While the boys are at school....

What we do while the boys are at school...

Enjoy a nice quiet snack....

 Take pictures of ourselves....

 BEG mommy to take pictures with her phone...

 Stay in our pj's.....

 Dance like a pretty ballerina.....

 And go on field trips, to places like the Bugseum......

 And the Kern County Fair.....

we have lots of fun spending time together without all the craziness that sometimes comes from having older brothers.

First day of school! August 20, 2012

It's that time of year again! School has started. This time, Benjamin's a kindergartner and Andrew's in third grade! AHHHHHH!!!! I was very happy that they both got the teachers they wanted. So far it's been a GREAT YEAR!

Ben already for that first day. I was so nervous for him!

 Andrew being all 'cool' ready to go!

 They of course had to show off their backpacks.

 Andrew with Ms. Jallo. He was SO excited to get her as his teacher. She used to teach kindergarten and several friends had had her. I'm very happy with her, she remembered him from K even though he had a different teacher. AWESOME! She'll really know how to push and help him excel!

 Showing off his desk. Bob took Ben to his class and I forgot to ask him to take pictures. I will have to get some of Ben with his teacher sometime.

 Off to school on their own on day 2. ( we actually ended up following them to the corner where they met up with the Petersons and Millers.)

 And a week later when 'preschool' started for Sierra. She insisted on having her picture taken in front of the tree as well!

i think this is going to be a FABULOUS year. I'm so happy for their teachers and what they will learn! WHOO HOO!! Another year has begun and I'm fortunate to have kids who LOVE to learn and are EXCITED to go to school everyday.
Oh yeah, and look who thinks HE'S big enough to go to school too! Everyday, with out fail, when the boys get home, Daniel hauls Andrew's backpack around. And sometimes in the morning too. He will throw a fit if he has to give it up so that Andrew can go to school. LOVE this kid!

DANIEL'S 1!!!

Daniel's birthday was the day before school started. I felt so bad, I was so focused on getting the boys ready for the new school year, I felt like I was forgetting about him. Good thing it was only his

First Birthday.

We were able to celebrate with some friends who also have their birthdays the week before school started. Thanks Petersons and Millers!

 The bday cakes! Janna's fabulous at making yummy cakes. I made the #1, we actually didn't even eat it until later.

 There's a tradition of SCREAMING the happy birthday song. Daniel wasn't to sure what to think of all the noise.

 We let him "open" a present early, a little pool and slide combo. He and all the kids loved it! (now we didn't have to worry about him trying to get into the big pool!)

 Enjoying that birthday cake!

 We celebrated as a family on his actual day. The kids couldn't wait for him to wake from his nap so that he could open his presents!

 Then it was time to dig in to HIS cake! What a MESS!!

Happy Birthday Daniel! You are SOOOO much fun! I can't believe how happy you are! What a joy you are to our family. Always making us laugh with your antics and driving mommy crazy climbing on everything!
We Love you Daniel! it's been a fun year! can't wait for many, many more.

Imaginary friends

Today while Sierra and Daniel were playing in Sierra's room I decided I'd go in and sit in the rocking chair to read while they played. WRONG! I was quickly informed that grandma was sitting there and that I needed to leave. Well, ok then! She continued to play with her grandma and grammy for quite awhile. Getting mad if Daniel tried to climb in the rocking chair, I then informed her he only wanted to sit on her lap. When he got done, she proceeded to climb up with a book do that grandma could read to her. SO sweet that her imaginary friends are her grandma and grammy!

Another Splash Park

Just before school began, we hit another splash park. I really liked this one because there was actually

 some shade! 

Daniel colors!

What else is there to say! He got ahold of the chalk and this is what I found :)

oh yeah, and he has this way cute little white bum!

Daniel's first taste of ice cream

Just before Daniel turned 1 we gave him some ice cream. He LOVED it! I was surprised at how little of a mess he made.

Painting Fun

Sierra decided that she loves to paint.

Ben decided to get in on the action too!

Ice Blocking!

Just a little fun Ice Blocking with the youth.

Brrrr that first dip

Mid March is about the time we take that first dip into the pool while daddy cleans it. It's still pretty chilly, but the kids are excited!  Especially Ben, he's the one who gets right in and plays on the big step.

 Andrew's a little more hesitant

 BRRRRR it's COLD

 There they go! All got their feet wet

Andrew plays BBall

We were able to find a great league for Andrew to play on this year. He LOVED it! They really did it up for these kids. They had the lights out and music playing then had them run through the "tunnel" as their names were announced.

 Andrew with his team. He ended up on a team with only 6 boys. They rotated every quarter, 3 in the first half and 3 in the second half. Each boy only had to sit out once. It worked out PERFECTLY!

 Some action shots!

 This is how Sierra watches Andrew play Basketball.