Garden shots...

Inspired by Elaine and her family's walk around their yard the other day. I decided to walk around our yard and really look at what we have growing. It feels like we don't have much growing in our garden at this time. Since I am here every day I thought I knew what was around the house...I didn't. I found it fun to inspect the gardens and had some pleasant surprises. Enjoy!

Ornamental garlic in full bloom

Meyer lemon tree sporting some lemons

I don't know this plants name but these pretty purple flowers bloom out of it~pretty!

One of our THREE ficus trees shedding it's seeds all over the place

A little (unwanted) but oh-so-cute grasshopper munching on our lima bean leaves

Pockets...

Ben has started to collect things a lot lately. His pockets bulge with his new treasures. Found at the beach, the park, the mountains or our back yard. I find beer and soda bottle caps, rocks and pebbles, sticks and string, old popsicle sticks...and oh so much more! He's a regular Tom Sawyer! I find the treasures as I rifle through his pockets as I'm doing the laundry or as I'm vacuuming the house. He gathers his treasures and includes them into his daily play. He can get the other kids at the park to join his mission and game with the found bottle caps and have tons of imaginary fun! Sometimes he puts his treasures together somehow and to create something that will occupy him for hours.

It's awesome what that kid can do.

IKEA...

This is the weekend for big sales all over the country. Labor Day weekend. Usually we wouldn't step near a store on one of these crazy days/weekends, but we were out of food and the kids were not interested in eggs or pancakes that I make. So we headed to IKEA for their 99 cent breakfast that they have on special this weekend. Something new (yet I could have made it) and exciting for the kids. We bought 5 plates and each came with scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon and either pancakes or waffles. Hmmm... Funny how kids are. They don't want my eggs or pancakes but will eat them from a restaurant. I don't mind...there weren't any dishes to do! Then we got to shop! Smiles all over.

BBQ...

Today we went to my parents house to celebrate Marissa's 9th birthday (again). It was nice to see those who showed for the BBQ...although it didn't turn out to be a BBQ...we had pizza and spaghetti from the local pizza place.

The weather has been hot and humid again but not like it has been. My parents have a pool and so we spent most of our time in there. Marissa, Ben, Eddie, Henri went wild in the water, being chased by 'monsters' (Dad and Corey) and squirting each other with the crazy pool toys that are strewn all over the pool area. Hannah warmed up to being in the pool as soon as I let the baby go to Corey (between 'monster' episodes). All she wanted to do was jump to me and be praised. She is a bit shy in the water but in a funny way she wants to be noticed for what she can do without bringing attention to herself. And she doesn't want me to tell anyone to notice...if I did she'd get grumpy and quiet. Silly girl!

Train...

Mama Says Om has a theme each week. There are some awesomely creative ladies over there. You should go and check them out!

This week the theme is train. I am being pretty literal with this but here is what I've got.

Fountain fun...

Last week we went to the interactive fountain at Viejas. Ben and Hannah love it. They get all soaking wet and then go and play around in the sun to dry and warm up a bit. Then they go back in for more fun. Noah likes it too. I have to hold him back from it because the water comes out so strong that he might get hurt.

We were there with a playgroup, one of the Moms has a 19mo son, named Dylan, whom Hannah really likes. She would wait near him and then run away when he started to follow her. He would lose her (because she was going around big boulders) and then find her on the other side. They'd giggle and get all tickled inside. They did this for such a long time and they were having so much fun! She would also run all the way around the fountain and not realize that Dylan was waaaaay behind her until she was halfway around it, then she'd turn around to find out where he was and have to run aaaalll the way back to him. Then start running ahead again.

The next day we met at a park and Hannah waited for the little boy to be ready to play...just waited quietly and then was ready to have him run after her again. Makes me smile.

Hannah in the fountain.

Ben being surprised by the water.

a myth...

One would think that if a baby or a child went without much rest (like naps) during the day then he or she would be so exhausted and sleep without incidence through the night.

This is what I have been told my entire life as mother to my children.

This is a myth.

My kids don't sleep all night long if they haven't had any rest during the day. They wake frequently and most of the time they are crying and trying to get somewhere...in their sleep... We are trying to calm them down and get them back down all night long.

So... the next day, we are tired and exhausted from running around after them at whatever event that kept us out late and we are up all night trying to quiet the tired kids.

That is how it works for us...always has!

Happy Birthday Marissa!

Tonight we went to Corvette Diner for Marissa's 9th birthday.

"Hey!! Welcome to Corvette's! My name is Dixie, I'm here to help you out tonight. Just holler across the room if you need anything!" (Boy we wanted to holler for her but didn't have the gumption to do it.)
mmmm.....rootbeer floats!

My kids love it there. What an experience! Dixie threw handfuls of straws all over the place, yelled over the loud music so we can hear her and was so nice!! Marissa had a couple of her classmates there for dinner too and they kept going into the photo booth to get pictures of themselves together. Ben and Hannah got in on the action a bit too.

Marissa's goal tonight: to do a face-plant into her cake. So she did!

And this...is the wall of gum outside the restaurant...can you say disgusting? As you pay you are finishing up your meal and paying the bill they throw Bazooka bubble gum all over the table, floor, you and everyone scrambles for their pieces. By the time you leave the restaurant the gum is old...hence the wall...and of course the kids added their pieces to it.

Happy Birthday Marissa! It was a grand time!

School...for two?

We are thinking that Ben is ready for school...or at least some sort of school. We decided against preschool if you read our previous posts about it. So our thoughts are going towards a gymnastics class because he LOVES to climb and run and jump. So if he gets some guidance with what he is already doing perhaps he can get further and have more fun with a class. He'd also be with kids his age and that would be good since we don't know many people with kids his age. Another thing he might enjoy would be an art class or music. We just dabble in it at home and aren't very good at it. His mind is a sponge and he loves to learn new information about everything.

So then my thoughts go to Hannah. She is ready to do something more structured too...at least I think she is. Some days I don't think she could do it by herself but on other days she is so independent and ready. I'd love to have her go to a gymnastics or dance class. She says she wants to go but I'm hesitant on whether she'd be OK with me leaving her to be alone in the class (I hope I could watch if she needed me to be nearby).

This would give me a bit of a break during the day, even if I had to stay outside the door and wait.

The key is to find a place for all of this to happen around the same times and days. I don't think I would want to be travelling all over the county for my 3 and 4 year old all week!!

Noah clip...

I've been having trouble with our modem...now that we have a new one I'm going to call this "the summer of computer problems".

So...
I finally got some video up on my clipshack site. Here is Noah at 10 months and 2 days old. He is really going wild with walking. He loves to clap and play. Enjoy!

10 months old...

Happy birthday Noah!
You are 10 months old today! You are growing so fast. You want to catch up with your big brother and sister ...right now. You walk, no more crawling for you! You are such a chubby bubby, your brother and sister call you the 'giant baby'...actually that's when you are coming closer and closer to their itty bitty toys and play. They yell "Aaack giant baby!!" and run off to higher ground where you can't reach yet. You'll catch up with them soon enough at the rate you are going.

You are inquisitive (as most babies/toddlers are) and always trying to figure out how things work, what you can reach and get ahold of. Trying things out in your mouth to see how they taste...yum ... and not so yum sometimes. Hitting things to hear the sound they make or just to see what it will do is a favorite activity. You're also fond of sticks, rocks and balls. You know how to kick a ball. Sometimes you go around in little circles kicking the ball with one foot and other times you miss the ball completely and it goes right between your legs! You love cars and really want them to figure out how they work...you study them intently, play with them, let them roll between your chubby little fingers to drop to the floor, throw them and sometimes you just give up.

Sometimes I think you are on the verge of saying something. Maybe it's a sound that we've been practicing with you, maybe it's a name of someone, maybe it's just a noise you want to make. We're looking forward to you talking! I'm sure it'll happen sooner than we think!

I love you so much!
Mommy

Persistence...

We went to Target today and I bought the kids some little gifts for helping to entertain Noah in the car on our trip. They chose 2 things from the dollar spot (love that spot). Ben chose a microscope (cheap plastic) and a miniature watercolor paint set. Hannah chose the same paint set and a set of gel pens. Then we were in the car afterwards and Ben was fiddling around with the microscope. Here is the conversation that went on between Ben and I.

Me: Be careful not to break it before we get home, I'd like to show you how it works.

Ben: We can use our fingers to put it back together.

Me: Sometimes our fingers can't fix it.

Ben: We can use a screwdriver to fix it.
Me: Sometimes screwdrivers can't fix what we have that is broken.
Ben: We can use a different kind of tool to fix it.
Me: (to Corey in a whisper) He isn't listening to what I am saying.
Corey: He's a persistent problem-solver.


It is broken, and we can't fix it. It didn't even make it home.

pictures...(part 2)

Campfire

Ben and Hannah climbing the giant boulder

On our hike with Marissa~to the waterfall

Ben is fishing in the river

The fort
The fort~another view

pictures...(part 1)

Hannah drinking a morning hot chocolate on a very chilly morning!

Everyone climbed up onto a boulder.

Noah was always with a stick.


Climbing a giant boulder near the beaver ponds. The indian rock.
A pose in front of the beaver ponds.

Ben and Hannah ready to go fishing!

Noah ...all beat up. Poor little guy!

I have more...

Our trip...

We had a fabulous time! We tried things differently this year and I think it was successful, we may do it again next year!

First of all, I have to say that it was a F O R E V E R car drive with the kids saying "Is Marissa (their cousin) going to be there?" "Is she on her way to Lundy?" "Are we going to the hotel?" you know, the wuestions that kids are famous for? And the questions lasted from the time we told the kids we were going camping (around March) until we got to Lundy Lake.

This year we left a few days earlier to go camping before we headed to Lundy Lake to stay in the cabin. We found a cool little spot about 20 minutes from Bishop. It was a campground in Bishop Creek Canyon that had 5 hidden walk-in camp spots. It felt like we were backpacking with the kids. The kids really liked camping in the tent but they were still bugging us about seeing Marissa. On the first night Hannah woke up, looked at the brightly moonlit tent and asked me if jack-o-lanterns lived there. heehee

When we got to Lundy Lake we found out that my parents (& Marissa) had RV trouble and weren't there yet. We did find a good friend of mine, Clarisa who was waiting for us. We had a nice time catching up and she stayed the night so the next day we chatted some more. We moved into our one-room cabin, and figured out all the details of where we will sleep...it's good thing we co-sleep! There wasn't much room. My parents arrived the next day and all the questions (from my kids) about Marissa and camping and the RV, disappeared!

They went fishing with their fishing vests on every day. Ben said that he needs to practice fishing and that fishing takes a lot of time. He didn't catch any but he's not bummed about it, he'll just try some more later and next time we go fishing. What an awesome attitude! Corey caught 3 fish for the trip and we cooked them up when we got home!

Our second night at the cabin we invited my parents, Heather, Marissa, JP and Ryan over for s'mores. The kids really enjoyed getting together, playing in the tall grass and eating marshmallows. Noah fell asleep pretty early and didn't wake up until we went inside. It was a great way to start our adventures at Lundy.

We went on a few hikes. We went up to the beaver ponds one day. Hannah had a minor break-down on our way up but she quickly got back on her feet and decided that hiking was fun. We had a nice little snack watching for the beavers (I have never seen one), checked out the indian rock, climbed a gigantic boulder and went home for lunch. Another day we went hiking in Yosemite in the Tuolumne Meadows area. We had been to this area last year and it was beautiful. We ran into lots of deer by the river as it was nearing the end of the day. Another hike we took Marissa on was to the waterfalls up Lundy Canyon. We couldn't make it all the way but we made it to a nice vista point where the kids had a snack.

A highlight of our trip is going to the Mobil station - yes the gas station. They have a mean deli, named Tioga Toomey's Whoa Nellie Deli, where all the locals and tourists go to eat. It is delicious! They also have local bands play on their lawn. The lawn has giant boulders that the kids climb and jump off. This trip though...they played hide-and-seek in the dark.

GranDad and Uncle JP helped them build a fort in the bushes. What a great idea! They will be able to play in it next year too. It was already framed a bit with rocks, they added some flooring (pine branches) and some roofing material (branches) and they even had a little escape door. It was awesome! Something that I would've liked to have as a kid.

Noah was a real camper. He loved every minute of it. He got dirty at the campsite and was not affected by it at all! He walks now...yep full-time walker. He couldn't crawl on the dirty ground, I guess. We were at the cabin for about an hour when he fell out of the door onto his nose, and the next morning he fell again. So here he is all scratched up but he didn't let that get in his way of having some fun.

Our last night we were invited to my parents campsite for dinner, campfire and s'mores. It was a nice ending to the trip. I didn't have to cook and the kids had fun with their cousin. GranDad also told them a few of his famous stories (the ones I grew up with). They were bleary-eyed by the time we got back to the cabin and fell right to sleep.

Disappointingly, we didn't see any bears. Didn't even hear them. Yes I'm disappointed...but there's always next year!

(If you got this far...thanks for reading! I promise to include some pictures tomorrow.)

See you ...

...in 10 days! We're off to Lundy Lake again! Our annual trip (although last year I missed blogging the trip) here is the year before. The kids can not wait to go. They have been asking for months now and now that it is so close they are bouncing off the walls. We are barely getting the packing done. At least they helped get their things together! That helped a bit with my sanity. Everything else? Well... I know that we will pass many stores if we do forget something, so I'm not worried about that.

I gave them some presents today. I had picked up fishing tackle boxes for them at Target and loaded them up with fishing supplies (bobbers, weights, stringers...and some other stuff) They LOVED it! Ben didn't want to put it in the box, he wanted it out so that he could see it. They have their fishing poles and their vests all ready to go too. So cute...I'll have to get pictures of them all geared up to share here.

We will be staying in a cabin at Lundy this year so we are camping in style. We are going camping though for a couple of days before we get to the cabin. A couple of days of sleeping on the ground with bears sniffing at our feet, squirrels munching on the crumbs that our kids will leave behind, and the blue jays squawking at dawn...sounds like an adventure!

See you when we get back!

Climbing...

Noah is climbing all over the place. He just barrels through to his destination all day long. Over toys, kids, pillows, people...whatever is in his way, he just climbs over it! He won't crawl unless he's in a big hurry to get somewhere, he walks. He picks something up and then takes it with him, walking and talking to himself, reaching for something else and leaving the first thing where he was. Moving on to something bigger and better. We call him Frankenstein because he has a heavy walk, his footsteps are heard all through the house...well he's a heavy kid! He shows us how proud he is of his walking with his big toothy grins.

MIA...

Noah's sleep schedule has changed...and he has been keeping me up a lot later than usual and since he needs my attention (I can't sit at my computer) I have been bleary-eyed all week. So I'm a bit behind on blogging but will get back into the swing of things soon enough! Until then!

bubbles...

Ben was making some cool designs on our glass door with bubbles today.

Sunflowers...

We try to grow sunflowers every year. You'd think we'd have it down by now. You're probably wondering why I am complaining because these flowers are gorgeous and huge and just the way they are supposed to be. Well... these are our neighbors sunflowers, aren't they great?


And... Here are ours from this year...kinda wimpy...we'll try again next year!

The 'Ben'...

We had hamburgers for lunch as something different (the kids don't usually eat hamburgers with buns so we don't get them ). But today they were all excited about their hamburgers. Maybe their tastes are changing? Well maybe! I don't know if this is a good thing but it would open up their choices in restaurants we frequent-instead of just a quesadilla or a grilled cheese sandwich...So back to the hamburgers. I grilled them up like I usually do and added some cheese on their plates along with some kidney beans and blueberries (mmm tasty!). Ben wanted to spruce up his burger and here it is!


We'll call it the "Ben" loaded with creamy peanut butter and topped with cheese...yum! (It kind of reminds me of something they'd serve at Corvette Diner)

Muscle boy...

It doesn't matter...

That we have high temperatures and high humidity in the area. Ben and Hannah don't mind at all. As a matter of fact, they told me that they were cold. So they went to get dressed and here is what they wore.

(I don't argue with their choices anymore, it's a fight I will never win)

Talented...

OK I'm not that great of a painter but Ben and Hannah are turning out to be terrific ones! Check out what they did on the easel today!


The one on the right (by Ben) is titled: "Benjamin running down the hill and jumping over a purple stick" You have to look at it sideways to see the boy with the blue hat!

The one on the left (by Hannah) is titled: "Hannah's hand jumping over the mountain." See the hand?

HOT...

Yep. That says 103F. Outside, on our patio, in the shade at 12:00pm (noon!) Holy hot chile peppers!! Today I thought I was going to melt. We could only hang outside for about a half an hour at a time. With sweat dripping from our temples, our clothes would stick to our bodies. Thank goodness for our air conditioning! It gave us quite a bit of respit today.

The older kids went to Nannys house today, swimming in the pool and for a dip in the jacuzzi (I hope it wasn't on hot!) On their way home they stopped at Wendy's for a chocolate frosty, yum! What a treat! Later on we went to Home Depot to sweat some more. We bought a few things.

When we got home, we couldn't take it anymore.

"Want to go outside and spray each other with my new hose nozzle?" the kids jumped up and down "Yay! Yeah!" while undressing (they love being nekked while running outside in the back yard). So I screwed the nozzle on and started spraying them. Ben got ahold of the hose and ran after Corey, soaked him. Hannah wanted a little sprinkle so we made it rain on her. Ben got the hose again and ran after me laughing an evil laugh, all the while I screamed and tried to escape the cold water. Running around the backyard in circles. Why was I running away? I thought that it'd be much more fun for the kids if they saw their Mom screaching like they do running around the grass. And it was...so much fun, to just not care anymore about my clothes getting soaked, dinner not being ready and the heat! We weren't hot anymore and we let off a lot of steam in a fun way.

So, yeah...it was hot today.

Comments...

OK I worked on it and it seems to be working now. Funny computer. It was midnight last night so I could have been a wee bit tired. Thanks Elaine!!

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to our blog.

Taking steps!

Noah started to stand from a sitting position on May 31st (7 months old). Since then he has managed to steady his balance very well. Everyone is impressed with his standing abilities. On Friday (July 14th) he took one step! All day Saturday he kept taking one step - always with the same foot - so it looks like he is pivoting around in a circle. Last night (Sunday) he took 6 steps! (he really wanted me to pick him up and was trying to reach me while moaning and willing me to come and get him. I wanted him to walk to me...he won, I picked him up.) Today he practiced more steps, only getting to 6 or 7 though... He's getting more m-m-mobile! Three kids walking and running in the house!! Yikes, that's a bit scary!

Oh and every time I grabbed the video camera or the camera to get a video shot, he would go down and crawl to me. I guess he was thinking that it was a toy for him to play with! So I don't have any video clips of him taking steps yet!!

Hair cuts...

OK...It's official...I'm a 'real' stay-at-home Mom. I cut my kids hair today. We have been going to a kids hair salon since Ben was 18 months old and really liked the hairstylist, but she went out on maternity leave and decided not to return to work (how dare she?!). Since then we have tried many of the ladies in that salon and each time we have had to go back because they missed some hair or it was cut crooked. So I thought that I couldn't do much worse than they do. It was fun...for me.
The kids did very well sitting patiently while I tried my hand at shearing them. Hannah was very excited to have me cut her hair. She jumped in the chair and was a good little client! She really hadn't liked the lady with the loud laugh, black pooffy hair and long red fingernails...scary!

And as for how I did? Well, cutting boys hair is much harder than it looks, while Hannahs was straight across. How could I mess that up? Well, I did. They both came out a bit crooked but I think I did pretty well ...for my first time!

(I'd post pictures but sadly no pictures were taken and my computer has crashed so pictures aren't coming to the blog for a while...until my laptop gets fixed...hope that is very soon!!)

Moving day...

This weekend was moving day for my sister. She graduated from UCSD and needed to move out of campus housing this weekend. So we all went over there to help her out. She had a cute 2 bedroom apartment set up for her and her 2 children. ...and so much stuff! As we carried each box and bag out of the apartment, we don't know where it all came from (she is good at hiding things!). Ben and Hannah were so excited to help out. Hannah lost interest after carrying one thing down the steps. Ben was racing with GranDad and Uncle JP to the car and back for more stuff. He was thrilled when JP got the drill out and took apart Marissa's bunkbed. He grabbed the beams and carried them out to the front of the house. When the mattress came out or the couch he was right there carrying his portion in the middle. Lugging it to the car and hoisting it to the trailer, he loved every part of packing it all in. What a helper! He's going to be rewarded for all his hard work.

Beach party!

Today was Auntie Heather's birthday and we headed to the beach for some fun. I made cupcakes and Granny brought the sparkle candles for her to make a wish. It had been such a hot day that a splash in the ocean was just what everyone needed. Happy Birthday Heather!

Chitter-chatter...

From the moment they wake up till the moment they close their heavy eyes to sleep for the night, Ben and Hannah chitter-chatter.
All
day
long.
I wonder if my ears will ever wear out... Or if I will listen to every word so that I don't miss something wonderful that they might say.

Math...

Ben is so interested in math these days. He is always counting and trying to see how far he can count. Adding simple numbers (2+3=5) and trying even a little subtraction now and then. The other day I printed some preschool math worksheets for him to do. He is awesome at it! He is on his way! What will he be when he grows up? Engineer? Math teacher? Computer wiz...it may be too early to tell but I can still dream.

Cooking with kids...

Growing up, I remember baking and cooking with my Mom a lot. My brother and I would help her do many things in the kitchen. We loved to make yogurt cake, it was so simple for kids. We baked countless cookies. We even helped with dinner every so often.

In trying to continue the tradition (and teach the kids about the kitchen) I cook and bake with my kids every once in a while. They have also helped with dinner several times. The other day we made sugar cookies. We make a mess, it's so much fun when that's part of the plan. We talk about Martha Stewart and how she makes cookies and cakes on TV. The kids love to taste and try and lick their fingers as we go. They didn't like the baking powder, but they really liked the vanilla-y sugar-butter. They measure and pour everything. I have to stop them from eating all the cookie dough. It was wonderful. And we used Christmas sprinkles to decorate.

Treat...

We seldom have treats in our house. We try to eat healthfully so that when we do get a treat, it truly is a treat! Yesterday we went to the Coronado parade for the 4th and we got lots of treats. Hannah was the talk of the morning. Here she is eating her treat from GranDad. These pictures tell you how much she enjoyed her Drumstick!

Treat is the theme for the week at Mama Says Om. Go on over there and check out more 'treat' submissions.

Our 4th...

Happy 4th of July!

Today was really fun, for us and the kids. We go to Coronado for the world-famous parade - that lasts 2.5 hours - every year. I still have family who live there so we went to their house for a barbecue and some relaxation after the parade is all over. The kids loved the parade. They watched everything with wide eyes...the horses, airplanes, clowns, you name it.. it was there and they saw it! They also loved all the treats that were given to them (popsicles, donuts, ice cream cones)

After the parade we took the kids to the park to 'unwind' before we went to the relatives house. They rode their bikes, Marissa (their cousin) had hers too so they all 3 rode their bikes to the park. They played and ran around together in the park but we were tired so we headed to the house pretty soon after we got to the park. At one point Marissa hopped on her bike to go to the restroom on the other side of the park, neither of our kids needed to go so we stayed where we were. All of a sudden I realized that neither Ben nor Hannah were in the sand pit any more. Heather (my sister) and I freaked out with visions of kidnapping we scoured the park. We reached the restroom and they were there with Marissa. I guess all the reminders, throughout the entire day, about them telling us where they are going really did go in one ear and out the other!

We ate and talked to everyone at the BBQ. The kids love it there. They play with all my younger cousins and get to jump on them for a change. They are the only small kids on that side of the family so they get spoiled with attention.

The only other thing we wanted to do was to go and see some fireworks with the kids. I had been telling them about how loud they are but that they are so pretty lighting up the sky. They really wanted to go. But in order for us to go the kids HAD to take a nap. They did. So we went to the Lake Murray fireworks display. It was so busy but we lucked out and found a parking spot. Corey knew of a little trail between the houses (that not many knew about) and we found our spot. The kids loved them! They yelled "green", "yellow", "blue" for each burst that lit the sky. They were happy campers at the end of the night.

Here are some pics from the day

Hannah

Ben and cousin Marissa watching the parade

Noah

The biking trio

Waiting for the fireworks

Cooling off...

Last week we went to my parents house for a dip in the pool. It just made sense to go for a swim...it was only 100.4 degrees farenheit on our patio at 4pm (which is covered, so maybe warmer in full sun?). We swam and played for a long time in the water. It was great fun.

Ben loves to jump in and splash around, he's really getting good at diving down to get the rings. He can even swim the width of their pool! He is one determined boy...of course he sees his cousin Marissa and all her fancy swim work and wants to do the same.

Hannah was great at her swim lessons last year and even started jumping off the side of the pool to Corey or me. But this year she is a bit more timid. She wants to do swim lessons again, but she won't get in the pool with us. I say we sign her up and see what happens...if she doesn't get in... so be it. But if she does then we have success and won't have to go through the whiny "I don't want to go in the pool" session! And...there's always next year.

Noah is so relaxed in the pool. He lies down on our hands and lets us move him around. He splashes and tries to suck up the water off his fist. He soaks it all in. It continues to amaze me at how different each child is, why can't they all be the same and predictable? Hah. Corey and I were reminiscing about Ben and Hannah in the pool at his age. They would dig their talons into our skin if we moved an inch in the water. They held with a death grip onto my neck (or Corey's chest-the hair...not the chest-ouch!). They screached in pain when anyone would splash them. So glad those days are almost gone.

The beach...

We live about 7-10 miles away from the beach and we rarely go. Sad but it is true. So we decided to go over the weekend and we had a blast! The kids really enjoyed it. I guess it's because the kids are a little older now and we don't have to worry about them running off too much. Noah is OK to sit and play in the sand...well more like eat the sand.

So we called Heather and asked if she and her little ones would join us at the beach in La Jolla. They came and we brought boogie boards. Ben really wanted to learn how to do it. He is such a fish! The water was so refreshing being such a hot day. Hannah stayed back on the sand with me, I think a big wave (well big to her) knocked her down last time and it scared her a bit. After a while, I took her to the water to get our feet wet and before I knew it...we were pulling her out of the water to go home. She was having such a fun time running away from the waves and jumping in the water.

Here is a video clip of Ben and his first try at boogie boarding!

And some pictures:

Ben really getting good at boarding!

Nope not Noah! This is Ryan and his sandy face!!

Hannah building a sand castle!