A Visit With The Cousins

The Crosbies came for a visit from Utah. While they were here, the kids enjoyed playing and swimming...a lot! Here are a few pictures from the visit...

This is one of my favorite shots from their visit... Poor Rudy had no idea what would happen when jumped up on the diving board. Amy sure gave him a good bounce!

Karate, Swiming, and Painting

This summer, we signed the boys up for some classes through the Parks and Rec Department.

They did some karate...

Gabe practiced on the dummy.

Will let the dummy have it.

But, in the end, Will and the dummy were friends.

Gabe practiced his rolls and falls.

Will decided rolling with just one arm was the best way to do it.

"Tiger growls" were fun...and loud!

I caught both of them doing a little "picking!"

And some painting...

Will was deep in artistic concentration.

Gabe opted for the ambidextrous method.

And Will took swim lessons...

Will loved swimming lessons and is looking forward to going again next summer!

Shaved...

As cute as our little fluff ball Rudy was, he needed a haircut!

I decided I could probably do it myself. I prepared for the worst case scenerio (I imagined a frightened puppy doing everything possible to get away from the clippers.). But, I worried for no reason! He was a perfect puppy! He was so relaxed you would have thought he was getting a massage!

What I wasn't prepared for was just how much fur he had...it just kept coming off of him! I got a little nervous when it came time to do his face. I ended up taking him to PetSmart and having them do his face and feet. I wished I had just done it myself, because when I got him home I ended up cutting even more off of him. Oh well! Atleast I know I can handle it all on my own next time!

Not too bad for a first time dog groomer!

A Day At The Beach

I've been wanting to take the boys to visit my cousin, Rondi, in Santa Cruz for awhile. It had been awhile since we've been to the beach and again, I decided it was now or never! So, I loaded up the boys and away we went! We had a great time! We were able to spend time with my Aunt Vinda, Rondi, and baby Banyan.

Aunt Vinda took the boys down to the water...

Sam wasn't too sure about the sand and water...

Hmmm, I don't think he liked it too much!

Will loved digging in the sand.

Gabe was anxious to build a sand castle.

Sam decided that the water and sand weren't too bad!

He also decided that the piece of seaweed he's holding made a great toy! He held onto it the whole time we were there!

Sam over saw the construction of Will's sand castle.


He also gave Gabe a few building tips.

Gabe looking for dolphins (we did see several very close to the shore!).

Baby Banyan...doesn't he have the most gorgeous eyes?!

11 Months

Mr. Sam is now 11 months old. It's hard to believe that it is almost time for his 1st birthday! I've been thinking about changing his name to "Trouble"...he is into everything! We put the pack-n-play up in the family room so I have a place to contain him for those times when I can't watch him.

Viewing the world from his cell.

He LOVES his push toy...his little faces lights up at the sight of it! He pushes it everywhere, often chasing his brothers. If he needs to change directions, he'll pick the walker up and point it in the right direction. He has taken a few steps on his own, but usually chooses to crawl. So, if he really wanted to he could walk.

Check out those thighs! (And this pictures doesn't do them justice!)

Chasing his brothers!

He still eats anything. He loves tomatoes and watermelon are his current favorites. The other night he kept asking for more kidney beans (Gabe was afraid the kidney beans would give him kidney stones!). Apparently, he likes red foods best!

He doesn't have any "real" words yet, but we do hear "uh-oh" quite often - usually as he's dropping food off of his highchair (Rudy is a big fan of Sam being in the highchair!). Sam is obviously getting pretty tall. He steals things off the kitchen table and has discovered door knobs!

I was helping the olders boys with something when suddenly we saw him trying to steal the phone off the table...little stinker!

"Do All The Mom Stuff" Day

This morning, Gabe declared that it was "Do All The Mom Stuff" Day. Well, I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth! I put those boys to work! In addition to scrubbing toilets, they dusted, picked up, vacuumed, and emptied the dishwasher. It was marvelous!

Scrub-A-Dub!


I think this might become a regular chore for them!

It didn't take too long for them to become bored with all the "mom stuff", so we did some fun kid stuff too...

They invented things...

Will figured out how to make a flashlight!


We did some math.



We ended our day by blowing some bubbles.

I'll take a "Do All The Mom Stuff" Day any day! Thanks boys!!

4th of July

The 4th of July is always fun, it's not every day you get to basically take the day off to swim, hang out with friends, and light things on fire!

We started our day with some time in the pool...

Sam is pretty smart for his age...he's figured out how to get his brothers to pull him around the pool!

I think Sam and Rudy were plotting a sneak attack...

The gang

Mr. Sam - catching some rays.

In the evening, we headed over to our friend's, the Reyes', house. They are like family and we love being with them!

Trevor showed the boys how much fun it is to be under the trampoline!

Nothing beats a little summer sweat to style hair!

Sam, contemplating the finer things in life.

Knowing Will wouldn't eat much ice cream, I asked that he get a smaller scoop...obviously by the look on his face he didn't agree with me!

Sam, was quite grateful to be the recipient of Will's leftovers!



And this is the look we got when the ice cream ran out!

Gabe watching fireworks through 3-D glasses.

Sam loved the fireworks, he applauded all night long!

Sparklers are always a big hit!


Jen showing her Sam the magic of sparklers.

Will had so much fun that he burst into flames! We'll have to keep closer tabs on him next year!