Shearer Fun Camping

Oh it's a bit cold - but we're content as seals in San Simeon.

Ah - another Shearer camping adventure! We packed up momma's new car with the new family tent and our camping supplies and headed up the coast to San Simeon State Park, just north of Morro Bay. For those not familiar with the California Coast, San Simeon is considered "Central Coast" and features rolling hills and pine bluffs that drop into the blue Pacific. It's awesome.

After a 4.5 hour drive we reached the campground and set out to out site#65, which ended up being in the middle of a group of 40-something men obviously having a guys weekend. No thanks. We asked for a different site and set out again through the winding roads of the campground to find ourselves at site #111, featuring a tiny sloped site where our giant tent could only fit on the parking spot. A few sites down were a bunch of 20-somethings bumping the dance music out of the back of a pick up and throwing horseshoes, fun, but not for us. So again we asked for another site and given #11 on the upper loop, PERFECT:

Tatum loved that we had two parking curbs on site to walk up and over, up and over. I've written about it before, this girl is obsessed with stepping.

We enjoyed ourselves, especially after 7pm when Tatum went down for the night and we relaxed into our happy hour reading books, sipping cocktails, and watching the night come in. Tatum had a bit of a hard time sleeping since she was fighting a constant cough that would awake her. It seems that each time we're camping, she's suffering from a cold/runny nose/cough. But the camping must go on, so her immunity is challenged (or perhaps strengthened).

On Saturday we checked out the elephant seals that nest about 12 miles up the coast from San Simeon. The seals didn't move fast enough for Tatum, or perhaps it was the absence of legs and fur that just didn't appeal to her, but she didn't care for them. Andrew and I were entralled observing the seals as pairs of males battled, others laid asleep, and others slowly came in and out of the ocean. When she'd scream in frustration after we viewed the seals for too long, we'd hand her a few rocks or hit the ground for a walk around the area. Tatum can pass loads of time by sitting, collecting rocks, trying to fit as many as possible in one hand, passing the rocks over to us then asking for them back, stacking the rocks, placing the rocks on other rocks, and so on. Thankfully there were lots of rocks around to rely on.

Later we headed down to the beach. The weather was too cool to go swimming, in fact we didn't bring our suits because the forecast was for 55 degree weather. But it seemed to warm up to about 70 and other folks took the sunshine as the cue to go swimming. We rolled up our pants and took to the waves. Tatum was enthralled with the ocean. She took off directly for the ocean and was thrilled to have waves crash on her feet. We walked in and out of waves for a long time as she demanded (yes, and I mean demanded) for the waves to crash and run up over her toes and feet. She would fuss at the ocean if the wave did not reach far enough up shore to touch her. When a large wave would crash I'd sweep Tatum up and run back as to not drench ourselves. She laughed in excitement at the thrill. Soaked, we returned to camp for a warm dinner and our warm pajamas.

We hit the road early on Sunday to return to LA and unload. As we went to bed that night both Andrew and I noticed the absence of the crashing waves of the ocean that lulled us to sleep over the weekend. Tatum slept like a baby should and her coughing improved. For more photos of the trip, check out our Flickr pictures.

Family Fun in Arizona

On April 19th my step brother Jay married in Arizona. We packed the subaru on Thursday night and headed out through the desert early Friday morning with Phoenix on our minds. My sister Jen had the rad idea of renting a home instead of staying in a hotel. We all know that with kids, you put them down in a hotel room and your options are to hang out in the bathroom or lobby. This place offered a home away from home at less than the cost of a hotel. The house had five bedrooms, for the Littles, the Shearers, and the Longs, living room, full kitchen, pool with a kid play area, and outdoor grill. It was a sweet - it became our home for the weekend and provided us the calm and laid back space we all needed to feel on vacation and content.

Aunt Jen and Tatum have matching suits - random fun!! The boys chilling poolside.


Tatum yums on yogurt for the first time - check out her bed head!

We had everything we needed at the house, except sushi. My dad lives on the range in Montana, so when he comes to the city he's ready for good sushi. Jay works at the best sushi joint in Phoenix, Ra! So we enjoyed a family meal and Tatum cracked us all up with her sticky rice face.

Jay's wedding was on a Sunday morning followed by a brunch and dance party. It was a beautiful day and more beautiful was the love that Jay and Laura share. It was fun to celebrate on the dance floor afterwards. Tatum got friendly with Evie, Jay's brother's daughter who is five days older than Tatum. So cute.

Mojave Moon and More

This shot was taken at the LA Zoo Bunny Extravaganza. She's not the most excited bunny in the patch.

During Easter weekend we packed the wagon and headed out on another Shearer Adventure - this time to join some friends in the Mojave Desert for some Easter fun. Tatum didn't find any Easter Eggs, but she sure loved finding desert rocks and licking the sandy dust right off of them.

MMMM - nutrients from the soil do a body good. As you can see it was a dusty scene, but full of new friends for conversation, open space for kite flying, and enough room to set up our new 170 square foot tent!



That's our red tent with the grey roof. It's big enough to set up the pack and play - which is the essential key element for Tatum to rest well during our big camping adventures like this one. The tent's main room actually has enough space for two pack and plays - so this tent will serve for years and years to come.


The night was filled with music, dancing, star gazing (including an awesome telescope glimpse of Saturn and her rings and moons), and of course eating. Tatum missed out on the night scene, as a baby should. In the morning we woke early, because Tatum always does, and took to the hills for a small hike after breakfast. It was a chilly morning and the walk must of been a cozy one for Tatum because she fell asleep in the pack and stayed asleep until after we were done packing up the tent and car. See the fleece pink hat and stripped legs - that's our sleepy silly!

It was a memorable full moon night in the Mojave.

Holiday Travels Home

We jetsetted again and took off for another whirl wind trip of NC during the second week of December- visiting family and friends in Asheville; driving across the state to spend a few days on the Shearer Adventure, and ending up with a few holiday celebrations in Charlotte at both of our sisters' homes.

This time more than the last I feared the plane trip. Last time we traveled to NC Tatum was three months old. She seemed to sleep better then and was definitely not as involved with her surroundings. Now at nearly seven months Tatum sleeps, but not without a few minutes of whining and if there are folks around to flirt with, there's no way this babe is going down. So I was nervous and fearful. Oh - there's just nothing like wasting time fretting over fears of a situation not yet encountered. And fortunate for us and our fellow travelers, we did not have to encounter "it". On the first flight we were given an extra seat and were able to bring the car seat aboard. On the second leg we were on a small commuter jet and were not as lucky. BUT we had the trusty night cap - a tight fitting cap that covers Tatum's eyes when she is unable to shut herself down. This was the perfect trick for a peaceful trip. The hat allows cuts her visual field and thereby allows her to get the sleep she needs but attention from strangers prevents. Tatum needed this sleep aid when she was younger, but I had not needed to use it in months. However, when we were leaving at 4:30am I grabbed it just in case. Let's just call that a mother's miracle of intuition.

We stayed with our cousins Amy, Kyle and baby James in Burnsville. We were able to make it into Asheville for the day on Sunday and meet up with Jen and Andy and the boys who were on their way to the Polar Express. We shared lunch at the famed Asheville Pizza and Brew Company (where Andrew and I have a pizza named after us called The Shear Delight). Tatum showed off her new sitting skills by hanging out in a high chair - another first experience that was repeated throughout our travels).



On Monday we enjoyed our cross the state journey away from the balmy 24 degree weather in the mountains to the sunny skies of 60 degree weather on the coast. Last time we were on the Shearer Adventure Tatum slept with us; but this time she slept in a pack-n-play in the captains quarters. She took naps down in our room - all of which we had to wake her up from. I guess it was the rocking of the boat, but Tatum ended up taking 2 and 3 hour naps. During our stay, Mimi and Boo treated us old folks to a night of our own by taking care of Tatum while we shared our first dinner out alone. Andrew and I walked to the end of the dock where we enjoyed a meal and a bottle of wine. It was special to share in a simple pleasure again.



On Thursday we stopped through Southern Pines on our way to Charlotte so that Tatum could meet her Grandma T and visit with the Hillgroves.


We stayed the weekend in Charlotte enjoying the company of our families. Julie and Craig's kids Nicolas (3) and Sophia (18 months) enjoyed spending more time with their only cousin Tatum. We celebrated Christmas with our annual trip to Kybutos and returned home to open presents. Tatum was a party pooper and crashed out early before opening a single gift.

On Saturday we moved over to the Littles. Drew and Ethan (4) were thrilled to have us visit. Drew welcomed Tatum by reading a book to her and Ethan gave her one of his bears. Lala came to town and we were able to spend time together as a big family. On Sunday morning we had breakfast with Santa. Just in time, ten days before Christmas, Tatum was able to meet Santa



We returned after a long travel day. Again, Tatum was awesome on the flight home proving that she's a happy traveler, for the most part.

Family Camping at Doheny State Beach

Last weekend, The Shearer Family took our first camping trip to Doheny State Beach in Orange County. We chose the site because of its location between LA and San Diego and our intention was to stay the night after our annual Thanksgiving with the Oestreichers; however I got my weekends mixed up and booked a week early. So it goes, and so we went. And glad we did.

This is our site! We'll take it:




Look at all those birds:



This girl loves looking at life different:




The evening show of color:




Tatum's Tired Dance:





The next morning:

And naptime:

Then playtime again:



You must be asking "where's Andrew?". Well I am too - next time we're out I'll make sure to pass Andrew Tatum and I'll take the camera.