First Day of School

Today was the first day of school for Elizabeth and AJ. Well, AJ is scheduled in a 2 year old room that has a learn through play philosophy (I'm sure he doesn't have a problem with this). Both kids were excited to go and there were no tears shed and we had to pry the good-byes out of them. I'm sure this year will be a lot of fun for the both of them and I know I am glad to be back in a school year schedule.

Photoshoot

Well - Jacob had his first modeling shoot this weekend for Out Of The Bleu. We were in the studio for a little over an hour and he did good for the majority of the time (despite the fact that he did pee on her rug - but she did want him naked). These are just a few of the photos that were taken and I think they turned out really well.

Labor Day

We went down to Orange County for Labor Day to spend some time with my family and celebrate my Dad's 55th birthday ( a little early). My brother drove up from San Diego and my uncle and cousins were there as well. We all had a great time!

The kids helped Pappy blow out his candles on his birthday cake.

My cousin, Erin, got her first surf board. She went surfing with all of the guys every morning that we were there. From what I understand, she is pretty good and is going to be a pretty good surfer. Way to go Erin - you give those boys a run for their money!

My cousin, Wes, cracked us up with his antics the whole time we were there. He was so good with the kids and found a new buddy in AJ.

My brother, Dave - well what else can I say about him?

As hot as it was, the kids enjoyed a lot of time in the pool trying to keep cool. They both enjoyed washing Pappy's seashells that he collects while surfing.

Of course you can't have some outside time without some swinging involved. I think Jacob just enjoyed sitting back and taking in all of the activity that was going on around him.

Finally, before we left, we got a picture of my parents with the kids - we haven't had one since Jacob was born.

Oh yeah - did I mention that I broke my nose and busted up my knees?

They have the look!

I took these pictures a couple of days ago and realized after the fact that my kids appear to be on opposite ends of the personality spectrum if you base it off of their looks in these pictures.

future goth?

future bookworm?

Ready, Set, Go!

Oh, how fun a slide can be! Every evening we make our way over to the park for the kids to play. On this occasion, the kids decided to slide tandem. They were having so much fun - it was great to see them all laughing!

For The Love of Spaghetti

Needless to say, we have introduced Jacob to spaghetti and he LOVES it. I am not sure how much he actually gets in his mouth but he screams for more if he runs out of noodles. He has now started to scream in delight if he sees noodles of any kind. I guess noodles are a staple of childhood and now I officially have three that wouldn't live without them.

Super Cool

This morning we all decided to veg in our pj's for a little while. Of course Jacob decided he was going to motor around and play for a little bit. I decided I was going to clean out the diaper bag and found his sunglasses and hat so I figured the best place for me to put them was to be on him. I think he looks pretty cool, don't you?

The Fair

On Friday, after the guys got home from school, we headed over to the Antelope Valley Fair Grounds for the annual fair. Of course we took advantage of the night that military got in free. We partook in good carnival food and the kids enjoyed all of the sites - especially AJ with the tractors (of course I didn't get a picture of that though). At the end of the evening Sarah and I got to see Chris Daughtry in concert while the Daddy's watched the kids. We had fun and were very tired by the time we went home.

Jacob tried to enjoy his brother's melted snow cone that we had put into a water bottle - less messy that way!

Mike posing with his beer - you can't go to a fair and not have a beer, right?

This is the infamous Sarah - wife to Elizabeth's beloved Builder Dave - along with her daughter Grace. I think AJ actually has a little crush on her. He talks about her all of the time.

Elizabeth with the Antelope Valley Antelope.

I think the kids look a little tired - what do you think?

Big Accomplishment

I have been trying my hardest for the past several months to get my little man to hold his bottle. As much as I enjoy holding and cuddling him while he drinks, there are times it would be nice if he could just hold the bottle himself - free up a hand. Well, today he made that a reality for me. I am not sure what possessed him to do it - maybe it was being out with the big kids at the Jungle Zone. None the less, I am hoping that this trend continues until we are off of the bottles.

A Day At The Pool

Sunday we headed over to the Sonic Splash pool after days of promising the kids. We are so glad that we went, because come to find out they are closing the pools early this year (don't ask why they close in this heat) due to "lack of funding" and Sunday was the last day it was open. The funny thing was that there were only four other families there the whole time we were there so it was like having a private pool. Elizabeth and Jacob enjoyed there time floating around in the big pool while AJ spent most of his time sliding down the slide. The slide there is similar to what you would find in an amusement park - a lot of fun! I wish I could have gotten pictures of them swimming but holding Jacob in the pool limited my ability. Anyway, hopefully we will get some more swimming in at the indoor pool - the kids had a lot of fun!

Look at that cheeky grin! Is that a preview of the trouble to come?

Doesn't she look much older than four? It is starting to scare me how fast she is growing up!

AJ was taking a break from his sliding - I guess his blank stare is a good indication of how tired he was!

Daddy and AJ waiting their turn to go down the slide.