Fancy Dinner

We finally went out for our fancy dinner we'd had scheduled for Tommy and Mom's birthday. It was supposed to be the day after Christmas...

We loved Flemings, and had a great time. 

But any other time Tommy's heart still belongs to chicken nuggets. 

Camping w/568

Big camping trip for the kids this weekend! Kat went up with the Troop early on Friday to set up, which meant we had to come up with somewhere fun to take Tommy and his newly adventurous palate for dinner. Yakitori at Shin-Sen-Gumi!

He liked sitting up at the bar to watch them grill all our food, and liked having to take off his shoes.

Here's what we ate, and he ate ALL of it! He liked the beef tongue and chicken hearts best, but also ate more gizzard than either of us!

Adventures in eating continued when Mom dropped him off at camp the next morning just in time for breakfast burritos. 

Kat did some cooking, and said she got stuck doing lots of KP. 

Since Mom and Dad didn't have the kids thy went to Porto's Cuban Bakery and braved the long line for a medianoche sandwich (so worth it), and brought home some empanadas, potato balls, and meat pies. 

Meanwhile the kids were on a 5 mile hike. 

Kat's favorite part was goofing around with her friends

L to R: Katelyn, Nadia, Tiana, Kira, Emily, Kat

Tommy's was having a snack

But Tommy did love working on earning his whittling chip. Here he is wielding a hatchet!

 Meanwhile, Mom and Dad scooted downtown for some daytime cocktails. A rainbow at Aloha Grill...

And great views from the rooftop bar. 

It was pretty windy, and the kids said camping was pretty cold, but all in all a good time was had by all. 

Friends

Tommy having matcha donuts with his buddy Ivy

Kat and her crew at school.

Nadia, Kelly, Tiana, Kenzie, and Kat

 

Visit from the Kowalewskys

The Kowalewskys came up to play with us! We took Cali on her first visit to Dog Beach...

It was a little cold...

But that didn't top Robby and Tommy from frolicking in the waves with the pups. 

Robby even taught Gizmo the joys of digging in the sand. 

The kids had some playtime at the house, and the grown-ups went up the street to the brewery.

Great to have some cousins-by-love playtime!

Wrestling

Tommy started a new wrestling class, and is liking it! That's him in the orange shorts. 

He especially likes it because he and his buddy Cole get to laugh and throw each other around. 

 

Valentine's Day

The kids didn't have school on Valentine's Day, so we decided to do an urban scavenger hunt around HB. It was fun, had some good puzzles, and led us under the pier to get this picture. 

No other major Valentine's news, except for this awesome card and poem Tommy's friend Ivy made for him. The heart-shaped chicken nuggets are my favorite!

 

Big Kid Room and Hair Makeovers

Changes for both kiddos! Tommy got a new loft bed, and loves having more room to move around in his room and tinker with his Lego.

Kat got a cute new haircut. 

Scouts Updates

Kat's friend Tiana is set to be the first female Eagle Scout recipient in Kat's troop! For her project she is repairing a sign in the Bolsa Chica Wetlands. Kat and her other friends came to help. They painted...

Used the power sander...

And helped make her project a success!

Tommy's den is finishing up their requirements before they bridge to Scouts BSA this month. They met with City Council member Natalie Moser and had some great questions for her!

Star Wars Cocktail Lounge

Mom and Dad went to a Star Wars themed cocktail event at a local distillery. This creepy Chewbacca shrunken head on the wall wasn't a good start...

But the drinks were fun! Mom liked the little lightsaber mixer sticks...

But they're not for picking your teeth with!

They had their drinks next to Captain Phasma's helmet...

And the Baby Yoda one was definitely the cutest!

Cheers, and may the force be with you!

Famous and Escape Room

Dad is Famous! He spoke at the American Bankers Conference in Palm Springs! Here is his speaker's bio. We are proud of him. 

We are also proud of ourselves for getting out of yet another escape room! This one was Stranger Things themed and very fun, and full of 80's nostalgia for Mom and Dad. 

 

SAS in Austin

Mom an some of her Semester at Sea friends had a little getaway in Austin. 

They saw some sights, ate some BBQ, had lots of laughs...

And did lots of relaxing. 

And maybe had a little time for goofiness visiting the "Museum of the Weird". 

Good friends and good times!

 

Last Pinewood Derby

The last Kingman Pinewood Derby! Tommy's car wasn't the fastest...

But he had fun goofing around with his friends in his den. 

And won the award for "Most Humorous", which is really all he ever wanted anyway. Congrats to Tommy and his goose car, "The Honker Bonker".