The Last of Cali

Ashley just turned 2, and celebrated with every

2 year old's favorite monster..Elmo.

Did you know that Elmo always speaks of himself in the 3rd person?

Did you know that Elmo is really a 50 year old,

6 ft tall African American guy?

Really, check out www.youtube.com/watch?v=IY_sl1R3KJQ


Elmo says, "Happy Birthday Ashley!"

Elmo says, "Hi Baby!"

When Tim was Michael's age, his best friend was Chris Bono.

Last year, Chris and his wife, Patricia, were scheduled to have

their baby on the same day that Michael was scheduled to come

into this world. They beat us by 2 months.

Here's Parker, the miracle baby, at 1 month:

This is Michael at 4 days:

And here's Chris, Parker, & Mikey now:

Parker caught up.

In the course of Michael's first experience with the ball pit he got pushed in and tackled by his cousins. So for the rest of the trip he had this complex against going back in.

Hopefully this isn't something that haunts him for the rest of his life.

Mary taunts him with the green ball.

"What are you so afraid of, ya wuss?"

Saying Goodbye.

First time in the ocean

Somehow, Michael's first experience in the ocean was in the Pacific instead of the Atlantic. It was a pretty amazing experience though. Here are some shots of our day in Malibu, still no sight of Matthew McConaughey:

We were really impressed with how well Michael took our picture:

Fun with Momma:

For our hike we were able to borrow the Cadillac of all baby backpacks:

Some dolphins:

Some scenery:

This is a mother and two baby whales migrating up the coast from Mexico. They stay close to the shore to avoid the killer whales that prey on the calves. Its amazing what you learn when you stop and talk to a So Cal hippie for a half hour.

Not the greatest pics. They would show their tales

for a split second but we never got the shot off in time.

First time in the pool

One of the great parts of traveling out west is the time change. You're up in the morning before anyone else is and ready to go have some fun. We were off to the pool one morning while the rest of the world was sleeping and we had the place all to ourselves. Maybe it was also b/c no one in Cali swims when its only 65 degrees out. Hey, that's paradise for us!

Mikey did really well. He started out pretty hesitant:

But he soon got the hang of it:

The Pals:

Ashley's showing everyone how its done:

Mary is all smiles:

My so cali girl:

Hangin with GG: