While mom's away...

When I went to Long Beach to eat my burger by myself and wander around the loading docks of the Convention Center alone and ultimately run an amazing half-marathon with tens of thousands of other people, I left my heart looking at San Francisco.  Well, the objects of my heart's affection, anyway :)

if she'd just turn to the right a leeeettle bit, she'd be looking right at SF.

When I go away and do these o-so-fun race things... like Long Beach this past weekend and Hood to Coast Relay back in August... a huge burden is placed on my amazingly awesome and understanding husband. I know this burden of which I speak because I deal with it daily :P While four children in the house is a huge joy and can be tons o' fun, it is also a tremendous amount of work. Nonetheless, daddy made sure they had a good time and even photographed it so that I could see :)

After dropping my freeeee excited self off at the airport, daddy took them out for donuts. This part was not photographed because I think he wanted this to be kept 'their little secret' ;-) Then they had to take Q-Man to his soccer game...

I don't think the Under-7 teams keep score...officially... 

but the kids can always tell you what the score was unofficially ;-)

It's pretty amazing to me that he kind of gets how to play the game...

not just that you're supposed to kick the ball into the goal, but passing and defense and such.

After the game, daddy took them for a walk...

 I am loving it that Big G is finally getting the hang of being a nice big brother.

And while the boys waged some sort of real-but-imaginary battle on the giant compass thing...

...Miss C dashed off...

...and found all kinds of cool stuff...

...flowers...

...storm drains...

...big rocks...

...cubist trash receptacles...

...the joy of making handprints in the dirt...

...she even found a camera!

 

Fun climbing on rocks...

 ...and fun jumping off!

I think Q is going for the 'crane' stance...

G is going for 'lordly'.

For Miss C, it was time for a breather.

 And the next day, Big G lost this tooth!

 The last time he lost a tooth was right on his birthday. 

The lame tooth fairy forgot to come by for a whole freakin' week! 

That chick should be canned, man...

But when she finally came that last time, she left a twenty spot!

G was hoping for the same this time around... but the TF was prompt...

and only left a buck.

And that's what happened while I was away :)