Knott's Merry Farm

Normally, it's Knott's Berry Farm. At Halloween, it's Knott's Scary Farm, and at Christmas, it's Knott's Merry Farm. That right there was enough to make me want to go.

Last week we took the kids and met up with friends there for Isaac & Bethany's first theme park adventure. We weren't sure how they would do without their normal naps, but we all had a great time. Nobody was there that day, so not having to wait in any lines was definitely key.

Bethany's favorite part was probably the humongous bounce house-- she stayed in that thing for over an hour, which very well might be the longest she's ever done anything (except sleep). She's a sucker for big dogs, so she of course fell instantly in love with Snoopy and smothered him in kisses and hugs. Isaac wanted to drive every type of vehicle-- trucks, trains, race cars, the works-- and he did.

You know it's going to be a good day when a rooster greets you in the parking lot...

 

Isaac organized a sit-in to protest leaving at the end of the day.

The whole experience has kind of opened the door to the world of theme parks for us. Previously we were thinking we wouldn't take these kids to Disneyland or Lego Land or any such place until they were old enough to appreciate it (when is that? 4? 6? 25?), but now we're thinking let's just get them there while they're free!

a very toddler Christmas

It's getting festive up in here! It's been fun to have a house to decorate this year, even though we took a small, college student apartment worth of decorations and stretched it to a (well, still small) house. I'm being such a good girl and waiting for some after-Christmas specials to invest in our holiday future. So, the decorations are currently not just humble, they're also toddler friendly, which means:

* the ornaments have migrated higher and higher up the tree
* the glass ornament balls, which got broken into, and then actually broken (just one, thankfully) within 3 minutes of getting out the Christmas boxes, went right back on the garage shelves (the boy sees a ball, he wants to throw it-- I get that)

* the wooden advent tree that I thought would be perfect for the kids, with tiny ornaments to take out and hang on the little tree, also had to be put away after a piece or two got broken

* we didn't even try with the nativity sets-- still in the garage
* there will be no presents under the tree until Christmas Eve, after bedtime

No worries though. We've had festiveness fill our home. Some of my favorite things about this Christmas:

* our first real Christmas tree - no more pre-lit 4-footer from Big Lots
* our first time hanging lights outside! Oh what fun.
* Christmas music on Pandora - the classical station is nice when the others get repetitive (although I must say I have not heard "Last Christmas" by WHAM! enough this year)
* Christmas cards from friends - sometimes I keep these up all year, I love them so
* how it's all brand new to the little ones

We went to pick out our Christmas tree, and the kids just wanted to play in the buckets of water.
We were their first customers of the year-- they were still unloading trees from their truck.

There's a tree on our roof!

(Isaac was not so impressed.) 

This guy got some more water playtime when we got home. In fact, he made an amazing discovery: that hose fits perfectly in his front pocket (the one his thumb is in). It's especially fun when the water's running.
Try it. Better yet, let your toddler try it.

Our tree.

Decorations are top heavy but toddler friendly.

Current favorite ornament: paying homage to the A train.

Our little house.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas bloggin'

All my computer time lately has been spent Christmas shopping, it seems, but every now and then I've caught up on some of my friends' blogs, and I have been loving it. My friends do great things, and they're always inspiring and never look-how-perfect-my-life-is annoying. Hope they don't mind if I share a few favorites...

The Baby Luke Advent. This is what happens when you mix a fantastic photographer, a gorgeous baby, and Christmas. She's in the middle of a cross-country move, but I hope she can continue. BTW, my Bethany thinks every baby is Baby Luke. ("No, that's baby Joshua." "Baby Luke!")

Christmas tree hunting, Montana style. Just one of the many awesome things our LA friends have done since they moved to Bozeman. I love it when people get to a new place and just dive right in. (Oh, and with two kids in tow? Wow.)

A good read. The Peacegiver has actually been on my shelf for a while, so I was glad for the reminder when my parents posted about it on their mission blog. I'm going to try to finish it by Christmas.

(Homemade) stockings hung by the chimney with care. I've had Christmas stockings on my mind, since we don't have any of our own. I'm not feeling the pressure to get (or make) any yet, since we also don't have a mantle. But someday would be nice. And isn't this one cute?

Christmas in the City. This post almost broke my heart, but at the same time made me so happy to see people enjoy and appreciate a great thing. NYC is the Christmassiest place I've ever been. I miss New York at Christmas. I miss New York.

A little nudge. To remember the most important thing about Christmas.

crashing the Christmas parade

We've only made a few friends here so far, but we seem to have met the right people. The kind that can get you the prime spot in the town Christmas parade. I'm not talking about a good spot on the route, in the shade with a nice view of the parade. In it. Oh, were we ever in it.

Through a family connection to the fire chief, my friend invited us to ride on the firetruck in the parade. Jared & I were elated just imagining how much the little girl and boy would enjoy being on the firetruck, and then instantly heartbroken when we realized we'd still be out of town for Thanksgiving. Welp, after two days and one night of struggling to get our one-year-olds to stay in their pack n plays at Great-grandma's house, we called it quits and went home early.

Side note: you would have thought my world was over. Overreaction, maybe, but hear me out. For the twins' entire lives, one saving grace has been that they've been pretty consistent with their sleep. More important than taking long naps has been taking them at the same time as each other. So, the idea that they had some autonomy over when they are in their cribs felt like a huge loss of control for me, and I had no idea what I was going to do. Luckily, back at home they went back to staying in their cribs when we put them down. I hope it stays this way long enough for me to figure out what to do next. (I'd love ideas if you have them! I really don't think these two are going to be the kind of kids you hear about, who surprise their parents with how well they stay in their toddler beds. I need a good strategy here.)

Bright side: firetruck! Long story short (too late), we were not only on the firetruck, we were on the last firetruck, the beautifully restored 1930s-ish one, driven by the fire chief, siren blaring, right next to Santa! The only Santa in the parade. The very last float in the parade. Wrapping up the entire parade. Making people smile, making dreams come true. I think you're picking up what I'm putting down. We were on the big deal truck. My friend must have known this when she pushed me (holding Isaac) forward to stand in the front right corner of the truck. I was so close to Santa-- and so much taller-- that I had to crouch down just so anyone on my side of the street could see him, including newspaper photographers with really big lenses and one TV crew (of probably some local SP channel). Big deal, I tell you. Pretty embarrassing, but totally fun.

Before the parade, we got to hang out at the station and with the Fire Dept mascot, Sparky. Check out the love between my girl and that dog. 

 

Bethany's even got her daddy considering getting her a dog, and we've never been wild about having pets. She loves them (and he loves her) that much.

For the record, no one taught these kids the classic parade wave. They're just naturals.

The embarrassing/fun part:

"Look Mommy, I can almost see Santa behind Where's Waldo's girlfriend!" 

It was a hot day, and a long time for those kids to be out, so by the time we got back to the fire station to actually sit on Santa's lap, the kids were just not having it. I guess they have their own traditions to keep. 

Maybe we need to just start calling him Grandpa.

fall = farms = plaid

For most of November the temperature was in the 80s, but we did our best to do Fall-ish things even when it was warm. Sigh, it's rough! Wink.

Here are some highlights from our Santa Paula Fall-a. Apparently, a lot of Autumn happens at the farm. This part of the world has no shortage of them.

1. Jessica's birthday party at Underwood Family Farms in Moorpark.

Isaac & Bethany ride the bus with some neighborhood friends.

I didn't have my celebrity radar on that day, but should have. It was while getting on the cow train (above) that Jared spotted John McGinley getting off the train before us. (He plays a few characters that Jared likes, like Dr. Cox on Scrubs - the one who calls Zach Braff's character Nancy. haha.) He was riding in the cow behind his teenage son who has Down Syndrome, and as they pulled up, John was telling his son what a great job he did. Seems like a sweet dad.

This last one was kind of funny... Isaac was so, so sad when it was sister's turn to drive the tractor. Just look at his face--it was like grief and disgust all wrapped up into one ultimate face of sadness. I'm pretty sure he was thinking, She's not even doing it right!! since she was turned around backwards. And Jared looks like he's saying, Dude. Dude.

2. Santa Paula Pumpkin Patch

The second we got there, the kids went straight to work relocating every single pumpkin in the patch.

Get a load of this adorable family! They are our new friends Steve, Marnie & kids. Their kids are older than ours but all our kids just LOVE each other. We happened to run into them at the pumpkin patch, so we took each other's family photos.

3. Pomona Pumpkin Patch

We met up with my good friend Brenda and her 3 year-old twins, Kent and Kalani. (Bethany is wearing Kalani's hand-me-down black boots in the Underwood pictures. So cute, right?)

Brenda's parents also came, and my kids thought they were their own grandparents. See Isaac snuggling right up to Grandpa while he tries to photograph his actual offspring? My kids just love grandparents (probably because theirs are so great). They adopt new ones all the time.

4. Ventura County Agricultural Museum

So, it's not the AMNH in NYC, but we were pretty excited when this museum opened up in our town! I think this is museum #4 in Santa Paula. Look how pretty!

I love these old citrus box labels. All from Ventura County.

...Makes you want to visit, doesn't it? 

If not, I think this poster builds a pretty strong case...

Excellent Highways, guys!

5. Pidduck Ranch

A really nice lady at church invited us to come visit her ranch, so we took her up on that offer. So glad we did-- that place is gorgeous! They have acres and acres of lemon and avocado trees, plus some chickens, an enormous dog named Cosmo, and a "barn" (or so they called it) with tractors and two classic Porsches in mint condition.

Isaac tries to sneak off with some lemons.

 Bethany was the happiest girl in the world smothering Cosmo. She hugged him around the belly and held on as he walked along. This was the mildest, friendliest and definitely biggest dog I've ever met.

Clearly Jared's favorite part of the tour. He wants a classic car so badly! Someday, hon.

* * *

Did you catch all the plaid? I decked the kids out in their coordinating plaid shirts at Underwood, and then tried to play it cool at the pumpkin patches but could not resist wearing plaid myself. Both times. Weird, I know! (It's not just me, though-- Jared dressed the kids on Pidduck Ranch day. Isaac's in overalls!) I guess if I'm going to a farm, I want to feel like a farmer. I can't say a red plaid dress did the trick, but it didn't hurt, either.

crossing the line

Jared and I have this little tradition when we cross the California/Nevada border. It's usually late and we're exhausted and just trying to get there, but we make a super quick stop (using 15-minute parking if we can) at Buffalo Bill's in Primm to ride the stateline roller coaster. That's what we call it, anyway. That thing is rickety, tall, and fast. It freaks us out and gives us the adrenaline we need to make it the rest of the way.

One day, back in July, we unexpectedly got to relive that tradition. That morning, Jared and I were sitting in my parents' kitchen in Utah, eating breakfast with them and 18 month-old Isaac and Bethany. We had been visiting my fam for a few weeks in the middle of our move from NY to CA. The topic of discussion that morning was the same one we'd been on for a while: what house we were going to rent in Santa Paula. We suddenly realized the only way to finally decide was to go there (I had never been!), and the best day to go was that day. We finished up our oatmeal and green drinks, played with the babies til naptime, packed up a few things and drove off! Before we knew it, we were dropping 200 feet out of a gigantic red barn. 

This is when I learned Jared could shoot out spidey webs. HOT.

We found 3 good rental home options (but ended up going with another one). Success. Relief.

Our next trip down was a little different, with 19 month old toddlers in car seats, taking 2 days, driving only when we thought they would sleep for fear of what extended wake times strapped in would do to them (we're new to this car-driving-with-kids business), stretching our legs in Las Vegas and wanting to shield their eyes for fear of what Vegas would do to them (Babies, don't look up! Ahh! Babies, don't look down!). This time when we crossed the line, we skipped the coaster and settled for yelling out We're... in... CALIFORNIA! as soon as we were officially there.

We may have gone to New York New York because we missed home.

The kids were actually pretty great in the car. Hallelujah.

I don't want to overdo this, but it all just got me thinking... Maybe the way we crossed that state line is the way we should approach life, especially as we cross into this next phase.

Sometimes we'll be spontaneous, adventurous, and even if it gets a little scary, I hope we'll laugh our heads off as soon as it's over. (A little more advanced planning is something we'll have to work on. Probably tomorrow.)

Sometimes we'll be cautious and take our time, nervous about how things will go but powering through as best we can. I hope we can laugh/big sigh when that's over, too.

Always we'll go great lengths to do what is best for the little ones. Always we'll try to figure out what that is.