Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Cali Day 3 & 4



On day 3, it was all about a day at the beach. From sun up to sun down we spent the day playing in the sand. I took advantage of the exercise up and down the 130 steps and offered to go back for snacks, lunch, and again to get the laundry done in between. Eventually I was able to go up without feeling like I was going to drop 2/3rds of the way from the top.


The whole rock side of the beach was full of these squirrels. They have the life, I tell you. All day long, they are snatching food from random camp and beach sites, then go back into the shaded areas and relax to the sounds of the surf.


It was a great lazy day of much rest and fun. Jaxon gets the chills easily and he just laid under the towels in the sun for about an hour while his brothers played.


Lucas and Don built some sand castles. Here you can see Lucas destroying them with his excavator.


We have to take at least one picture of ourselves :)


The boys would love to run up to Don and egg him on until he would chase them. They are so fortunate to have such a happy father. He makes our life so much fun.

A video of the boys and Don.




Day 4


This was also a very lazy day. Somewhat through the morning, I remembered we had a swing in the camper. Don didn't think we had one, then he thought there was no where to hang it and I was set for the challenge of figuring it out myself.


Luckily we had no neighbors and hung the swing in between our site and the one next to us. The boys were finally the right size to be able to get up on it themselves, so they swung like little monkeys.




Later in the afternoon we were able to meet up with the kids! We hadn't seen them in over a year, but love knows no time restraints.


Matthew had gotten bigger and I would have never thought possible, but even more handsome! The kids all played chase when we got there and I heard Matthew tell the boys that they freak him out, but within minutes he had gotten his bearings and held his own. He is so much fun and such a great kid!


Giving the game of chase a break, we all sat and played Uno for a bit.


Michael is same ole awesome Michael. He is so loving and kind, and the kids all look up to him since he is the oldest. My boys laugh at everything Michael says. No words can be found for me to define Michael. He is just beyond awesome.


Ms Cathryn had really grown up. She seemed more comfortable in her skin, which I remember was hard at that age. The boys couldn't get enough of her, and she has so much patience with them. It is fun having a girl around the mix of boys, she is a perfect fit!


My face hurt from smiling so much that evening. It had been so long since we had been able to see the kids, but everything fell right back into place. I love how family is easy like that.

What an awesome day!

Monday, June 28, 2010

Cali Day 2

Can you guess where we spent our day? :)





A day full of riding kid friendly rides


We walked through Lego Las Vegas (amongst other cities)




Lots of posing for pictures.


Don's heroic effort with the boys on this team ride where only 4 people are allowed was pretty amazing. Having one adult with 4 not really understanding children was so pathetic, that an employee hopped in the truck to help Don out.


Watching the boys be allowed to drive little cars for the first time by themselves was great! I know this looks like an action shot, but they were driving about 3 miles an hour.


We finished our first day of LegoLand off with some well deserved funky tasting ice cream.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Annie's Meatballs



Cousin Annie came for a visit recently. Of course we were thrilled to have her here, but she made us super excited by teaching us how to make "sauce" like a proper Italian family. To make it a full family affair, we decided it was an ideal time to teach the boys how to make meatballs, too. Yummy Yummy!

Friday, June 25, 2010

California May 2010

Part One




A few months ago, we got online and made some summer camping reservations. California was our main goal. We wanted to hit the beach as much as possible, as long as possible. Our first trip was mid May to San Elijo State Park.


After getting a super late start due to issues with the wiring harness and our jeep, we pulled in our camping spot with only a few hours to spare before it was going to get dark. We had never been to this campground before, so we were not sure what to expect of the area.


The boys playing while camp was being set up.


Immediately, we were thrilled. The view from the campsite was beyond beautiful and since it was mid week in May, there weren't many other campers so we had privacy as well.




The whole campground was up on a cliff overlooking the ocean. Every night we fell asleep to the sound of crashing waves about 150 feet below us. Since the beach was so far below, there was a stairway of 130 steps to the side of our site.

We put dinner on and decided to explore around the beach. Once we got to the bottom, this was what we saw.



We soaked up the view while Jaxon and Wyatt jumped over incoming waves. Lucas is usually slower to warm up to the water and took a bigger interest in climbing the giant rocks.



The whole beach was deserted, so the boys did some extra exploring.



After wandering along the beach, it was time to have a camping dinner of meat and potatoes over the fire.


Besides the crazy wind that kept me awake most of the night in fear of our camper being blown over, the day was a success!

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Don's New Treasures

The good, bad and ugly.

The GOOD

A FREE Honda Rebel. It is an oldie but a goodie. And did I mention it was FREE?


Until Don gets his motorcycle license, his rides are limited to up and down our street. The kids don't mind though, it helps to shave some time off their sprints.

The BAD and UGLY

This golf cart was a freebie as well. It is not as pretty and since we are having a hard time getting a charger for it, it needs to get out of the garage. Now listed on Craigslist, it may be coming to a neighborhood by you!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Luke's Family Portrait

We are not big on crafts around here. It is weird, me being such a crafty myself, but something about handing Jaxon free reign of scissors or markers makes my eyes roll back and I start to get the shakes. I am very aware they are FIVE (!). Jaxon is just very, how do I say this in the most "Mommy loves you" way? Oh jeez. um. Experimental. Yeah, that is definitely the right word for him.

Coloring books and crayons, go at it! I have safety scissors. Even glue! They get them on loan while I am in the kitchen cooking or something, sure. No problem. So they do get a bit of an outlet, but not as much as I would like. It is a work in progress.

Back to the matter at hand!

Lucas drew his first family portrait! This first one is of me, Luke and Don. Don is the one with hair :)



Then he decided he couldn't leave anyone out, and drew one of the rest of the family. Annie was visiting at the time and he drew her in too.


What a little artist!

Garage Door Hang Up

One day when Don opened the garage door, one of the boys got an idea.



Since then, they have evolved to manning the garage door opener themselves -taking turns so each of them get their fair share of fun.