Irvine is so well maintained that sometimes it's hard to get your hands dirty. Fortunately, just in time for St Patrick's Day the lawn mowers came along. The boys scurried out to rake up the cut grass before the workers could come and blow it away. They had a great time while they turned completely green.
Sam also made a great find at the beach! Take a look.
Sam and Simon both caught a fish or two on the pier with the aid of a kind seasoned fisherman.
A classic quote, "Disneyland? No! Can we just watch a movie instead?"
Darth Vader made of legos at Downtown Disney. Turns out you can make some pretty incredible things with legos. Just take a walk through the store if you don't believe me.
Simon was fascinated with a nearby family who were burying one of the kids in the sand. He instantly wanted to do it too. After I completed the job I had to laugh. He looked just like The Gingerbread Boy who would hop up and run away at a moment's notice.
Looking for creatures in the rocks.
Dressing up is a favorite pastime around here.
Sam lost his first tooth! He likes to show off the gap. He decided to hold onto the cherished tooth for an extra day or so before he handed it over to the tooth fairy.
The creation of the day. A beach teepee made with materials that had drifted up from the water. The kids had a great time playing inside.
Stomp rockets are a serious sport in this family.
Michael got to make his first spearfishing dive after waiting patiently to get his fishing license, the right surf, weather, and no last minute work phone calls.
Enjoying the spoils of the fishing dive. The boys especially enjoyed how they could manually move the fish's eye around.
Taking an air balloon ride was so much fun we had to do it twice in a row.
What could beat spending quality time with their family?
They got ready for Thanksgiving with a little role playing with cousins.
Discovered new things about various kinds of dinosaurs.
They also tried their hand at some farming skills. They both did very well getting the milk. Negotiations are now underway as to whether we should have our own cow.
The boys returned home feeling a new sense of togetherness. They quickly posted this sign on their door. It says: Simon and Sam olnlea. Mom and Dad Keep Out. Clost.
These boys have been doing incredible things!
Take this guy, for example. When he's not escaping from the ropes we tie him in (just kidding), he is potty training himself with almost no help from his parents. I'd been dragging my feet on this matter when one day Simon decided he was only going to wear underwear. He hasn't looked back since. He's done extremely well, even at night. After about 2 days he was an old pro with no accidents. Simon also takes to repeating each page of the stories I read to him, to commit it to memory I suppose. Later he reads the books aloud to anyone who would like to enjoy them. Himself especially.
And this guy has been reading whole books to himself, his parents, and his little brother. He likes figuring out what the signs say as we pass them on the road. Anyone seen Forget Paris with the elderly father-in-law? He also likes to go at mach speed on his two wheeler bike while making the appropriate sound effects to match his speed. These boys are superstars!
We had a great time with family visiting. We got to visit the pumpkin patch.
Went to Disneyland. This isn't exactly how you might picture it, eh?
Spent some time at the beach.
Riding ponies.
Comparing our hands and footprints at Graumann's Theater in Hollywood. I wonder if I should be concerned that my hand size was the same as Gene Kelly's and Tom Hanks. My children had the same hand size as many of the women, Rita Hayworth in particular.
Making silly faces. We love to hang out with our family.
