Big Bear

This has been the summer of small family visits.  On our recent trip to Big Bear we got to see Grandma Sylvia, Grandpa Ned, Aunt Susie and Uncle Daniel.  Bonus:  Nikki, Troy and Max were also there!  The boys got to play together again!  We had crazy weather, thunderstorms all weekend...it was FANTASTIC!  I got to take a walk on Sunday morning and all I could think about was how to bottle the fragrance of the air to bring it home.  Pine, cedar, sage, rain...so wonderful!  Jack of course had a wonderful time playing with everyone, Lauren loved showing off her new crawling skills to anyone who'd watch, and even Gracie liked playing with Ruby and Tazie.  We had some yummy meals and of course, enjoyed relaxing with cocktails and great conversation.  Another great weekend, indeed.

Lauren in her "skinny jeans" enjoyed using Auntie's lap as a trampoline!

Grandma, Grandpa and Ruby

Aunt Susie and Lauren getting some cuddle time before dinner.

Lauren is Crawling

Lauren turned 9 months old today. She is 27 inches tall (25%-ile) and weighs 14 lbs. 8 1/2 ozs. (5 %-ile). To celebrate she decided to finally crawl! Apparently she just never wanted something bad enough to crawl to it. That is until she saw Jack's Lightning McQueen toy on the living room floor while he was in his bedroom. It's all down hill from here, folks.

Nikki, Max and Gordon Ramsey?

The boys liked lounging in their bath robes with a snack and some Yo Gabba Gabba.

On Saturday night, Rob and I scored tickets to a taping of Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares at a Greek restaurant here in Ventura Harbor.  Double score, Nikki came up with Max to watch the kids while we went!  So we got all dolled up (how did we miss the opportunity to get a photo of us looking like adults?) and abandoned Nikki with three kids under the age of four.  Our dinner was about what we expected from watching his show...suffice to say we both could have sent our entrees back to the kitchen, but I actually did.  However, we had a great time anyway.  Our waiter was great, cocktails were strong and the pita with hummus was good enough to make an entire meal out of.  While we only got a distant sighting of Chef Ramsey, I was informed that he saw my food when I sent it back to the kitchen.  I hope my lamb makes the final cut of the show, because I sure couldn't cut it at the table!  The best part of the evening was sharing a few laughs and some one-on-one time with my wonderful husband sans cell phone!  It was practically a second honeymoon.

On Sunday morning we all had a nice breakfast and Nikki and I took the boys to the park while Lauren took a nice long nap.  What follows is only a few of the many wonderful photos of the boys playing together.  They have such an amazing time together and I love seeing how close they are becoming as cousins.  Hope your weekend was as great as ours.  And of course HUGE thanks to Nikki and Max for making up to see us.

Max on the playground

The boys "rolled" down the hill

Looking like twins :-)

Close as two peas in a pod

Jack chilling in the climbing tube

Million dollar smile

Watch out because here I come!

Fun in the tube slide

Weeeeeee!!!!!!

Twisty slide, here I come!

Woo Hoo!

Swingers

Max loved this new park

Batman

Jack got a new wall decal for his room...Batman!  It is on the wall over his bed and Spiderman in now on the wall near his dresser instead.  Jack was so excited to watch us put it up.  During our discussion, we mentioned that bats sleep hanging upside down and he was very intrigued.  Really?  How do they do that?  Why?  So we answered his questions and then went about our business.  Well, when Rob went in to tuck Jack in before we went to bed last night, this is what he found...

Our little boy was doing his best to "hang" upside down like a bat with his feet over the safety rail!  He was absolutely sound asleep when we took this photo.  Once we quit laughing, we rolled him over and covered him up.  That's one for the blog, for sure!

Mater Teeth

Dad gum, Dad gum!

I found a horrible lollipop type of candy at the market that has buck teeth like the character Mater in the movie Cars.  Jack of course LOVED it!  Here he is sporting his new Mater teeth.  Heck with college, we've started an orthodontic fund.

Life's a Zoo

What a gorgeous day in Santa Barbara, perfect for the zoo.  I took this shot of the elephant for two reasons.  #1- Rob loves the pachyderms and #2 to show how beautiful that zoo is!  What a perfect setting.  The hills on one side, the beach on the other, and perfect weather almost every day.

Lauren loved her day at the zoo.  It was  her second visit, but this time she was really able to soak it in.  She was silent, just staring intently for the entire time. The animals were OK, but all those people!  Especially little people who were stroller height.  She was in Heaven.  The only thing she didn't like was wearing her hat.  She pulled it off every time I put it on.  Thank goodness for sunscreen.  Most of the time she stayed under the shade on her stroller, pulling herself forward toward the snack tray, so she wouldn't miss a thing.

Jack is practically a professional "zoo goer" by now, but he was so thrilled to have Daddy join us this time.  They did everything together, nearly attached at the hip.  Jack was excited to share  his picnic lunch, especially the Pop Rocks candy that crackled and crunched in their mouths and then made them both laugh hysterically. 

We even got to watch the new kids' show on the lawn after lunch. And let me tell you, that dinosaur was so cool that Jack even hid behind Rob for part of the show, just in case it was real.

Counting Blessings

Is it possible that I NEVER posted this video on the blog?! It was all such a blur for the first few weeks, but I am shocked that this isn't on here. I'm sure we sent it to everyone via email, but just in case (and because we LOVE this and it makes us tear up every time) here it is. Isn't life amazing and aren't we blessed beyond comprehension?