Child Labor

M's been in a mood lately. Yesterday he said, "Do ya have any chores I can do, Mom?" Music to my ears. I asked him to help me pick up toys and he said, "No, I really want to scrub something." He said our sliding glass door looked dirty so he would clean it. Of course, he enlisted K to help. They were so cute together ... he sprayed and she wiped and then she sprayed and he wiped. They also cleaned my table outside and were so proud of themselves.

Last week M helped me clean the spa cover too. Pictures to follow.

Just jabber

M did something so sweet the other day. They get to go to the library at school once a week and are allowed to check out one book at a time. Well, he checked out a book for K!! We have 2 Gossie & Friends books that she loves and he saw one we didn't have ... so he got it for her. Friday afternoon, he came running out of his classroom, book in hand and gave it to K. He can be so thoughtful. I love him.

He is also doing very well in school. Homework has gotten easier. He almost seems like he enjoys it a little. They are working on sight words and his teacher prints out a rainbow for each child, puts it on the wall and when they demonstrate that they know their red words, they get to color the red on the rainbow (and so on up to purple). Here is the website. Well, we just started working on these about 1 week ago and he has already has challenged his red and orange words. He knows all but 2 of his yellow words too. We run through them once or twice a day. I printed and cut them out and put them on a ring so we can easily flip through them. He has one at school also.

Red Words - see, I, a, is, the, here, we, an
Orange Words - he, and, she, in, do, no, it, you
Yellow Words - can, not, has, are, what, to (he's having trouble remembering "have" and "this").

What's a post without a picture?

I love the smell of clean kids. Here he is after his bath. In case you're wondering what's on his right hand, it's his "cast." I'm not sure if I posted the story about when Brian and M rode their bikes to the park and M's callous on his hand came off while on the monkey bars. Well, he was sobbing and refused to ride his bike home so Brian got creative. He took his sock off (his own) and tore holes for M's fingers. He put the "cast" on M's hand so he was able to ride home and he wore it for a few days. Well, he got another blister yesterday and insisted I make him one like Daddy did.

Just look at that face.



This is her lately. She's been quite a stinker.


K with a forced smile.

K's been sleeping much better thanks to my Mom and sister. They have her a stuffed doggie that they named, "Magic". My Mom gave it to K when we went camping last weekend and told her Magic would protect her and keep her safe. If she gets scared, all she had to do was hold Magic and she would feel better. Well, for the first night, she cried a little and I had to give her a pep-talk about how she didn't need me, she had Magic (a few times). Each night has gotten better and for the last few nights she has only gotten up to go to the bathroom and isn't fussing when she gets back to bed. It was rough for a while ... she was getting up 4 - 5 times a night and having a tantrum if we wouldn't let her get in bed with us or sleep on the floor in her room. I mean huge fit!! Life is good when you get sleep. M got "Lucky". He loves his also.

Good times-good friends

Dyan had these pictures on her camera and sent them to me so I wanted to be sure to put them on my blog. These were taken right before they moved away. We miss them terribly and can't wait to see them in October in the San Luis Obispo area.

Relaxing in the hot tub during happy hour at The Club.

Oakland A's baseball tailgate party. I love this one.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday weekend. Brian is working so I'm home with the kids. They're being good so all is well.

Mini-Golf Time

We played Mini-Golf yesterday after we picked M up from school. In the 10 years Brian and I have been together, we've never done it and thought the kids would enjoy it. K played ONE hole and said she was all done but M had a good time and did pretty well. K followed us from hole to hole (mostly whining). Brian beat me (but only by 4). K took the picture of Brian and I together.

Fun at Lawson's Landing

Last Friday we picked M up from Kinder and headed to Lawson's Landing (Dillon Beach) to go camping. The kids were so excited because my Mom was able to come with us. We got there Friday evening about 5 pm. Brian had already prepared Shepperd's Pie in the dutch oven so we got camp set up, started a fire and put the dutch oven in the fire to cook. It turned out yummy so now we're on the lookout for more recipes like that. The weather was beautiful on Friday and Saturday (high in the 80's). Sunny and clear skies. Sunday morning we woke up to wind, cold, fog ... a very dreary day but it was okay because we were leaving that day anyways.

On Saturday morning, the boys went fishing so the girls (and Roscoe) headed for the beach to play. It wasn't warm enough to get in but was just fine for hunting seashells, building sandcastles and frolicking. We had a great time. Later in the morning we met up with the boys, chilled out at camp and went back to the beach later on. It was hamburgers and potato salad for dinner ... followed by S'mores of course. The kids expect S'mores EVERY night we're camping. After we put the kids to bed, Brian beat us at Uno.

Sunday morning we didn't do a whole lot. We hung out around the fire because it was cold and went to the General Store for some hot cocoa (K's favorite). Then we had to pack up camp. It was so cold!! I'm talking 3 layers.

Sorry this post is picture heavy.

Enjoying hot cocoa on Day 3 (don't look at me ... camp hair isn't pretty). Or clean for that matter.


M in his fishing attire. I guess he's making a fashion statement with one pantleg up and one pantleg down.

My mom and K had a blast on the beach. I can't believe how much energy she has. She played and played with the kids on the beach.

The boys being silly. It started out with Brian trying to make M smile for a photo.

Brrrr ... it's cold.

M climbed up on Brian's shoulders to get him back. He was cracking up.


M running from the water.


Brian jumped in the picture at the last minute.

K let my mom bury her in the sand. She kept saying, "It's nice and warm."


Then they buried me in the sand. This area was right by our campsite which is one of the things I love about Lawson's. There is sand to play with but grassy areas to put the trailer in (so you don't track so much sand in and out of the trailer).


K sure took a liking to my mom on this trip and they played together tons. I love this picture of them sharing a special moment.

They got so wet!


M loves to sit on Dad's lap and drive to the General Store. Lawson's is nice because it feels like old times. I guess we'll have to be more careful because we saw a Sheriff this time.

Circus time!

K and I went on a field trip to the Circus with her preschool. She's never been before and was very excited but I don't think knew what to expect. It worried me because about 5 minutes into it, she said, "Is it almost over?" After she got used to how loud it was and some of the animals came out, she was into it. She loved when the horses performed and of course the snacks. "More licorice, please!" She was good and remained in her seat for most of the show. I highly recommend the booster seats (they are free at the service desk). She told me she had to go potty once and then when we got in there I asked her if she really or ever had too go. She gave me the most mischievous grin and said, "NO." There was only about 10 minutes left by that point and I think she'd seen enough.

A snapshot of us together.

I love being able to spend time with each of the kids alone. M knew we went to the Circus but didn't act jealous in any way. He's just that way.

M's Jog-A-Thon

M's school had a Jog-A-Thon last Friday as a fundraiser. M got pledges from family and friends ... all of the proceeds go to his classroom for supplies and field trips. Well, the Jog-A-Thon started and M ran like the wind. It looked like he thought it was just one lap and he was going for the win. (By the way, he is super-fast) Not sure where he got that from. Definitely not his Mom or Dad. When he finished that first lap and was told he had to keep running or walking for 15 minutes, you should have seen his face. It was too funny. Brian, myself and K were there to cheer him on. He hung in there and ran/walked 6 or 7 laps. Afterwards, they enjoyed juice pops. It was very cute.

"No more pictures, MOM"

Stretch so you don't pull a muscle.

Brian got out there and ran the last few laps with him (even K did one). I had an excuse ... I was the photographer, right? I love this picture. They have exactly the same stride.

The morning was rush-rush. K and I left from here and went to the Circus. Immediately after the circus, my mom came up and we left to go camping. Busy, but lots of fun. Will post more when I can.