Skiing

What started out as a high overcast day ended up bluebird! And.... we still got good(ish) parking! (my new secondary indicator of a good day) Pictured with Sam is his buddy Parker.

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Sugar and Pa's visit

So we've been having tons of fun AND we've gotten lots of stuff done too. I've gotten tons of help with some household chores plus we got a tree and decorated for Christmas. Flat daddy has been a big part of all our fun... if we can't have the real guy here, we'll make do with his flat alter ego!

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Up to the mountain

We got up to the mountain, got our passes, and our locker. Ben got suited up to take a quick run, but unfortunately, this was as far as he got. They closed the bunny run a few minutes early due to wind. We were so close! Oh well, that will happen when you get up to the mountain too late in the day... Lucky for us, we will be up there plenty more!

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Monterey Bay Aquarium

The aquarium was fantastic! We saw jellyfish and seahorses... the boys both touched a bat ray... and we all loved the penguins, the octopus, and the leaf dragon seahorses.

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Monday Nov 22

Today we went to UCSC to meet Lindsey for lunch. The first pic is outside her office on campus. We also walked a bit of the wooded campus and saw the paths and bridges the students take to class. Interesting fact: the UCSC mascot is the banana slug!
Next we went back down to the boardwalk.... mom wanted to make a movie and the kids wanted to play miniature golf. So we did. After a 'quick' 18 holes of pirate- themed golf, we took a drive to Capitola. After a quick errand, more scenic driving and a yummy stop at Kelly's bakery, we headed home.
You can see what a day like that did to Sam! Of course, he was in there for a time out... but he really needed the rest.

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Fun in Santa Cruz

The boys had so much fun today at the boardwalk in SC.

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Family pictures August 2010

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The sandbar at Trestle Creek... more proof of our tough,tough life. ;)

From last weekend. The rough life continues..... (that's both boys on the tube)

Second verse, same as the first! (well, except now we are doing tricks!)

July 8. Living the life!

6-19

Took the kids to Hope today to visit with friends staying there. It was a gorgeous day, and the kids swam despite the cold water temps! Sam is the last little head swimming out to the dock and Ben is jumping off the dock.

June 16. A swim party and medals from the boys little league coach. Are these kids lucky or what?

6-15

Last little league game of the season.... topped off with ice cream cones!

6-13

What a gorgeous day! Too bad the boat didn't get out any further than this... battery problem, which is an easy fix, thank goodness.

6-4

Sam's 1st grade class performed at a program tonight. It was pretty adorable! (Sam is in the middle row, thrid from the left.)

5-30

Ryan and Sam getting 'scrambled' at Silverwood.

Disney Vacation 2010

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5-6

A little photo shoot with the boys to create a Mother's Day brag book for my mom. Toby, of cou
rse, must be included!

5-5

The first game of the season for these Little League players. This year, Ben and Sam were both eligible for the Rookie Division, which means they could both be on the same team.... SCORE! I love cheering for both my boys and not missing any games while I'm driving the other boy to his game across town! This year, we are the Florida Marlins.

5-4

This boy is growing up so fast. He devours books, has his own definite ideas on things, and likes to pose while throwing 'signs' at me. He only calls me "Mom" (often with a bit of irritation and eye rolling), and never "Mommy" any more. He is still pretty affectionate at home (as long as I haven't interrupted his reading), but doesn't want to get to close to me in public. I miss my baby Ben-rito, but I do love getting to know this cool kid.

{Quick shout out to another cool kid by the name of Ben who celebrates 9 years old today!}

5-3

Its starting to feel like Spring... all the way down to my toes! (In 'Marlins' turquoise... see 5/5!)

5-2

FIVE: boys, cousins, grandsons!

5-1

The boys met Rowen for the first time today. This sweet boy held his baby cousin and talked to him for a good 15 minutes, despite plenty of other things going on around him. And, he probably would have continued to hold him if he hadn't been called to dinner! {Rowen was unimpressed and continued to sleep through the whole thing!}

I need to document Sam's fabulous boo-boo over his eye as well. We were at his friend's birthday party. There were probably 15 or so 7 year old boys there, all running about as boys do. Well, Sam was standing on a rock and got pushed off, and apparently (although I'm still mystified as to how it could have happened) someone's foot made contact with his forehead. He had a big bloody scrape, but he was quite brave and we stayed at the party. After some TLC and a band-aid, he was good to go. He showed his wound to everyone at Meemom's house that night and re-told his tale of injury. Sam wore a BIG band-aid to school for several days that next week, which made him famous. (Or was at least one of three reasons why he now thinks he's famous... more to come on that later!)

3-18

What a reader this boy is! It is such a cool thing to see your kids develop a love of reading... and to know where they (might have) got it from! ::wink, wink::

3-17

Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Ben and Sam were all decked out in green shirts and tattoos!

(If you look closely, you can see a 'dent' in Ben's hairline above his forehead. He tried to comb his hair over to hide it, but yesterday- in class- he took scissors and cut his own hair!!! Apparently, he missed out on doing that in Kindergarten, when all the other kids do it... so he decided to make up for it in the 3rd grade! Crazy kid! Oh well, it was very obvious to us that he was quite embarrassed about it, so that (and what he looked like) were punishment enough. Lesson learned, we hope!)

3-16

A portrait of a Speech Therapy Graduate.
Today, Sam was released from Speech Therapy and we congratulated him with a card, balloon, and candy! Sam loves a celebration, and this was good reason to celebrate!

3-15

The back yard at dusk... I had noticed the pretty pink glow off the mountains this evening at dusk. (Please over look the Uhaul place across the highway!)
The picture was easy enough to capture... it was the post processing that was the most fun! I practiced a technique that enhanced that pink glow. Now, to get a good sunset picture with no Uhaul trailers... stay tuned!

3-14

Yum cupcakes! These are the treats I made for Brandy's shower: vanilla with cream cheese frosting, and chocolate with chocolate buttercream. I think I liked the chocolate ones best!

3-13

Today was the baby shower for Brandy (and Rowen!). It was a team effort: with Aunt Barbara hosting the shower at her house, and Joanna and I planning and bringing food, drinks, treats.

I was really glad to be making it a joint endeavor- it sure made it seem easy for me! And, the best part was that Brandy was surprised by the whole thing. That is truly a feat to accomplish, according to Will!

I chose this shot to show off the pretty flowers and food, AND because I love that I caught Aunt Barbara smiling in the mirror (and my elbow). I also had nice, natural lighting for this shot too.

3-12

Crafty goodness! Getting ready for Brandy's baby shower tomorrow.

3-11

P, B, & J Day.
Every so often I make 4-5 loaves worth of PBJ sandwiches that then go in the freezer. This will last us for several weeks worth of lunches, and saves me time in the morning.

3-10

Sam's incredible Lego tower. (He refused to look at me for this shot, he wanted it to show 'how he builds'.)

3-9

Sam has been learning about fossils at school. So, of course he wanted to check out the back yard and see if there were any dinosaur bones back there. We told him he could dig out by an already existing hole that Toby liked to get into. (Hence the wood that usually covers the hole.) Sam found it to be an easy area to dig, but no luck on the fossils... this time.