June Bugs

There is no rest for the weary when there is a two year old in the house! The sheer drama associated with being two is enough to wear a person out. Luc is a young man of extremes right now… his shattering disappointment at sharing toys matched only by his unbridled enthusiasm for strawbabies.

Dolphins and Penguins and Whales… Oh My!
Mommy had a day off of work when her office relocated this month. We asked Luc if he wanted to go see the animals at the fair. He said, “I go see whales!” So, we changed our plans and took him to Sea World instead. Friday morning, he was dressed and ready to go, standing by the front door at 8 AM. Since Sea World doesn’t actually open until 10 AM, we had to explain that the whales were still asleep. Once we were actually in the park, he was so excited you could practically see the energy crackling around him. The penguins were the first stop, in keeping with his current obsession with Happy Feet. He was a little concerned that the penguins in the water were going to be chased by whales and/or seals, but once he realized there were no threats, he loved the exhibit so much that we had to go through it twice. The dolphins were a hit as well. We made it during feeding time, so they were very active. They came close enough to pet, but Luc would have none of it. We were killing time until the Shamu show, so we stopped by the sting ray and eel exhibit. He didn’t like the eels (I don’t blame him, I think they are creepy too), but he did like the other fish in the tank. The hit of the day was the Shamu show. He was thoroughly captivated by it. He stared intently during the tricks and jumps and clapped after each performance. After Shamu we hit up the Shark Encounter where he correctly identified a barracuda (he is his father’s son!). He wasn’t too sure about going in the water with the sharks, but when he found out it was a tunnel and we could stay dry, he was all over it. He crashed out in his stroller as we made our way over to the polar bears, so we decided to save something for next time and called it a day. He’s been talking about whales, penguins and dolphins ever since. Fortunately for Luc, we bought year long passes, so he can see all the marine life he can handle.

Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner?
The Guzman Family Reunion was held at Covina Park in mid-June. We are quite a group when all together, so we were looking forward to a fun filled day. Luc loved the park and made friends with Cousin Mandy’s daughter, Jennifer, who fed him all the cake he wanted. We saw Grandpa Art, Great Grandpa Henry, Tio Henry and lots of tias who pinched Luc’s big fat cheeks. Shawn counted over 125 people before he lost count of family members. Grandpa Art introduced Luc to the wonders of the ice cream man, so his day was a success.

Happy I Ceam Day, Daddy
Luc was awake bright and early Father’s Day morning. As we ate our cereal together, we were practicing saying “Happy Father’s Day” before Shawn woke up. Luc played along for a few minutes before correcting me saying, “NO. Happy I CEAM Day Mommy.” We drove up to Oceanside that evening to take Daddy to dinner and did end the evening with Luc’s favorite “dirt” (dessert), ice cream.

Nothing Like That Good Mountain Air
We were invited to spend the weekend in Idyllwild at a cabin owned by the grandparents of Luc’s friend Max. We packed up the car as if we were going to be gone for a week instead of 1.5 days and headed up to the beautiful mountains. Luc and Max were delighted with each other’s company and had a blast playing together. Saturday morning we packed up the boys (big and little) and headed to Lake Hemet. Daddy went mountain biking, the other big boys went fishing and the little boys threw rocks in the water. We picnicked on the lake shore and then took naps all around. More kids and families showed up that afternoon and it was kid chaos. For the record, 11 adults and 6 kids under the age of 3 are probably too many for one cabin. But everyone got along very well and the bath water was black every night… a good sign that fun was had.

What’s Ahead for July
We can’t believe that it is already going to be July, but we have lots to look forward to next month! We will spend the 4th of July on Coronado with our neighbors, Maxwell Cortopassi’s 2 birthday is July 7, and best of all, Mica and Avi come for a visit July 15. With so much to look forward to, it is no wonder the summer is flying by!