Sunday, August 22, 2010

Summer sun and summer fun!

I have been trying to do as much with the boys as possible this summer to not go crazy at home. Some days we just play at home but some days we’ve gone out and about with friends.

Here are some pictures of our little outings and some of fun at home.

A couple of days we met cousins, friends, or just went by ourselves, to the park (Heritage or CPE). Who doesn’t love putting on sunscreen, packing some PB & J sandwiches, pretzels and a few Capri-suns and heading to the park to swing, slide and run around?

Before Grandma and Grandpa left on their three week European Vacation (I’m soooo jealous) we played a few days with Grandma while Grandpa was golfing. One day we went to the Santa Ana Zoo. It was the perfect size for us and the boys loved it. Sammy’s favorite was the snake. I think that Nate liked almost everything! :)

One day we met our friends Amy and Lincoln at Splash…we have really enjoyed our passes there. Totally worth the money we spent! And it has been fun to see the boys gain confidence and be willing to do more things!

Another day we went to Atlantis Play Center in Garden Grove and met our friends Kathryn, Katelyn and Laura. It is $1 per person to get in but the boys had a blast. They had swings, a pirate ship, a whale slide and a giant dragon slide that was really tall and long. We will definitely go back another day because we didn’t have time to visit the whole park!

One afternoon we went with the Raile family to the Cabrillo Beach Marine Aquarium in San Pedro. We used to visit as kids and we took the boys last year and it was quite enjoyable. We walked out to the beach and looked at the real tide pools and then saw all of the animals in the aquarium. They even have a lab where they are breeding sea horses and other neat things! Very educational and fun! The touch tank was super neat too – the kids loved touching the sea stars, sea urchins and more! The big boys both passed out on the way home—it was a fun afternoon!

And lots of days we just play around at home. We have played in the sprinklers, went out for ice cream, made pizza, did science experiments (especially homemade volcano lava), had water balloon fights, put puzzles together, painted, cooked, baked, watched movies, set up, played with and then destroyed the train tracks all in the same afternoon and destroyed the house on a daily basis.

There are two more weeks of summer! I can’t believe that it’s almost over!

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Samism: Love

NewCamera_June-July2010_ 227 It had been a long day of playing and fun and I was finally tucking the big boys in but Danny was already fast asleep.

Mommy looking over at Danny said, “Isn’t he a cute little guy?”

Sammy: “Yes he is! He makes my heart burn.”

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Nateism – The Shark

Shark As much as he talks and talks, and as many times a day that I put him into time out I’m sure that this will be the first of many stories that I will be sharing and saving here to tell him later.

Early yesterday morning Nathan spilled (or maybe better said, poured out) a giant bowl full of water on the kitchen floor.

Mommy: "Go to time out!”

Nathan:" No!" (but he walks to time out anyway, grabs something to draw with and says,) "I'm drawing a shark to eat you! Rarrr!"

Monday, August 16, 2010

Samism: Prayer and the Moon

half_moon Scene: Mommy, Nathan and Sammy are jammed in a tiny bathroom while they do their before bedtime potty duties. We open up the little window (no explanation needed as to why, right) and finish up. Little brother Danny is already asleep in their room so we decide to enjoy the moonlight and pray in the bathroom (hey, why not) and Sammy says he’ll offer the prayer.

Sammy: Dear Heavenly Father. Thank you for this day… (then he starts to mumble something about the moon getting close enough to touch it—he does this often though in his prayers and I can’t always hear what he’s saying…)

Sammy finishes his prayer and then climbs up the step stool to look out the window.

Sammy: Is it close enough to touch yet?

Mommy: Oh no, it can’t come close enough to touch (thinking quickly) or else the other little boys wouldn’t be able to see the moon tonight and they’d be sad.

Sammy: Oh. Okay. Then I need to say another prayer.

Sammy: Dear Heavenly Father…please let the moon be a little bit closer but not too close so that all of the little boys can see it.

Sammy then climbed back up the step stool, smiled and said, “See, it’s a little bit closer now but not too close!”

Oh the faith of little children!

Friday, August 13, 2010

Happy Friday the 13th!

Fridays that the fall on the thirteenth don’t scare me, nor do black cats crossing my path although I am a bit weary of walking under ladders but I think that is because I’m clumsy and would probably crash into it or trip! And did you know that in most Latin American cultures it isn’t Friday the thirteenth to worry about but the always dreaded Tuesday the thirteenth (martes trece). Ooohhh!

Either way Friday, August 13th is especially special (can I say that?) for us because we were married six years ago on that lucky day in the Los Angeles Temple.

Here are a few photos from that day!

It was a wonderful day and since then times have definitely gotten more challenging and fun. We have three crazy and wonderful boys to love and take care of and life only gets busier. I love and appreciate my husband even more than I did (or understood) back then and I’m grateful that he puts up with me and my stress and mess.

I think what gets me this year is looking at how much everyone’s changed! We look a lot older I think, our nieces and nephews have tripled in number and the babies/toddlers are now 7, 8 or 9 years old!

I did blog two years ago with our story and a bunch of our old photos if you want to see that go here!

Happy Anniversary Thaddeus! I love you! :) I think that the boys and I will make a cake to celebrate the beginning of our family with a “family birthday party” so that they can join in the fun!

Update: We made cupcakes (with six candles) and opened a family birthday present: two bats and a batting tee! :) And thanks to Anabel and Samantha for watching the kids so that we could have a night out!!! The kids adore you (and we do too!)

Friday, August 6, 2010

Planes, Trains and a lot of fun…

NewCamera_July31_2010_MarineCorpsOceansideRailwayMuseum_ 015 We were a little crazy and over planned last Saturday but we had a lot of fun! We started the day off right after Danny’s first nap and headed South to Miramar to the Marine Corps “Flying Leathernecks” outside open-air museum. We met our friends, Chris and Victoria and their daughter Elisabeth, and he gave us a tour and taught us about each of the helicopters, fighter jets and more. Sammy was enthralled and had a blast. Nathan and Danny enjoyed it as well. It was great to go with Christopher because he knew so much!

Then we jumped in the car and headed back to Oceanside (we passed it on the way to Miramar) but on the way there passed the San Diego Temple (which is undergoing a major cleaning/renovation!)

We met my parents in Oceanside for an afternoon of swimming and sun! The boys played for a good three hours in the pool and Thad even had a boy (about 10 or 11) “adopt” him for the afternoon. He got a good taste of what it will be like when the boys are bigger and how much more physical they’ll be in the pool (attacking him!) Sammy is getting very brave in the water and “swims” a few feet with his head under the water, and his eyes open. He took one swim lesson at Splash! this year and we’ll sign him up again in the fall! He had Thad throw him up high in the air at least twenty times (see the photo on the far left). Nathan did it too (in the floaty that was for Danny but got most used by Nate!)

Then about 6 pm we got out of the pool, got dried off and then headed north to Perris, CA for members night at OERM (Orange Empire Railway Museum). The train park usually closes at 5 but it was open until 11 or so and we could ride old trains and trolleys and Grandpa Marcroft even got to drive one!

We changed the boys into their PJs and drove home. We were all exhausted but it was a good day. I still can’t believe that we travelled 274 miles that day!

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