbed up this tree at the park all by himself.

Crazy boy!

 Lance with Calvin, Alexey, and Clare and Red Robin!

At Sea World again in the tower.

Scott and Lance watching a show at Sea World.

Denise (Scott's sister, Clare and Grandpa Bob at Sea World

Lance, Calvin and Alexey at Sea World

Riding a ride at Sea World

On another bike ride

Calvin came this time!

On this bike ride they saw a rattlesnake!

And finally, almost every day Lance got to swim in his cousin's pool. He's a great swimmer now and loves to venture out on his own. His dad even taught him how to do a backflip! Here is a short video of him doing one:

He had a great time! I'm so glad he has such a great family to love and visit. I know he was sad to leave them and come home, but we are so glad he's back!

Our next adventure? Lance starts Kindergarten!

While Lance was away...

Lance spent the last two weeks playing with his cousins in sunny San Diego (lucky!). When I get pictures, I'll post them, but from what he and his dad have told me they had a blast. Lance went to Lego Land at least twice, Sea World, the pet store to hold little puppies, and In-N-Out. He got to go swimming almost every day in his cousin's pool and got to play with his three cousins Calvin, Clare, and Alexey and their dog Tressel. I think he was actually disappointed to come home, but boy were we happy! We have missed him so much! Not a day went by that Jude didn't ask "Where's Lance?" It was sweet.

While Lance was away, George and Jude and I tried to stay busy. We went camping with our Cville friends one weekend which was a lot of fun, but other than that, we haven't done much out of the ordinary.

Jude's newest thing he likes to do is help us "cook". He'll pull out the kitchen stool and position it next to the counter and say, "cook? cook?" whenever he thinks we're making food. One day he and I made cookies and I let him pour ingredients and take tastes as we went along. He thought it was fabulous.

This is how he would watch the mixing.

Happy to be helping.

The best part about cooking...

...taste-testing! I think it passed inspection. :)

Last Friday while George was at work, Jude and I went with some friends to see Toy Story 3 at UVa's Football stadium. We got to sit right on the field which was a huge treat. The weather had cooled off and there was a breeze blowing--perfect!

The Smiths were there with us.

You can't tell by his face, but Jude thought it was really neat for about 3 minutes and then lost interest in the movie, opting to run around the football field instead.

The Vedomskes came, too.

Jude enjoying a snack with Bennett.

It was a lot of fun! I'm so glad we went. It was a neat experience to be on an official football field. The grass was so short but nice and green and really soft. I didn't have to worry about spiders crawling on Jude or being itchy because of sitting in long grass. It was great!

This is what Jude did for most of the movie. He would run away in one direction, sometime to talk to random strangers, sometimes to try to climb the stairs, and sometimes just to run. We probably ran the football field three times together.

Good friends.

Bennett was really into the movie.

Catching a few minutes of the movie together.

Love that grass!

Running away with Cameron. By the end of the movie, all the kids were down by the goal post trying to climb that hill. It was a good time and Jude slept really well that night. We were sad Lance and George missed it. We'll have to do it again together.

Friday night we left Jude in the capable hands of our neighbors and went on a date. We went to see the last Harry Potter movie! I've been wanting to see it for a long time now and it didn't disappoint. I thought it was well done and a great end to a great story. Obviously the book was more detailed and there were bits the movie changed or glossed over, but all in all, it was pretty true to the story and very gripping. 

Can I just say I LOVE Snape? Alan Rickman has been a favorite of mine for a while--such a great actor and such a sexy voice! My only complaint about the movie was Snape's flashback was a little short for my taste. To reverse a misconception held throughout 6 1/2 books that is the cornerstone for most of the decisions Harry makes, you probably need more than 4 minutes. Ah well. I cried and loved it. I will definitely be adding it to our movie collection... Christmas list?

Last Saturday, we went to the Farmer's Market here in Charlottesville. It's always a fun place to go and even though it rained on us, we had a good time.

Jude got one of his favorite treats--Popsicle!

Not really enjoying a peach. He's not much of a fruit-eater. :(

All in all, we managed to fill the time and have some fun while Lance was in California. We are so glad he's home, though! Life is just not the same without my crazy little man filling our days with laughter, noise, fun, and (of course) the occasional tears. We just can't live without him!