Eureka!!

Noah is tunnel crazy. He loves them in all forms. He loves when we drive through them; he is fascinated with sewers and sink pipes, caves and paper towel tubes. So, when I found out about the Gold Mine Tour in Julian, CA, I knew I had to take him up there for the day.

I try to do something fun for Noah every weekend since he has been forced to give up a lot of one-on-one time since the twins were born. Sometimes it’s just a Happy Meal after errands, but sometimes it’s a small trip. Like last weekend: we checked out the Fleet Science Center which he just LOVED!

Daddy, always the trooper, tends to stay home with the twins so they can get some Daddy time and because he doesn’t feel the need to get out of the house as much as I do.

This weekend, we invited Noah’s friend Cooper and his mom, Joyce, to come along with us up to Julian, sans little brothers. Joyce and I loved it because we both got to parent without diapers or strollers or spoon feeding or naps. It was awesome and gave us a glimpse of our future freedom when the youngest boys in our families are a bit older.

The boys had a blast roaming through the mine shafts and tunnels, up rickety ladders and such. They even got to try their hand at panning for gold. I found a few sandy specks myself!

Afterward, we headed for a local pizza place, and scarfed down some pepperoni. What’s cool about being around other moms with kids the same age as your own is that you can pick up some cool parenting tricks. Joyce had an endless stream of ideas for quiet games we could play at the table while waiting. The best one was the finger game. During normal conversation, one person puts their finger on their nose. When someone notices that someone else has done this, they do it, too. Eventually everyone does it and the last one without a finger on their nose is the loser.

And then everyone giggles maniacally.

We did a bit of shopping, especially in the candy store, where we sampled fudge and came out with little white sacks bulging with goodies. We had planned to go for ice cream at the old fashioned soda fountain, but after all that sugar we weren’t so much in the mood.

So we piled back in the car and headed for Lake Cuyamaca (not before scoping out some campgrounds for future weekend adventures) where we had to pay SIX BUCKS for the privilege of letting the boys throw rocks in the water! But after an hour of one of Noah’s favorite pastimes, it was probably worth it.

And it was so good for Noah to be able to play with someone his age after always being around toddlers lately. We only see Cooper for a few minutes on the ride home from school so it was great for them to have some true bonding time. And Joyce and I got some yummy girl-talk time and really got to know each other better. When I take Noah out alone, it usually means being his buddy and throwing rocks in the water right beside him, which (don’t get me wrong!) is great, but sitting and chatting with a friend while watching your kids discover the wonder of bugs under logs and stones and the myriad of things a pile of sticks can become…

…well that just rocks!