Fingerpaintin' Tub-side

It is SERIOUS fun in the tub with lots-o fingerpaint!

Until it gets onto the floor of the tub...too slippery for little squirmy boys!...you can see they didn't mind though!

A perfect lure into the tub as well as the promise of a little fun!

Our Trip to San Diego

SNAILS!!!
They were all over the place at the hotel we stayed in...Collin let Aiden bring them up to the room and put them in the tub for a bit...

...and on their faces!...
They all wanted to try it! Aiden was very cute with the snails...after holding them for awhile he was ready to let them go back to their homes!

Serious sand digging!

We forgot the towels in the car and that water was COLD!!

'Funky family feet!

Running in the water and holding on to the seaweed rope thing!

Again, some serious digging going on here...

Having a ball w/ Daddy and that seaweed rope thingy!

C'mon Daddy! Come dig with me!

Yes, I did the old "look at the cherry in the camera" trick here!

Does this look like a good time or what?!!

Hangin' out at the beach...even though the day was overcast and chilly we had a great time! The boys just LOVE to be at the beach. Aiden was in heaven digging in the sand and Finn was daring enough to get himself into the chilly water...not too far though. Far enought that he knew it was really freaking cold!

We were here for a work sponsored marriage retreat. We had class on Sat/Sun morning and once finished were released for the day. We got here on Fri afternoon about 5 ish and were able to hit a few stores before checking in to the hotel. We had our first trip to Ikea...ate some swedish meatballs in their cafe...and browsed and perused for quite some time. Neither I nor Collin has ever been before. It was very cool...so much stuff in there! We were all overloaded by the time we left and we pushed the boys a wee bit too far for the night...it wasnt pretty when we were making our exit!
The retreat itself was great! It was primarily a video seminar called "Laugh Your Way To a Better Marriage" by Mark Gungor. Funny and entertaining and we both got alot out of it. Learned a few things and gained some better understanding of the opposite sex. I would definitely do it again if given the chance.

After dinner in the "front yard"

Playing out in the "front yard" after dinner...
Hitting a few balls...

The Daddy...lookin' mighty cute!
The Momma...enjoying the nice night outside...

and this gorgeous sunset!

We finished dinner early this night and felt like enjoying the nice night air. The nights here are still enjoyable...warm-ish and comfortable. Collin was throwing some balls for the boys to bat. Finn was loving his new special dump truck that a friend gave him...thanks Theresa! You push the button and the man sings..."To the dump, to the dump to the dump dump dump
To the dump to the dump to the dump dump dump...!"

Oh and the next button says " I love the dump! or trash, or something along those lines!
For those of you who are chuckling right now and know about this family's forays to the dumpster...well, it is right up our alley! Ha!Ha!
Aiden enjoyed moth-hunting in the neighbor's yard and Collin practiced skidding his bike over a piece of cardboard in the road...to see how big of a hole he could burn into it.

Yeah, I wasn't sure about it either but he had a grand time doing it!
A thoroughly exciting evening here at #1183! (smile)

Family Day photos

And day is done...they were SO tired!, we had to work to wake them from their naps!

Packing up the parachute for the next time...

Aiden comes out to the field in his doggy costume to greet Collin and Kurt.

Right after the jump...collecting the parachute.

Collin after his jump...comparing notes w/ Kurt.

I'm not sure if this is Collin...very hard to tell when they are coming in as the jump suits all look relatively the same...

Up, up and away...legs hanging out of the helicopter. I think Collin is in the middle.

Walking to the helicopter...Collin is the one w/ his helmet off...

Collin, posing for his picture!

Our very own little Huckleberry! He loves to climb the trees!

Sally trying to pull up the tree roots! She loves a good stick and a challenge!

We stopped at Cox field on the way home from the canal so the boys could spray the 2 cans of Silly String that we've had forever. It was interesting! Both of them were quite shocked when the stuff came out...the texture and coldness is so gross!

Watching the show...

Yeah, he is processing what he's just seen with the silly string...not caring for it.

The remnants of the cans on the ground...but a funny couple of minutes while we sprayed!


Here they are right before the duel of silly string began...

NASCAR!!

Linda and I, having a grand time!

Blurry shot of Finn w/ his big earmuffs on!

Aiden on the trolley ride to the race...

It was a hot afternoon...little cheeks are flushed red...

Collin's Dad and his wife Linda were here for about 5 days. They came in on the 17th...the next morning we piled into our van and cruised out to Phoenix to see a NASCAR race! Real and true! Tickets were free here to the military so we said "why not?". None of us had ever been before so we thought we'd check out all the hype

Pretty much everything you've ever thought a NASCAR race would be like- and then some! It was teeming w/ every imaginable kind of humanity -FABULOUS people watching if you are into that! I am and it was great!

We got there later in the afternoon and gates had opened at 12...The parking area was huge and full and many ppl. were hanging out in their loungers by their cars...drinking beer...bbq'ing...bs'ing. Then, when we were heading for the racetrack area-we headed toward the shuttle- and that's when we saw how dedicated people are to this sport. Row after row after row of RV's were parked and camped out. People had been there for several days-partying and waiting for the race. I couldn't give a number but there were tons of RV's! As many redneck folks that you'd expect and a whole lot of other types that you wouldn't. Lots of money going into this sport-there were tons of big name sponsors outside the track-giving out stuff. We missed most of that due to our later arrival but it was interesting to see it all.

We made it to our seats in time to hear the national anthem and to see Air Force jets do a fly-over, plus some freefall parachute guys jumped in w/ an American flag...very cool. It was really quiet when the anthem was sung...it got my eyes stinging! I love that stuff and the people that come to these races do too! Very patriotic!

Then all the racers were introduced and they did slow drive-by's in their cars and then it was time for the race to start. We all got our hearing protection, motors started up and the race began and IT WAS AWESOME!!!!

What an exciting sport to see, hear and smell! Really! It was so cool when they fired up their engines and the race really got going...I never thought I'd have enjoyed it as much as I did! I will definitely go again if given the opportunity.

The boys had a good time too although about an hour into the race it was all over for us! Ha!Ha! a hot day,no naps, tons of people and serious stimulation = meltdowns for little boys at some point!

Both of them had their own little breakdowns as we made our way out but I think they both had alot of fun. Frankly I think we were all surprised at how much we enjoyed it. Linda said she would definitely like to go again too.

We had a great visit w/ Bud and Linda...the boys love to have family here-it's a very fluid thing for them, having people come and go-they have been conditioned from all the visitors we had while in NC.

We did visit the sand dunes w/ Bud and Linda...we went w/out 4wheelers which was a mistake! Actually it was an experience to climb up the (very hot) sand dunes...they are quite amazing. They are off the highway on the way to Cali.- it is where some of Star Wars was filmed and some other sandy films...:) Next time we go we'll rent 4wheelers!

The rest of the visit was spent hanging out and laughing and talking. We had a good time catching up w/ B&L...so glad they made the trip!