Hetherington Happenings

#35, I Scream for Ice Cream

Are you tracking with our Summer Fun album on my sidebar of this blog?

Don't miss out. We're up to #35!

A Boy and His Dog

It's been just 10 days since we added Ginger, the Retriever, to our family, but its very clear that she is already Max's best friend.  Yesterday we had her spayed, and I'm not sure which was harder: the surgery for Ginger or the day of separation for Max.

As soon as she arrived home last night, drugged and down from the vet, Max was near to give her comfort.

Ginger had no appetite and was clearly very sleepy, so Max positioned himself near her and grabbed a book.  Appropriately entitled "Jake and the Brave Night", it's a story about being brave and unafraid of being alone at night.

I'm proud of Max for being so compassionate to his friend, and for the huge progress that this shows for his reading skills. We've worked long and hard, through many hours of therapy and many tears of frustration, for him to accomplish this simple task of reading. I am thrilled beyond words that he had the desire to read to Ginger, but even more proud that he had the ABILITY to read to her all by himself.

We love the things that Summer brings

Our Summer Fun list is growing...having you been following my photo album? We're up to #29 so far. There's more ahead!

Here's a few of the things that Summer brings...

S'mores!

 

evenings around the firepit.....Max does not want to share his dog

Lots of smiles and giggles

Ice Cream and Berry Cobbler

Friendship

Chillaxin time!

Sparkler fun

day hikes

 

 

What did Summer bring you?

 

California Dreamin on a Summer Day

Another reflecting post on our start-of-summer California trip... in-between days at Legoland we had the fun of connecting with people we love.

At Jakes Del Mar (love you Jackie & David Allaire!!) we had so much fun with our server Danielle Allaire while meeting my high school girlfriend, Trisha Garcia and Mike for dinner.  If you are ever in San Diego and want an incredible dinner of fresh seafood or steak AND you want a seat as close to the ocean as possible, you MUST head to Jakes.  If you look past the glass refraction glare in this photo, you'll see an amazing view of waves and sand, and if you make your reservation at the right time, you'll see a sunset that only California can paint for you. Spectacular!

I look forward to times like these with friends, food and the ocean! And I'm so thankful for the friendship with Trisha I've been able to keep for over 25 years.

We met Aunt Jeri at Dana Point Harbor for lunch. More fresh seafood! 

And more time on the beach for the boys.

Max is happiest when he is rolling in, digging in, covered with sand. It is the greatest sensory therapy EVER that we've found for him.  I guess we may have to move to the beach some day. Bummer.

We met up with my sweet college friend, Michelle Krugh, and two of her precious kiddos. She is an amazing mom!

A fun afternoon at Doheny Beach. Too bad my kids don't tan well.

Then we headed down the coast to San Clemente pier for more fresh seafood and an incredible sunset. Our kids had a blast together!

It was a perfect way to end the day.

Legoland Adventure

Looking back a few weeks, and catching up, we kicked off our summer with a week in San Diego, California. So much fun that I'm going to make a couple posts. I'll start with Legoland...

We spent a couple days at Legoland and here's my review.  We went on a Thursday and were surrounded with 8-12 year old kids without supervision climbing all over the lines, loudly using inappropriate language and no "Disney police" to keep order; long, long, long,  long waits for 30 second rides; and rides clearly intended for kids under 6.  I was expecting Disneyland with Lego's and I was sorely let down. We had done the $10 second-day upgrade to come back Saturday and I wasn't looking forward to it.

However, I will say that the Mini-Land they created was spectacular...San Fransico, Paris, NYC, New Orleans, Las Vegas...and Star Wars all 6 episodes.

Saturday the sun was shining and the boys were so excited for Star Wars Days at Legoland.

So was everyone else in San Diego county who wasn't at the County Fair. It was far more crowded with people, but it was families, not kids on the loose, so the atmosphere was completely different.

And the park must have been more prepared because the lines moved faster (30 minute waits as opposed to 60 minute waits) on the same rides.

The Star Wars characters were everywhere.

Everywhere!

I'm fairly certain I took photos of the boys with Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Queen Amidala, Storm Troopers, R2D2, Darth Maul, Jedi's, Sandpeople, Jawa's, Sand Troopers, Snow Troopers, Tie Fighter Troopers, and a few others I can't spell.

There was a scavenger hunt, a droid hunt and giveaways. The boys were in Lego Star Wars heaven. It was a great day! We left happy and exhausted.

We had debated about buying season passes and thankfully we did not, although our second day experience was much more positive than our first exposure, I won't be going back. Legoland is clearly intended for young children. I could see taking boys up until the age of 9, maybe 10, but a girl past the age of 7, would find no interest in this place. And teenagers, forget it! There is no reason at all to bring your tween or teen to Legoland.  So take your kids while they are young and you will have a great adventure.

Happy July 4th!

From our house to yours, Happy Birthday America!

 

#20, Love at First Sight

We are now officially citizens of Bend.... we joined the ranks of dog owners. My boys think this is THE. GREATEST. DAY. OF. SUMMER. EVER!!!!

Meet Ginger...named so by Max.