Deathly Hallows Eve

This year we continue the tradition of dressing up together on Halloween!  Noah was ready to branch out and dress up as a "Slenderman" from Minecraft but Jawsh insisted we dress up as a group so we all agreed on Harry Potter.  We thought this fitting since Noah recently finished the 7 book series (which is equivalent to 4,224 pages)!  Micah dressed up as Harry's best friend, Ron.  I was Professor McGonagall and Jawsh was Sirius Black.  In my opinion, Jawsh looked the most realistic... wouldn't you agree???

Jack-o-lanterns

Happy Halloween!  The boys enjoyed cutting their pumpkins and making Jack-o-Lanterns.  What does Halloween have in store for us this year???

Rainbow Awards

This was a complete surprise!  Both boys were honored with Rainbow Awards the same day!  I was so proud of both boys and all of their hard work.  Usually when they receive a Rainbow Award they get to choose what they want for dinner.  Who will choose tonight???

Dinner with friends

About once a month, I go out to dinner with some really good friends that I made at the boys' co-op.  It's been really great for me to spend time with friends and share laughs, tears, and good food!  What would I do without these ladies???

Strike Force II

Micah is playing soccer again this season.  He's on Strike Force again with the same coach as last year.  His game has developed a lot and he's one of the best defenders on his team.  Nothing gets by him!  Micah is so into playing Center Defense that he has a hard time transitioning to a Forward.  When will Micah want to play offense???

Legoland

Noah and Jawsh stayed over Thursday night in San Diego and Micah and I drove down Friday to spend the night, so we could spend the day at Legoland together on Saturday.  It was surprisingly not that busy and the boys had a great time exploring the park with the V family.  We love that the boys have such good friends.  When will we head back to Legoland???

Lego Ed

Noah and his best friend, J, were partnered up in the Lego car building contest.  From what I heard, their car beat all the other cars in the class.  They learned a lot about robotics and engineering and then they had the rest of the day to play at the park.  Will this experience inspire them to be engineers???

Good morning

Good morning!  The boys survived the night next to the lions roaring!  They are off to Legoland next.  What does the day have in store for them???

San Diego Wild Animal Park

Noah's class had an overnight field trip at the San Diego Wild Animal Park.  They got a special behind the scenes tour of the park and got to sleep in tents.  Jawsh went as a chaperone and had difficulty sleeping with 4 excited boys.  Noah is really enjoying his time in Yellow Cluster, what will tomorrow bring???

Getty

We were so impressed with London Calling that we had to take the boys to see this exhibit.  They enjoyed looking at the art, especially the work of Auerbach, where they were trying to find the hidden picture within the paint strokes.  We hope that we are instilling some art appreciation and history so they will enjoy these experiences as they get older.  What exhibit will we go to next???

Liam's Birthday

  Liam turned 5! He's a big boy now attending TK at his sisters' school.  He really seems to like school.  What kind of year will he have in TK???

Disneyland

Today Uncle Zack and Emo took all the kids (except Liam) to Disneyland for the day!  This was their early Christmas present.  Although the boys have been to Disneyland multiple times before, they were very young and never went on the rollercoasters.  This time around, they got to ride Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Indiana Jones, and even the Haunted Mansion.  The boys had a great day at the park... when will they do this again???

London Calling

While the kids were with Uncle Zack and Aunt Kelly at Disneyland, Jawsh and I spent the day together. We  started our day in downtown LA where we had breakfast at Egg Slut. Then we went to the Getty Museum.  We saw the the London Calling exhibit. Afterwards we met friends for dinner at Father's Office. We had a great day but we missed the kids. I wonder if they missed us???

Happy Birthday Micah

Happy 8th Birthday to Micah (9-27-08)!  We celebrated his birthday at Ocean Park Beach with a Minion theme. The kids had a great time playing near the water but the highlight of the party was the Minion water bottles full of Minion pez and whoopee cushions that the kids had to find.  I can't believe Micah turned 8... where has the time gone???

New retainer

Noah officially received his new retainer today. He chose a funky tie dye color. How long will he have to wear this retainer???

Building character

The kids washed cars just like my siblings and I did when we were kids. They enjoyed scrubbing the cars, getting wet, and playing with the soap.  They did a pretty good job and the neighbors were asking them to wash their cars too!  I wonder if they should start their own business???

Micah's turning 8

  Micah is turning 8 in a few weeks.  We asked him what he wanted to do for his birthday and he chose to celebrate it the same way he has for the past few years.  He wanted a Minion theme with the same type of food and the same invite list (he's pretty consistent).  One thing  I love about his birthday list is that he invites kids that he went to preschool with that he has not seen in a long while, so its nice when we see his old friends.  What will we hide in the sand this time???

Ukelele

Micah has now started learning the ukulele.  His teacher, Ms. Yolanda, teaches him piano and ukulele.  Micah is enjoying the new challenge although he says his fingers hurt. I wonder if he will be playing this on the beaches of Hawaii when he is older... nice dream wouldn't you say???

First Day of School

Back to life, back to reality...  we returned from Maui and now a few days later we are back at it. Micah is in Orange Cluster, now a big 3rd grader and a leader.  Noah is in Yellow Cluster, a 4th grader, with new teachers and curriculum.   I feel very blessed to be working at the same school, so I can see them throughout the day.  What will this year be like???

Bros

Noah and Micah are so lucky to have one another.  Since they are only two years apart they have similar school friends, interests, and experiences.  Now don't get me wrong... anyone who knows the boys well can see that they are different in many ways... but it's also nice that they share interests.  As we were vacationing, they only had each other to play with... no other cousins or friends nearby.  And they got along very well.  They talked about their favorite games, they built sandcastles together, and shared shave ice...  they even held hands as they walked through the rainforest.  It's nice to have a brother and friend, don't you think???