Salinas: Ranch Time and Family Pictures

Thursday most of the family went to San Francisco. Jim and I decided we wouldn't be able to keep up or enjoy ourselves if we took the littles, so we sent Ever in Tutu's charge and stayed back at the ranch with our babies, Pod, and the Homers (who also opted out because of young Antone).

Bear Bear played Mancala very nicely by herself that morning.

Wrenzonamous also bonded with her newest cousin. She did "This Little Piggy" on his toes, which he seemed to enjoy. Then she sat with her arm around him for some time.

Jim threatened a bakery crawl, but we really only made it to one Mexican bakery/restaurant, where we enjoyed amazing tacos, delicious cheesecake, and subpar (according to me; Jim thought they were good) other bakery items. Jim did his thing where he way overbuys treats on account of the fun tims, but then he accidentally left at the restaurant the ones we didn't eat there and was very sad about it.

We napped that afternoon, which was miraculous, and got to do some horseback riding. Coco and Dun Dun went first. Then Pod and I took a turn. Pod volunteered to take the feisty horse and ended up getting tossed off when the horse got a little crazy. That was scary. The dirt looked soft, but I was scared he'd get trampled. He survived relatively unscathed other than a small cut on his head where his glasses got him.

Coco, Papa, and I spent some amazing time in the pool while Wren and Tiny Tot finished their naps. I hadn't been on a diving board in about 20 years, so I tried to reteach myself some dives. I did back dives, back flips, front flips, and inward dives. I'd do one dive over and over until I did a good one, and then I'd move on. It was so fun for me. Coco and Papa worked on their back dives, too, and we had a great time. I wanted to keep going but had to get out to help with the littles.

We ordered disappointing food from an Italian restaurant for dinner and then stayed up late making chocolate chip cookies for the San Francisco crew per Deetrix's request.

Friday morning Margaret took the kids for a carriage.

We grown-ups tried to take a turn, but the carriage kept coming loose from the horse. After a couple of attempts, we gave up, and the men and Anna pulled the carriage back to the house. 

The kids did some more horseback riding. They started up top by the stables.

Then they went down to the lower area below the house. 

Heading back up:

We swam again. The orca wars were hilarious.

Bear is an amazing jumper, and she never tires.

We 

Bear got cozy with the Barlockers' giant dog while eating a banana. 

At one point she dropped part of the banana. I picked it up, and it was COVERED with dog hair. I don't know how people have pets, especially hairy ones.

Margaret said they put swings on all the trees they could. Tiny enjoyed the one closest to the house, courtesy of Betsy.

Coco insisted we take family photos since we're so rarely all together. She's right that we need to.

Unfortunately I made myself look like a burn victim, but hey - better luck next time.

Coco and Ann Marvin spearheaded a get-to-know-you game that night after dinner. Jim and I got our babies down early, pre-game. Ever stayed up until the bitter end, but she was pretty much passing out by the time we quit. We played boys v. girls and answered questions about ourselves such as: What food do you hate? What's your favorite thing to do in your spare time? What's your guilty pleasure? The other team had to guess who answered what. It was lots of fun. We didn't have nearly enough time to get through the questions and wished we'd started it on an earlier night. Rob made us fudge that evening, so we ate that and lots of other junk. That night was definitely a highlight.

The week went so quickly it was bizarre. I didn't feel as if I had much sit-around-and-chat time and realized it's probably because Jim and I still have to spend a lot of time dealing with two littles - feeding them (especially Tiny), cleaning them, changing their diapers, etc. Tiny's not walking is a killer, as it makes me feel unable to put her down most places on account of the filth and safety hazards. In two years, when we get together again, everyone will walk, eat regular food, go to the bathroom by herself (at least mostly), and otherwise be much more independent. I know that when they're bigger, I'll miss squeezing and holding them  (they are so freaking cute when they're little), but I do look forward to their being able to do more on their own. In any event, it was a lovely week at a lovely place with our fab family. Ever was forlorn when it ended. She needs more cousin time in her life. We're looking forward to 2019.