To the California: Desert town

The second half of our California vacation was spent in Palm Springs. We stayed at The Seguaro Hotel and spent our time shopping for mid-century modern delights and drooling over the architecture and boutique hotels in downtown Palm Springs. It was "California Cold" (rainy and mid-60s) but we still managed to get Bowie in his swim trunks for his first pool swim ever.

He loves splashing!

Even though we didn't stay at The Ace Hotel we explored their property and drank date shakes in their restaurant.

We took a day to drive to Joshua Tree National Park and stopped first at Noah's Purifoy. If you're ever in the area I highly recommend checking out this bizarre and awesome space. It is a sculpture garden of sorts made with all found materials. The space is sprawling and is a surprise to find in the middle of the desert. We were the only people there when we visited, which added another weird element to the experience. 

Finally we spent the remainder of the day in Joshua Tree. There were no shortage of Joshua Trees. Bowie especially enjoyed eating desert sand.

Can you spot the oasis behind us? The 49 Palms Oasis Hike.

On a final note we were deeply saddened to learn of the death of our dear friend Jay while we were away. I made a totem for him in the desert. He was awesome and it's still tough to think about him and the shadow his death cast over our trip. He loved mid-century modern and spending time in nature, especially places that seem a little other worldly and special, so I was excited to talk to him about our adventures. He liked the concept of "thin spaces", which are places that seem a little closer to heaven than the rest of Earth. I think Joshua Tree was a definite thin space. 

To the California: LA Baby

Our family had a fantastic and much needed vacation to California. It was Bowie's first time on an airplane and he was perfect. The first half of our trip was spent in LA- specifically Redondo Beach. We rented an Airbnb. It was a tiny studio but it had a patio overlooking the ocean and the beach. Luckily we figured out Bowie could sleep in a suitcase and we didn't have to share our bed.

The view from the balcony.

We spent our time walking from Redondo beach to Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach. Our friend Megan put us in touch with her friend Tony who did a fantastic job recommending local restaurants and  places to explore. The best part was simply walking along the ocean and getting out feet wet and sandy. Bowie did not like that part as much as I did.

In Manhattan beach we especially enjoyed watching the surfers and visiting the touch tanks at the Roundhouse Aquarium on the pier.

We made friends with Donna, a woman who decided to take up surfing after she retired. She insisted we put Bowie on her surfboard. Cute overload.

A major highlight of the vacation was getting to spend time with my old pal Bobby Styles. He was kind enough to make the long drive from his home in Porterville to LA to visit us. We were sad we did not get to meet his fiance and her kids but we are so happy for the excellent Bobby time. We are excited for your upcoming wedding Bobby and we love you!

PS best toasted coconut ice cream ever at Manhattan Creamery. 

Bowie likes anybody with a beard.

We also made sure to spend time on Abbot Kinney Street in Venice before "Part 2" of our trip. There we watched the beautiful people and either lusted or laughed at their crazy lives. It started pouring rain so we ducked into RoosterFish and made new friends over beers. Not many pics from that portion of the trip but I assure you a good time was had by all...

I will always bring snakes into the house.

I will never bring snakes into the house.

Bowie Bachman: 8 Months

At 8 months...

MILESTONES: First Valentines Day, first airplane trip, 2 bottom teeth, waving, chewing food, dancing
LIKES: When other people yawn, sneeze or make funny noises with their mouth, actively working against you when you're changing his diaper
DISLIKES: Being done with reading time, when Mommy drops him off at day care, having stuff taken away 

Here are some photos from my eighth month...

Helping make a special Valentines breakfast in bed.

Loving the squeezy foods. 

Aunt Anna came to visit.

Aunt Lindsay came to visit. 

Grandpa Dick took Bowie on his first trip to Cabelas. 

Bubbles. The best thing ever.

Getting that baby Highlites Magazine in the mail!

Seriously. Bedtime/jammy time is amazing. 

Maplelag 2015

Ah. Once again a great time was had by all at our annual Maplelag cross country ski vacation. This year was extra special because we included Bowie in the adventures. Here's an interesting outfit my father chose to wear:

In the meantime Josh and I did a lot of wearing Bowie.

We didn't have much snow this year but Maplelag did a wonderful job of grooming with what they had. The weather was mild which made it easier to be out for a ski as well. We pulled Bowie in a little sled while he slept.

Speaking of sled we had some fun pulling Bowie around on the ice. This year was a first for my Dad and Josh to try out some ice fishing. I took a traditional yoga class and Josh and Sarah joined me on the ice for my first "snoga" class as well.

The bear is still holding down the fort.

We stuffed our guts full of food. My favorite this year was the coconut cream pie and Bowie was happy to eat a pickle.

There was plenty of relaxing as well. We did our fair share of napping, hot tubbing and drinking french champagne. Thanks again to my family for another wonderful year!