Newport- part 2

Zach (Jer's brother), Chuck (Jer's Dad), and obviously Jer and Brayden

Grandpa and the boys!

Here are the Hatch's taking a big group picture of us

He looks like he is about to spin a web on that hand!

Brayden scored these headphones for free at Huntington and they were a big hit!

bed dancing with cousin Zoe

The Hestands/Lees were also there the same time, just 2 beach houses away! Me and Jenna

Jenna, Kevin & Braxton

Jer's older sister, Mindy, Dave and Zoe

Cede and I

Mindy and Kosty

He LOVED standing over the fan!

On the ferry ride to Balboa island

this boy was OBSESSED with the sand. Every chance he got, he would lay/crawl/dig in it!he even loved making "sand angels"!

Newport- part one

Wow, another wonderful trip. No more diapers, no more naps to worry about, no night awakenings, and the boys were SO thrilled and loved every minute. Brayden of course, cried the last night because he didn't want to leave and return to "normal, boring life." Me either kid, me either. This year we rented a beach house with Jeremy's family and another family, friends of theirs/ours, The Hatch's. The Hatch's have 7, we had 4, Figgins had 4, and Mindy & Dave had 3. So yes, 18 people total in a 3 bedroom/2 bath beach house. Whoo! Luckily most of the 18 were teenage boys and didn't care to shower or ever be in the house ;) The boys did so good on the ride up and back, Brayden decided on his own that he wasn't going to ask, "are we there yet?" and was amazed at how fast it went. I surprised them with these little Dollar Spot Dr. Suess goodie bags on the ride up. This year we didn't do any theme parks, so it was simple, and pure bliss just to wake up and beach it all day.

Brayden loved the ocean so much, he would get in up to his neck every day, and when the waves would wash over him, he would jump up and give me a thumbs up! I was expecting it to scare the crap out of him, but he loved it. And he loved boogie boarding and digging for sand crabs.

Of course, with Huntington Beach 10 minutes away, we went there a few times. One of which was the US Open, and Brayden and Kosty scored a bunch of free stuff.

We bought this giant yellow shovel for Kosty and he named it "the shobel of fun!" He used it as a broom, a wand, to dig, and mostly as a walking stick. The shovel never left his side.

One day, Brayden, Cede, and I felt like an adventure, so we rode our bikes over to Via Lido island, a charming and fancy little place with beautiful homes and gorgeous scenery. Brayden thought these leaves were pretty cool, Cede and I thought they looked a little suspicious. He thought it was super cool that he rode his bike to his first 'island' visit.

All the ladies in the house went for our annual pedicures!

Kosty, Brayden, and Scottie Hatch

Kosty's favorite thing was to walk to the donut shop every morning, yes, EVERY morning.

Grandma, Zach, Brayden, Kosty & Scottie

The boys played a little night Frisbee

Kosty brought his Robin suit, and when he wasn't at the beach, he was Robin.

He loved standing over the fan so his cape would blow

He LOVED the sand, and being buried, and usually asked several times per day! And he liked to sit straight up for his burial instead of lay down, so that consisted of me digging VERY deep holes. And very often.

Nightly bike rides and walks to Jane's for treats

Every time they see a mannequin, they pose.

This is what the garage looked like with 18ish bike owners!

Kosty loved his shades! And wore them all the time after he learned they prevented sand from getting in his peepers!

He even wore them at night, and usually pulled his hoodie up too, Jer nicknamed him the Uni-bomber!

More to come...

first day of school

We got home from Newport on Friday night, and Brayden started school Monday. He missed "Meet the Teacher" night again, but on the plus side he always starts school looking adorably tan. I also love the blond highlights that frame his face every summer.

Brayden told me that he did not want to get Miss Phan for first grade. I hoped for the best, since there are only 2 first grade teachers. But sure enough, he got Miss Phan. He was a little disappointed because from what he did see of her last year, he gathered that she was "a little mean." And because he had a hard time last year, I decided to try to switch his teacher, to no avail. The principal didn't budge. I hate to be the parent that tries to switch her kid around but I just really want to have a tear free year. He went with a positive attitude, clinging to the hope that maybe one or two of his little buddies would be in his class. No such luck. Not one little buddy.

He had a good first day and decided that he really liked Miss Phan, as did I, but was sad to see all his friends in the other class. I am really impressed with his good attitude, though it hurts my heart just a little. And sometimes I wonder why things just can't work out the way we want them to!

slip n slide

I had it with the heat. I had it with the TV & turned it off. I had it with video games & turned them off. We were tired of library. And Chick Fila. And we were even tired of swimming. The kids were bored. I was even bored to almost to tears. So we went to Target and got a slip n slide and some water guns. Then we invited some of our neighborhood friends over. It got us out of the house, and gave us something to do. We went through over a dozen Popsicles and the kids had a good time. It even kept them happy for the next two days....but now we are back to bored.

So, today we kept busy by packing for Newport, we are leaving on Friday and we are ALL dying of anticipation!

seriously entertaining

Today while sitting on the couch being bums, an infomercial for the "Instyler" (hair tool thingy) came on. Kosty said, "do you like that?!!" and I said, "ya, it looks pretty cool." then he shouted, "then I will get it fo yu birfday!!!!!!!!! Now give me a paper and I will make a wist!"

then he scribbled something down on a piece of scratch paper, handed it to me abruptly, and shouted, "Here. Now take it to the grocer!"

I'm still laughing...

the 4th

We started off the day with swimming and a BBQ at the Figgins.

Jer wearing Kosty's special "goggles" (his 3-D glasses with the lenses popped out--not too effective)! Last year Kosty took swimming lessons and became a pro, he could swim all over the pool and loved doing cannonballs. This year, he seemed to forget everything he learned & became terrified of "going unda" and refused to do anything without floaties.

After about 3 hours of floaty swimming, Grandma offered him $5 to take his floaties off and swim across the pool. Sure enough, he did it. And then swam for 2 more hours with no floaties! We couldn't get him out. Phew, he's back to my good little swimmer.

Then we were off to Mesquite High for the fireworks...

Aunt CedeKosty wanted to reenact his exact facial expression and hands folded together as he did 2 years ago at the fireworks. He had been looking at the blurb book picture all week. So here it is.
(and here is the shot from 2 years ago he was trying to recreate)
He wasn't too sure about the volume.

Their most favorite part of the 4th every year is really the glow necklaces & bracelets.
While enjoying the show, Brayden asked, "are fireworks bad for our environment?"

indian in the cupboard

This is where he goes when he has complained about his dinner, or silverware, or bowl, or what the heck have you...then I say, "Take it or leave it." And as you can see he 'takes' it right into the cupboard and closes the door to eat. His prideful & hungry little self does not want me seeing him giving in.