Kyle's Preschool Class Beach Party!

Kyle will have his last day of preschool tomorrow. To celebrate, the kids from his class all went to the beach. They had such a fun time.

While the girls made pies and cakes with the sand toys, the boys ran and jumped in the water.

And Gavie was Gavie...running straight into the water over and over and over again! Starting swim lessons for this guy pronto!

Sheer joy and giggles.

My adorable littles!!

Can't believe Kyle is already through with preschool. So excited for summer though! He's been looking forward to a couple of fun trips and a big birthday!!! :)

Bonk!

One of Gavie's favorite things to do is bonk you on the head. He loves to bonk, say "Bonk!," and then sign "hurt" while saying "Oww!" Don't get him started unless you're prepared to bonk yourself out. His giggles make all the head butting worth it though. 

After the hundredth time, I got my camera out. We love how much he enjoys signing. He gets such a kick out of saying and signing everything he knows. 

"Owww!"

Giggle, giggle...

Rudy souped up this little beeper car in order to play firefighters.

Silly!

Dana Point, CA

After the busyness of report cards and packing up the classroom, we thoroughly enjoyed a mellow and fun weekend together. For a little change of scenery, we headed for Dana Point's baby beach. This part was inside the harbor and super shallow, calm, and surprisingly warm enough to swim. A perfect spot for the little ones. Both boys were so excited. 

The boogie board was at first used as a paddle board/surf board. Kyle got to work a lot on his balance while standing up.

Then, it became a version of the flying carpet we have at home called the "maker." (have no idea why!)

Rudy ran the boys all around the sand. Over and over and over. Surprisingly, Gavie stayed on for most of it.

A family next to us was so kind to share their paddle board with us. We all got turns to go out.

Kyle's crazy hair!

We finished off the day with a little fishing on the other side of the harbor.

The whole day was surprisingly easy and fun without whining or calamity. I guess the beach has a way of entertaining the kids well. :)

Gavin's 1st Haircut

I'm officially on summer break! Woo hoo! And that means, I'm going to try to do better at this journaling/blogging thing. Try is the operative word. :)

So here goes... About a month ago I decided to try my hand at giving Gav his first trim. He had a few adorable curls in the back that I just couldn't bear to clip away. But when the rest of the hair started to look a little scraggly and uneven and Rudy was asking me to cut it, I gave in. It seemed silly to take him in for a cut, but boy did I underestimate just how hard it would be to keep Gavin still. I had the brilliant idea (or so I initially thought) to let him watch a song he's enamored with while I snipped away. If you've ever seen Gavin dance to it, you'll know why that idea backfired. Gavie was bouncin' and rockin' away the entire time while I was trying so hard to cut the hair and not him! In the end, he got a decent, respectable new do. 

The Before:

The After:

Not perfect, but good enough... :)

It may just be me, but I see Gavin's Uncle Randy in these two photos. It's got something to do with the eyes and expression. Although, the bags under them are all mine... courtesy of Great Grandma Thune. :)

Turns out, we didn't have to say good-bye to the curl for long. There's a lot more movement showing with each passing day. 

Family from Illinois

Rudy's Great Aunt Carol and Uncle Doug were in the general area and made the much appreciated effort to come over and see us!!! You can't be with this family and not laugh and smile. :)

The boys took to them so quickly in part because they are just naturally good with kids and also because Aunt Carol reminded Kyle of his Grandma Sally and GG. Lots of family similarities that put Kyle instantly at ease. :) He left the restaurant saying, "She sounds like my GG," referring to her Chicago accent. Immediately upon seeing them, the hands start flying and the "Aaaaaay's" abound. Kyle loves it.

The boys had fun watching a video clip of their 2nd cousin once removed (or, we can just say, cousin!) who was singing and dancing.

We very much enjoyed our time with them and loved the connection to Rudy's side. Kyle is anxiously awaiting our future trip out to see them all. 

Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day! Thanks to my husband, kids, parents, and sister...I had a beautiful day today! Kyle's card from preschool had the cutest answers to various questions about his mommy. Apparently, I weigh 33 pounds, have a little bit dark hair, and am as tall as "my daddy's mommy." I also don't do that much during the day and my favorite thing to do is play and hug Kyle. ;) 

I should write a post with just the out-takes of this picture... Kyle had a fantastic time hamming it up for the camera. We were happy to get one picture out of the bunch! :)

Precious little fellas.

We had to get this picture to continue with the "picture on the bench" tradition. So crazy to compare this shot to years prior. The boys look so big.

Later in the day, we snapped a few more pics. This, ladies and gentlemen, is a true picture of motherhood... :)

My silly Kyle.

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms in our lives! :)

An Early Morning Hike with Momma

Last weekend the kids and I were flyin' solo. Ru was at a men's retreat and though it was super hot (100 degrees!) we got some much needed, outdoor adventuring done bright and early before the heat of the day. This place is in our local neighborhood and one of the reasons we chose to move to this area to begin with. It's been a lot of fun. We picked up some donuts (and a coffee for me) and headed up the hill. 

The boys would hold hands...

...and randomly stop along the way. 

My little adventurers! :)

It was a good sized hike and by 10am, we were all ready for a nap! 

Happy (belated) Easter!

"Good- morning" (at 5:45am!!), says Gavin. 

Kyle loved his Easter basket and Gavin enjoyed eating the goldfish crackers out of his.

After the baskets, we had a mini-devotional time, lit the "Jesus is Alive" candle, and sang a few songs (Jump Into the Light and This Little Light of Mine).

After church, we headed to my parents' house where Kyle and Gavin got to hunt for eggs. 

We had told Kyle to leave all the purple ones for Gavin. :)

Like usual, Easter was a hot day, so a dip in the mini pool was nice.

The boys later went out for some guy time in the 'stang and some baseball at a park.

Kyle loves the deep rumble the Mustang makes.

It was a special day, even if I'm 2 weeks late in blogging about it. :)