My husband has the best wife EVER!

A few months ago (okay, okay, back in January) I started brainstorming ideas for Doug's birthday. He is one of those people who tries purposely not to show too much of a reaction when receiving a gift, so it's always a challenge for me to get a grin out of him, let alone a "WOW this is AWESOME!" Most of the time he spoils the fun by either guessing what the gift well in advance or "accidentally" coming across it.

Well not this time, mister. I was super sneaky and started dreaming about taking him to see his favorite baseball team (the Braves) play. Flying to Atlanta was out of the question - waaaaay too expensive right now for us. The next best alternative was at a location within driving distance. Conveniently enough, they were set to play in San Francisco on Memorial Day. Score!!

So I bought tickets, sweat bullets when he was nearly laid off, and breathed a sigh of relief when he found a new job and our trip was still on. I laid out the guise perfectly. I presented it as a holiday weekend road trip to see my Aunt and Uncle in central California accompanied by a trip to Yosemite and then a couple of days jaunt in San Fran.

Did I mention I was brilliant? Because I am.

Here are a few of the photos from our whirlwind 1,800 mile road trip.

Tyson driving my Uncle Lamar's riding lawnmower. He got a kick out of it!

Lamar has had a lifelong love affair with trains. He has an entire room devoted to his 4+ tracks and the walls are covered with shelves upon shelves of trains.
Always the clown, Lamar copies Tyson's thumb sucking.
Clearly not much has changed in 26 years, because here is me at roughly the same age doing the exact same thing.

On one day, we drove to an old western town called Columbia. It was fascinating to read the history of this little town during the gold rush of the 1800s.
Tyson enjoyed the stagecoach ride, despite it being so bumpy I worried he would bounce right out!

Yosemite Falls view from the trail. This is one of the ten tallest waterfalls in the world.

At the top, the wind and mist were so strong it covered our glasses (and camera lenses) with sprays of water and blew Tyson's hair back!

Majestic Half Dome, which Yosemite is well known for. One of these days I will make the 17 hour roundtrip trek to the top and buy myself one of the shirts in the gift shop that proclaims "I made it to the top!"

Gigantic trees, although not the famed Sequoias that I had hoped to see. Now I have good cause to go back.

Sunday after arriving at our hotel in San Carlos, we drove to Monterey Bay to visit the Aquarium. It was crazy busy but we still managed to enjoy ourselves.

I love Tyson's expression in this picture. He didn't know what to make of the portal view.

He loved sitting and staring at his favorite exhibit - the penguins of course!

Dinner at the Cannery Row Pizza joint.

Five months of planning and lots of hype later, I got my excited reaction!

Even though the Braves lost the game, it was still a great experience to see AT&T Ballpark and watch a MLB game. It definitely makes Franklin Covey look like a little league field. There were 40,000 people at this game!

So to sum it up, we had a great time, spent a lot of time in the car and are glad to be home and back to our regular routine!

A Stroll at the Farm

A couple of weeks ago during a kid-free afternoon, Doug and I decided to stop by Wheeler Farm to try and catch some photos while the bulbs and trees were blooming. Amazing what a few months will do to change the look of the place!

It was only back in December when the farm looked like this.

Now in full splendor, it is a warm and inviting place.

Who can resist the perfume of lilac bushes and the pretty tulips waving in the breeze?

Remember this gentle giant? He greeted me like we were old friends.

I even convinced my honey to let me take his picture.

Next time, we will take Tyson to experience the feeding of the geese and horses.

To be continued...

Will I Ever Learn?

It's been a while since I posted anything and I swear I have some photos to put on here but for now, a sassy Tyson story will have to do.

The other day I was driving when suddenly the SUV in front of me pulled off to the side of the road and decided to flip a U-turn. Apparently checking your mirrors and looking around before doing this is highly overrated because he did neither and carried on as if he was the only car on the road.

While I am not proud of the exclamation that came out following aforementioned idiocy, it is by no means the worst thing that has escaped my lips.

"What a STUPID ASS!"

Suddenly I remembered where I was and that my almost 2 year old was sitting in the backseat. I cringed and waited for the inevitable. Sure enough without missing a beat, Tyson innocently asked, "What's a ass?"

Resisting the temptation to correct him by saying "you mean what's an ass, sweetie, what's an ass?" I instead started backpedaling, saying to him "It's a word that Mommy shouldn't say and neither should you. Potty word, bad."

"ASS, ASS, ASS."

Shit.

Okay I didn't say that but I was thinking it!

Of course Doug thought it was hilarious.

More this weekend, I promise.