Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Halloween

Halloween was only a short 6 months ago...  Here goes the continued attempt to catch up!

Petting Zoo
When we lived her previously, we had taken the boys to the petting zoo and they had a great pumpkin patch set up with lots of activities for the kids.  This year, not so much.  They set it up inside the petting zoo, so you had to pay admission to the zoo as well as extra money for the pumpkins.  We left without any pumpkins, but tried to make the most of the situation.

Matt the Cat


I love how Jonathan sticks his whole head through these things!


They hopped in the wagon with the creepy guy!


The "pumpkin patch" they had...


Mining for gold with Daddy!




The train ride, which Matt is getting a bit big for these days!


For some reason the guy running the train ride that day decided that our boys didn't look like they took up enough space, and insisted a little boy that begged for the engine should sit with them.  Needless to say, Jonathan was hanging out the side and Matt wasn't quite on the seat.  Don't understand why everyone can't wait their turn, or as Matt always says, "you get what you get and don't throw a fit".  They didn't seem bothered after the initial squeeze in, so Nick and I just bit our tongues.



Library Time
The first trial at the costumes this year came in the form of story time and a show at the library.  Jonathan stood his ground and wanted to be a pirate, again, so I just patched up Matt's old costume that had found a place in the playroom.  Matt was another story.  He wanted to be Perry the Platypus.  We put our heads together and I have to admit, we make a good team!  The beak even moved when he talked.  Can't beat that!

Here's Matt sitting with one of his friends from school.


This was the only pic I could get of Jonathan that afternoon.


A friend had seen this house and told us about it, and we just had to see it for ourselves.  So, on our way home from the library, we drove by to take a look.  It was amazing, with details everywhere.  The boys were impressed!


Did Someone Say Carnival?
Another day of costume events!  First stop, Jonathan's school carnival/picnic.  The boys played around on the playground, ate, and played some more.


Later that afternoon, Matt's school had it's first Halloween carnival.  It was amazing and apparently a big hit as a fundraiser for the school!


They had businesses and families do some trunk or treating.  This was the favorite among many of the kids, especially ours!


There were carnival games, graciously run by some of the older students at the school.  They did a great job!


Perry engaged in many games!


They were so excited I gave in and said yes to one portion of candy.  The beak went wild with the milk duds!  It was great!



Angry Pumpkins!
The next day, we had to recreate the Angry Birds pumpkins for our own porch.  The boys were so excited!




Painting Continues
They weren't done painting when we were done with the pumpkins, so out came the watercolors!






Trick or Treat
Halloween night, Matt's (and now Jonathan's) good friend Jonathan Wood came over to Trick or Treat with us!  Agent P and The Ninja had a blast!


Earlier that afternoon, Jonathan had an allergist appointment and he reiterated the importance of being aware of his peanut/nut allergy.  So, at each house, Jonathan ran up and stated, "I can't have no nuts, no peanuts!"  It was great timing and most of the neighborhood knows the little pirate has a few allergies!


The boys had a blast running from house to house.  It was hard to stay with the group of neighbors and we ended up finishing way ahead of them.  Fine by me, we had a bit less candy to deal with as well!



She and Jonathan dug around making sure he got the nut free candies!


A couple of snacks in the garage were in order after the walk around the 'hood.




Halloween was full of activity and the boys loved it all!  I think we had some fun in it all too!










Sunday, April 22, 2012

Blimps? Did you say blimps?

Through Juniors, I signed the family up for the FAM walk, along with many of our friends.  The boys were not happy with me as we did the 2 mile walk around downtown San Clemente, until we stopped for ice cream on the return to the start of the race.  The boys received swag bags and balloons, so it ended well for them!  

The balloons were full of helium and on day 2 the boys decided they wanted to make them into blimps.  The balloons were hovering a bit and no longer floating to the ceiling, so it just made sense.



Here's Matt's finished product!  He was so excited to put the flag on it, and attempted several different "people" (including Legos) in the bottom, but the balloon wouldn't stay afloat.  He had a blast with it for a few days while it would still take flight.




Averey's Birthday!

Way back in October, we went to Jump 'n Jammin for our neighbor's 4th birthday party.  It was great, just a few of her friends from the neighborhood, the parents paid everyone's admission and there were cookies as favors.  No party room, no maze of people the family didn't know, and no over the top stress of party planning.  I have to admit, the simplicity of the day was great!  We ended up joining the family at Farrell's for dinner and ice cream before heading home.  The blowout birthday parties are going further back in my mind as time goes on.  I think this may have been our last year for those.  Now to break the news to our boys once planning hits for next year!

The boys had a blast playing with their neighbor friends!  The bounce house became the haven for the older kids in the bunch.



Jonathan had fun throwing balls around the place, and especially at Averey's daddy!



Yes, those are spider webs above their heads.  Remember, I am WAY behind and it was October!  Here's the gang from the 'hood.


Wednesday, February 15, 2012

More Soccer!

Yes, it's February and I'm not to Christmas yet. So, it seems silly to drag out a soccer season that has long since passed. Here are some more photos of Matt's fun on the field last season!

He LOVED playing goalie. He didn't have to be aggressive and chase the ball. He could hang back and wait for everyone else. He could use his long kicks to get the ball away. Maybe that's why he volunteered just about every time!


Love this action shot!


He played soccer in our street just about every day we would grant him permission to "go out front!" He just couldn't stop and would do it whether he had on tennis shoes or his Rainbow sandals. He just wanted to kick the ball around. Love his passion!

Viva Las Vegas!

We went to Las Vegas with the boys to visit some friends and attend their baby shower. Some of our good friends from Texas were able to fly in and join us for the shower. It was great to at least see some of the old Galveston crew during our time there.

We went to Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay with the boys one afternoon. It might be our last aquarium visit for a while. Matt seems to enjoy some of the experiences, and remembers it well. However, while he's there, he constantly says he's ready to go.


The interactive stuff typically gets them both!

Acting unhappy!



They climbed up on this box and looked like they were about to dance a jig. Cracked me up!

But the shark hat had to be the highlight! Unfortunately this was the best shot I could get.

Friday, February 03, 2012

Miramar

In October, we took the boys down to Miramar for the annual air show. We prepared and brought ear plugs with us as well.

We started our experience that day with a shuttle from the car to the air show. The first thing we did once there was walk into a cargo plane. Apparently I overdid the sunscreen a bit right before this picture. Matt asked me why I was so shiny!

Smiley Matt!

Ear plugs, sun glasses and a soft pretzel anyone?

The planes and maneuvers were amazing!


It was over the top sunny and hot that day, but we had a blast with close seats to enjoy seeing all the military does with amazing aircraft.


The boys got to climb into a police helicopter!

A closer view of the cool dudes in the helicopter!


Hey, Mommy, look at our cool moves!

Watching more planes fly by as we head closer to the parking lot.