Backyard Business

Grammy and Granddaddy got to watch Juliette last Friday night. After dinner we thought nothing would be better than to let them run around on the backyard a bit. Too fun!

Another Summer Snapshot

The pool at the park. 'Nough said.Racing daddy on the front sidewalk. On your mark, get set, go!

Irvine Regional Park

With just one week left of summer I decided we might want to try to squeeze in a few more fun days. So last Monday we picked up Aunt Amanda and Juliette and drove over to Irvine Regional Park. Our first stop was a train ride - the kids loved it! Then a leisurely stroll through the little zoo they have there. The kids spent a long time in the petting zoo combing each and every one of the goats. I kept myself entertained by answering scavenger hunt questions about the animals and plants they had in the zoo. We were going to top off the day and enjoy a picnic lunch there too, but the bees were not the friendly of guests we could have hoped for, so we drove to the first place we could find to get some lunch (dealt with a few meltdowns) and then the kids slept the whole way home - all of them! Overall, a nice day.

A Cool Classic

A friend at church is a car enthusiast and has been all his life. When he was young he and his dad bought a garage full of car parts and engines only to later discover that they had an original car (albeit in pieces) of famous racer A.J. Foyt. They worked hard at restoring it to its original glory complete with working engine and true to the time paint job. When his father passed away the end result was for the car to go to auction. Since our friend has lots of other cars at his own home, he needed to find a place to store it. My parents garage seemed like a good fit and even though we could check it out we couldn't tell anyone. Well the car has now been sold at auction so I can spill the secret and I wanted to share some of the cool pictures I got of it with my kids. Classic cool for sure!

Aren't Babies Ever So Sweet!

It has been a very busy baby shower season at my backyard this summer. This latest installment was for my really good friend (and our FAVORITE photographer!) Amanda. Since it is a surprise what they are having (a really fun thing for them, by the way), her sister Rachel came up with a "candy" theme. It all started with a "sucker" invitation and grew from there! We served brunch, and cupcakes or cake for dessert, but the fun part was the candy centerpieces, the suckers lining the yard and the "candies" hanging from the tents. We played a memory game where clues described a particular candy - way fun and way, way creative - and a partner competition matching and folding socks within a time limit. They were two new games that got a great response. With only two hostesses (plus some generous help from a good friend) I wasn't able to manage many pictures during the event, but be rest assured we had a lovely time, we spoiled Amanda with some great gifts, and (maybe the best part) got to visit our own "candy bar" at the end to take away some sweet treats.

Itty Bitty Baseball

We have had Kyler trying out different sports through the city and it was the time for baseball. They practiced throwing, fielding, tagging people out, batting, running the bases, and even played a "game" the last couple of weeks. Only problem he had was that they kept trying to make him bat right, and even though he throws right, he is definitely a lefty when it comes to batting.

A Terrific Train Trip

A few weeks ago, Grammy, the kids and I took an impromptu trip on the train down to San Diego for the afternoon. Grammy brought binoculars so the kids could check thing out on the way. We walked over to the pier to check out the big "pirate" ships, do some window shopping, and eat a fish and chips lunch. The kids got to ride a carousel, buy and fly a kite of their very own (the winds were perfect) and top it off with an ice cream treat. Everyone had so much fun we all crashed on the way back. Next time we go we are going to stay longer!

Weird

So a few weeks ago I mashed my finger tip between a card table and a love seat we were trying to load into the back of Jason's truck. It bruised immediately. Weird thing is that the bruise has now taken on a fun shape of its own. Guess I am just really feelin' the love!

A Visit to the OC Fair

We always try to find a day to visit the OC Fair this time of year. I, Grammy and the kids headed out after lunch and the guys joined us later at dinner.
We checked out the animals
Ate lots of fried food and fair favorites.Met up with Uncle Jeremy, Aunt Manda and Juliette who were there celebrating Juliette's first birthday.Watched (with much anticipation) the pig races (for some reason a fair first for us). Took the kids on the sky ride. (I held on soooo tight to make sure my little one didn't slide through!)Kyler got to ride on a couple of rides by himself - the bumper boats were the best. (Konner and Kassidy are a bit too small still - maybe next year!)
We had a great time - bought some fun things, saw some great photographs, and went home SUPER late, but only after our traditional funnel cake, of course!