My mom celebrated her 80th birthday on September 26, 2013.

It's hard to condense a lifetime into 10 minutes, but here is my best attempt.

Love you, Mom!

This one goes to 11... but he is only 6.

Happy Birthday to my cute little feral cat. 

He has a wildness that will not be tamed and a tender heart that melts my own.

This one goes to 11

11 years ago this bundle of curiosity, innovation, and energy came into our lives. 

It is such a privilege to be his parents!

Happy New Year!

This time of year is always what I count as the "new" year. Everything is new! Pencils, notebooks, shoes, clothes, backpacks, teachers and students. January is actually just in the middle of it all, so for me it doesn't really count.

Today, our "new" is that DJ is a 4th grader and Nick is a brand new Kindergardener! We started the day with cinnamon rolls and ended with traditional ice cream. We saw our friends and sweetly ushered in our new year.

It seems like just a moment ago Nick was crawling over the threshold of DJ's kindergarten classroom. Today he walked across proudly into his own room full of adventure. We are truly blessed!

5 years of fun!

Nick turned 5 today!

We celebrated "Ben 10" style with a bunch of friends, candy and alien masks.

He is such a joy and delight to us! We are so grateful for his place in our family!

Goodbye dear friend

Before Christopher there was Nicholas,
Before Nicholas there was D.J,
and before ALL of them... there was Madison.
Goodbye beloved friend.

Writing

I love it when pieces of the puzzle start to come together. Nick will start kindergarten next year and I am amazed how quickly he picks up things. He is starting to sound out words and get them on to the paper. He loves to write to his friend Katy (an older woman of 6)

You have to read it backwards, but this says, "Katy I am 4"

Clearly he doesn't share in his brother's peace keeping efforts because he loves everything about guns and shooting. So, it makes sense that he would draw a gun and write about it.

He is quite proud that he drew the bullet.

DJ loves comic books and super heroes so I am flattered that he is writing about Super Mom.

Apparently, my super power is Super Scream. Here is the cover of the story, and the illustration of "super scream"

Smile

The boys... over the past 8 years.

Space

DJ LOVES the solar system. He can tell you more about the planets than you even want to know. He is an amazing young man, and I love the way his mind works. Today he made a model of the solar system out of K'nex.

Trick or Treat!

This was the year of the Superhero... Ironman and Superman were the costumes of choice. Chris went as a 3 year old (since he is still just 2 for a few more days) We played at Martin Park's annual Halloween Carnival, and went around the block near Aunt Terry's house to trick or treat. All the candy was consumed on Sunday, and we are ready for the next holiday!

Pumpkin Patch

We took the boys, at the last moment, to the pumpkin patch. All I wanted was a cute picture of my cute boys sitting calmly amongst the pumpkins. Is that really too much to ask?? Apparently it is! I did get some really cute pictures, but after only one turn in the bouncy pirate ship everyone left in tears because they wanted one more turn! Oh well, enjoy the cuteness!

Last days of Summer

Well, now that summer is almost officially over, I suppose I had better post all the stuff that we did. It was jam packed with space camp, zoo camp, vacation Bible school, coastal trips, more day camps and birthday celebrations. Here is a glimpse:

DJ went to Space Camp in Atwater. He has been wanting to go for several years, they learned all about space and launching rockets and had a mock mission. He was definitely in his element!

Nick got to go to Zoo camp this year, and he had such a blast. He loves animals, and is so excited about learning just about anything. Poor Chris was too young for any day camps, but he "went to Quinn's house" if you ask him what camp he went to! (and he had a blast there!)

We didn't actually go camping this year, but resourceful kids will find a way! They are "roasting" fruit snacks over a night light.

We went to this great party at the Sands' house... an adults only 4th of July party with red, white, and blue food. I made a cake for one of the most talented guys I know, Mick Wingert, who shares his birthday with our country. (watch for him as the voice of Po on the new series "Kung Fu Panda) We lit this on fire, and it was cool!

Speaking of cool... 4th of July in Cambria is our family's tradition, we have a blast every year and freeze while we watch the fireworks. It sure beats the heat in Fresno.

Nick turned 4 on the 15th of July... more pictures to follow in another post!

Just some fun with Aunt Terry.... always a favorite, no matter what the season!

One of the last camps of the summer... DJ went to Magic Camp at the Discovery Center. Again, he was in his element... free time with legos & the science of some cool magic tricks. This is one of his creations.

Then.... summer fun came to an end. Another tradition is the first day of school ice cream! Fun was had by all

The end

DJ's talent show act

Conservation is Key!

So, DJ has been on a conservation kick. Some of the ideas you should be able to decipher, but let me explain :)

We shouldn't hunt. There should be more birds... that is a nest with eggs in it.

Solar powered cars, plant more trees, ride your bike, don't litter cans on the road.

No pesticides, don't throw bottles in the garbage (only beer bottles, evidently), recycle glass, and use "green" bags.

Don't cut down trees, and turn off the lights when you are done.

I am actually shocked that he allows any cars at all. He is constantly shouting, "NO MORE CARS!" I am constantly reminding him that it is 20 miles round trip to his school.... we WILL be driving!

Remember, always recycle! :)

Chris...

This guy spends most of his time cracking me up.  He is constantly pretending he is a puppy or a baby. He will not be left out of anything the big boys are doing.  Here are just a few pictures from the past couple of months of our "little" guy.

He is singing "Our God is an AWESOME God!"