I don't even know exactly where Grandma and Grandpa Hogue take these boys for a week each summer...but here is what I do know:
1. There isn't cell or internet reception, so I only hear from them when they come down from wherever they are. (I believe they camp near Mammoth or Bishop.)
2. The boys have a great time and love the outdoors.
3. These boys don't like to be separated and have to go together. (Can't live with each other, can't live without each other!)
4. I miss them like crazy.
We couldn't wait to pick these boys up in Tehachapi on Saturday. We waited at the 58 freeway overpass, so we could see them pull in...
It's always nice when the boys are out camping for the week because we know they are having a good time. Bubba is our perpetual dirt boy and probably should've been born and raised out in the jungle somewhere. Scratch that....maybe somewhere there are no wild animals or bugs, but plenty of rocks to climb on. Tubbs likes to camp too, but I think is more a fan of being clean. He does like to go on adventures with his brother though.
When the boys leave, by the second or third day, a kind of depression falls over the house. It's just not the same without them here. The boys left Sunday morning but we didn't hear from them until Wednesday afternoon. It felt like Christmas morning!
On Monday I came home from work and found Luke and Wiggy floating in the pool with their drinks. I was extremely jealous. Wiggy had filled her marble jar...something she had been working on for at least 4-5 months. That meant she got to go to Build-a-Bear.
I came home Tuesday to the same thing, except now there was a tent set up in the backyard for Wiggy's dolls.
On Wednesday I decided to take a half-day vacation so we left for LA around noon. We headed down to the Grove and had a late lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. Wiggy and I of course each got a Sprinkles cupcake as an appetizer. :)
After walking around the Grove for a few hours we went to the Beverly Center. Then we headed over to "BLD" for Donut night. I was very excited to try this place out. On Wednesday nights, the pastry chef makes a few different flavors of donuts. We each ordered one and we shared a plate of ricotta blueberry pancakes. The banana cream donut was amazing! Luke's chocolate donut had some candied grapefruit and Wiggy's was cinnamon sugar.
Before...
After......
A few other photos from our week with one child.....
This year's Father's Day was very different for us because we headed up to Tehachapi in the morning to drop off the boys. The boys go camping with them for a week every summer, but they normally leave on a Monday morning--while I am at work--so this year I got to say goodbye in person.
I know of three wonderful fathers.....
The day my Boo became a dad....
My Pops....and me. You can tell by the crazy hair.
Grandpa Baer sent us a picture before church....
So we sent him a photo back......
Daddy wanted a simple Father's Day. Wasn't really too much different from any other day EXCEPT...he got a few extra kisses. Add yeah, I did make dinner. He requested a chicken salad with avocado, goat cheese, pine nuts and a lime dressing. What a wild and crazy guy! Watch out.
He said he didn't want any dessert but Wiggy and I insisted on making him some brownies with butterscotch chips!
Happy Father's Day!
We celebrated Father's Day a few days early since the boys were leaving on Sunday morning to go camping with Grandma and Grandpa for the week. It was our first trip to Knott's Soak City and we had a great time. Weather was perfect and reaffirmed the decision to get annual passes for Christmas. Hopefully we will be able to fit in plenty more visits before they close in a few months.
After we cleaned up and changed clothes, we left the park and went to McDonald's for a light late lunch. Then the boys told daddy the wonderful news....they were taking him to Medieval Times for a dinner show!
Luke always talks about it when we drive by it and I think it's been about 20 years since he went to a show. The boys were very excited to tell them and just couldn't keep it inside most of the day.
Wiggy wasn't a big fan of the food and didn't eat much....so thank goodness two of the kids were "free." They served roasted chicken and ribs, garlic bread, and a twice baked potato. For dessert it was a simple apple turnover. It wasn't the greatest, but the show was lots of fun! Our knight even won the whole thing and tossed Miss Wiggy a flower.
On the drive home we stopped at Diddy Riese, which is right next to UCLA off the 405. They make fresh cookies and serve ice cream cookie sandwiches! It was a first for us and they're so cheap I think it's really worth it!
That Stop Wasn't On My Itinerary....
So the Hogue's made it to Florida for our first official family vacation. It was Sawyer's first plane ride....and Simon's first plane ride that he can remember. We were excited....the boys were stoked. We had everything we needed! But it seems that Sawyer packed something with him that wasn't on our checklist: a big case of pneumonia. Yes, the little fella made it almost one whole day in Florida before he started heading downhill fast. Our 2nd day in Orlando we were in the Urgent Care south of Cocoa Beach. (By the way, to see a doctor more quickly, it helps if you vomit all over the waiting room in front of the receptionist. Little tip for ya) After chest x-rays they advised us to head to the ER in Melbourne, where they eventually admitted him to the hospital. So, we had 3 night deluxe accommadations at the Holmes Regional Medical Center. The little whipper snapper was a trooper though! The nurses loved him, thankfully, and made us all feel right at home. We were going to send postcards out with pictures of the hospital since we spent 40% of our trip there...but they didn't have any. Imagine that!Hmmm.....maybe its something they should consider.
