Random Bits

I set a goal for myself to walk a 100 miles in 40 days.  I knew that Thomas loves to go for walks (or rides while I walk), so I was excited to set out. 

Unfortunately, rather than being a motivational coach, he decided to kick back, relax and enjoy the ride.  I can't believe how he looks like a "little man" in this picture. 

                                              

                 Only a cute little boy can get away with wearing

his Daddy's sunglasses. 

 

Playing a little Candyland with Grandma, Papa & Daddy.  His other fun game to play is Chutes-n-Ladders.  He's got a little competitive side.

Thomas loves "His Dogs" especially Liberty.  She is very sweet and returns the love to him.  He likes to play with her in his backyard. We are so blessed to live in an area where the weather is nice year round.  We love to have some good BBQ dinners.  Thomas is his Daddy's little helper!!   

Daddy of the year nomination

Yesterday, while out running our errands, Daddy stayed home to make a surprise for Thomas.  When we got home, we found a message on the phone from a "pirate" that said he left a treasure map outside.

There was a cool treasure map left in his fort outside.

The first clue sent him to Daddy's closet.  He found a really shiny buckle in Daddy's work boots.

The second clue sent him into the bathroom.  Under his step stool he actually found a treasue box with some gold coins in it.

Next they had to crawl through the hall into Thomas's bedroom.

They had to crawl through a dark tunnel.

They made it!!  Some of his toys were in the fort waiting for him.

After all that treasure hunting, they were tired.   

All this fun on an afternoon should qualify this Daddy for:

DADDY OF THE YEAR!! 

Wild Animal Park with Grandma & Papa

Last week we went to the San Diego Wild Animal Park, with Grandma & Papa.  It was a beautiful spring day.....not to hot, not to cool. 

Thomas loves his Papa. 

The butterfly exhibit was at the WAP.  Look closely at these cute butterflies we found there.....LOL!!

Every year, the WAP has a butterfly exhibit.  They have a closed in area that is full of beautiful butterlies, small and large. The neatest thing is, a lot of times they land on your back, your hat or your head.  Thomas was so excited when this big butterfly landed on his head.  Before we left the area, we saw a box full of butterfly chrysallis displays.  Thomas thought that was so neat, too.

We rode the tram, saw the elephants, the giraffes, and saw the lions & tigers.  We petted the goats in the petting zoo, too.  After a long day of a lot of walking and a lot of people (spring break), we loaded up to come home.  That night as Thomas crawled into bed he said, "We had a NICE day at the Animal Park with Grandma & Papa.  I liked the giraffes!!"

Congratulations you found it!!

Before Thomas became part of our family, Jim & I discovered a fun, worldwide Geo Cache game.  We've only found things in California, Tennessee, Montana & Colorado, thus far.  We've decided to make this a family activity now that we are a family.  Thomas has a lot of fun, hunting for "treasures". 
What is this Geo Cache thing??
It's part of a worldwide game dedicated to GPS users, called Geo Caching. The game basically involves a GPS user hiding "treasure" (a container and it's contents), and publishing it's exact coordinates so other GPS users can come on a "treasure hunt" to find it. The hiding spots range from easy to extremely hard. Some are just a log, that you record your name and date of discovery. Others are actual containers with "treasures" that other GPS users leave. You can take a treasure, if you leave a treasure. Sometimes the treasures have a note asking to get it to a certain location (ie: we found on in Colorado that needed to get to the West Coast, so we brought it to Southern California. Then you log on to the website geocaching.com and enter that you found it, and any comment you'd like to leave for other users. It really is a lot of fun!! 

 Above - This was actually a container that had lots of neat treasures, we left a red marker pen   CLUE: "remember 9/11"  it was in front of a fire station :)

                                   
 Above - This was a really neat one that was located near the airport in Ramona.   We left a keychain on the long line of keychains from other cachers.   CLUE: "it's a good spot to park and watch the fire planes load retardant during the summer"

                                 

 Above (4 pics) - This one required a little hike.  I'm not a huge fan of these, so I watched Thomas & Jim hike down to it.  It was a container with "treasures" so Thomas left one of his hotwheel cars.  CLUE: "it's in a gulch"

Above (2 pics) - This one was off a main road in Ramona.  It had a container, which we found a cute little red fire truck.  So we left a firefighter pendant.  CLUE:  "near the Cedar Fire red dog, sometimes it welcomes home heroes, or wishes someone a Happy Birthday"


                                      
Above -  this one had a log, but we also found some coins, so we left an elmo coin from Seaworld   CLUE: "oh chute" near an old cattle range

Above -  a local church, again this was only a log, no treasures CLUE: Awanas

Above -  This one was just a log, rolled up in a little container.  CLUE: near the SMILEY landmark in Ramona (natives know where that is)

Above - This one was in front of a house actually painted with "old fashion" red, white and country blue colors.  The clue:  Look to the stars!


We are looking forward to our vacation in Colorado in 2 weeks.  We'll take our treasure bag of goodies, and hunt for Colorado geo caches.  It's an affordable, family fun way of spending time together.

Family visits from Oregon

 

The Serabia/Huston Family

Front Row (L-R):  Jerry, Gracie, Jasmine, Faith & Mom (aka Grandma)

Back Row (L-R):  Cristy, Trish, Jim, Thomas & Dad (aka Papa)

Thomas got to play with his cousins last week.  He dug up worms (with Faith) to put in Grandma's garden.  They played office, grocery store, and played outside.  The wind was so strong one day, that kite flying was perfect!!  The last time he saw his cousins was May 2010, so  we were so excited to hear they were coming to visit.  Since we live so close to Grandma & Papa's where they were staying, it made it easy to go play everyday.  Usually from breakfast until dinner.  Hopefully someday, we can go visit them at their house, in Oregon. 

 

The hardest day was the last day.  The kids were all playing, the Excursion was warming up.  Everyone was hugging, laughing and preparing to say goodbye.  I turned to Thomas and said, "ok, Thomas, it's time to say goodbye to your cousins."  His eyes instantly welled up with tears and his lower lip quivered.  He started crying and ran to his Daddy's arms.  We explained that they had to go home to Oregon where they live.  But, we could SKYPE them on the computer so he could see his cousins.  After they drove off, his tears finally dried up.  Sometimes life's lessons are so hard!!

Thomas Dances for his cousins coming to California

Geeky like Dad