$50

What could you buy with $50?

I had a $50 Gift Card to Lazy Acres..........this is what I came home with, the total was $50.07

I have priced this out and it would've only cost me about $21 at Albertsons.......plus the gas money to go 2.2 miles is cheaper than 25.44 miles!

Prickly Pear, Prickly Cactus, Prickly Pumpkin?

I had to post this up-close picture of the stem of Justin's pumpkin.........they always tell you not to grab a pumpkin by the stem because they're prickly. If you look closely you will see that there are thorns on the stem (most of Justin's are broken off from him trying to pick it up by the stem and letting out a big, "ouch!")

Pumpkin Patch!!

We went to the Pumpkin Patch again with some friends.................

Justin picked out his pumpkin, went for a hay ride, looked at the farm animals, talked to the talking scarecrow, saw a farm in action, and rode the tractor..............

then we went home and tried to get Justin to smile with his pumpkin........

.......then Brandon

...............better luck next year!

happy birthday to you....cha cha cha....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATT!!!!!!!

I chose this picture because this is probably the reaction I'll get when you find out I posted this......I love you, Happy Birthday!

I See Your True Colors.....

Justin............funny

Brandon.........Curious

Justin's 1st Soccer Game!

Justin finally had his FIRST SOCCER GAME!!! Justin thought this day would never come! On Saturday afternoon he took his ever-so-neatly-folded neon green soccer jersey, black shorts, and neon green socks out of his top drawer and proudly put them on. We arrived to the game early and he was so anxious...he kicked the ball around with his dad until they were ready. Once they were ready they practiced some skills (stopping the ball and throwing the ball into a bucket). Justin was beaming.....smiles, dimples, drool, jumps, and the inability to keep still due to his excitement. The game starts and Justin is sitting out first with 2 other teammates. It had been about 2 minutes and he just couldn't control himself....he ran out onto the field after the ball and was lost in the moment amongst people yelling, "Justin, come back, Justin, Justin, come back" and his Coach running like a mosquito eater all over the field to try and catch him. She caught up with him and picked him up and ran over to the sideline with him. He was completely embarrassed and hid his head for about a minute. Once it was his turn to go in he was back at square one...beaming! According to Matt he scored 2 goals and had 2 assists.....he was at the ball no matter what and he would even throw the ball in to himself =) It was SO FUN to watch! He may be the youngest but he sure didn't look like it on the field. I love this boy's zest for life, I hope he tackles all life's obstacles like he did this game! Here are a few pics:

Justin at home, ready an hour early

Justin practicing with his Dad before the game

Justin going after the ball

Baby Wesley's Blessing

We went down to Ben & Ashley's last Sunday to be there for Wesley's Baby Blessing! It was a sweet blessing that was given. Afterwards there was a lunch at their house with family and friends and we really enjoyed everyone's company. Here are some pictures of Wesley...the first one is my favorite...it shows how LONG his eyelashes are! The second one is the cutest picture ever of him smiling...he is a very smiley and CUTE baby! I would've posted more pictures but I only took 3...argh...next time.

This was a picture from the car on the freeway on our way home...no need to say anything because this pictures tells a thousand words and was a nice way to end our Sabbath Day

There's A First Time For Everything

We were on our way home, driving along Cathedral Oaks (between Los Carneros & Glen Annie) and a bus just dropped someone off and got right back on the road. I said, "What? I have never ever seen a bus on this road before, let alone a bus stop!" Matt then said, "There's a first time for everything." This was the start to a bunch of firsts.

JUSTIN'S FIRST SET OF GOLF CLUBS FOR HIS BIRTHDAY......

JUSTIN'S FIRST LIST HE WROTE HIMSELF..........

JUSTIN'S FIRST SOCCER PRACTICE......

BRANDON'S FIRST TIME IN THE POOL (he never liked it before)........

BRANDON'S FIRST TIME EATING EVERYTHING WE ATE FOR DINNER (rather than sharing bites here and there)............

JUSTIN AND BRANDON'S FIRST BATH TOGETHER..........

......AND MY FIRST ATTEMPT, AND FAIL, AT "SHAPING" A CAKE AS WELL AS POSTING A BLOG PICTURE UPSIDE DOWN. (It's supposed to be Sonic for Justin's Birthday and thank you Dani for helping frost it)

Justin......4

Brandon......3

Lyndsi........3

Matt........10..........yeah he gets all the points for being at all these events, except for the cake part but he was there to see the product!

To laugh or not to laugh.....that is the question

So yesterday Justin had to go to his room to think about what he did (I think I actually sent him there because I was mad)...he had locked the bathroom door with the ball inside so his brother, Brandon, could not get it. Well, you cannot unlock the door from the outside......I suppose this is NOT his fault because I should've installed a new knob that would prevent this sort of mishap, however, he was teasing his brother (that comes with the territory of being a kid though, right?). Anyway, I had to take the doorknob off to get in. In the meantime I broke the inside of the door thingy trying to open it once I got the doorknob off. I put the door back together (without screwing it together so it was just 'kinda there) and after talking to Justin about what happened I told him not to close the door again. This morning Justin went to the bathroom and locked the door......yes the inevitable happened....he was locked in the bathroom! So, since he clearly had forgotten (at least I hope he did) I had to sit in front of the door with Matt, roll my eyes, and then decide to laugh about it....so I went and got the camera and took this picture....I said, Justin where are you and snapped the picture and this is what I captured...I couldn't have staged the shot more perfectly. You can tell he is smiling, one eye is in the hole in the door and the other in the hole in the broken lock mechanism! I eventually got him out after about 5 minutes and gently reminded him to not shut the door anymore. Then about an hour later I took a shower, shut the door (no I did not lock myself in) and then got out....realizing I just did what I told my child not to do....oh the mistakes we as parents make too, if only I would've remembered this before the incident of the locked bathroom door, or before Justin threw his mitt over the fence, or before Justin drew on the kitchen floor, or before Matt forgot to............ thank you Justin for reminding me, once again, that EVERYONE makes mistakes and EVERYONE loves to mess around with their siblings and it is OKAY NOT to be perfect!

The Beach House

We had a fun couple of days at the Lang's (Ben & Ashley's neighbors) beach house in Oxnard. Sam met up with us later, but we sure did miss Trent, Dan & Lauren, and Wally & Jan. This is a picture from the ocean of the beach house we stayed in (the umbrellas are up in front of it)....the backyard was the sandy beach. What a relaxing and fun time we had playing, talking, roasting marshmallows/s'mores, and just enjoying the view.

The crew before Sam came

I dug a huge hole for the kids and made them chairs in it. Then we got the hose and filled it with water...I got a nice sunburn while digging =)

Matt pulling Justin on the boogy board

Matt burying Justin
Thank you to the Lang's for letting us enjoy their beach house for a couple of days!