Day three of CA trip

The last day of our quick trip to CA was spent hanging out with my family at Balboa Island.

Tessa enjoyed being buried, as all kids do!

Phoebe loves Gramma. No doubt about it.

I love MY grandma. An enjoyable lunch at Wilma's Patio with mom, dad, grandma, grandpa and Uncle Brent.

Tessa thought this dog was hilarious because he jumped with excitement at the visitors on his beach. I think his name was Fred?

Tessa met a little buddy named Oden. His mom Michelle and dog Wolfie were fun to hang out with. Tessa talked about Oden for weeks and even remembered him when she returned to Balboa later in the summer.

More Memories in CA

In the past year, Phoebe's birthmother, Melissa, has been in direct contact with us rather than going through the agency like we used to. I have really enjoyed this new stage in our relationship. It's not necessarily more casual, but having occasional, direct contact feels more natural and puts our relationship in a dynamic like others that we have more experience with, such as close friends and relatives. Melissa coincidentally made a comment about wishing we lived in CA so that I could take some portraits for her, right as we were planning our trip to CA. We talked about the possibility of meeting up and when the weekend arrived we both decided that it was a good idea. We met Melissa and her husband and three boys at O'Neill park, not far from where we used to live in RSM. The portraits came out pretty good and the kids had a blast playing with each other. Melissa made peanut butter cookies as a bribe for the boys to smile for pictures, so they were all on a little sugar high. Tessa is just a little older than Cody and they were pretty funny together. Ryan, 5, was able to show off a little more prowess on the playground but Phoebe got tired after just a few rides on the slide. I love the picture of Tim and Phoebe at the bottom of the slide, and all the other kids who slid down and ended up in the pile. They were cracking up over that. It was a fun couple of hours, and I really enjoyed spending time with Melissa for the first time since Phoebe was tiny. She said it was a good experience for her too. On the way home I was inspired to talk to Tessa a little bit about adoption, and explained who we had just played with at the park. She actually listened (previous attempts to broach the subject went in one ear and out the other). She repeated back some of the words I was saying and several times during the following week she would bring it up again, talking about babies in tummies, and birthmothers. She would always talk about Phoebe's birthmom so I made sure to clarify that she has one also. She has a long way to go before she will really understand what adoption is and why it makes our family special, but I am just laying the foundation for now. The current view in the adoption world, which I totally agree with, is that children will better understand and accept adoption if they are aware of it from the beginning, and not have a "big reveal" moment at some point in their adolescence or adulthood. I think adoption has changed for the better in recent decades and there is a new attitude about the whole thing. In an age where being a single mom is totally accepted and supported by society, the women who choose to (temporarily) sacrifice their own happiness for that of their child is a true hero in my opinion. So, here's to modern day heroes (and heroines).

First time at Disneyland

We were suddenly inspired to take the kids to Disney when we saw the commercials for a free ticket on your birthday. After reviewing the calendar, it appeared that the best birthday to coordinate a trip to Disney around was mine. Yippee! We left Friday afternoon, picking Phoebe up from school along the way (she's 45 mins north of us) and arriving at Tim's parents around 11pm. Up at 7, but still didn't get to the park until 10. I couldn't believe how long it took just to get in the gate. Then we still had to get lockers (it was supposed to rain so we brought coats) and get a wheelchair pass at City hall. Once we finally got all that settled, and precautionary trip to the restroom, we were off to have fun! Pat and Julie came along and it was Jaleina's first trip as well. Dad came with us too, but mom stayed at Balboa with her parents. So, we hit Fantasyland first and the girls loved it. Tessa shrieked with delight when she saw the castle and wanted to put on the princess dress she chose to bring from home. She twirled around Main St. with glee and we hadn't even been on a ride yet. Phoebe liked watching the horse drawn carriages go up and down Main st. Our first ride was Dumbo, which they both loved. Tessa asked for it all day and we did go for a second time eventually. After a crazy bathroom break/waiting in line fiasco we did get to meet some of the Princesses. Not Tessa's favorites, and she had to go again when we were taking pics with them, so I don't think she really got the full enjoyment of that moment. Oh well. Phoebe's favorite ride was Small World, thankfully, since even the wheelchair line was half an hour at that point in the day. After Pirate's broke down, Julie and Pat decided to go home since Julie has an annual pass now. We however, intended to milk our day for all it was worth. We stayed until the kids fell asleep, right after fire works at 9, but by the time we got all our stuff, found the right train ride, etc, etc it was 11 when we got home. We were ready for a leisurely day on Sunday! Tessa won't stop talking about California, Disneyland, Sleeping Beauty's castle, etc. We definitely created some memories that day!

Playing Catch Up

Since I have several family members who receive my posts automatically I thought I'd explain what might be coming your way soon. I am planning on going back through my photos and posting about past events, using the backdating feature on my blog. I have not managed to "scrapbook" in exactly 7 1/2 years (gee, wonder why that exact number....) and don't see myself getting caught up real soon. I know that there are companies who can turn a blog into a book, so I hope to do that at some point, thus creating both a journal and album in one. I think I will still scrapbook the kids baby days and events in separate books, but for the family in general, the blog is so much faster (being digital) and easier to just get something in writing right now. I hope you enjoy the trip down memory lane....