TreasuresInTerraCotta

As I mentioned before, my oldest is great at being photographed.  He looks at the camera, he smiles real looking smiles (most of the time).  He's been like that since he was a baby.  The other two do not usually like being photographed, they do not like to look at the camera, they like to run out of the picture frame before I take a picture in order to see the image on the magical side of the digital camera.  They have both been like that since they were babies. So I take what I can get.  And I take a lot of pictures.  Especially on vacation.  And I hope for the best. At a place like LegoLand or the beach, it's easy to fall into the trap of taking lots of far-away pictures.  It's always more interesting to capture scenery with your loved ones, otherwise, you're better off buying postcards, but in the effort to capture the grandness of the ocean or the expance of the sand or the size of a Lego Empire State building it's easy to l...

When we told people we had a 5 day pass to LegoLand they were surprised and skeptical that we would "need" 5 days.  In fact, we spent one afternoon with family friends and one afternoon at the beach.  And the park closed at 5:00 because it was the off season.  Other than that we did, in fact, spend our 5 days in LegoLand.  They were slow walking, easy going days filled with what the kids wanted to do.  Here are a few of the fun things we did that we wouldn't have done if we didn't have 5 days. Chima 4-D show.  The little ones would not have liked this experience and I didn't like the content, but the big boy and I got to experience 4-D. Calvin and I rode the waves.  Calvin and Andrew rode the waves.  Calvin went by himself again and again.  No lines made it fun and possible! The Hideaways - This huge tree house-type climbing area was fun for all the boys.  Calvin spent a lot of time running around in there.  There w...

Most afternoons Tyler would take the little boys back to the hotel for naps.  So Calvin and I got to spend some afternoon time wandering around LegoLand. He wanted to ride on this spinning jet-ski ride.  Fortunately he was tall enough that I didn't have to go with him.  I'm not sure the Dramamine will help me if I go around-and-around-and-around-and-around.  We slid on the wave slide again and again.  I can handle that! Posing with Lego structures. That little Lego man is looking at Calvin as if to say, "Crazy Gringo!" I don't know if this Lego spider is a normal fixture or just decoration for Halloween.  He was huge.     Lego hands make me happy. More posing with Lego structures.   Oh my, that's a big dragon.  And the Knights Tournament was a ride I was happy to get off of.  Waiting for the Dragon roller coaster. Mini-town A boat tour of Mini-town A little history along the way. (I did...

We spent the last week in California.  We visited LegoLand and the beach and some family friends. We stayed at the LegoLand Hotel.  Everything was decked out for Halloween and Brick-or-Treat nights! We spent a lot of time Lego building in the lobby. Our Lego pirate-themed room.  Bunk beds with a trundle bed fit our 3 boys just perfectly.   First day in the park.  Since we were staying at the LegoLand Hotel, so we were admitted a half hour early.   Waiting for our first ride, the Safari Trek.  Lego giraffes.   Truman and I were in the zebra car.  First stop, Lego zebras! Daddy and Andrew passing the lions.   Calvin coming around the bend in the cheetah car.   Mid-October was a prime time to visit Southern California.  Beautiful weather.  No lines at the Enchanted Boat Ride.  Watch our for the swimming/spitting ogre.  Fortunately the prince is just around the bend. Wa...

Two years ago this week we had the pleasure of visiting Boston.  It was the perfect week to see the leaves and explore the city a little bit!  I thought I would make it feel like Fall around here by posting a few pictures from the 2010 trip! Wellesley College from the bell tower      Those little boys are really growing up!  Truman is almost the age of Andrew in these pictures.    Salem, Massachusetts We seem to make lots of trips to pumpkin patches.  This one was near my sister's school and we were a little early to pick her up so we stopped for a few pictures, play and we picked up a couple pumpkins for the college girl.    A small park we spontaneously stopped to visit.  Just because it was pretty.  And because it had this beautiful clock tower. The leaves in the canopy of the tree were so red that we look exceptionally pink in this picture....