Friday, November 9, 2012

Pumpkin Patches Galore

The month of October was very busy for us.  We were all about the pumpkin patches this year.  We went with Mason's class, with my brother and his family, and there was one down the street from our house that we went to every chance that we got!  Here are some of the highlights: 


















Tuesday, October 16, 2012

The Beach in Santa Cruz

My sister lives across the street from the beach, so while we were there visiting, we spent the day sunbathing and swimming.  Being from San Diego, the boys were all too happy to be back at the beach!









The best way to enjoy the beach! :)




Santa Cruz

Last weekend we went to Santa Cruz to visit my sister.  We were only there for a day and a half and we wanted to make the most out of a short trip, so we decided to take the boys to the Boardwalk.  They have a lot of rides for kids and they got to ride on all of them!  I will let the pictures do the talking...













Sunday, September 30, 2012

Back to School

At the end of August Mason started Kindergarten, and the beginning of September Archie started Preschool.  They both love it.  Archie only goes 2 days a week for a few hours, which is plenty for him.  He actually cries before school because he doesn't want to go, but when we get there, he runs right in to class and doesn't look back. Mason goes every day from 9-3.  I thought that I would end up taking Mason out early every day because 9-3 seems like such a long day, but he never complains about it, and sometimes he even says that the day seemed too short and he doesn't want to go home yet.  Mason goes to a charter Montessori school that is just amazing.  There are no desks in the classrooms, which I love because I can't imagine making Mason sit in a desk all day.  There are different stations, or jobs, in the class and they can decide what they want to work on that day.  At back to school night Mason's teacher said that he is friends with everyone and I believe it because when I pick him up from school every girl in the class says, "Bye Mason!"  One day when I picked him up, a girl in his class said, "Mason, remind me tomorrow to play that game we were playing today."  I asked him what game they were playing and he said, "Oh, I pretend to be her puppy." LOL!



Archie on his first day of school.




Mason on his first day of school.  (Yes, they both chose to wear Angry Birds shirts).



One of Mason's first assignments in school.  Notice the colors?  He's color-blind like my father, but we (and his teachers) are mostly impressed with his amazing coloring skills.



We are so proud of Mason for getting an award at school on Friday.  Only a few kids from his class were chosen for awards.  His was for "Best Effort."  His teachers said he always tries his best, even when he doesn't know how to do something.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Car Show


 A few months ago we took the kids to the car show.  We were not expecting much, since we live in a small town, but let me tell you, this show was amazing.  At least four streets were full of every car imaginable.  Mason and Archie loved it!  Mason wanted a picture in front of every car, which made Archie want a picture in front of every car. 



The owner of this Model T saw the boys admiring his car, so he let them sit in the cab.  How cool is that?!



 One of Mason's favorites



We're impressed.




The coolest tow truck we've ever seen.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Swing!

Our new house has a huge oak tree with a rope swing! The boys would swing for hours if we let them. It's hard to tell in the pictures, but it has a little loop that goes around their butts, like a seat.


Mason says, "higher, higher!" the whole time, even if he is going way too high (in my opinion).



Archie always wants to go higher too, but I don't really trust him to hold on, so for a while he's staying close to the ground. :) That is our new house in the background. It used to be a barn. I actually really like it. It's really cozy and homey on the inside and our yard is amazing.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Little Tigers

A couple of weeks ago, our church was having a family fun day. The boys got to have their faces painted like anything they wanted. Mason chose a tiger and Archie chose a dog. Well, after Mason got his painted like a tiger, Archie decided that's what he wanted too. After the party, we went on a hike. The boys loved pretending to be tigers in the forest.



Mason dresses himself now. For church he always wants to wear something "handsome." I think he pulls off the look pretty well. :)



Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Our New Home

In mid-January we made the move up to the Sacramento area. We had been trying to decide for months where the best place to move our family would be. We kept driving up and down the California coast trying to make a decision. My parents had been talking for a while about this area and how beautiful it was. We decided to take a look at it for ourselves and completely fell in love with it! It is so beautiful and green and what you can get for the money is just amazing! So, here we are on our own little 15 acre soon-to-be ranch. :) The boys absolutely love having all of this land to run around on. On the days when it isn't raining, we go out exploring. We have been having so much fun!


Mason loves climbing on the big boulders on our property. Behind him is our little house and a horse arena and barn.



Look at that view out our back door! We found a horseshoe set at a garage sale and it is our new favorite pastime.


Notice the binoculars Mason likes to bring on his explorations. :)