Sailing!

This past Saturday Spencer and I, along with 12 other friends/family members went sailing out to Santa Cruz Island. Here's the 42 foot vessel that took us on this adventure- complete with 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a full kitchen and dining room! I was stoked about going since (unlike almost everyone else) I had never been out to the islands before!


We were loaded up and out the door by 6am. An hour later, after loading the boat with lots of food, gear, and people, we pulled out of the slip and were on our way! Spencer was first man on deck, safely steering us out of Channel Island Harbor and into the treacherous open ocean. Ok, to be honest, the channel was glassed out, blue skies as far as the eye could see and calm waters! With these conditions, there wasn't much wind so we had to turn on the engine and motor out the entire 21 nautical miles.




Here's a few of us at the back of the boat, enjoying the ride!
Left to right: Anie, Brittany, Jocelyn, and Laura

Jonathan, Tyler, Metta, and Lindsay


About halfway out to the island, we spotted a pod of dolphins off the port bow. Our rookie skipper, Jocelyn, made a reckless left turn to port to get a closer look at the porpoises. Fortunately for me, Spencer, and the others dangling their feet over the bow of the boat, we were able to hang on for our lives. With our lives intact, we suddenly found ourselves cruising in the middle of a pod of probably 50 dolphins! They raced along side the boat for quite awhile, jumping in and out of the water and showing off for everyone on board! Who needs Sea World??!





It took about 3 hours to get out to Santa Cruz. Here we are approaching the island.


Upon arriving and anchoring our boat in Little Scorpion Bay, Spencer, Tyler, and Jonathan immediately put on wet suits to do some diving. The water was so clear! Spencer and Tyler even braved swimming through a 100 yard long sea cave.


I wasn't ready to get into the water, so I went down below for a morning nap. I don't know if was waking up at 4:40am or the motion sickness pill I took that made me so tired, but this was one of three naps that I ended up taking during the day! I won't complain though-with Madi home with Spencer's mom, I was off mom duty and decided to live it up!!


While sleeping, several others went out in the water. Jocelyn and her friend Laura got in one of the rubber rafts and thought they could just sit there and float around the little bay. Being novices, they were quickly carried away by the wind and headed out to sea! Spencer and Tyler eventually took pity on them and went to the rescue. Tyler did most of the hard labor-rowing with minature ores. Spencer had the important task of holding the tow rope and coaching the stranded girls about the perils of the open ocean. We couldn't decide who had the tougher job here!


After waking up from nap #2, I was ready to get off the boat and onto the island.


After rowing to shore, we decided to hike around the island. Before beginning our hike we had to have a little bit of fun and check out the bathroom facilities. Nice!!





Some of our fellow sailors, hiking up to get a view down into Scorpion Bay!



The view at the top.


After our hike we were all so hot that several of us swam back to the boat. I kicked behind the boat while Spencer rowed. We swam around in the ocean for awhile, building up an appetite for dinner.

Spencer BBQ'd up some delicious carne asada for tacos!


After a yummy dinner and plenty of fun in the sun, we set sail at 6pm. After my third nap of the day, I headed to the front of the boat where I stayed the rest of the way home. To complete a perfect day, the wind actually picked up on the way back and we got to hoist the mainsail and the jib and do some real sailing!

Here's Spencer's artistic shot of the sails-




Notice how the ride home got progressively colder!



About a half hour before we got into the harbor, darkness set in and we sailed the rest of the way by way of GPS and lights marking the harbor entrance. Thanks to our skilled and brave skippers, Dad and John Lassen, we made it safely into the harbor!!

What a great day!! Our thanks must go to Dad and John Lassen for organizing the trip...and we can't forget Mom who sacrificed and stayed at home with Madilyn!!

13 months

Even though Madi is already one years old, I still get excited on the 28th of every month! Kids grow and change SO much in their first few years of life that I decided I still wanted to do monthly updates on Madi. I think it's after a kid turns 2 that parents stop saying their child's age in months, but rather stick to the age in years- right?!?!? At least this will give me a chance to record anything new that Madi is doing, changes I notice in her personality, as well as give me a place to post random pictures that don't fit into a particular post!



A few of the new things that Madi has experienced this past month include:

1) Eating PB&J- which she doesn't seem to love as much as I did as a kid. I usually end up finishing Madi's sandwich since I can't bare to see such a delicacy go to waste!
2) Tuna- I was told to wait on this one, anyone know why?? Madi sure loves it though!
3) First fever-luckily it was a mild, low-grade one and went away within 12 hours thanks to Motrin!
4) First tumble down the stairs. She's quite fast at going up the stairs but doesn't understand how to turn around and go down backwards!
5) TEETH (not just a tooth anymore)!! Madi's now up to 2 bottom front teeth with her 2 top fangs beginning to come through!
6) Riding in Grandpa Al's scout with the top off! She seemed to enjoy the scenery and the wind blowing in her face!
7) Using utensils when eating. She's taken bites with a spoon and fork and is currently working on mastering chopsticks!!


Madi still finds all fours as her preferred mode of transportation. She stands completely on her own, and stands up by herself, but as soon as she wants to move, she drops to her knees to get around. I'm wondering if I should try to hold her off on walking until AFTER our flight back home in 3 weeks. I've heard that flying with a toddler can be VERY exhausting!

Even with all the new things Madi's experienced this past month, MY favorite things about the month are:

1) She now gives me kisses when I ask for them! She'll even make the smooch sound to add emphasis on the kiss!
2) Cuddling at bedtime- after stories she'll lay her head down on my shoulder and let me scratch her back while I sing stories!
3) Crawling after me calling, "mama, mama"! I've loved that she finally acknowledges me as her mother! It's about time!

Catch-up!

Madi and I have been back in Camarillo for 3 days now, and I am just now finding a minute to sit down and get caught up on blogging! Our last few days in Brentwood were pretty action packed. With three kids I felt like we were always on the go. I've included a few of the highlights below.

Monday we walked the kids over to the Dainty Center where they could check out the animals. We saw geese, peacocks, bunnies, a pig, goat, lamb, roaster, and chicken!

Madi was thrilled to see all the different animals! She screamed and screamed with excitement, but then stood and stared in awe!



We couldn't get the lamb or goat to come any closer. Madi seemed pretty disappointed about not getting a better look.


On Tuesday, Tisha and her kids took off to visit some friends, leaving Madi and I home alone with mom for the day! And what a relaxing day we had! We got in some naps, swimming, cleaning, and play time! Life is SO much clamer and quieter with only one kid to entertain! Now I'm starting to wonder if I still want 6 kids!



On Wednesday, along with packing and a play date with our neighbor, mom took Tisha and I to get our nails done! I have never sat in such an awesome chair! What an amazing massage I got! I forgot to have someone take a picture of the three of us in our chairs, but at least mom snapped a picture so that I could document my experience!


The final product! Guess whose nails are whose!!



Thursday morning Tisha, Madi, and I left Brentwood and headed down south. We got into Camarillo in time to drop Madi off and head over to the outlet malls to do a little shopping. Not only was Tisha our ride back to Camarillo, but we also had a pretty full agenda for her one day down here. We got up bright and early Friday morning and headed off to LA. The last Friday of every month there is sample sale downtown that Tisha regularly attended while living in South Pasadena. After moving across the country she's missed attending this sale where she gets super nice quality, designer clothes for cheap! Tisha was in heaven as we drove through the streets of LA. Completely opposite of me, she has a great love for the busyness of urban life! We were at the sample sale for over 2 hours! I was happy to have snagged up a deal on Babymel diaper bags. With an offer of buy one, get one 1/2 off- and having never bought a diaper bag before, I went ahead and got two! The best part about it is that Spencer is actually VERY pleased with my purchase! I finally found a diaper bag that we both like! After the sample sale, we drove by Tish and Curt's old place, stopping by the park she and Adley walked to everyday. Madi was happy to get out of her car seat and stroller and have a few minutes of play time!

From there we headed over to the Anthropologie in Pasadena for more shopping!! What a champ Madi was through all of this. She was such a tropper, getting in and out of the car and into her stroller just to sit some more. What a good girl letting her mom and aunt have a fun day together!

With my sister-in-law Lindsay, and niece Brittany on their way up to Camarillo on Friday afternoon, Madi and I were able to get a ride back with them. What a fun, busy day! With only one 40 minute nap in her stroller, Madi was happy to go to bed early!

Little People

While at my parents' house, it was super fun letting Madi play with all the toys that I entertained myself with as a little girl. Growing up, one of my favorite things to play with was the Little Peoples. Back then the "peoples" were much different- a lot smaller than they make them now, but just as fun- if not MORE fun!! The other day I had such a great time setting up a Little People's town.

My town included a house.....


The school house- complete with a bus to get the kids to school!


The Farm.....



The parking garage- we had an especially fun time racing cars down the ramp, watching how far each car went!



The zoo train.....



and even an Airport!



What a great time I had setting this all up. It was a tough job keeping the kids away as I organized my town! Oh, the memories it brought back from when I was younger and would do the exact same thing! Thanks mom and dad for holding on to all these great toys!!

Calhoun Cousins

Last Monday, July 14th, Madi and I drove up to my parents' house in Northern California. My niece Ani was already here, and Tisha and Adley flew in Tuesday evening. We've had a fun first week in Brentwood. Here's just a few pictures of the things we've been up to.

The first day we were here, mom and I took the girls out on the town.


The Dollar Store is always a LOT of fun!



The grocery store wasn't as exciting though.


Did I mention that these girls are only 2 months apart?!?! There is seriously a 10 pound weight difference as well as a few inches in height!


The girls have loved playing in the hot tub, baby pool, bathtub, and outside in the backyard! They are super cute together!







Ani has kept us all entertained with her hilarious facial expressions!



This is a typical morning scene- outside playing trains at 7am! Adley wakes up somewhere around 6am, putting my mom on duty while Tisha and I go running. We're usually home a little after 7am just as the girls wake up to join in on the fun! Having had 6 kids, my mom loves the craziness of entertaining all 3 kids at once!


This is a typical evening scene- Tisha reading scripture stories to all three kids at once. Scripture time is always followed by more stories and songs! I gotta say, it's quite the party over here at bed time!


Adley and Anneke are quite the little buddies. While Ani enjoys playing with her cousin Madi, Adley isn't very interested. If I come outside with Madi to play, his first response is, "Where's Anneke?" I had to include the following 2 pictures as a glimpse to what you get when you put Adley and Anneke together! They are super silly, wrestle with each, and laugh non-stop!



We had to remove Adley from the swing in order to get the two of them calmed down; which just left a bunch of boring girls!! :)


Not having a sibling to pal around with, Madi has found other things around the house to keep her entertained.



She finally gathered the courage to warm up to my mom's new horsie! Madi was introduced to the horse on our trip here last month, but wanted absolutely NOTHING to do with it! This was her first time actually riding the horse! What a milestone!!


Madi and I only have 3 days left in Brentwood before we head back to Camarillo. While we are having a great time here, we look forward to seeing Spencer on Thursday!