Brotherly Love

A pic from this summer...I just grabbed it off my phone...love it!

First Day of Second Grade

We kicked off the morning with some butterscotch pancakes

(doesn't he look about 10 ft tall in this photo?) attempted to get a couple decent pics...

And off to school we go...

Unfortunately, by the time we parked and walked the half mile to school, it was about time to line up. At least I got one shot of Lo with a best buddy from kindergarten who is now in his class again...he is very excited to have Nolan in class again!! I think I'll have Logan wear his same first day of school clothes again soon so I can recreated a few of those shots I missed :) Would that be too corny?!? He would probably want to die if I actually made him do that :)

Last Beach Day of Summer Vacation

A couple days before school started, we gathered a few families for a last chance beach day.

You may remember Parker and Braden from the Talent Show days, they are the other members of the Painted Rockers!

Morgan and Maddie put up with Caden a little better than the boys, probably because they both have younger brothers.

The Tunnel of Wonder!

Waiting for the perfect wave (nevermind that he is facing the wrong way)

Hanging about 7, it looks like

Eager for the next one!

Logan rode this one in from the second row of breakers...too far out, I'd like to add.

Oh yeah, it was a great day!....ready to hit the books!

Star Wars under the Stars

Shawn set up a screen ala white sheet in the backyard for a special backyard viewing of a family favorite, Star Wars. After a few minor technical difficulties, we let the force be with us

Waiting for it to get dark...shadow puppets passed the time

"The Dark Side"

We enjoyed some homemade ice cream too!

It was a GREAT evening, hopefully we'll have a lot more in the future!

Just like big brother

Caden thinks he is 7...and he wants to be just like Logan...

Picnic Dinner on the Beach

We packed up dinner and headed down to the beach for a beautiful evening.

Lots of time to play in the sand and waves!

Time to say bye bye Sun...

Caden's Popular Phrases

"Do it myself" this applies to getting in and out of the car, putting on clothes & shoes, or opening something that would be difficult for superman, such as a package of batteries. And usually when we are in a hurry.

" Don't say no" This is used when asking for milk, juice or to play outside

"Come on!" not in a friendly, follow me tone, more like a why is the world always against me tone

One morning, I was in the kitchen, unloading the dishwasher while Caden was playing legos in the family room. "Mama, what do I have?" "What do you have, Cade?" "I have POOPS!" with the proudest smile in the land. then he hides under his train table, so I can't nab him for a change. What a stinker, SERIOUSLY!!

The other day at Costco....while waiting in line (no where to escape) "I'm pooping!....It's coming out of my bum!"

7:46 am...breakfast is on the picnic table, Caden is playing outside... "Caden, why don't you eat some of your eggs?"

"Ok, Ok (in a slightly annoyed tone)...I've been working all day"

Road Trip 2010 - Griffith Park Observatory

As a final stop on our road trip we visited the historic Griffith Park Observatory.

Touching Rocks from Space is always fun!

It was a gorgeous sunset

By the time we got inside the observatory, the moon was near the horizon, so the astronomer had to reset the telescope to M-11, a star cluster over 6 thousand light years away. And Logan got to turn the observatory roof...pretty cool, huh?

Road Trip 2010 - on the road again

To be honest, we were a little nervous about going on vacation. Our last trip was to Cabo a year ago and Caden more or less did not sleep...which meant no one else slept either and before that we went to the Polar Express and he didn't sleep then either. But this time was different! He was very excited to sleep in his "vacation bed" at the hotel and thanks to those blackout curtains, he slept til 7 each morning. Woohoo, time to plan more trips!

Both boys slept during the longest stretch of our drive

and partook in a feeding frenzy at a truck stop somewhere between the 101 & the 5 (Don't ask me where we were, but thank goodness they had a bathroom)

As long as we kept the snacks coming and a new surprise every once and a while, all was good.