Californ-i-a

I had a little bit of down time while the boy is napping so I decided to post a little somethin' somethin' on the blog.  Well I say he is napping, he is in his crib talking, trying to keep from going to sleep. . . We will see how long that lasts.

There are many things I want/need to blog about, but I am not sure where to begin.   Let's see, maybe we should start with our trip out to California to visit our college friends Matt and Sarah Arnett.

Matt and Sarah at Santa Monica Beach

We really had a great time.  To get there we flew, which was interesting with a 5 and 1/2 month old.  The first flight was early so Reid actually ended up sleeping, in a seat that wasn't being used for the first 2 hours.

Reid sleeping 

We got there and started our adventure.  However, I knew Matt and Sarah had a really nice camera, so I just took along our little point and shoot that doesn't take very good pictures, so I have precious little here in Texas to show you.  When I get them from Matt and Sarah however, you can bet there will be more.  Here are just a few things we did and I have pictures for.

The Santa Monica Pier

Reid and Daddy 

It was unusually cold for Cali

Reid being chauffeured to the water

Pretty pier

pretty sunset

We went to a local Farmer's Market and the Rose Bowl (where the longhorns beat USC for the national championship)

Dark picture of me and Reid at the Market

Family at the Market in still cold Cali

Rose Bowl

All in our Longhorn gear

We also went to Hollywood

Reid and Daddy with the hollywood sign to the left in the back ground

Mommy and Reid and Hollywood

The Family

We are pointing to the Hollywood sign. . .you can barely see it

 We went to the Chinese Theater where there were all the handprints of famous people

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Now for those who don't know, I absolutely L-O-V-E(ed) The Wizard of Oz movie when I was little. . . Like had an identity crisis in thinking I was Dorothy.  I would introduce myself as Dorothy Gail from Kansas.  So when we got there there was a mad search for Judy Garland, the actress who played Dorothy.  After consulting a map we finally found her.  It was on of the biggest highlights of the trip for me.

So happy

Like I said, I don't have many pictures with me, we took a bunch, just not with our camera.  Hopefully I will get others up here soon.

EEEeeeeeeee (the shrillest sound you can scream)<---- Reid

You read it right, my baby has now learned how to scream to entertain himself. . . It is true :(  In fact he is doing it right now to keep himself from going to sleep for his afternnon nap.  I hate it when he does this and gets so off schedule.  Speaking of some of the "not so glamorous" things about motherhood, I am STILL finding new stretchmarks!  SERIOUSLY?!?  If you were to go back and read all of my little weekly pregnancy update things, when it came to stretch marks I always said "No, not yet, and I am so very thankful."  And seriously when my belly was big I HONESTLY didn't see ANY.  However, now almost 6 months post partum, they are deciding to show up.  It is incredibly gross, and makes me even more self concious than I already was about my midsection.  Not that anyone would ever see it, but I just remember what it used to look like and now that it definitely DOES NOT look that way anymore it makes me extrememly sad.  I hope to rememedy the extra skin/pounds issue that are still deciding to stay around with a hardcore work out regimine of Zumba, running, biking, and Ab Ripper. . . We shall see.

Enough with this debbie downer stuff though. . . I am actually currently in California.  Some wonderful friends arranged to have us come out here and visit them.  Matt and Sarah (whose blog you can read here ) are some friends from college who started dating around the time we did/ got engaged about the same time/ got married a month apart from each other.  We have had some good times with these crazy kids and are so happy to be here enjoying sunny Cali, except for the fact that Cali is COLD!!  Boo for that, but they are making it worth our while anyway, like tonight we are going down to the Santa Monica pier (apparently every pier scene you know of in a movie is shot there) to celebrate our 3 years of marriage!  It is going to be great.  I am going to take a lot of pictures, but it will be with my point and shoot so they may not turn out as good as usual.  Reid came with us and has been doing beautifully.  Since we are only here four days I decided to keep him on a Texas time schedule (Cali is two hours behind us) and he has been handling it very well.  The plane ride didn't even bother him.  I knew he was a good little traveler, but this just sealed the deal.  Which btw, if any of you new moms out there are thinking that flying with a little one and getting through an airport will be pure torture, I am here to tell you it is NOT.  The airport people are so nice!  You get moved to the very front of lines and flight attendants hold your dirty son as you prepare to change the biggest poop of his life in a TINY bathroom, I mean it is great!  So yeah, if you're thinking of taking a trip on an airplane, just do it! 

Well that is about it for right now. . . I guess I better go and make sure I am ready to head out the door when everyone else is.  This country girl is about to head out on the town!