San Diego

We love the San Diego Temple. The weather was amazing this day. We enjoyed spending some time walking the grounds.

San Diego was amazingly beautiful. Wish we had a lot more time. The one attraction we wanted to go to was closed, a bit of a bummer. But oh well. One of Hallie's favorite places is Hotel del Coronado. It is massive and beautiful. They have a shop that Hallie could spend all day in. We loved seeing the ocean and letting Landon play in the bushes where he was not supposed to. What is a parent to do, but take a picture.

Mike and Landon on the boardwalk at Seaport Village.

After our last swimming incident, Hallie thought she should buy floaties for Landon. It was a good thought, but they did not work. He went in face first anyway. At least he is a good sport.

Newport Beach Temple

Diamond was so excited to be able to see the temples while in California. Here are a few of the shots of the four of us at the Newport Beach Temple.

Candids of Landon

Here are a few pics of Landon just being himself. He was definitely his normal self in California, always busy.

One of the few times we will be able to capture Landon asleep.

Grandpa and Landon hanging out. Landon said Grandpa while we were there, and Grandpa heard it. Landon has not even said Papi yet so Grandpa M. was pretty lucky.

Landon was so excited to see all of the different toys at his grandparent's home and he had a blast.

His new toy, a water bottle. Nothing kept him as occupied as a water bottle.

Haydn and Landon being characters. Haydn was a great big cousin. Wish Landon could play with him more often.

Landon relaxing in Grandpa and Grandma M's backyard. He belongs in Cali.

A clean spot to play in the dirt in the backyard. Thank goodness at least in this photo he has decided not to eat the dirt.

L.A. Photos

We did so many fun things in California we thought we would share with you more of the photos that we had taken.

The Kodak Theatre is where they hold award shows and the finale of American Idol.

Grauman's Chinese Theatre where the stars cast their hand and feet prints and where the Hollywood Walk of Fame is located.

As we were driving we saw the cool Beverly Hills sign so Mike's mom indulged Diamond and me and stopped long enough for us to run and have a tourist take our pictures while we took his.

Landon loved his ice cream sandwich here. It is definitely a Maygren family favorite.
The flowers at the Los Angeles Temple were amazing! My photos don't capture it. But, boy what a perfect day to be there.

Landon taking a break.

You can never have enough pictures and who knows when the right one will come. We also don't have many with Mike's family so we are so glad Sue came with us on some of our adventures so we could get her picture. Thanks Sue!

All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go - And Other Stuff

This weekend we had great weather here in Michigan. Friday for Mike's lunch break we took a picnic to the park and flew the kites. The moment Mike took his out of the bag up it went. The wind was so strong that it kept the kite way up high for a long time. Landon enjoyed running around and all of us got a little sun.

Saturday, Hallie was off to Kalamazoo at 7:00 am to help with an adoption training. There was a good turnout and it was a nice time. Rained a lot! Wished I had more time to have checked out Kalamazoo. After being gone all day I wanted to get back home to see Mike and Landon and got back shortly after 5:00. After Landon woke up we spent almost 2 hours outside playing with the neighbors dog and a ball Landon found. He LOVES balls. Landon was quite dirty by the time we went in. He ate dinner, had a bath, and then it was time for bed.

Today was to be Landon's first official day at Nursery. But as the morning went and we finished getting him dressed we realized he had a fever and did not want Mike to put him down. So we decided it was not a good day to start Nursery. I am sure other parents would be happy that we did not send him. We will save his bow tie and hat for another Sunday. :(
Landon below at the Junior High play field where Mike took him to fly kites while Hallie was in Kalamazoo.
It is that time again to start mowing lawns. This year Landon thought he should try to help. His helping did not last long.

Trip to California, Part 2

When we arrived back at Hallie's parents' house, Landon's cousins were there and ready to play. It was so cute to watch Lily fawn over Landon and to see Landon and Emerson run like wild men all over the back yard together. 

The Easter Bunny arrived a little late, so the kiddies got to hunt for easter eggs and chocolate. Papi was very interested in making sure Landon got lots of candy! In the end, everyone's basket--er, sand pail--was full of treats. Good thing the Easter Bunny thought to give the kids pails, because they got put to good use on Saturday!

On Saturday, we took a trip up to Santa Barbara. Landon got dressed up in his finest, including his snazzy shades. Our first stop was the farmer's market, where he made quite the impression on all the ladies, who kept commenting on the cute little boy as he toddled on by. 

Argyle sweaters gave way to swimsuits in the late morning as we headed up to Hendry's Beach west of town to seek out starfish, sea shells, and other interesting sights along the ocean. This was Diamond's first encounter with the cold waters off the Pacific coast. We all enjoyed working up an appetite by walking up the beach and playing in the water with the Easter pails and shovels. Landon earned himself some rosy cheeks from hanging out in the warm California sun.


After we got back to Hallie's parents', Papa M. set up the fire pit in the backyard in the early evening and everyone excepting the littlest tykes, who had gone off to bed, toasted s'mores. Some people overcooked theirs (Who wants to eat charcoal? Yuck!), while others toasted them to golden perfection.

Sunday dawned to Emerson, Lily, and Elise heading back to Nor Cal and Landon, Mami, and Papi heading to Papi's home town to attend church. Landon sported his first bow tie. He puts his old man to shame and carries off the look very well (he must take after Papa M.). Look at those three!

Today was Landon's first time in nursery. Our baby's finally officially allowed to go to Primary! He was a total trooper and didn't seem to care that we were gone. Give him some toys and some food, and he's good to go. After church, we headed back to Mike's parents' for dinner and a visit with Landon's cousins Haydn and Lucas. Landon enjoyed playing with the cars and chasing the other boys around the dining room. Haydn's getting so big! He's a natural with his younger cousins and is full of personality.

We headed down to the park so that Mike and Landon could fly their new kites. Hallie got Mike a kite for his birthday, and he was eager to get it in the air. Southern Cal normally can get quite breezy, but the fates conspired against Mike at every turn. Each time he would take his kite out for its inaugural run, the air would go deathly calm. We did manage to get one shot of the kite airborne. Maybe it will take off for real once we get back to Detroit and take our kites down by the lake.

On Monday Mike's mom, Diamond, Hallie, Mike, and Landon went to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, where we saw the original 1215 Magna Carta, viewed as one of the most important documents in history and a cornerstone of the US Constitution, and where we walked through the former Air Force One. We had lunch at Tommy's, a California original. Mike even bought a tub of their famous chili. That stuff will stick to your ribs, give you heartburn, and cut a day off your life for each burger you eat, but what a way to go!

On Tuesday, we headed back home to Detroit. We did not take pictures of our return flight, but suffice it to say it was a long couple of legs with a squirrely 18 month old. We managed to make it home by 10 PM, and then we all slept until around 8 AM on Wednesday. Poor Mike! It was right back to the old grind, and he was on the bus by 9 to catch up on his work.