Call the Search Party

Jared and I got a wild hair and decided to go hiking in the mountains this weekend.  We loaded up the family and headed East.  Once we reached our destination (elevation 4,000 feet) we had a picnic lunch and then hiked UP a one mile trail.  I want to emphasize UP because by the time we got to our stopping point to turn around we were at about 5,500 feet.  I am pretty sure I almost passed out three times, but Jared was a great coach and kept me going.

On our way back to the truck we saw a sign that read "Mountain Lions are present in this area.  Make sure to make plenty of noise while you are hiking so they are not startled and keep children close, as mountain lions seem to be particularly drawn to them". YIKES.  We had Oliver and Jackson with us- we were a walking target!  Wish we would have seen the sign before we started the hike.

Enjoying out picnic 

Start of the trail 

 

About half way up the trail

We met some other people on the trail and they took our picture

There was a fire in 2003 in the mountains we were hiking.  There were dead trees everywhere.

10 Months

Wow- I am 10 months!  I am such a big boy.  I am crawling faster and faster every day and even practicing my downward dog position in hopes that one day I can stand!

Mom says that I am all boy- not for sure what that means but I think it has something to do with me liking to  hang over the side of the couch and ram my toy trucks into the wall.

This is the only shot where Jackson was still. 

The rest of the photo shoot went something like this ... 

CoCo Cabana

Jackson and I were at Babies R Us and ran across something we just couldn't pass up.  A pop-up beach cabana!  It is SPF 50 and will be perfect for outside by our pool or on the beach.  Oliver tested it out as well and gave it the thumbs up!

Shock it to Me

Oliver took his Rattle Snake Awareness class this past week and passed with flying colors!  Well, I take that back, he passed, but maybe not with flying colors. I warned the trainer that he was kind of spastic and probably wouldn't care if he was getting shocked, he'd still go up to the snake.  And of course, Oliver followed through with what I thought.  The trainer said, and I quote, "Oliver went up to the snake and was like 'oh what is this...SHOCK'...'oh what is this...SHOCK'...'oh what is this...SHOCK'...'oh what is this...SHOCK'.  On the fifth time he finally understood that he wasn't supposed to go up to the rattlesnake or he would get shocked.  After he caught on to that, he passed the other three tests just fine.

And now that I typed the abovet it probably sounds like Oliver was abused- but I assure you he was not.  What they do in the class is take the dogs up to a baby rattlesnake and shock them to make them think they were bitten.  They then take the dogs up to a snake skin so they know what the snake smells like, a rattlesnake in a box so they know what the snake sounds like and then an adult snake for a final test.  By then end of the class the dog knows what a rattlesnake looks, sounds and smells like and knows to stay away from them.

After class Oliver got to go to PetCo and pick out a treat and get a new dog tag.  I'm not for sure which one  had more fun in the store- Jackson or Oliver.

Oliver is ready for his treat! 

Oliver eyeing the treats while Jackson finds his own treat- the cart.  

Working on an escape plan

S is for Snake

If you know me, then you know that I have a serious, serious fear of snakes.  I don't even like looking at pictures of them.  I'm not really for sure when or why I became so afraid of them, but I do have a vague recollection of a snake in my parents garden and my dad having to chop it's head off with a shovel.  Ahhh ... memories.

So, you can imagine my hesitation as I took a stroll with Jackson through the park next to us and came upon a sign by the trail entrance that said "beware of snakes".  HOLD THE PHONE. California has snakes?

I immediately turned the stroller around and went home and told Jared about the sign.  He laughed at me and said "uhm, yes there are snakes here, it is a desert state".  In my opinion if you live by the ocean there should be no snakes.  Sharks, yes.  Snakes, no.

I told one of the moms in my mom's group about the sign and she said that she was walking in the hills the other day and ran across two rattle snakes.  And then another mom said "oh, yeah, I see them every where".

WHAT?  I have a serious problem with this.  Serious problem.  I have been having nightmares the past few days about snakes b/c of this.  Nightmares- like the kind you wake up from sweating.

So, instead of being an adult about the situation and realizing that snake are more scared of you then you are of them, I am going to be completely unreasonable and ridiculous.  Here is what I'm going to do.

1.) I am never going walking in the hills or mountains.  Sorry, not gonna do it.

2.) When I take Jackson for a walk on the park trail, I am going to stay in middle of the path and constantly sweep my eyes back and forth along the path ahead looking for snakes.  If I see one ahead, I will immediately stop, turn, and run like a crazy, mad woman.

3.) I am going to take Oliver to a snake avoidance class to teach him to stay away from snakes.  Actually, let me rephrase that.  Jared will be taking him to this class. I will be at home in the house where it is snake free.

4.) I am going to write a letter to Governor Brown recommending that all snakes be relocated to another state.  I'm sure he'll understand and oblige.

Just for Fun

I love this little guy.

Easter Party

Our mommy's group had an Easter party on Sunday and Jackson had a great time.  He flirted with some of the ladies, chewed on a few plastic eggs and wore some bunny ears, which he was not too happy about!

Jackson's friends

 Mommy's group

Teach Fam 

(Jackson's still mad about the bunny ears)

Helping Mommy

Jackson is such a big help these days.  He loves to jump right in and help mommy with her chores.

Here's Jackson helping mommy with the laundry (i.e. knocking over the basket and chewing on his folded socks).

And here is Jackson helping mommy with sweeping (i.e. knocking over the sweeper and trying to sweep Oliver with it). 

Busted

Hmmm ... this looks like some stuff I can chew on and throw around.  

Oh hey mom.  Nothing much going on over here.  Just making sure this drawer works.  

Ready for a walk

Jackson is going to take the lead on this one.

Anxiety Attack

I am pretty sure Oliver is a few days away from an anxiety attack.  He just does not know what to do or think with Jackson crawling.  It's bad enough that Oliver really can't hide from him anymore (except up on the couch) but now Jackson is playing with HIS toys.  Oliver isn't allowed to play with Jackson's toys, but I really can't discipline or explain to Jackson why he can't have Oliver's toys, so they are fair game to him.

Lately Oliver has gotten creative in trying to keep his toys away from Jackson.  One day Jackson was in Oliver's toy box getting out his toys and Oliver would go up to him, grab the toy out of Jackson's hand and put it in the dinning room for safe keeping.  He did this for about seven of his toys.

Oliver hiding his toys from Jackson

Hiding the toys in the dinning room really didn't work that well, so Oliver thought that if he actually got in his toy box there would be no way Jackson would take the toys.  WRONG.  

Don't even think about taking my toys 

Hmmm ... well that didn't work too well 

And now you want to actually get into my box too?  I'm outta here.