Our Summer In Pictures Part I: Water, Sand & Family

The summer started off with swim lessons for the twins.  Chase's new trick: going ALL the way under water.  Ella just likes wearing the goggles (notice I said "wearing" and not "using").

 

Apparently Chase & Ella have overcome their fear of the ocean and moving water.  So much so that Chase is willing to take on the waves and Ella likes the challenge of trying to jump over them.

 

 

Brian couldn't wait to put his new boogie board to good use with the boys.

 

And sand crab hunting is a must....

  

just be careful where you hunt!  This jellyfish was dead and luckily no one got stung, but that's a close enough call for me.  Yikes!

 

And, of course, our trip to the beach wouldn't be complete without building sandcastles with Aunt Nee Nee.

 

 

Not quite the beach, we spent the day at Lake Perris with extended family.  It turned out to be a perfect (albeit hot!) day.

    

The lake water was perfect for playing in for the kids (shallow and no current or big waves).  And when they weren't swimming, there was fishing.  Chase & Ella got their first lesson from Brian.

 

She's a natural.

   

The good news is that they both got to experience catching (tiny) fish.

 

But I think they were more excited to be doing what the "big" kids were doing.

   

A little more family and a little more beach, we headed back to Torrey Pines to check out the tide pools.  The beach is fun, but everything is more fun with cousins!

  

  

Truth be told, we probably could have skipped the tide pools and just let the kids climb on the rocks...

  

or search for shells, or examine the green algae that washed ashore...like I said, more fun with cousins.

  

Speaking of cousins, we were treated by a rare visit from TWO beloved cousins- Jane from Colorado and Michael from Ventura.  You couldn't find two more genuine, sincere people; I'm lucky to call them family.

 

 

By the way, this what happens when you don't worry about putting sunscreen on perfectly because it's cloudy and you forgot to put it on first thing (meaning the kids are already wet and sandy).  Yes, we had FOUR raccoons and funny looks from strangers for a few days.  Lesson learned. 

  

Our final trip to the beach this summer was with Nana Sharlene who had been begging to go so they could build sand castles.  

 

Garrett took this task very seriously and spent quite a while digging trenches and building his castle (which, of course, I didn't get a picture of).  

   

Chase got in on the action, too, but he was more interested in making a "road" and a path for the water.

 

And while he didn't partake in the castle building, Blake made his own artistic creation- a crab!  I love that kid, this is SO him.

I would have liked to make it to the beach more this summer, but considering the undertaking of getting there, applying sunscreen (accurately) to four squirmy kids, keeping them from drowning or wandering off, keeping them fed and then showering off only to discover an entire pocket full of sandy shells...while in the car...I think we did pretty good.  Next summer we will probably be regular beach bums. :) 

 

 

 

Our Fifteen Year Lucky Streak

I can’t remember life before him, and I can’t imagine life without him.  Feeling thankful for feeling loved by my wonderful husband of 15 years.

The Fantastic and Frustrating Fours!

 If 30 is the new 20...and 40 is the new 30...then it stands to reason that four is the new six, right?  Actually, kindergarten is the old first grade, so I’m still trying to figure out when things reverse.  Anyway, Chase and Ella are officially four...going on six!

What makes four so fantastic?  I forgot what a joy this age is- they are little sponges, amazed by even the most trivial things, and still innocent and sweet enough to love you unconditionally.  Their ideas are so fascinating, their thoughts are becoming more complex and their problem solving more creative.  Their vocabularies are growing, along with their personalities, opinions and independence.  Their emotions are raw and sincere, and their understanding of the world is evolving.  I just feel privileged to be part of it all.

And with all those things comes a whole new level of frustration.  Frustration with not having all the privileges their older brothers have, with not physically being able to do the some of the same things, and with the realization that the world does not necessarily revolve around them.  Learning some of life’s more trying lessons- like patience- doesn’t come naturally for a four year old.

Experience has taught me that is the year to cling to...to hold tight to...the year before they are exposed to the bigger world of social influences at “real” school when I’m forced to let go in a bigger way.  Until then, I’ll take the frustrating with the fantastic!

Fantastic for Chase:  He still loves dinosaurs and trucks, and a good book.  Chase has also discovered Legos and Hero Factory (this is both fantastic and frustrating for him- but GREAT for fine motor development!).  He still loves cuddles, cuddles and more cuddles, and his newest skill of which he’s super proud- going under water!  And he hasn’t met a dog or dessert he doesn’t like.

 

 Frustrating for Chase:  Waiting...for anything (I think he’s lacking the patience gene), anything scary that his brothers might be watching on tv (actually, this may be more of my frustration, as Chase seems prone to nightmares), walking through the toy section empty handed, not being able to attach/detach small Lego pieces, and when you don’t acknowledge he’s talking the FIRST time (but isn’t that all our frustration???).


Fantastic for Ella:  The continued expression through dress up and pretend character play.  You just never know who she’s going to be, and yet, she still is very confident in exactly what she wants.  Lots of unsolicited “I love you, mom”s and very advanced problem solving- like when her brother doesn’t want to play what/how she wants to, she figured out he can be easily bribed with food.  She enjoys coloring, being independent (“I can do it”), and being mommy’s helper (in her own way).

 

Frustrating for Ella:  Being told she’s “pretty” (she’d much rather you call her “handsome”), when she’s put in a position where she’s being asked to do something she doesn’t want to (as indicated by her growling and anxious stomping), not being first/in charge (she’s VERY competitive), and not being her brothers’ brother.

Happy Birthday to my fantastic four year olds!

Ella + Gavin

Everyone assured me that when Ella started preschool and was exposed to more girls she would become more interested in “girl” things.  Well...that hasn’t really happened.  At least not the playing with the other girls part (or not until just recently).  She just didn’t find that much in common with most of the girls at preschool and preferred instead to play with the boys because that’s what she knows.

But, ironically, it’s playing with the boys that has brought out the girl in her.  Well, not all of them, just one in particular.  It all started when they were both coming to school in matching fire fighter hats.  It might have been love at first sight at that point.  But then he arranged for Firefighter Chris (a family friend) to come with his engine and talk to the class.  From then on, Ella has been very interested in all things Gavin.  She gets shy and embarrassed when saying hi and reacts to his mom like she’s seeing a celebrity.  Unfortunately for her, Gavin is pretty oblivious to her new found giddiness, but that doesn’t seem to bother her.

So it was a pretty big deal to go to Gavin’s birthday party a few weekends ago.  And, thanks to my lack or organization, we were an hour early, so she got an extra hour of Gavin play time.  The party was pirate themed (with pirate-everything-you-can-imagine), and Ella was beside herself to come home with pirate dress up and play accessories (is that a match made in Heaven or what?), a treasure box with candy and prizes and what I think may have been the best three hours of her life so far.  She hasn’t stopped talking about Gavin, the pirate stuff or how Gavin is going to come to her birthday party.

She was absolutely going to sit next to the birthday boy!  Oh, and she even picked out a new "ladybug" outfit to wear to his party- yes, he's inspired her to wear "girl" clothes too.

Costumes and accessories- and not the princess type- are the way to Ella's heart.

Ah, the pirate tattoo...she insisted that we not wash it for a least a week.

My favorite part is seeing the excitement and confidence that Ella is developing in this new stage of self discovery, which is full of lots of “I love you”s and plenty of loving affection (and a little less growling).  I have to admit that I’m loving her softer, sweeter side.  And if Gavin remains oblivious, that’s just fine with me :)

I Pledge Allegiance to the Flag...

I can’t say that I remember celebrating Flag Day in years past, but this year I’m glad we did.  We had the honor of watching a C35 Stallion military helicopter land just yards away.  

  It was pretty amazing...and a good reminder that we were lucky to be watching from the peaceful hillside of a beautiful park full of kids, families and freedom, and not a war zone surrounded by violence and danger.

 

The kids even got to watch the local news cover the event.  I think Chase (in front of Garrett) thought he was next in line to be on camera.

Ready for take off.

Blake in the cock pit trying to figure out how the heck they fly this thing.

 We also got to hang with cousins for a while and enjoy our afternoon enjoying the freedom of play.  To be followed by the freedom of a good night’s sleep.  

    

Welcome to summer!

Getting Pumped

The deal in our house is that when it comes to your birthday, you can either have a friend party or an expensive gift.  The friend party is usually the better deal for the kid, since they get a party and a slew of gifts from friends, but since they are getting older and their gifts of choice are getting more expensive (since when does a nine year old need a laptop???), it’s a fair trade.

This year Garrett chose the friend party and he opted for the inflated indoor playground at Pump It Up.  The beauty of Pump It Up is that, aside from bringing a cake and party favors, they take care of almost everything else.  Including wearing out 18 eight year olds (and a handful thirty-something year olds, too).  And Garrett thoroughly enjoyed getting the royal birthday party treatment.  

I'm not sure who had more fun...the boys or the dads.

We all agreed that Garrett would would be perfectly happy to have a throne like this at home.

You would think that with the almost-dozen Lego sets he got from friends he would have plenty to keep him busy this summer.  Unfortunately, summer started the minute we got home and he’s already built most of them. He woke up this morning for school with a Lego hangover and he’s back at work the minute he set foot in the door after school.

Here's his latest collection, built in less than 24 hours...

Just as well.  He starts a Lego engineering camp next week and something tells me that he will be taking his Lego building to a whole new level.  I can't wait to see what he comes up with (and, yes, I will post pictures).

In the mean time, it’s t minus 3 days until summer and counting...