DeLanceys Go Underground

After Erika's Wedding, we thought we should do something fun in Fresno (that's where the wedding was).  So, we settled on the Forestiere Underground Gardens.  Yes, underground, as inside of a man made cave with lots of skylights.  Basically, an immigrant from Sicily came to America in the early 1900s to build a citrus empire, but bought land in Fresno that was covered in hardpan, thus not suitable for growing.  So instead he dug a cellar (by hand, with farming tools) to escape the summer heat, experimented with growing underground, and over the course of his lifetime built an underground home and garden full of citrus and grapevines spanning over 10 acres.  Yes, he dug out 10 acres by hand.  Anyway, it was a really interesting place to visit and a nice retreat from the heat of Fresno.

California Citrus

His Bed.  There were actually 2, a summer bedroom and a winter bedroom.
I *think* this was the winter, but I don't remember.

His courtyard bathtub.  I want one.  The water came from a tank above ground.

Kitchen Table, slides in and out.
This dude thought of everything.

His peephole.
He could see the main entrance,
 but they couldn't see him.

He even had an aquarium, with a glass bottom, so that it could be viewed from the floor below, as well as from the top.  No, it's no longer full of water and real fish, but they claim that it once did hold water just fine.

More pictures here.

DeLanceys go to Erika & Rich's Wedding

I've known Erika practically the entire time we've lived in California, shy the first few weeks.  She was a student in the first class I taught at CSU Stanislaus, where she was not only one of my best students, but also highly interested in becoming our yet unborn son's babysitter, and quickly became one of our closest friends. RJ met her at a mere 8 weeks old, and has loved her ever since, and Logan has known her practically since birth (my brain's a little fuzzy on when, but I'm pretty sure he was under 2 weeks old). After all, Ethan (Erika & Rich's son) had to meet his best bud right away (they're just under 4 months apart).

So OF COURSE, we had to go to Erika & Rich's wedding on cinco de mayo!  If not just for them, definitely to see all the handmade, painstakingly perfect, details that Erika put together for the shindig!  It was beautiful.  The venue was a gorgeous resort with lots of fun things to do...like a built in ground level trampoline farm!

We were hoping to get a great family photo before the wedding started and the boys inevitably got something on their clothes (see those adorable vests and ties?  I MADE them).  However, RJ was Sir Grumpy McWhines-A-Lot, so this is as good as we got.

We were hoping that settling down in our seats for the ceremony would help, since I think the original cause of Sir Grumpy had something to do with his shoes.  Nope.  Instead, he was hell bent on making everyone sit exactly like he wanted them to, thereby separating newlyweds Melody (one of his awesome former teachers) & Greg AND splitting up our family.  We gave him several choices on the seating arrangements and played musical chairs no less than 3 times, and he just escalated.  So Lance escorted him away, nearly across the lake to be out of earshot, just in time for the ceremony to start.  

Logan in the meantime was a complete angel.  Even when I thought for sure that he was going to try to run up to Ethan (who was an adorably barefoot ring bearer for his mommy and daddy) or Erika, given that he asks for them to come over nearly every day.  But he just pointed them out quietly and watched patiently.  I definitely drew the right straw on staying with Logan!  RJ calmed down enough to watch from the back after the processional (little bugger did succeed in getting the family to sit apart) but Lance reported that he was basically in tears the entire time.

Then it was on to the reception, where Erika had organized a kids room (manned by Melody & Greg) where the kids disappeared to so that us adults could eat dinner in peace and actually enjoy some adult conversation!  Best.Idea.Ever.  Don't get me wrong, I love our kids, but eating with them while dressed up is maddening and I'm sure they had more fun with the toys and movies and kid food.

And we got them back later, in time for them to take over the dance floor.  

More pictures of the beautiful and fun wedding are here.

April in Pictures

Yes, I took a picture of myself in the
car just before my interview, because
I AM A DORK.

As one might have guessed from the fact that we pretty much stopped writing blog entries in April, it was a pretty insane month for us.  Not only did we have the normal hustle and bustle of our daily lives, but we found out we were pregnant unexpectedly (insert PSA for proper contraceptive usage here) with our third (as you'll read later on, it didn't stick, but I think that's for the best since we weren't really ready yet) and I had simultaneously landed a job interview that we were hoping would be our ticket to the bay area as well as a really exciting opportunity for me (Spoiler Alert: I did NOT get it, which sucks, but that's life).  All these things basically threw everything into a weird state of limbo, but we tried to keep things normal for the kids.

You've already read about RJ starting soccer, which gave us another weekly activity on top of RJ and Logan's gymnastics, RJ's preschool and our weekly co-op.  Both boys really enjoy their gymnastics, but sadly, I don't have any new pictures of Logan (and his best buddy, Ethan) in his class, since it's a mommy and me class and I got my hands full with Logan! 

Logan and Ethan typically spend Wednesdays together after gymnastics.  

Note: These are window crayons and markers, so they were
allowed to do this! The sliding glass door is a fantastic
medium for their artwork!

There was fort building

Playing inside the fort

Even with all the craziness of the month with us, the kids still managed to have fun at home!

Bouncing

Logan figured out how to climb into (and out of) his crib
using his toy bin.  Thank you, RJ for teaching him to
 land in the stuffed animals

Horsey Rides

Time at the playground
(they're talking to each other in the "telephones")

Mastering Wii skills

RJ went through a phase where he
 refused to sleep in his bed, opting
instead to sleep on the
kiddie version of a flip-n-fuck small foam fold out couch.

Despite all the craziness of the month, we did try to smell the roses...mostly because they were too beautiful in bloom not too.  We have three bushes; red, white, and pink.

And the crazy month ended with my fondue pot exploding
(and dumping yummy cheese fondue everywhere) at Erika's
bachelorette party.  At least it broke in the shape of a heart.
That's a good sign, right?

More April Picture are HERE.

Ashlan's 4th Birthday Party - April 7, 2012

RJ's "fiancee" Ashlan turned 4 and had a wonderful birthday tea party.   Yes, fiancee.  Seriously...he got down on one knee and proposed last summer...though we have yet to see a ring...or a real commitment on his part since he has girlfriends as well (he hasn't quite grasped monogamy yet...but he's young.  I suppose preschool is now the time to sow one's oats, huh?).  Also, there is the fact that Zach seems to think that he is marrying Ashlan, so, it's a really interesting preschool love triangle here.

Anyway, it was a fun party with juice filled tea sets and yummy tea treats (like the deviled chicks I contributed).

 And lots of playing.  Here RJ and Logan are playing with the sound sticks, that inevitably turn into swords.

RJ was very excited that we had made Ashlan her very own dinosaur costume and ballet skirt since both RJ and Ashlan LOVE playing dress up and now she would have a dinosaur like his (only blue and pink instead of brown and black!)  Of course, Ashlan combined the two, which was ridiculously adorable (seriously, you haven't lived until you've seen a dinosaur tail coming out the back of a ballet skirt)!  It was impossible to get a clear picture of them in their dinosaur outfits since they were in constant motion, roaring, so check out the video clip...

And for some it was so much excitement that a nap was necessary!

More pictures from the party are here.

DreamWorks Easter Egg Hunt - April 6, 2012

 DreamWorks had their annual Easter Egg Hunt on Good Friday, so I drove the kids in for the festivities. They had on adorable matching shirts, but RJ insisted on wearing his dinosaur costume the entire time and we never got a picture of Logan without his jacket on!  Anyway, after Lunch with Daddy, the kids ran around picking up eggs.

 RJ spotted the Easter bunny and gave him a hug.









Logan was a little apprehensive of the giant white bunny.

But he was interested in the bunny and did some approaching, then flirting from afar, then running away.

Then we stalked the bunny for a little while (see video)

And then he finally hugged the Easter Bunny so we could leave!

DeLancey's Do Earth Day

For Earth Day, we made a trip in to Berkeley, land of the tree huggers, to join in their festivities.  It was a small laid back festival, but it was something to do and got us out of Tracy and into the Bay Area, so it was a great day!

RJ was quick to try out the slack lines they had set up.

Logan also insisted on trying the slack line since he now does " 'nastics " too!

RJ sorted ocean animals at a display for a traveling marine biologist (she did programs for schools).  Too bad she didn't seem to have any patience for children whatsoever.  There was no one waiting and yet she seemed to be rushing RJ, who didn't want to just sort a few and be off, opting rather to sort every.single.one.  We were ready to move on, but had the respect for his process to let him be.  Yeah, I didn't pass her card on to RJ's preschool.  

The festival was on a city square that also featured a playground.

The kids both liked chasing each other and Daddy around this tree.

After the small festival, we ended up in Alameda looking for a restaurant (I have no recollection of why we changed locations as Berkeley has many great restaurants for us to try, but maybe a short nap for the kids in the car was our plan?)  I spotted a sign for "Farm Fresh Thai Food" and we decided to try it out, even though its name was a little weird for a Thai restaurant, Homeroom Racing Cafe.  HOLY CRAP!!  It was an awesome find, particularly for RJ.  Not only was the sign accurate and the food delicious and fresh, but the place happened to also feature slot car racing in the back room.  So while waiting for dinner, the boys mostly hung out back there, watching what was going on at the track.    

March in Pictures

March was pretty busy with lots of separate events discussed in their own posts, so there aren't a lot of random pictures to share.

We planted some seeds and made a small greenhouse for them

Ethan chasing Logan at the park

RJ pushing Logan in Lightning when the batteries were dead

RJ is still loving gymnastics.  He'll be ready to move up to the next level after his birthday!

Truck play in the sand

We FINALLY got glass for the beautiful frame Uncle Luke made for RJ's Madagascar print

The roses started blooming.  The red rosebush is incredibly prolific and it seems to bloom from March through  November with huge dark red roses when I do next to nothing for it other than occasionally cut some roses to put in a vase.  This is only the first bud.  The bush is now covered in blooms even after cutting over a dozen for my vase.