One of our favorite adventures was to the Chaffee Zoo. Dashiel had so much fun seeing the animals. We took him to a petting zoo for his birthday and he wasn't so sure about the goats then, but he really got a kick out of them this time.

We are back in Mesa but I have pictures of some of our adventures before we left Fresno. We wanted to go camping at Yosemite but we were running out of time, so we just went for the day--the day before we drove out of town! It was kind of crazy, but totally worth it! It was a beautiful day and we saw so many things. Yosemite is huge!! We had no idea!

We found this beautiful hotel that was built several decades ago and remodeled in the '40s. We got some adorable pictures of Dashiel.
These are two different views of Half Dome Rock. The scale of the place is unbelievable and absolutely gorgeous.

More Pismo Beach Fun

We picked the most convenient day in our schedule to go to Pismo, but the weather didn't really pick us. It only hit a high of about 80 degrees. That is a little cold for the Pacific Ocean. However, we were determined to go in the water anyway--well, I let the water get up to about my knees, but Trevor was determined to enjoy the waves. Dashiel was even too curious to let the cold bother him for a while. So we enjoyed the water and had fun in the sand. Trevor tried to build something in the sand, but instead experienced the hand of destruction--namely, Dashiel. So he gave that up and we buried Dashiel in the sand up to his waist...and then we buried Daddy in the sand and gave him a merman tail! Ha ha! And Dashiel was so tired he slept for a whole 45 minutes on the 3 hour drive home...that was not so much fun.

Oh yah, I forgot to mention. Dashiel thought it was very important to try out the sand and see if Pismo Beach sand tastes different than the sand box...yech!

Pismo Beach and All the Clams You Can Eat!!!

Years ago when Bryan and Becca were getting married, Trevor passed Pismo Beach with his family and suddenly he and Jeremy, in unison, quoted, Pismo Beach and all the clams you can eat! Apparently they have a better memory of the adventures of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck than I do. Anyhow, we had to do just that. So we found a little cafe and got our yummy clam chowder and fish and chips. It was fun!

Dashiel loved the fish and chips! Go figure! =)

Greek Festival

This weekend we took some time to stop by the Fresno Greek Festival. We both love Greek food and it was a great opportunity to get outside and enjoy the crowd. We met some interesting people, went inside the beautifully painted church a nd listened to the youth choir, ate great food, and enjoyed the dancing--which I think was Dashiel's favorite part. He was bobbing to it and when we set him down he was just turning in circles with his arms up until he lost his balance and fell down on his little derriere. It was so cute!

I really love this picture of the three of us. A couple at the table we were sitting at offered to take it for us.

I know lots of people are huge fans of the Suzanne Collins series, The Hunger Games. I am a little behind and alas, I have read only the first so far. Hopefully I will be getting book two from the library shortly. Anyhow, when Trevor and I were recently at the library we were looking at the DVDs and he found the 80s Schwarzenegger film, The Running Man, complete with an I'll be back quote. I had never even heard of it. It has a flavor similar to The Hunger Games, and seems like possibly some inspiration for the series.

Dashiel is a boy who loves his cucumber! I have to share these pictures, because they are so cute! He really is a character! Enjoy!

Fun at the park!

Trevor recently had a day off that happened to be the same day Dashiel and I always go to the park. So since Daddy was able to go with us we decided to try a new park that has lots of water features and I had heard a lot about. At first Dashiel was timid and content to simply watch the other kids, but once he got going with Daddy at his side, he had a blast! I love parks like this. Lots of fun followed by a good nap!

This Johnson Family has had some big changes over the last few weeks. A friend of ours was working in California as a technician as part of a summer sales program and he was being moved to a new area in the middle of July leaving a void and asked Trevor if he wanted to capitolize on the opportunity. So with four days notice, we packed up and moved to Fresno, California to finish up our summer. We are still here for a little while and it has been a great adventure and opportunity. Trevor is working hard six days a week, but still managing to find time with his wife and son.

Dashiel is doing very well. He is getting more and more steady on his feet all of the time as he toddles after Mom and Dad--or ahead sometimes. And occassionally he will surprise us with a new word. He is right on the cusp of talking. He loves dogs, cats, and kids and thankfully there are plenty to entertain him here at our apartment complex. There is a particularly friendly Tabby cat that he has given hugs to. He also loves swimming or perhaps I should say splashing. It is one of his favorite things to do. We have recently found a park that we go to on Fridays. There are always lots of other kids running around that he enjoys watching. There is a really cute stream that has an area specifically for kids to play in which Dashiel loves because there are always about half a dozen kids to splash around with. We usually end up leaving with him in soaked shorts, but he loves it!

Well, it's summer in Mesa now and summer is all about spending time inside or at the pool. This is still a relatively new activity for Dashiel, but he loves it. He was splashing in the water with his cousins with smiles all around and kicking his legs. At one point he was reaching toward a cousin as though he could simply swim to her--yikes! Not quite there yet! He had a great time and was so worn out he was falling asleep on his Uncle Sol and then crashed as soon as we got in the car followed by a very long nap. A tired boy he was!

Hair Cut

Dashiel's hair kept getting longer and longer but I was so nervous to cut it. I have no experience cutting todder's hair. And for heaven's sake, he doesn't want to sit still long enough for me to change his diaper let alone his hair. I had tried to trim it in little bits, but he still had bangs and it was far from being finished. So on Saturday while I was gone to a baby shower. Trevor grabbed the boy and pinned him down--no, wait, he didn't do that. All he had to do was give Dashiel an empty water bottle to play with and he cut Dashiel's hair with his beard trimmer. It looks so great!

By the way, did I mention it is getting harder and harder to get good pictures of the boy? As soon as he sees me with the camera he wants it. Nothing anyone can relate to, I'm sure! =)

Okay, so I've been getting some flack about not posting in a long, long time. Let me explain. I tried to get creative with my blog and just plain got frustrated! So now I've got a generic background until I figure out what I want so I can meanwhile keep in touch with the world--so to speak.

So it has been almost a year since I last posted and so very much has happened. First of all, we recently celebrated Dashiel's first birthday! Holy cow it has been a year! We had a lot of fun and he really enjoyed his cake experience--or should I say sugar rush. He was so hyper after all that sugar. He kept darting back and forth and laughing, and then when bedtime came he crashed.

Dashiel is also walking. He has been taking steps on his own for about a month now. Often Trevor and I would try to help him by holding his hands but he is a stubborn little boy and only wanted to do it when it was his idea. After weeks of just taking a few steps here and there but rather defaulting to crawling, something suddenly clicked 10 days ago and he has now switched to preferring the upright position. He is such a character.

Well, can't spill all the news right away or I will bore everyone. More later! Enjoy pics!