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It only took 20 years, and lots and lots of controversy, but finally San Diego has a new central library. It is a beautiful building, very airy and modern, located close to the Padres Stadium downtown.

Keegan had been wanting to go check it out, since he has heard about it from his teachers. We wanted to check it out too, not only for the cool architecture and design, but also because we created a personalized brick, dedicated to Keegan, and wanted to see it in place. It took two trips, and quite a long time, but we finally located it in the courtyard outside.

Even though we thought we had been original, I saw at least another  brick with almost identical saying…good thing we specified his full name. Once inside, we were amazed at the building, the view and the dome. Really spectacular.

Keegan is getting quite good at taking pictures

The inside is as spectacular: high ceilings, natural light, beautiful furnishing and great art, including inspiring quotes carved in stone.

The quite says” We read to know we are not alone”

Of course, the core of a library is its book collections, and the kid’s collection is amazing. It is huge, and decorated in bright colors, with beautiful murals of some of the most memorable Dr. Seuss’s illustrations.

“kid, you will move mountains…”from The Places You Go

We really had to drag Keegan out, but he was happy about the 5 books we borrowed, which of course included a Star Wars book. Now, I don’t know how often we will be able to visit, since we have a much more convenient library branch around the corner, but it is a wonderful resource nevertheless.

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It is hard to believe this is my 7th Mother’s Day! Keegan was very excited the whole week, looking forward to Sunday. Even if he is now in elementary school, he still worked on crafts for me. On Thursady, at Italian class, he colored a paper flower, and at his school, he planted some seeds in a pot and created a cool bookmark, with a personalized message on the back. Very sweet.

The weekend was fun. On Saturday, we went to the opening of the new waterfront park downtown. It was very crowded, but it is beautiful. There are many unusual play structures, and fountains, and for the occasion, many booths were present. Keegan received a small box of ladybugs, to release in our yard. We even met our friend Sara, with Alyce and Betty. The kids played and had fun…till Keegan bumped his face on one of the rides. It was time to leave anyway.

We stopped by Matt’s new office downtown. Not quite as fancy as the old URS office, but still nice. Even if he does not have a real “closed-doors”office, his cubicle is large and with a great window, overlooking downtown and Balboa park.

At night we had a date night: Matt and I went to watch a beautiful, if hazy sunset at Sunset Cliffs, and then we headed for a great dinner at Humphrey’s on the Bay, overlooking the marina and the sailboats docked there. It was fun.

Sunday finally came. Keegan woke up at 6.45 (in itself a nice present!) and wished me Happy Mother’s Day. After cuddles, he got up with Matt to get everything ready, while I caught up on some sleep. When I woke up the boys have prepared a wonderful spread! Flowers, presents, cards, chocolate…

Keegan, along with Daddy, filled out a booklet for me, full of drawings and funny sayings. They got it finished just in time.

At Chinese class, Keegan created a heart, inscribed in Chinese…it is supposed to say Mama, I love you, or something similar. It was filled, in fact overflowing, with M&Ms…that would make me happy indeed.

Matt prepared a wonderful brunch, with cream cheese crepes and Nutella crepes (my request). Keegan, inspired by a photo he saw on my computer, suggested Matt to create a heart made of fruit. What a great idea! This is the result.

After the delicious food, we posed for the obligatory picture, that is by now a tradition.

It was a warm day, and it was time to release our butterflies, another almost yearly tradition. This year, we bought some caterpillars for Keegan’s classroom as well, so all the kids could enjoy the process. This batch was anxious of getting out, and flew away immediately.

The afternoon was fun as well. Keegan had a play date at one of his classmates’ house, Kevin. We tagged along, and spent a couple of pleasant hours chatting with his parents and snacking on cheese and crackers. We closed the day with a outside dinner, since it was nice and warm, and Matt prepared a delicious BBQ.

I really feel spoiled by my guys. I could not have asked for a better celebration. Thank you, boys, I love you!

 

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Looking back at some of the photos we take during the year, or thinking back to the past few months it feels like our most common weekend activity is going to birthday parties. It can be exhausting, but Keegan loves them, of course, and we perpetuate the madness by throwing our own…so we are stuck into an infinite loop.

Some parties are pretty easy, like the Pump It Up Parties, which is just what we do: I am definitely a low-achiever when it comes to parties.

New classmate Shrinesh’s party

Others are more original. Van’s party was a morning showing of the new Lego movie, completed with popcorn and drink for all the kids, and reserved seating. Even better, it was our first drop-off party, so Matt and I left him at the movie theater and went to have a delicious breakfast and walk at the beach. The party continued at Van’s house, with more fun and an amazing, hand-made Lego cake.

Julia’s party was held at the botanical garden. The kids could paint small vases and rocks and pot their own succulent. There was a scavenger’ hunt and delicious food for all.

The three good friends from the daycare days were reunited. Kenzie painted a beautiful stone for Keegan, and we got to take home a nice succulent.

Markus’ party was one of my favorites, so far. It was held at a public park, and they hired a “Reptile Guy”. I have to admit I had thought about doing something similar for Keegan, but he never showed much interest in it. I was very excited: I love reptiles, and the guy brought lots of them, big and small. He had snakes, geckos, turtles, lizard and even a tarantula (well, not really a reptile, but still pretty cool). The kids had the chance to interact with all of them.

A huge tortoise named Wally would enjoy its time in the grass, and the kids had fun making a never-ending bridge for it to crawl under.

Snakes of all sizes were the big attraction.

I jumped at the chance. I love snakes, and honestly if they would not need that much care, (including needing live animals as food), I would like to own one.

The tarantula was a big hit as well. This one looked just like the one we saw when we went camping at Cuyamaca: in fact it is a local species. The kids took turns letting it crawl over their hands and heads.

The grand finale was a huge albino python. It was HUGE, but very mellow, since it has been raised in captivity and has been a party guest for years. Now full grown, it is usually left for the end of the show.

How many kids does it take to hold an adult python???

Markus’s brother, Lukas, also had a spring birthday, and we got invited to that party as well. It was at the local Skate Park, and this time Keegan had his own scooter to bring along, so he had a lot more fun. The birthday happened during a week-long heat wave, with temperatures soaring to 90s and up, and even if it was only 9am, it was already sweltering.

The kids had fun, but they took longer than usual breaks to rest in the shade and drink water.

 

When it was time for cake, all the kids were soaking wet, and gulping Gatorade.

My all time favorite party, though, was Brady’s, Keegan’s friend from preschool. The two get along quite well, so, even if he did not want to have a big party, Brady insisted on having Keegan over. So, his parents offered to take him bowling on the Navy base (Brady’s dad is a Navy Helicopter pilot) and then, to keep him at their house for a sleepover! We could hardly believe it: a drop-off party AND a sleepover in one! Yeah! Of course we accepted. We dropped Keegan off by 3pm and picked him up the next morning around 10am.

He had a blast playing bowling, and I guess he did OK, hitting a strike as well. Then, the kids went on base to see the helicopters, and try them out. And these are REAL helicopters. Brady’s mom, Lori, sent us the pictures as they posed and goofed off.

It was Keegan’s first sleepover and he is still wearing pull ups at night, so we were a little worried about teasing, but Brady was awesome, and nobody gave him a hard time. In fact, both boys got up around 3am to use the bathroom. Too bad that did not stick with Keegan.

And what did we do for all those blessed childless hours? We enjoyed the peace, of course. Actually we spent the night at a nearby hotel, watched the sunset at Glider Point, and had a delicious dinner at a Steakhouse in walking distance of the hotel. It was great.

The next morning, when we picked Keegan up, there were smiles all around! Keegan had a great time, and so did we…now, I am not sure about Brady’s parents, but for us, it has been a win-win situation. And yes, next time it is at our house.

So, finally, birthday season is coming to an end (at least we hope so)…we will enjoy it till the merry-go-round starts again, in August.

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