Teagan in Wonderland.

Teagan and I are here in Canada, spending some quality time with GG, G-Pop, Tina, Dano and Needla. We're up to our eyeballs in hugs, kisses, love, attention, candy and FUN.

We were permitted a day of rest after our red eye flight where neither of us got much sleep. She wasn't crying, she just refused to sleep. Luckily, Cars 2 was one of the inflight movies and it kept her attention even without sound. She's becoming a frequent flyer and always pleasantly surprises those around us. Let's keep that up!

Then if was off to Wonderland. As in, the amusement park - not down the rabbit hole. Mum & Dad were kind enough to buy us season passes for Brandon & I, so we wanted to make good use of them. Last year, Teagan was a little too young to appreciate (or even go on) most of the rides, so Mum was really excited to see how she handled the kiddie rides this time around. And we weren't disappointed.

Mum took Teagan on cute little rides while Nicola and I waited an hour and a half to ride Leviathan, Canada's tallest and fastest rollercoaster. And I didn't wet myself! Watch the video - even if it's only until 1:28.

I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with rollercoasters that's written all over my face. Is it a grimace? Is it a smile? No one can tell, even with photographic evidence - I didn't manage to catch a photo of the photo they took, but trust me when I tell you it isn't pretty. 

But there was a pretty little face having the time of her life over in Kidzville with GG. And I DID get photographic evidence to back that up.

She couldn't get enough of the balloon ride, and usually ended up with a partner sitting with her because they didn't want to be alone. She is so brave and it was so sweet to see her try to cheer up the screaming kids that climbed in with her. 

 

She's always liked the swings at the park, so we took a chance and put her on the Swings on Crack...I couldn't remember the real name. She was in heaven. Once we convinced the girl behind her to stop kicking her swing, she had a great time.

 

Having portrayed Snoopy in my high school's production of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown", I was ever so proud to see Teagan bonding with the Peanuts characters.

Since it looks like we have a fearless little one on our hands, I "shipped" her off on another ride with Uncle Pablo. Not just a simple back and forth boat ride, folks. This one swung back and forth AND spun around 180° when it reached either end. I thought she'd be screaming (so we armed Uncle P with a binky) but she seemed to really enjoy it. My little daredevil puts me to shame.

I will say that one of my favourite parts of seeing my baby ride big girl rides was watching her cheering squad on the sidelines, smiling and waving, hootin' and hollerin' their support (I failed to catch the flailing arms and yelling in the photo, but they didn't move from that spot.) So cute.

 With all the fun, it's no wonder Teagan ended up like this. And we still have another 10 days!

Pretty sure these ones would make a sound...

...regardless of whether or not there was anyone around to hear them when they fell.

The surprises kept coming with a stay at a resort. Seriously, Mark & Kaylinn are so good to us - they even gave us the bedroom. It was a beautiful resort with fun swimming pools, great food nearby and it was really close to a national forest boasting H-U-G-E trees.

We spent the better part of the day wandering through the coolest forest I've ever seen. My neck got stiff from looking up at the trees so much. Had I not seen them for myself, I never could have appreciated the size if someone had just described them to me. One of the first fallen trees we encountered had been turned into a dance floor. A legitimate dance floor. Mind boggling. I hope that the photos convey the massiveness = particularly the one with all of us standing in the middle of the tree that cars used to drive through. Carazy. I confess to stealing Kaylinn's collage and photos (you'll be able to tell which they are - they look much better than mine. She is a creative genius.)

 

Teagan may have been overwhelmed by all the green - we don't see much of that hue in our neck 'o' the desert. It must not have been enough, though, because she went in search of more multiple times...

We let Teagan do her own walking, which was cute to watch for a while but her dawdling necessitated us carrying her for a good chunk of the trek. You may have noticed that she's - how do I put this nicely? - not small. Carrying her got difficult, so Mark initiated an ingenious Plan B. Tell her to look for Dora and her friends. I panicked a little, having calculated the possibility that The Explorer Herself was hanging out in this particular forest hovered around ZERO. Well, Mark's a smarty pants and kept up the act for an impressive amount of time. And she was perfectly content calling out to Dora & her pals over and over for the last 1/2 mile, give or take. Of course, she was sure to put her hands on her cheeks to make sure her voice carried further ;) All it took to reconcile the promise of a Dora sighting was clicking a button on the ol' personal DVD player at the end of our trek while we ate a packed lunch (seriously, aren't the Morrells the best?) with a swarm of angry bees.

We enjoyed some pooltime later, soaking up sun AND quality time with The Morrells. It was refreshing for Teagan to have two someones capable of throwing her impossibly high and catching her without partially drowning her...and can touch the bottom comfortably. 

Once again, Teagan decided not to sleep or even nap while we were on the road. I threw my parenting rules out the window at 2:00 AM and threw on a movie to coax her to sit still for a few minutes. We were noisy, ill-rested, bad tempered and obnoxious for the rest of the trip, but our friends rose above and miraculously decided against dropping us off at the airport a day early. Instead, we watched the closing ceremonies of the Olympics (SO glad the Spice Girls made an appearance), reminisced about simpler times when we visited them without a tiny blonde non-somniac with an impressive set of lungs. She did have a few sweet moments, though. Like colouring at their antique school desk - it reminded me that time is flying entirely too quickly.

And while she and Cameron may have gotten off on the wrong foot (I sense jealousy was at play) she adored him (and by 'adored' I mean 'tickled and oogled constantly') by the end of our visit. Her baby backseat buddy. Did I mention that M & K managed to track down two different vans for us to borrow over the weekend so we didn't have to rent a car...or drive in California? An Odyssey and an Astro. Both were awesome for different reasons.

When I became too exasperated to deal with Teagan in a civil manner, I offered to "take care of" Cameron. So Mark was brave enough to hand me his baby in exchange for my monster for a few minutes. A few head-smelling, warm and cuddly, peaceful minutes.

Although we joked about our next holiday being a childless one, they definitely added a fun dynamic to our trip. Our wonderful (albeit sleepless) trip full of super surprises, fine food and fantastic friends.

Welcome to The Rock.

Our self-guided tour of Alcatraz Island was one of the most interesting things I've had the chance to do. I was SO glad that Mark & Kaylinn arranged it for us...and to think - we almost didn't make it.

We'd been to the four aforementioned sights earlier in the day and it turns out that the Kaylinn, the Budgeting Queen also budgets time really effectively. We squeezed in everything they had planned for us and even factoring in a quick stop to enjoy a stroll around Pier 39, we made it to the ferry heading for Alcatraz...with 2 minutes to spare.

We snagged great seats on the ferry, despite practically having to jump the crack between the boat and the dock - okay, we didn't cut it THAT close. The gentle ebb and flow rocked Teagan off to sleep and we took turns hanging out on the deck, taking photos of the island...when huge tankers weren't in the way.

Some of us were more excited than others when we arrived.

Pushing one baby and wearing another (can't figure out why people were looking at us funny), we ventured up to the jailhouse for a self-guided audio tour. Former inmates and guards narrated the tour, which made the experience that much more fascinating. You could hear the emotion in their voices as they recalled their time at The Rock. The only thing missing was Sean Connery's "Welcome to the Rock." I should have left a comment card.

We spent a lot of time hopping in and out of jail cells - it was nice to have the luxury of actually getting out. Hopefully that's as much time as we ever spend behind bars!

Ordinarily, two of my favourite places in any given building are the cafeteria and the library, but even those places left me with an ominous, uneasy feeling. They said the cafeteria was the most dangerous room in the place, as all the prisoners were gathered together in the same place 3 times a day, complete with utensils. It's make me a little nervous. But I'm thinking about adopting the prison's "Take all that you wish -- eat all that you take" rule. Unless that makes me more of a warden than a mother? Teagan and I brushed up on "T" with Sesame Street and animal noises with Sandra Boynton at the library...fairly confident neither of those were stocked on the shelves.

Baby Cameron (and his parents) were fantastic sports and handled the outing beautifully. I'd love to tell you that Teagan was on her best behaviour, allowing us to enjoy an unencumbered tour of the facilities. Apparently the fact that it was home to some of the nation's most infamous criminals isn't a selling point for a toddler. Although I think she'd be the first to tell you that time outs are infinitely more intense on The Rock. (I wish I could say that these photos had been staged.)

The stories of the attempted escapes were fascinating. Some of these guys were really creative. Homemade bar stretchers, masks made from soap, cement and paint, spoon shovels and raincoat rafts - you have to admire their resourcefulness. I couldn't imagine what life would be like without the basic freedoms I don't even think about having on a daily basis. I remember one of the inmates on the recording said that it was emotional torture. From one row you could see San Francisco and feel the ocean breeze through the windows. He said it was torture to be able to see everything you gave up, everything you want just a mile away but completely unattainable. The beautiful San Francisco skyline a daily reminder of all the things you can't have. A sobering thought indeed.

All in all, an Alcatraz-tic day. Too punny?

Whatever Happened to Predictability?

Do you have wonderful friends? We sure do. We were lucky enough to visit 2 (now 3) of them earlier this month in California. They have a beautiful new baby boy and were kind enough to let us visit while he's still so fresh. I should begin by telling you that when they came to visit us last fall we did exactly one fun thing: Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. The rest of the time, they were compelled to ooh and aah over our baby. Poor souls. So in theory, they would respond in kind and have us stare at their handsome baby boy, taking a break only while he sleeps to watch paint dry. Well, my friends, they did the exact opposite and planned a weekend full of fun for us, starting the day we got there.

First stop: Surprise trip to see the Oakland Temple. Gorgeous temple. Gorgeous views.

We popped into the Visitors' Center, mostly to give Teagan the opportunity to see a Christus statue for the first time. She ran straight up to it and said "Jesus" over and over. It was so beautiful to watch her interact with it (as much as one can interact with a statue), touching His feet, staring at His face and just saying His name over and over, looking back at us from time to time with a big grin on her face. One of the highlights of parenthood so far. A not-so-great parenting moment came next when we had to apologize to the sister missionaries and tell them that "we didn't have time" to listen to the presentation. Those words didn't taste good coming out of my mouth.

Second stop: Surprise lunch at Fenton's - the creamery frequented by Pixar animators that inspired the ice cream stop at the end of "Up". Please note that while Brandon stopped shoveling the cookie and ice cream goodness into our pieholes and paused to take a family photo, our industrious daughter saw an opportunity to monopolize the deliciousness. She's goin' places, people!

Third stop: Two words - FULL HOUSE. The Morrells did a lot of research for this particular leg of our tour and found out not only where the row of houses was, featured in the opening credits of the show, but the very house they used for outside shots. We didn't pack a picnic, since we were full to the brim with Fenton's, but we saw the spot where the Tanners squatted. Then they navigated the hilly city to take us to THE house. The Full House House. Dream come true, ladies and gents.

Fourth stop: Lombard Street. Eight sharp, nerve wracking, hair-pin turns expertly navigated by Kaylinn. I couldn't believe that people live there! We were one car in a long parade of cars that must be parading by all day, every day. Great views of San Francisco, though. It was kind of awesome.

Fifth stop: Alcatraz. Fantastic. Deserves a post all its own, so stay tuned.

Sixth stop: Brandon and Mark hit a Giants game while Kaylinn and I took the babies home and spent an evening with our budgets. She is the queen of budgeting and was kind enough to give me a personal seminar. Not the way some would want to spend a Friday night, but we both LOVED it. One of the many (nerdy) reasons we're friends. The boys had a great time and a late night, braving public transportation and everything. Buddy's a HUGE sports fan, so imagine my shock when he told me this was the first pro baseball game he'd been to since infancy. Another dream come true...even though they lost.

SO much fun and so many surprises and this was just the first day. Seriously love these guys. Who needs predictability after all? I will hang on to evenin' TV, though.

ZOO Much Fun.

The last installment of The Richardsfest Chronicles comes to you from Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. Mom & Pops were taking their turn with the plague and weren't up for walking around the zoo, but they obliged to take us there and treat us to a fun-filled day with Mat, Manda & Camden. Believe it or not, Las Vegas is short on zoos, so we jumped at the chance to spend the day showing Teagan animals she's only seen in books or on TV. Camden & Teagan were so cute together, just eating up the experience and it's always fun to spend time with Mat & Manda. It was zoo-riffic!

Bubble Guppies, Face Masks and Puking by the Light of a Glow Stick

We filled in the activity gaps with The Littles with bubbles. Not just bubbles. Buh-bbles. Aunt Tara outdid herself with bubble blowing equipment of all shapes and sizes and Aunt Manda brought a spill-proof bubble container. GENIUS. (You can see on Teagan's face the surprise that she's been entrusted with a bubble jar. She almost didn't believe it.) We had so much fun every day in a cute little clearing, watching the 3 "babies" toddle around after bubbles and loving being able to blow their own.

The boys went golfing one day, so it seemed only fair that the girls got some pampering as well. So we did nails, hair and face masks. Teagan slept through the whole thing, which was just as well. I have some ADORABLE nieces and it was so nice to be a "fun aunt" for an hour...I gave up that title when I had a baby of my own. They're beautiful girls and it was so nice to visit with my sisters-in-law as well (all 4 are as lovely as they come), all while listening to girl power tunes.

My creative genius of a sister-in-law organized some Minute to Win It games for us to play as a family. From elephant bowling to the Oreo challenge, it. Was. Hilarious. We'd had BEAUTIFUL weather the whole week, hot during the day and it cooled off at night - something Vegas doesn't seem to know how to do, so Buddy & I were excited to have to dust off our sweaters and long pants. On our last night on the island, a killer storm rolled in, pelting rain and producing the loudest, scariest thunder I'd ever heard. It was AMAZING. Having packed my raincoat - it was Seattle, after all - I wanted to make sure it got used, so I sang, danced, jumped and posed in the rain, to chronicle the maiden voyage of my raincoat.

And what's a raincoat debut without a S'more or 4?

The only downside about the most impressive storm I've seen in a while is that it knocked out the electricity. For the entire network of islands. While I was prancing about in the rain, the rest of the family had the foresight to start packing. So I found myself packing in the impending darkness, trying to make sure we had all our bits and bobs, squinting the whole time. Fairly confident we hadn't left a Dora DVD or one of our hundreds of binkies, I called it a night and went out to enjoy the Glowstick Dance Party my clever sister-in-law had organized. The world's coolest dad stuffed glowsticks down Teagan's pajamas and it was even funnier than usual to watch her shake her booty.

What, you ask,is worse than packing in the dark? Throwing up in the dark. Remember how Teagan and I got over it? Well, it was just starting for most everyone else. One minute, my nephew is "Dancing in the Dark" (not to Bruce Springsteen, but that's irrelevant) wearing nothing but underwear and glowsticks and the next, we hear what sounds like water being spilled. My sweet SIL, Annie, says "Will someone lend me a flashlight?" only to reveal the impossible amount of vomit that projected from her son to her legs and feet. I hope to one day have the same poise and grace she has in the face of puke. An interesting tidbit we learned the hard way: the water on the islands come from wells. Wells powered by electricity. So attempts at laundry, showering or flushing a toilet were all futile and I believe it hit every cabin but ours that night. Everyone handled it MUCH better than I would have. So while we made the return trip home with a bad taste in our mouths (ha!) we had a fantastic week and now we can look back and laugh at the unfortunate ending. Thanks for the fun, Mom & Pops!

Things that come in Sixes:

• Gosselins
• soda
• sides of a cube
• Six Flags
• strings on a guitar
• Brandon's abs*
• geese a layin'

*circa 2006

None of them hold a candle to our years of marriage. Hmm, that sounds like it's ending here. Let me be the first to tell you that we're optimistic about celebrating a whole lot more years of wedded bliss. 

Happy Anniversary, Buddy! Love you! 

Family Photo Fun

That we're together as an entire Richards family happens so rarely, that we have to take a ton of photos when it does. We all came prepared to take a "formal" family photo (as formal as we get) and snuck in some opportunities for some other group photos as well. Nothing short of a miracle that all 27 (is it really 27?!) of us are looking at the camera at the same time (smiles are an unexpected bonus). I credit Matt for his more-than-enthusiastic countdown with the self-timer. It was like a New Year's celebration with every take!

 

 

Sure, we can get all 27 of us looking in the right direction but our personal best seems to be 2/3 most of the time.

And should the universe threaten to implode, we were sure to take a jumping photo...or ten.

One of us had had quite enough family photo fun by the end, but he managed to put on a smile anyway :)