Ladd Photos

On Sundays you’ll usually find us down south, letting the boys run around at their grandparent’s backyard. Hector was there this weekend, to play with his two favorite cousins.

Gavin had his first scrimmage of the season (it went only 3 innings). He got to pitch the first inning, and did well: He struck out 3 while only giving up a walk and a single. He also got a long single and a stolen base.

The whole Loera Clan headed to Loma Linda to visit Walo, who turned 91 years old a few days later. The kids all helped sort his recyclables and do some yard work.

The last photo is of La Gota Cafe, a restaurant in Redlands that Aliciana’s Great-Grandparents (Walo’s parents) owned during the 1950’s through the summer of 1980.

Poor Connor was sick and had to miss the run. I stayed home with him so Aliciana could still go help, and take a few photos of Gavin sweating. I still don’t understand how Fun and Run can go together.

Thank you to all the family and friends who donated to the boys! Turtleback Elementary raised a lot of money to fund their science programs and technology improvements.

Both boys had 8am games, at different sports fields, so we had to split our coverage. I saw Connor’s first game, but had to miss Gavin’s, so it was his turn for me to spectate.

Gavin spent the game playing 3rd base and right field. He got a walk, 3 stolen bases (including home), and a single. He didn’t get to pitch this game, but he has 3 games next week, so I’m sure his arm will get a work out soon.

We took a peaceful stroll among the cherry blossoms at the Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park.

I was busy doing pitch count duties during Gavin’s game, but was able to get a lot of good shots while Connor’s team played.

Connor and Gavin were both lucky enough to get their buddies Josh and Justin on their teams, who are also brothers. During Connor’s games, Justin and Gavin can always be found holding their own mini-practices nearby.

Connor had a lot of fun in the field, especially doing a great job at first base. He also went 5 for 5 at batting. His facial expressions while fielding are priceless.

We started off the first full day of our trip by showing the boys around Cal Poly, where Aliciana and I went to collage. Then we went for a hike through Poly Canyon and up to the top of the mountain containing the “P”.

The hike was beautiful but a bit longer than I remembered. We saw tons of wildflowers along the way, along with wild turkey and some cows. The views from the top of the ridge are amazing!

Gavin wanted to start his birthday in the pool, so the boys and I had a lot of fun swimming together at the hotel. Then we headed out to walk around downtown San Luis Obispo.

We stopped by Cal Poly to take a photo in front of the entrance sign, and in the process I had to save a poor college girl who was being accosted by two wild turkeys. I don’t remember turkeys existing on campus back in my day, but I managed to scare them off.

We finished off Gavin’s 11th birthday by eating pizza at Klondike, a favorite of ours in Arroyo Grande. Then we had some birthday cake back in the hotel room.

We spent the morning in the pool, the afternoon at beautiful Avila Beach, and dinner at Firestones in SLO.

So, with the last hour of sunlight we had left, we decided to wrap up the day at Dinosaur Caves Park in Shell Beach. I got some good photos of my family, and Connor playing on the park toys, before throwing around the baseball.

We spent the afternoon at Morro Bay, exploring the embarcadero, watching the local wildlife, and visiting the Rock and its beaches. The otters, seals, birds, and squirrels we out in force.

In the evening, we walked around the Farmer’s Market in downtown SLO. We even stopped by Bubblegum Alley so the boys could make a contribution to the walls, which they thought was cool and disgusting.

It was time to head back to San Diego, so we spent the afternoon in Solvang on the way back down south.

The boys had fun wandering around some of the Danish gift shops, including the House of Amber, which had a little museum about amber and Vikings. Then we walked down the the Elverhøj Museum where we learned about Solvang’s founding by Danish pioneers and the heritage of Denmark.

The boys wanted to see an Angels game to celebrate their birthdays, so we headed up to Anaheim for an evening game verses the Mariners. After the game, we also got to see an awesome fireworks show.

Unfortunately, the Angels lost 5 to 6, but we got to see some baseball history. Albert Pujols got his 1,993rd career RBI, passing up Babe Ruth, and placing him at 5th in the all-time RBI leaders.

We gathered at my sister-in-law Kristel’s house to celebrate Easter with the Loera clan and some of her husband’s family. We even got cupcakes and sang to Gavin for his 11th birthday.

Easter egg hunting chaos: