Last Summer Outing Before School Starts

For our last fun outing before school starts, we went to the Long Beach Aquarium. We had a great time . . . the kids loved it!

We got a lot of pictures of the backs of the kids' heads. But I really liked this one because this was one of the kids' favorite exhibits. These are jelly fish and they are extraordinary to look at. They are so graceful in the way they move in the water. Fascinating!

Another back of the head shot but the aquariums are just gorgeous.

The shark exhibit was exceptional. This particular shark is the one that pooped in the water which is the only thing the kids really remembered. All day they kept talking about how that shark should have used the potty chair so he could get a lollypop. K said, "That's isgusting!" Translation: That's disgusting! She was right . . . pretty gross.

Probably the most fascinating part of the day is that Daddy managed to snap a pretty good pic of the kids and me.

This is a good one of Daddy and the gang. Daddy's finally learning how to smile for the camera . . . good job Daddy!

All in all it was a great way to end the summer vacation. After the aquarium we headed over to Chili's for lunch then we went home for quiet time which always the best part of any day! Love to you all.

August and Everything

The last two weeks of August were really busy and that's why it's been a while since the last post. It was a great month, though, with a few milestones along the way. We went to Grammie and PapPap's house and went swimming in the big pool. J and K had a blast and R didn't go in the water at all. Then we had lots of good eats, compliments of Mom and Aunt Juli. Daddy says J looks like a Flamingo in this pic.




For dessert, all the kids had ice cream sandwiches.










Then Me-Mom and Auntie Lauren, or Warren as the kids pronounce it, came to visit and everyone had a great time.









We had a Sponge Bob celebration for Daddy's 40th!!!!

Me-Mom never gives me a good photo op because she hates to have her picture taken but I did the best I could . . . sorry Me-Mom . . .

The kids are really missing everyone. But August came and went and now we're getting ready for pre-school which starts on September 11!!!! The kids are potty-trained (whew!) and they got their back-packs and lunch pales. So all that's left is getting Mom and Dad through the first day of school . . . wish us luck!

p.s. The title of this post is a reference to my very all-time favorite cd by the Counting Crows entitled, "August and Everything." It's worth a listen!

A Great Cause

I've been MIA the last few days due to work. But this past Saturday, we attended a very special event for a great cause. Steve and the guys from his work entered an airplane pull at Long Beach Airport to benefit the Special Olympics.

The kids got to see lots of fun things up close including a fire truck and of course, the airplane. We didn't stay long because we are in the midst of potty training.

Steve organized his team's entry for LAPD's Metropolitan Divsion, C Platoon. They had a great showing, twenty guys for their team alone. They had to pull a Fed Ex airplane 28 feet for time. They had two tries and ultimately came in third place behind teams Fed Ex and LA County Sheriffs.

Steve said they had a great time and everyone was glad to see them dressed and ready to go in C Platoon utilities. Apparently, it was great PR for the LAPD. But all that aside, the guys were just happy to help the kids.

Here's a picture of the whole team. Steve is in the back row, 7th from the left, with the baseball cap.

Superhero Practice

Today the kids practiced their superhero skills. J, especially, was getting very good at jumping off the planter. And then she'd yell, "Wonder Woman!" R, of course, was Superman, and K was Super Girl.

There's something very "Laverne and Shirley" about this picture. I just love it.

Yet again, I tried for a good picture of the three of them to no avail. R was starting to get grumpy after a few tries.

I tried to get creative here.

K and her winning grin.

J is just a doll.

Date Night

This is our idea of a date...whoa!

Company Picnic

We went to my company picnic on Saturday. We all had a lot of fun. When we first got there, the kids got lots of surprises, including gift bags and water guns. Of course we never filled the guns with water . . . can you blame us????

We saw our good friend Andy Hudlett and his new wife Pamela.

The kids went on a big slide and then they jumped on a big inflatable jumping thing.

One of the best parts of the day was riding the ponies!

K was the only one brave enough for the water slide.

Then we had way too much candy. No one wanted to leave but by three o'clock there were a lot of tired eyes. It was a great day.

3 Year Check-Up

Today was our three year-old doctor appointment. It's so hard to believe it's been a year. And what a difference a year makes! We arrived at the doctor's office at 11:40 for our 11:45 appointment. As you can see from the first picture, I wasn't thrilled about the hour long wait to be seen. But this year was so different because the kids actually entertained themselves . . . no whining or crying. During our long wait in the waiting room, the nurse brought us in to have height/weight checked along with a vision test and blood pressure check. The vision test was funny because the nurse had me cover one of the kid's eyes and then she would point to
an object on the eye chart, like a star or a heart. Inevitably, we had some cheating going on because one of the other kids would yell out the answer from behind us. Oh well . . . Daddy practiced with them before the doctor came in. He put them on the examination table and checked them out, they loved it. Then the doctor finally came in. The girls did well with the examination, especially K. But R wasn't having any of it. He had to sit in Daddy's lap. The worst part was the shot at the end. But they each got a sticker and then everything was OK. The best part was the elevator ride after we left the office. Everyone got a clean bill of health. R is going to be a big boy. He's 40-1/2 inches tall and 34 pounds. That's the 95th percentile for his height and 75th for his weight. K is 38-1/2 inches tall and 34 pounds, 75th for height and weight. J is 38-1/2 inches tall and 32 pounds, 75th height and 60th weight. They all had 20/30 vision which is good. We are keeping our fingers crossed that he have another healthy year!