Bye Bye Bay

Last month, we began our "farewell tour" of the Bay Area.  After living two years in the City by the Bay, it was time to return home to Colorado for a new adventure and to be closer to family and friends.  San Francisco was an amazing experience, both personally and professionally, and while we are grateful for the time spent there and the lessons learned, living in one of the most expensive cities in the country was difficult.
We definitely miss those who helped care for our two boys, as well as the friends we made, and we definitely miss the amazing views.  We all had favorite spots, TJ especially, so before we left, we made sure to say one last goodbye to places and faces.

We started two weeks before Moving Day, with a going away ice cream party for TJ and his preschool friends.  His closest pals, Gabby and Mila, were there.  A few of their other classmates joined them for a lot of sugar, playing and noise!  It was great to see the friendships TJ made while at Ms. Irina's school -- I know he misses them.

TJ's favorite place in the SF was definitely Pier 39.  We had a routine every time we went there:
Eat at Bubba Gump's
Ride the Carousel Twice (he almost always rode the zebra with the blue reins)
Say hello to the sea lions
Get a bucket of donuts
Our goodbye trip there was just the same as our first trip there.  Grandma, who is quite familiar with this schedule, joined us as well since she flew in to help us pack before the move.  It was a great time for sure!

For about six months, TJ had been asking to go see a lighthouse.  Every weekend, we talked about doing it, but either the weather was bad, a kid was sick, or we were just too busy.  Finally, on our last weekend in SF, we knew it was now... or never.  Aunt G had made into SF a few days ahead of Frankie's birthday, so we loaded up two cars after gymnastics and headed to Point Bonita lighthouse across the Golden Gate Bridge in Sausalito.  It was a gorgeous day and a beautiful hike to the lighthouse.  After checking it for a little while, we parked in an open area and had a picnic.  It was the perfect memory for our family to make before making our way back to landlocked Colorado.

After the excursion, it was a week blurred with goodbyes, tears and hugs.  TJ had his final gymnastics and basketball classes, and Mommy was able to hang out on his last day of school to watch his music class, then come back later for a going away party there complete with cupcakes!

Before heading to SFO to fly to DIA with Grandma, TJ had to say goodbye to his pink house. They stayed

at Grandma & Pa's house for a few days while Mommy and Daddy finished work, packing and driving to Colorado.  It was so great to be reunited March 30th.

Now that we're back in Colorado, we're slowly settling in.  Mommy still has a little unpacking to do, but all the boys' stuff is out and in full use.  They are sharing a room, and so far, so good.  They both started school this week, and while there's definitely an adjustment, each day is a little better.  We can't wait to have everything unpacked, pictures on the walls and a sense of home to help us feel more grounded.

Happy Birthday, Frankie!

Click on the link to watch the video chronicling Frankie's first year:

Frankie's First Year


We love you little man!  Thanks for a wonderful year full of so much joy and laughter! 

Happiest Birthday on Earth - Part 2

January 18, 2014 –

Doug and Ashley gave us a ride home on Friday night.  I was a little worried what shape TJ would be in heading into day two.

I thought the previous day of non-stop walking and doing would render the little guy “exhausted” on day two.

I forgot day two was also his birthday.  By the time 9 am rolled around he was ready and raring to go.

Day Two at California Adventure

Parking was a nightmare to say the least.  That’s why I walked.  The So Cal Martin clan met Daddy at the gate and we quickly entered California Adventure and got in the Cars Racers Fastpass Line.  It was only around 10 am, but the Fast Pass was giving out times around 5:30 and later.  I was able to secure 6 Fast Pass tickets for later that night.  This would prove to be a very wise decision.  But I’ll get to that later.

By the time I had gone through the Fast Pass line twice, Rory and I were ready to meet up with the rest o our family.  TJ, Mommy, Frankie and Grandpa and Grandma were a little on edge from the parking delay.  Thankfully the Disney/Pixar dream team had something to cure their “ails.”

Carsland

Uhh… in writing this I am still speechless how the designers of Carsland pull it off.  If you ever imagined walking into Radiator Springs, this was everything you could have imagined.  Flo’s, Luigi’s, Mater’s, etc., etc.  It was all there and very impressive. 

The first ride of Carsland was Luigi’s Flying Tires.  TJ was so excited to go inside Luigi’s shop, and when he saw the white wall tires, he couldn’t contain his excitement!

I’d like to think the site of walking into Carburator County will never fade from TJ’s mind.  But if it does, we do have the greatest picture ever to commemorate the moment.  Almost immediately after Luigi’s ride, we noticed Lightning McQueen was taking pictures.  Mater does this as well throughout the day.  

TJ got in line and when it was his turn, snapped off this classic.  Unlike his photo with Mater, he didn’t want it to be a family photo, but just a pic of him and Lightning.  He walked up to him, said, “Nice paint job,” and was so cool as he propped his hand on the race car.

Much of the day was a blur.  Seems like we could have stayed there for days.

We rode the Mater Ride – Tire Ride, Little Mermaid ride, and the Toy Story Midway ride.  

All the while finding time to dance in the street with Phineas and Ferb themselves.

All the kids were having a ball.

It was glorious.

When the So Cal Martin’s left for a group nap, we decided to grab some lunch at Flo’s C8 Cafe.  Les ordered a liter of their finest chocolate milkshake and TJ happily sucked it down in record time.  

How times flies when you are having fun.  We decided to split up after lunch and kill time in different parts of the park.  Grandma and Grandpa watched Frankie while Les and I took TJ on the Monsters Inc ride. 

A shout out to Roz for providing one of the best moments of day two.  At the end of the ride, Roz made it a point to mention that we had a cute little monster with us in the back row.  TJ ate it up.  It was a nice touch.

By that time it was getting later in the evening.  Right about the time TJ’s nap time. It was also the time for our Fast Pass tickets on the Carsland Racers Ride.  Before we could do it though, TJ needed to pass one more test.  Our little man of four, need to break the 40 inch threshold.  That was the height limit for the ride.  Were we worried he wouldn’t get on?  You betcha, in fact, if it wasn’t for generous park staff we might not have ridden the ride.  TJ was exactly 40 inches.  It could have gone either way.  But, they let him on.  Thank the heavens for that.  And thank the heavens for the Fast Pass as well.  We were able to walk right up to the gate and get on in a relatively short period of time.  I’d say no more than 10 minutes which is considerably shorter than the half hour it takes without a FP.

The ride was worth all the tests and wait.  Having seen the movie Cars 237 times, let me tell you it’s pretty much like being in the movie.  TJ was a little short, so he couldn’t see everything.  But from what I saw of his face, I can tell you he had a blast.

When we got off, Grandpa and Grandma took TJ for another turn on the Racers.  Easily the best ride of the day.

That’s Frank!

After the ride, we headed back toward the center strip and set up in a prime spot to catch the Pixar Pals Parade.  TJ had about had enough an was fighting off sleep by that point.  Les, Grandma and Grandpa were troopers though.  They had a good time watching the parade and TJ woke up just enough to enjoy it too. 

I had had my “this is the best day of my life” moment a little earlier so it was safe to say everyone was happy.

My brother called and said the kids wanted to ride Small World and show TJ some other stuff, so we bid adieu to Grandma, Grandpa and Frankie and took TJ back into Disneyland.

By that time it was getting late, so we rode the train to It’s a Small World and rode the ride with Mary, Joseph and Rory. 

We told TJ he could pick two more rides and he chose the Tea Cups and Buzz Lightyear.

Conquering The Tea Cups

So earlier I told you that the tea cups weren’t my favorite.  I had ridden them once when I was really young.  Since it was my son’s 4th birthday, I decide to break my boycott.  Never say I don’t love those kids.  Ha

We made it off the Tea Cups without incident, said good bye to Joey and the kids and headed for Buzz Lightyear.  Once again, the ride did not disappoint.  TJ and Les had a blast (pun intended) and when the ride emptied into the Store Command toy shop it was time to get TJ his birthday toy. 

The trip was coming to an end, an while it was sad I will always remember the final few minutes.  I have to give it up to the Imagineers at Disney. 

The fireworks were starting to go off over Sleeping Beauty’s castle and Tinkerbell was flying through the air.  Tj was sleeping in the red umbrella stroller gripping his toys, smile on his face.  The song, “When you wish upon a star…” started to play.  And at that moment, I thought to myself…  it’s almost like this was all meant for just my family.  Thank You.

And we all left happily ever after.