Wandering Browns

One of our last full days in California, Landon and I escaped to the coast to enjoy the Montana de Oro tidepools. I have fond memories of coming here often growing up, and again wanted Landon to experience them. In Atascadero, it was foggy and cold. As we drove over the coastal range, it actually got more sunny and warm! It was a beautiful drive and day down on the coast. Landon decided after about two minutes of walking on the trail that he wanted to be carried. My exercise for the day was trying to take some pictures while balancing a heavy boy on my shoulders. Once we got to the tidepools, Landon was a little freaked out by the waves coming right up to the tidepool rocks. I carried him out as far as I dared go and was able to set him down and show him a few things. There weren't as many creatures as I've seen before, but we were still able to see sea urchins, lots of hermit crabs, anemones and sea snails. One of my favorite things that I've done since I w...

Having lived outside of California and San Luis Obispo county for the past 10 years, I have learned how to describe and explain where I grew up to people I meet. I used to start with "Atascadero" which worked when I spoke to people from California. Too many blank stares.  Now I start with "San Luis Obispo county" and then most people answer, "Where is that?" Then comes the drawn out explanation about being halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles on the coast, and then some people say, "Like Fresno?" and I exclaim, "NOTHING LIKE FRESNO!" Sometimes they ask how far away from Santa Barbara, or Fresno, or Bakersfield, or San Jose. Turns out it is between 2-3 hours away from all of those places. When I graduated high school, I didn't just leave my small town, I left the state. I was so excited to move as far away as I could think of (to Utah) and begin life on my own. So why did growing up here ruin my life? Here's why: ...

Avila Beach is always #1 of places to go when I'm back in California. Austin and I visited Custom House restaurant New Year's Eve for an amazing dinner, but I had not been back during the day. We just HAD to go.  Avila Beach tends to have wonderful weather year round. It was a little chilly and cloudy, which made getting in the water less desirable for me. Coming off a few months in the tropics, I had my fix of bodysurfing there in warm water and did not want to freeze in the 56 degree water of the California coast. The only remaining option then is to build a sand castle, so Claire, Grandpa and Landon got started.   This boy loves to dig in the sand! I was certain that Landon would not want to set a toe in the cold water, but I put him in his board shorts anyway in case he accidentally got wet. You never know with toddlers! Because it was a little colder, I wanted warm long pants and jacket for him to wear afterwards. Grandpa Doug and Landon Austin ...

I'm noticing Claire is starting to look more like me as she gets older! Whenever we come into town, my grandparents make a special effort to come visit and see Landon. We love to see them, catch up and spend time together. When Grandpa Karl and Betsy visited, we went out to dinner at Taco Temple in Morro Bay. It is a Mexican/California Fusion restaurant and I absolutely loved the food. I ordered one taco and it came with a huge heaping pile of greens in a tangy cilantro dressing, freshly made chips and salsa, everything was delicious. Here was our pre-dinner picture of the Livengoods at our home: On a different day, we picked up Claire from school and took Landon to the Charles Paddock Zoo in Atascadero. It is a very small zoo which allowed Landon to just run around the whole thing, see all the animals, and still have energy to run to the park to swing on the swings! Coin drop was thrilling! His favorite features of the zoo seemed to be the coin drop and the lion fou...

The biscuits and gravy master! Looking through my pictures from this past holiday season, I noticed a whole batch that I had not shared yet! Before we left Colorado, we did one last visit around to all Landon's great-grandparents. First, we had the legendary biscuits and gravy with Grandma Helen. Man, her biscuits and gravy are amazing! She is also a very sweet lady and enjoys visiting with us when we come to Colorado. Grandma Ev and Landon. Precious. Grandma Helen and Auntie Em. They have similar personalities. Grandma Helen and two of her grandchildren. Austin adores this woman. Now everyone squeezes in! After Grandma Helen, Austin and I took Landon over to Grandpa and Grandma Lish's house to visit with them. Landon was obsessed with their glass Christmas houses and we had to rescue them from his grasp several times. It was wonderful to visit more with all of the grandparents! Landon and Great-Grandpa Lish Landon and Auntie Em had to take ...

Landon and the elephant seals! One bright beautiful morning, I decided to take Landon to see the elephant seals. I thought now that he was a little older, he would appreciate them more and man, was I right! I know they all look dead, but I promise there was plenty of movement going on to take in! My first regret is that I had packed my camera all up ready to go and take some awesome pictures of the coast, and then I promptly forgot it! So all my pictures are from my phone, which thankfully takes OK pictures. When we first got to the lookout point, I was pleasantly surprised that there were so many seals there. Seal season begins around New Years, and we were there around the 5th. We were also visiting my Grandma in Cambria, CA so we had a little bit of a time constraint. If we had had more time, I think Landon could have stayed for a lot longer! We spied some seals in the water right off of the parking lot. We saw several males swimming, and fighting each other in ...

Austin and Landon way up the hill! After our awesome anniversary ski experience in Colorado, Austin and I were not expecting much from the slopes of the central California Sierra Nevadas. On the way up the mountain, the road became one lane and very curvy. Landon was watching his tablet in the very back of the van, when suddenly, he gave the tablet to Claire and threw up his breakfast EVERYWHERE! We pulled over, cleaned him up, bagged up the stuff with throw up on it, and moved his seat to the middle van seat to see if that would help. I wish it had... he threw up two more times before we got to the resort! After each time, my dad would ask if he should pull over, and I just said "KEEP GOING! JUST GET IT OVER WITH!"  So now I know that my son can get very car sick. I feel blessed that he has not gotten  motion sick on an airplane yet! I think part of the issue was the very winding roads, and my dad's awesome curvy road driving skills that were just a bit too ...