A Day at the Beach

Today while Camille was at a Relief Society function I took the boys to the beach. Last week on our date Camille and I found this really cool spot of beach, where you have your own secluded cove to yourself. So I took the boys there and for a while we were the only ones on this cove enjoying the sand and water to ourselves. We had a blast building drip sand castles, playing soccer, baseball, eating snacks, and enjoying a beautiful San Diego day.

As crazy as it may sound, this was my first opportunity to actually go to the beach and sit to enjoy it. I have driven past it, walked on it, and seen it plenty since we have been here, but never gone to just sit in a beach chair and enjoy. So that was nice! That just goes to show how busy / crazy life has been since we moved here. Between work, family life, and moving into our new house, I have not had many spare moments to breathe. I know this because the beach has been on my priority list and it took me this long to get there.

What a fun day with the boys!!

Neighbor Ella's Birthday

Yesterday we went to our neighbors birthday at the park. Let me just pause one minute to express how grateful we are for our neighborhood. We are SO BLESSED to have moved into the neighborhood we are in. The neighbors on either side of us have kids that our kids play with and the neighbors directly across the street have a little boy that my kids love to play with as well. It is so great to have our kids involved with all the kids in the neighborhood. So the little girl next door was having a party and we were able to go.

It was at a really amazing park here with a train that ran in a circle around it, huge trees with trunks that the kids could climb on, and all the grass imaginable. At the party there was a clown that did balloon animals, face painting, and a magic show, the food was catered, there was a pinata, and a bunch of new friends that we were able to meet. This is a Polynesian family, so we had a true Polynesian feast including a pigs head! Logan made mention that he would like to eat the ears but when they offered it to him, he seemed to chicken out pretty quick. Logan is also obsessed with trains so when we went on the one there he couldn't contain himself. Brayden got his face painted with a ninja sword and then today when we showered before church he was so upset that we had to wash it off. Our kids had a blast and with a full belly combined with kids enjoying themselves, Daddy and Mommy were happy too.

Fathers and Sons 2011

Well a few weeks ago it was time to go to Fathers and Sons with the boys. So we packed up and headed out to Julian, a place called William Heice Park. The nice thing was that it was only an HOUR from our house!!! I know, crazy huh?! In fact everything is so close to us. Costco, Home Depot, Beach, Mountains, Mall, Great Restaurants, are all so close. This is huge for us because our last home was at least 20 minutes from anything.

Anyway, so we had a blast up there in Julian with our new ward. I was able to meet some new guys and my kids had plenty of friends to play king of the mountain, wiffle ball, sword fighting with sticks, and all other games that little boys love. After we got there and set up our tent, Logan immediately set up his toy grill and food on the bench right by the fire. He was serious about having his own spot to grill his food. He even put some dirt on to marinate :) We had hot dogs for dinner that we cooked over the fire and then had to roast some marshmallows. This year we got the boys their own sleeping bags so they were so nice and warm through the whole night, which was very different from last year where we camped with snow on the ground. The next day we woke up and went camping with a group of us to the top of the mountain. It was so much fun.

I always look forward to time that I get to spend with my boys. I love them so much!!

Connor's Overnight Revelation

We have all seen the magical stories where one character proclaims that something amazing will happen or makes a wish, and the next day it comes true. Well this was very similar. One night Camille and I were talking about our kids as we frequently do and all of the sudden I said, "Connor is going to start walking and talking in full sentences tomorrow." Up to this point Connor had been crawling and only walked with the help of our furniture. So when I said that Camille and I looked at each other and smiled as we went to bed knowing it was far fetched.

Well there was a magical breeze in the air that night because one of the first things that Connor did in the morning was start standing up by himself. He would stand on his legs with his hands on the floor and then push himself up and just stand there. We were amazed and his biggest fan through this whole experience had to be Brayden. He was such a proud older brother and kept saying phrases like, "I am so impressed with him right now." So from the courage of Connor trying to teach himself how to stand and the rest of us with our encouraging words, Connor started taking a few steps after he would stand. It was unbelievable and we laughed knowing what I had said the night before. So I had to capture the moment on video and picture.

Easter 2011

In our family Easter is always a tough balance between the worldly version of Easter with the bunny, easter egg hunts, etc. and the true meaning of Easter, the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So this year was no different. We started the morning with the kids searching for their easter baskets and then we had a easter egg hunt in our playroom. The kids were able to play with their toys a little and of coarse have a complete sugar high from the candy they found in the hunt. Below we have a video displaying the fun.

Then we watched the Living Scriptures "He is Risen", a cartoon rendition of the Savior overcoming death. We also discussed this at some length with our kids.

Overall it was a wonderful day.