I Can Fly!

Caught ya!

Cameron's gallery

Cameron has created a gallery of priceless artwork in this room. His goal: to cover every inch of open wall space with his masterpieces. I had him give us a tour of his "gallery" so you could get a taste of his work. I ran out of memory at one point so I did a second video to capture the end.

Our Thanksgiving

We went to Hesperia and enjoyed a nice meal and visiting with Derrik's aunt, uncle and cousins. I have been blessed not to cook a turkey or host Thanksgiving for the last few years and I love it!












The boys had fun with a cousins daughter (second cousin?) Noa. There was a stuffed horse there that kept the boys busy for the longest time!



We came home with a few leftovers and Friday began decorating the house for Christmas. For dinner, we had our own Thanksgiving! I'll post more on the decorations and decorating committee later! :)

Wanna play?

Ah, my patient husband. One day, when the boys are grown and gone, you can read to your hearts content. Until then, there's a little boy sitting on your head that wants to PLAY!

Bridge Smashing

The older boys are a part of a Wednesday night boys 'club' at church. They occasionally have projects to do and participate in competitions. Well, this time it's bridges out of popcicle sticks. They had to construct a bridge and then it would be tested against weight to see how much power it could stand without breaking. Ethan's broke under 126 pounds. Cameron decided not to smash his - he's enjoyed creating it and didn't want to see it smashed.

Knights from Narnia

We went to a birthday party a few weeks ago that was in a Prince Caspian-Narnia theme. The boys were thrilled to dress up!

Ashton was a bit bored with the whole thing and was looking for a place to catch a nap. It's been a long time since I've had someone sleep on me! We had to get a photo of that.

Singing weekend

The older boys sang in church this weekend with their choirs. Cameron with the 1st graders and Ethan with the 3/4th grade choir. They enjoyed dressing up (we typically dress down for the Saturday night services). I'm not directing this year but just helping out. It feels REALLY good to just be on support. I was on camera with Derrik and Ashton saving seats. This is Ashton's new thing: "squint when Mommy gets out the camera 'cause it's gonna be real bright when the flash comes!"

A Clone, Mutt and a Scarecrow

Halloween '08 was lots of fun!

Ethan was a clone from Star Wars,

Cameron was Mutt Williams from Indiana Jones,

and Ashton was a scarecrow.

We went up to church again for the Harvest Festival they have there and then gathered candy from the Trunk-or-treat.

We came home with a good amount of candy and were very tired from all the excitement!

The Carving

"Welcome to the place that you can carve a pumpkin. Go!"
Cameron is the sign-maker of the family!

The older boys loved the goopy insides too much!

Ashton just enjoyed stacking the little ones into a tower.

Ethan was the only one who got a big enough one to carve.

Cameron prefered to get several little ones to draw on.

Pumpkin cookies for dessert!

Red-heads

The boys celebrated red week at school last week (Say No to Drugs week) and Friday was put something red in your hair day. We picked up some red spray and voila! I guess they both touched it at school and came home with red hands. The first thing Ethan said when he got home was, "I'm taking a shower!" We're gearing up for Halloween Friday! The boys have the day off school so we'll be watching the clock waiting for candy time!

Pumpkin Patch

We went back to Lombardi Ranch on Sunday and picked out some pumpkins. This is the same place that burned last year. We were glad to see it up and running again!



Yes, Cameron misplaced his glasses again this week but I'm happy to report they've been found!

Swinging into fall

We have officially entered fall here. It brings cool nights and warm days. It's a nice change from the heat. It also bring the Santa Ana winds and fire season. We visited the park Sunday and I got some swing photos.

Aquarium of the Pacific

We went to Long Beach on Friday and visited the Aquarium of the Pacific. It was fun! We had lots of fun looking at all the fish and other ocean life. While the trip there took us only an hour, the trip home in Friday evening traffic took us 2 1/2 hours!! Lots of togetherness!! Here are some highlights....

Derrik and the boys study the fish in a tank at the entrance

Me and the boys on a play ship outside

Cameron riding a fish

Ethan touching a sting ray - minus the sting

Ashton loved watching the sea lions swim, he just thought they were sharks. "Hi sharks" over and over again.

Emeril in training!

I put Ethan to work this week helping me cook dinner. Here he is browning some meat for speghetti. Good practice for later in life? I hope so. Don't look at Derrik in the background eating and making our garlic bread. :)

Sleeping, sleeping, sleeping

Just looking at these make me sleepy. It must be time for a nap!

Day for Kids event

We attended the Day For Kids event at the park yesterday. All the food and rides are free. My work had a booth there so I was there helping connect parents and kids with our program. Most of the pics are of Cameron because Ethan got a tummy ache after eating so much and going on spinning rides. He felt better a little later and ate some more before going on more rides! Ugh. Cameron loves getting his face painted, so we did that as well.

Padawan learner

Ashton began his Jedi training this week after watching his brothers act out various scenes from the Star Wars movies. Without any coaxing, he picked up a light saber and engaged Ethan in a duel! We're so proud!