Popsicles and sun

We brought out the swimming pool again and then turned to popsicles to quench that late afternoon snacky feeling! Here's Matt enjoying his popsicle.

Finish your popsicle and grab the goggles and water gun! Isn't that what you would do?

Jonathan wanted to get in on the pictures!

Matt wanted to clap for Jonathan and decided to go tell Jonathan how "Jonathan excited about the pool, YEA!"

More clapping about Jonathan's (aka Matt's) excitement about the pool!

Practice at USC

We went on another one of our spontaneous morning road trips and went up to USC on Saturday. We had a blast. We happend to catch a football practice as well as band practice. We also sneaked in a bookstore visit so all of the boys had the necessary gear to make it through the upcoming football season.

Here we are enjoying the band practicing, waiting for one of Matt's favorite song.

More waiting for a favorite song!

While we enjoyed the band practice after shopping at the bookstore, Matt threw around his new football. He stopped in his tracks when they began playing a familiar song!

Jonathan dons his USC gear while playing before bedtime.

What's up?

Hey there!

Crazy Hair!

Just a little bathtime fun before a much needed big boy haircut!

Mommy gone crazy!

Nick was out of town for two weeks straight recently, and boy was it a bit crazy around here! I was hurting for something to do with the boys outside the house that wouldn't make all of us go crazier than we already were. We arranged to go to the petting zoo and back to Ruby's Diner with a friend from work and her son. Am I crazy trying to manage things with both of them for such an out of the ordinary trip, probably! But, we had fun in the end!

Here are the boys checking out the chickens!

Karissa and Matt fed the ponies some carrots.

It was a humongous undertaking to get into the area where the goats and sheep hang out. There were wild ones running loose in the gated area. After we corralled the loose ones, we went in with our basket full of carrots. They weren't as aggressive as when Nick & I took the boys a couple of weeks ago, but they were still crazy! Here's Matt walking by an unsuspecting goat on the ramp.

It's Matt!

I told Matt that the goats were eating "Haaaay!" and he went to serve them some!

Matt's friend Van rode the hay pony while waiting for the train ride. Matt didn't feel like partaking in either. We still have the token for the train ride for our next visit.

Matt almost lifted a Tootsie Pop from the store at the petting zoo because he wanted this mystery treat so badly. Here he is after his nap that day, partaking in his Tootsie Pop. He looked at me halfway through, saying "it gonna be chocolate in there". And then, after he was on his last of two or three bites, he looked at me and said, "it grumpy" as he tried to crunch into it. He cracks me up!

Trevino Firemen

At Matt's preschool they had a week long camp where they did special things every day. One day they had a therapy dog visiting all day where they dressed her up, fed her treats, and made all kinds of dog related crafts. Another day they had a bounce house they played in for about an hour! Matt's favorite day though was a trip to the fire station down the street.

Although it's blurry, I love this picture of Jonathan modeling Matt's hat!

Matt loved wearing his new fireman's hat.

Playtime before bath consisted of a fireman's hat for Matt and a school bus for Jonathan.

Since mouthing toys is his favorite thing right now, Jonathan decided to take advantage of Matt's school bus while he had the chance.

Baseball & Water?

When we can, we play out back after naptime while Nick grills up some dinner. I usually put out some foam mats for Jonathan and when Matt has his pool out, the play tent comes in handy to keep the splashing to a minimum off of Jonathan.

Jonathan was just hanging out with me while Matt played in the pool.

Matt decided to combine his two favorite things, the swimming pool and baseball!

Apparently pitching to himself got old, and he was urging Nick to pitch to him in this picture.

I don't know what this one was about, but his stance just made me laugh!

Orange County Fair

On the last day of the Orange County Fair, we made the last minute decision to head up to the fair with the boys. For such a spontaneous trip, it turned out great. We got there when the fair opened and left before the big crowds came. We were all worn out after our time there, but everyone had a good time!

Here's Matt on his first official ride. He's much more of a trooper with rides than I have ever been. He loved riding in the helicopter, but when he realized it was going to go up and not just around, he was a bit scared. He made it through and even asked for more rides.

Jonathan was having a bit of trouble taking his bottle with all of the distractions, but he had no trouble smiling with his daddy for a picture!

The things that only a daddy can get away with includes the biggest ferris wheel I have ever seen. Nick talked Matt into riding it with him. Jonathan and I waited safely on the ground while they rode on the giant ferris wheel.

Here was their view of the fair from about midway up the ferris wheel.

One thing about fairs is the love of gluttony! You see foods you would never see anywhere else, including quantity, anything fried, and some really strange combinations! Here's an example of the crazy quantity you see. Check out that grill!

Chicken AND waffles, a winning combination. Check out the "Totally Fried" section on the left. Everyone needs a fried White Castle burger, not to mention a fried Twinkie! We didn't try any of them, although I was curious what they might taste like, but my better judgment kicked in!

This booth had EVERYTHING you ever wanted fried! I just can't believe the variety all at one stop. You can have a whole fried meal and a heart attack at the same booth!

An Afternoon of Trains!

Our friends had recently taken their son on a short train ride up to San Juan Capistrano and it sounded like fun, so we got the crew together, called up our friends, and rode down to the train station. The plan was for Anna & me to take the babies up to the next station and meet the boys for dinner while Matt & Nick rode the train along with Waylon & Aaron. The plan worked out, and the bonus was, we got pictures!

Here we are waiting at the station. Notice Jonathan fully looking at the camera! Matt was still convinced he didn't want to ride the train, and that it would be "too loud, Mommy!"

Matt was still a little leery about the plan, but he was looking down the tracks for the train while Jonathan and I made goofy faces at each other.

We're looking for the train while Jonathan smiles for the camera! He cracks me up!

The boys were preparing for the train to arrive. Matt & Waylon still look a bit skeptical of the whole plan, but Nick & Aaron smiled through it all!

I think the train might be coming!

Now he's looking over his mommy's big head to see the train. Apparently I was in his way!

Choo choo!

So he was right, it was a bit too loud for him at first. Notice Jonathan looking for the camera, pacifier and all!

Since the boys just rode up to the next station, it took Anna & me a bit to get up there. The boys walked over to the petting zoo near the station and peeked through the fences at all of the animals. Luckily the petting zoo was closed so their daddies didn't have to say no when they asked to go in.

Waylon and Matt made friends with the pig.

Because the petting zoo was closed, so was the road. The boys chased each other up and down the road, looking at everything along the way.

Apparently they took turns chasing each other.

After Anna & I got there, we were able to corral the gang and go eat burgers at Ruby's diner. They had a train going along the ceiling which kept the boys quite entertained during lunch.

There was a big train over the booths, along with the tracks on the ceiling.

Waylon & Matt look a bit more trusting of the fun afternoon!

The kids' menus turned into boats and the boys were given stickers to put on the boats too. They had too much fun!