Friday, May 30, 2014

School is Cool



 This year all 3 teachers were so great.
Like so great I could cry.
Perfect matches for my kids.

Mrs. Wright got Sally to open up and could deal with her highs and lows
(which weren't major, but she had a few funky days).

Ms. Hirst is so even-tempered and consistent and helped Drew like school again.
(his teacher last year had ruined it for him)
Notice his teary eyes in the picture above. He loved her.

Ms. Valdez is amazing all around.
Owen struggles with school and she has been a huge support and so positive for him.

 Drew and "The Monkey Club" (Jack, Talen, and Peter)
They're the monkey club because they all like monkeys, obviously.
Also, they love sports.
One week they each chose a day that was for their favorite team.
Then all the kids dressed in that team's colors.
Drew's favorite team is randomly the Blue Jays.
Anyway, they're a fun group of boys.

Sally and Tes showing off their ABC books they worked so hard on.

 Sally's tears (sad to leave Mrs. Wright) kicked in a little late.
She had to be helped to stay in the picture (notice the shoes of Drew's friend, Justice, behind the sign).

After school, we went to Talen's neighborhood.
His mom's friend owns this truck and she surprised the kids by having it there.

It was a cold last day of school, but maybe if we eat enough ice cream it will still feel like summer.

BBQ Day


A church BBQ, Owen's team party BBQ, then another BBQ with friends.

Memorial Day was fun but nuts.

These pictures are all from the church party at Via Paraiso Park.

Justin is always awesome to get involved with the kids.


And I love when other people love my kids.

Kids in Uniform


Owen's regular season ended on such a high note.
Wish I could say the same about playoffs.

 Coach Dave is a super nice, positive guy.

Owen played center field most of the season and had some huge catches.
He also had some great hits.
So fun to watch him.

With his best baseball friend, Kevin.

Drew. Loves. Baseball.

His friend Dax sent Flat Stanley to take around.
Stanley got to be an honorary member of the River Dogs one game.






 with Talen.

 During the team party at Mountain Mikes,
Coach Ken said Drew is the fastest on the team (he timed them all).
And then he added that his mouth runs just as fast as his feet.
It's so very true.
Drew talks nonstop and is so loud.
Most of the kids love it.
Not sure I can say the same for the coaches.

Sarah took this picture of the boys after the championship playoff game in Owen's league.
Owen's team didn't make it that far (they got 3rd), so we were there to cheer on Cal and the Brewers.

Monday, May 26, 2014

May Days

5/2
Justin is one of the girls.

5/3
Sarah left her sunglasses.

5/3
Our boys and the neighbor boys are finally friends.
They go to different schools and had never met until baseball season.

5/9
Justin re-enlisted for 4 more years with the USMC Reserves.
Our church friend Tom Carson came over and did the re-enlistment in our house.
They hung that flag just for the occasion.

5/9
Sometimes we luck out and get Dennis the Menace Park to ourselves.
And then a few minutes later a school bus full of kids pulled up.

5/10
For teacher appreciation week, we met on a Saturday to weed the class garden.
Drew was thrilled about it.

5/13
Danna sent me the best birthday package of Hawaiian goodies.
My favorite was her cotton candy.


5/15
We had a warm week here.
Which meant it was even more warm in Carlsbad.
Between the heat and the wind there were major fires there.
So glad our friends were okay.

Mother's Day

 My friend Sarah does the store displays for Lula's Chocolates.
She used the picture on the left of my mom and baby me for the Mother's Day display.
Kind of fun.

 August's 18 month checkup was the Friday before Mother's Day.
The receptionist handed me a flower on the way out.
Auggie loves flowers and wouldn't let it go.
He also loves destroying them.
By the time we made it home every petal was on the van floor.

 A couple weeks before Mother's Day, I met the kids walking home from school.
As soon as Owen saw me he started running and sobbing uncontrollably.
He couldn't talk and wouldn't tell me what was wrong.
I started guessing the worst.
Finally got out of him that he thought I was going to hate the picture of me he drew in art.
Broke my heart!
I told him if it had black hair and brown eyes it was as good as any drawing I could do.
I obviously love the picture and want to know where I can find that orange outfit.

Actual Mother's Day was maybe the best yet.
Justin always does a great job of taking care of everything.
But sometimes I stress too much.
This year I was able to relax and enjoy the kids/day.
Didn't even stress when we were late for church and Justin didn't get a shower.
Also, I realized my kids are capable of a lot.
And Owen is getting back on diaper duty.

Post edit: this came off Justin's phone...the end of a happy mother's day with some crazy kids.

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Good Planning

 I would like to thank whoever planned the fathers and sons campout to be on Mother's Day weekend.

And I would like to thank Justin for wanting to take August at 19 months (he did great).

When the boys first left, Sally was at a friend's house.

So I plopped down on the couch, smiled a big cheesy smile, and enjoyed the silence.

Well, the mostly silence (Lurzy the bearded dragon is a noisy eater).

So while the boys were off getting stinky, we did the opposite.

Got all fancy (including high heels that are normally for dress-up only) and went for dessert with friends at a French restaurant in Carmel.




Sally loved it, even though her behavior was more suited for McDonald's than Patisserie Boissiere.

Mother daughter time is a good thing and should happen more often, especially in this house full of boys.


Post Edit: A couple pictures Justin took at the campout.

They lucked out and got a cabin, which they shared with the Laflans and Carsons.

School Pictures Revisited








School pictures this year were all around bad.
Finally got around to doing retakes.
And using Justin's new leaf blower.

Speaking of school pictures...

We got back the professional pictures from the daddy-daughter dance a few months ago.