Logan's Indoor Soccer League

We signed up Logan for a soccer league and it turns out that it is an indoor field. It is really cool. So the kids just practice for about 10 minutes before and then play the game against the other team. This is Logan's first year and so it is obvious that he is learning the ropes, but I have been proud of how hard he is trying to run and kick the ball the right direction. Brayden is going to play in this same league next month.

Stevens Annual Beach Trip

This year it was a "stay-cation" for us. We played chouffer and taxi as the parties arrived by car and plane. It was so much fun again to have all of us together and to be able to enjoy most of the week on the beach. We did have one day in the middle that we spent at Sea World, which was a blast, and a day that the kids really enjoyed. We did the usual nightly rituals of playing games and shoving our faces with Red Vines, which could be the single greatest thing to snack on while playing card or board games. Well that is until the morning hits....UH!! Then of coarse Ryan and I were able to get out each morning and surf, which was a blast this year because I had been going more often prior to this week. We did the occasional horse shoes, frisbee tossing, smash ball, sand castle building, boogie boarding, and trips to Cessy's Mexican Restaurant. Oh the Carnitas plate is to die for!! Anyway...it was a lot of fun to spend time with the family. And one highlight we had in the middle of the week was a surprise retirement party for Kent Wells. He is finally retiring on October 1st!! Congrats Dad. So we got him gifts, had a DVD made for him, did a little roast, and had a lot of fun with him. The kids all played great together. Chad, Brayden and Logan spent most of the time on the beach standing on top of the boogie boards and waiting for waves to crash so they could surf on them. Connor and Sean were following each other around trying to find new things to jump off of. Everyone enjoyed the time and it was a huge success. Some great videos below of the boys surfing on boogie boards and Shamu. Well, I think I covered it all.

Kennedy's Visit

The Kennedy's paid a visit in early September and I wanted to make sure I documented, so here it is. It was great to see Kevin, Angie, and their cute little Reese. We ate dinner at Old Town Mexican Cafe, one of our personal favorites, then hung out in Del Mar at the beach the next day. It was short and sweet.

The Famous Black Out

So at the end of my work day I was visiting one last account when all of the sudden all of the street lights started flashing red. Traffic started backing up and my cell phone kept dropping calls. I felt like I was in the twilight zone. I couldn't call my wife because her phone was broken and it was madness. The last call I went to was useless because their power was out and all our equipment was off. It turns out the whole San Diego County power went out from some power plant in Arizona and it shut us down from about 3:30pm to 3am. How did we find out that it turned back on at 3am you ask? Well we woke up to Connor screaming "HEY, HEY!!" So we walk in his room and his light was completely on which had woke him up. I would have been screaming "HEY" as well. Every hotel, restaurant, and grocery store was completely out of power so it was a little crazy.

So what better to do than enjoy the experience. We busted out the candles, the flashlights, lanterns, and the kids slept in their tent in the living room. We tried to eat anything remaining in the freezer that might go bad. We went over to our neighbors and ate all their popsicles. It was a good lesson in testing how prepared we are with our emergency kits. And it turns out that lack of batteries for flashlights isn't a valid excuse when you can't run to the store. What a wake up call! Anyway, it was a fun time.

Logan Birthday Part 2

Next was the friend party. Camille went all out for this one. From the driveway out front, through the house, and finishing in the backyard our house was turned into a full fledged Fire Station. It was a lot of fun. The first thing the kids did when they came in was built fireman approved camp fires out of food on paper plates. We did hot potato with a fireman ax, pin the badge on the fireman, and even an obstacle course where they had to save a baby from a burning fire. Good time had by all.

Logan's Birthday Part 1

Logan finally turned 4, although he might deny that if you asked. He keeps insisting that he is 5. Logan was fortunate enough to have two celebrations, one with our individual family and one with his friends.

Our family birthday started off with breakfast at Denny's. We love this spot because the birthday individual gets a free meal, so we frequently spend birthday mornings here. Next we came home and Logan got to open his presents. This year Logan got a tent and a bunch of fun camping stuff, an umbrella, a really cool music player, a construction worker vest, and many other things that any boy would love. Logan specified that he wanted to have a candle that had a "big number" on it so we got a big number 4 to put on his cake. The rest of the day was taken up by Logan playing with all of his toys with the neighbors. That is one thing we love about him, that he actually will enjoy his toys and play with them. So every birthday and Christmas is a success.

First Day of School

Brayden and Logan's first day at Highland Ranch.

Brayden's Self Portrait

We had a "welcome back to school night" at Highland Ranch, where we spent time with Brayden and Logan's teachers and learned what the year would entail. So while sitting in Brayden's classroom I stumbled upon this gem. This is a self portrait that he drew of himself the first day of Kindergarten.