Beth comes to visit!

I was so excited that a dear friend of mine from Colorado was going to be in town and that we were going to actually be able to see one another! It was time well overdue. I owe my CO friends a visit for sure...and my SD friends...and my......I know, I know......

Skateboarding on The Strand...

Here's a few captured moments of the boys and our friend Mark (Serf) chillin' on The Strand. It was the boy's 1st day on a skateboard and they seemed to pick it up rather quickly. Of course they didn't want to use the "small one", but their Dad's new birthday one instead. :) Since this weekend, we've not been able to keep them off. Sam attracted the attention as being "little" and able to definitely hold his ground. He soaked it all up as usual...

Sam giving a "Thank You" photo to Mr. Will Roslansky for the skateboard! Thanks Will!!!!

A little estrogen in the house....

We were all so lucky to have our niece, Yvonne, come out and spend a week with us. We had a ton of fun, but the time went by us so quickly that we didn't get to do any "touristy" things and I don't think that she shopped as much as she would have liked to. Her primary purpose of her trip was to come out and have me take her Senior Pics. Thankfully we completed that task and we (well, at least myself) had a blast doing them. :) Here are just a small, small handful of some of them...

Thanks for allowing me to capture this memory for you Yvonne! :)

Eric's Birthday...

We were excited that we not only were able to celebrate Eric's birthday with my niece, Yvonne, but also a close friend of his from college...Serf (Mark) & his beautiful wife, Laurel. One thing is for certain, whenever Serf & Laurel are around, a good time is sure to be had by all...as well as a perma-grin and a sore tummy from laughing so much. It also just so happened that Serf's high school buddy (which Eric knew, too) and his family were here vacationing in the area. We spent the afternoon with everyone in Emerald Bay and then went back to their rental home and had a fabulous Mexican meal picked by the birthday boy himself and prepared for us by Chef Tommy...who was preparing Spiderman, Toby McGuire's, dinner the next night. Delicious you may ask...very much so. I could have ate all night, but was limited to one plate with my ever-expanding belly and decreasing internal stomach size. I had to inform my niece that this wasn't the "norm" for us as it was only her first day here and didn't want her to have a skewed perception of our lives out here. Oh, yes, and as we were leaving the beach that afternoon, Keyshawn Johnson (former NFL WR) & Eric exchanged "friends forever" waves with one another. It was a fun "LA" day...

Here's one for all of you "belly rubbers"...

As close as you can get for the time being, my niece snapped this shot of my ever-growing Michelin tire area......getting big! :)

Father's Day...delayed a bit...

Since we moved to Cali just a few days prior to this year's Father's Day...I asked for an extension on it. I was not prepared at all. I had the ideas, but not the time to pull it all off. We still treated Eric to a fun day at the beach...keeping with our last year's tradition with the Roslansky family. The gift is still yet to come. I was secretly working with his friend, Rob, to purchase a surfboard for him. I couldn't hold out any longer and Jack slipped a little on our secret to Eric. So, he now knows his gift...he should, it's only about 2 months later.

On his "make-up Father's Day", Eric took the boys to an Anaheim Angel's game and they just so happened to play the MN Twins. They had a great time and as I suspected, they all came home in Angel gear. Here they are before the game in their Twins gear with a neighborhood friend, Jackson...

And after the game....

And at the game...

Surfing...

Eric woke up early this morning to give his first shot at surfing. He reported that it was fun, harder than expected, but wanting to give it some more attempts. I think that he and Rob are going to go out again later this afternoon. Thank goodness that the great white shark that was off the coast this past week was gone! :) No sharks today...just some dolphins. How awesome is that! Now, to prepare for the aching body parts this evening...

A LIZARD HAS BEEN CAUGHT!

Since day one, Jack & Sam have been with net in hand trying to catch one of the many lizards that are running around. I am happy to announce that the challenge has been completed...and we had a somewhat jealous older brother...but he's getting over it.

Sam (with a little help from Mom) snatched the little reptile up with his net and a couple of neighborhood boys helped him get it into an old toad cage. Jack & Sam kept it well fed with flies and ladybugs that they caught and were trying to be so convincing that they could be great pet owners and thought that they should keep it. Not ready for that yet. Tears did start flowing when the conversation came up about when it should be released, but Sam let it go the next day and he has been on the hunt for the next victim since.

Here is the poor little guy telling me "thank you for saving my life" before he ran off into the flowers... Run little guy, run!!

Another great weekend...

I was quite bummed that I was not able to go back and join my family for my Mom & Dad's 50th Wedding camping excursion. We decided to make the most of the weekend here. We invited our good friend and the boy's idol, Uncle Rob Dbach over with his lovely girlfriend, Maegan, on Saturday evening for a little feast.

Sunday, we ventured to South Bay to join up with them again and another friend that was in town from the East Coast with his family. Now this weekend, the boys could boogie board. It was busy, but the waves were a crashing. Sam got taken by a few waves, but it didn't stop him. Jack got a little one-on-one lesson from Rob and I so wish that I had my camera! Of course, it was left in the car. He caught some good sized waves and rode them in. Then they dug and caught endless crabs in the sand. We had a great time at the beach and then ventured over to Uncle Rob's place for a fantastic dinner.

Here are some photos from Rob's place...

Dbach, Herfert and Eric...oh yeah...and Jack's little sneaky head. A future ATO as well???

Me and Dave's littlest one, Kennedy (aka mini Herf).

Olivia, Mack and Sam & Jack chillin' watching some Star Wars.

Busy doing "things"...

We have now been here for 4 weeks and we already have some swimming lessons under our belt. Here are Sam and Jack after completing their level. Sam was super stoked as this was his first ribbon from a sport. Jack was happy as he was moved up two levels at the end. Hmmm...that's what happens when you pay attention in your lesson.

We were so fortunate to find Sam a place in a highly recommended Christian Junior Kindergarten for this fall, too. It was their last spot and an afternoon one, but after thinking about it, that might work best with a new baby coming around that time, too. He makes the Kindergarten cut-off birthdate out here, but with everything going on (move, baby, life adjustments, etc) we thought that it might be best to hold off until next year as this is what we were anticipating in MN anyway. I hope that we made the right decision. The Immersion program out here for Kindergarten is more intense than what we are used to as well. I know he could have done it...but could have I??

Jack's attempt at eating a "hot dog"...

Most of you know my children are a bit different when it comes to their eating choices...and I am not complaining at all. One of their items that they do not like are hot dogs...what kid doesn't like a hot dog! Sam has tried them, but Jack refused as when he was younger his little brain made him think that they were actually made from dogs. He is now over that. I am proud that he always gives new things a try...and finally on the 4th of July...he said that he would like to try one! Eric had noticed that his old stomping ground of Wienerschnizel was out here. So we loaded up the truck and headed over to give them a try. We opted for the chili dogs and as Eric was lovin' it, the boys and I were doing good, but had enough after 1/2 of one. Jack would like to try a "homemade chili dog" sometime, but I think that his dog eating days are done. I think he'll be sticking to the sushi...

Sam is a new boy in California...

I don't know what happened. Perhaps it's the water that he's drinking or whatever. And I'm not going to ask any questions. The costumes have not come out once and he even wants/asks to shop for clothes. For those of you who know him...this is unthinkable knowing where he was just a few short weeks ago! I knew it was just a phase! Knocking on wood... What a handsome young man. :) I think he's dreaming of becoming a Rock Star!

Oh to be a kid again...

Remember the day when your front teeth were loose and it was summertime and corn on the cob was so good...but so hard to eat! Ahhh...this is where Jackie is now! That and his favorite apples are so frustrating for him, but he seems to find his way thru it as these photos show....

A day at the beach...

We ventured out this weekend trying to find a calm beach as all the boys were treated to new boogie boards. Why they don't make them with a hole cut out in the middle for us pregnant people? We had one beach in mind, but ended up at another which was a bit harsh and rocky for the boys first encounter with their boards. However, they were all troopers and got over the initial fear and were fine after that. The photo with the water...Eric is in there somewhere. Sam did end up losing the arm floaties and he didn't want to stop after he got over his initial shock. And I tried to get my belly in the foot shot, but couldn't lay back and focus at the same time...sorry! :) Ahhhh the beach.....