We are back!!!!


It was a great trip, not speaking weather wise, but a great trip!

The flight down was good. Both boys fell asleep about 20-25 minutes after take off and didn't wake up until after we landed. That's the way I like to fly! They were equally accommodating on the return flight. Caleb fell asleep before we taxied to the runway, and Josh fell asleep about 3-5 minutes after lift off. A nice way to fly and get a small bit of decompression time. Caleb was a great little traveler, very cooperative and helpful. He did make me stop EVERY time his shoe became untied, which was about every 20 feet because the shoe is velcro, which made for slow progress at some times.

The weather was similar to what one would expect... for Seattle. Overcast, occassional showers during the day and lots during the night.

We did have a beautiful sunny day that we made the most of. Papa Bishop had arranged for Caleb and Josh to ride a pony in the country on a ranch. He had so much fun. First, we saw a miniature horse named Cody. We also saw a llama named Llama (I know, very imaginative...). There was a pig, a cat, a full sized horse, and several ponies. The pony Caleb got to ride was Roo. They took Caleb around and around and back again. We even put Joshy on the pony for a once around. Caleb led the pony around that time, see picture. Caleb promptly said "my turn again", they were nice enough to let Caleb ride a little longer than scheduled. Caleb was very interested in seeing and petting all the ponies, but he doesn't quite grasp horse etiquette yet, so we were all keeping a close watch. He thoroughly enjoyed it; he fell asleep right after.

As you can see, Caleb did get to wear his hat for the pony ride. That was a stimpulation that he had when told he would ride a pony.Caleb and I swam in Papa Bishop's hot tub nearly every night. Caleb did awesome. He got braver and more confident each night. He tried new things and was proud of his accomplishments. He kept telling me that certain toys were helping him swim, I kept telling him that he was doing great all by himself, not the toys. Oh yes, we had toys. After the first two nights, my imagination came to the end with the items I gleaned from the house; I went to the dollar store and bought some things to keep us busy. I was very grateful for the new toys because there is only som much a person can do in a 8' square space for multiple hours. After the dollar store, we suddenly had a fishing pole and little fish, a big fish, and some glow in the dark rings.

We visited the really nice mall. Caleb got to ride the carousel with Papa Bishop. He got to ride the Zebra. It was fun for him. And I got a package of shirts to sleep in at Penney's; the boys claimed the ones that I took down to sleep in. Yeah, it turns out that Joshy might very well be a "shirt boy" too!

We saw Great Grandma Dyer. She held the boys and brought them stuffed animals. Here is a picture. Caleb was acting a little strange for pictures at the moment.

Papa Bishop took Caleb to McDonalds to eat and play a couple times. Caleb now talks about McDonalds as if it is the park down the street. "Me go Mcdonalds, play with kids". He brought home more toys than we took down because of the Happy Meal toys. And Papa Bishop was very generous with Caleb. Caleb now has a Buzz Lightyear Car, underwear, storage bin, and soft doll. Of course, Caleb shared with Josh; the soft doll was a big hit with Josh and spent most of it's time trying to dry out from all the Jockey drool. The Buzz Lightyear and Toy Story gang train was a big surprise. Once the batteries were in it, look at it go. Josh would have liked to get in on the train action too, but he would just mouth it all anyways.

Papa Bishop took care of Caleb quite a bit. Caleb now is fluently saying "starbuck's". They often did a morning coffee run. Papa Bishop had to show his wonderful grandson off to his coffee buddies. And from what I heard, Caleb adequately impressed them with his stories he tells.

One of the biggest stories: Caleb went to the dentist down in California for the first time. Unfortunately it wasn't on the terms that I had hoped for, for the first dental visit; for that matter it wasn't the totally positive experience I had hoped that it would be for a first visit either. He was in the bath tub, and he slipped while he was trying to climb out. He banged his chin up really good (I know, convienent for pictures) and he chipped his front tooth. Once we got him calmed down he was better, but I was determined to get it fixed for him. We did go to the dentist, after about 8 phone calls and a referral call later to find a dentist who worked on a Saturday and who wasn't attending an in town conference. Caleb did great in the waiting room. He did great in the xray room. From there it went down hill. He didn't want to sit in the chair, he didn't want to let the doctor see his tooth. I tried to talk to him and show him what a statued would do, what Buzz the figurine would do, but Caleb would have none of that when the dentist came in. Unfortunately it digressed to a wrestling match. Fortunately, Caleb doesn't remember or talk about that part. All he says is that he slipped in the bath tub and the tooth doctor fixed his tooth. Thank the Lord for a child's short memory.

We played a bunch at the house. Caleb cuddled and danced and talked to everyone's entertainment and delight. Here is a picture of one of the morning cuddle moments:

We have taken Easter pictures. They will be back late this month. I'll try to get one put here soon.

Lastly, but of course by no means least: Papa Bishop took Caleb (us) to Chuck E. Cheese! Caleb was so excited. He talked about it for days before we got there, and he would have gone there every day if we'd let him. He ran around and jumped from one thing to the next. He did awesome at the ball throwing game. He really really liked the play structure; it was hard to get him out of it at times. I think he is so cute when he is having such fun, and I find happiness in it too.

I have so much more to type. Not all of it is California stories. But it is getting late and I won't be the best mommy if I don't get some sleep. So check back for more later.