Full of Hot Air

One of my favorite times of the year has came and went, the Balloon Festival! We got up extra early so we could get in the cinnamon roll line before the rush (so I wasn't standing in it while the balloons were being blown up). Our plan worked! We were third in line, ate our super......yummy.....country fair cinnamon rolls, and went to watch the balloon set up. I love this tradition, and the memories we create together as a family. I remember going with my Dad, and now I know the importance of wholesome recreational activities. I am learning to love these times and take advantage of them while I have my boys at home. They are gone (sometimes) quicker than I want. I am also thankful for a hubby that comes along too!

                                                                       

 

September 2012

 

 

                                                                    September 2005

        (Pregnant with Max & Jesse)

                                                                        Damien is 6

Loosing Teeth

So we started off the month of September with loosing some teeth. Jesse had a wiggly one for a really long time and the day came that it was ready to come out, so we waited for Dad to get home (since he is the fearless teeth puller) and out. it. came! Then Max (seeing Jesse doing a happy dance that the tooth fairy was going to come and give him money said, "hey what about my loose tooth?") So, Max assumed the position and Dad pulled out his tooth too!! Max and Jesse have done a lot at the same time in their young lives as twins, now we can add losing a tooth to that list.

A New Year

August as we all know means school starts! 

Max and Jesse started the the First Grade 

and Damien starts 8th Grade. 

I like to make breakfast on the first day instead of the usual cold cereal and milk. This year I did something different and made smiley face pancakes. Well, no one was smiling when I presented my work of art, Max and Jesse pushed their plates away and said, "we like to eat the yummy food at school." Thankfully they ate them when they came home from school later that day. Should have known better. They insist on me taking them to eat breakfast at school. Damien would have appreciated my efforts, since he dislikes school food.

My big first graders! 

One of the bonuses of having twins, both start the same grade at the same time! No having to wait a year or so for the other kid to start. Love having all day to get things done by myself, and that includes coupon shopping in PEACE! 

Max has been a trooper. No tears. Loves playing on the big playground.

 Jesse has had a bit of anxiety starting first grade. His best friend is in Max's class and that has made things hard. He has shed lots of tears. It's hard to drop him off when he is so sad and doesn't want to go.

Both made pledges at school to graduate high school and got a sticker. 2024 seems a long ways away! 

As for Damien, he graduates in 2017!

Looking forward to going to Back to School night, meeting their teachers and seeing how much progress these 2 make this year. I've already been to Back to School night for Damien. One of his electives is Engineering and Drafting. In his computer class one of the things he gets to do is design an app. Pretty cool! He is in Algebra 1 and Spanish 2. No football this year. He is holding out for wrestling season. Sure missed sending him off on his first day of 8th grade.

Time to Ourselves

Last year Mike and I signed up to be drivers to take the Youth to Cambria for a 2 1/2 day Youth Conference. Since we had so much fun we told ourselves, that if we were able to get a sitter next year, we were signing up again! As luck would have it, we were able to secure a sitter (check) Mike took the time off of work (check) and we reserved a hotel, the same one we stayed in last time in Morro Bay (check check)! (We really didn't want to have to stay on the camp grounds with the Youth and sleep in separate cabins). What kind of fun would that be? Our getaway started off a bit bumpy with a brief visit with the CHP in Kings County, and me having a hard time missing Damien, and with the unexpected visit with CHP. Thankfully things began to look up as our trip progressed. Once we dropped the Youth off at their camp, we were GONE! While the weather was 100+ in Fresno we were enjoying weather in the 60's maybe 70's.

Needless to say the weather was GREAT! Clear sunny skies!

Sand, lots of walking and flip flops do not mix :(

We had fun exploring, and doing whatever we wanted without kids!

We spent lots of time at the beach. Our first night we stayed and watched the sunset. 

Morro Rock

Honey + Baba = love

The cute little Hotel we stayed in

The Youth we had in our car were great. (Thank goodness)! We packed lots of food so we didn't have to eat out a lot. We were so dedicated to not eating out, we brought milk and cereal for breakfast.  We planned to splurge on dinner our first night and salt water taffy. We were like kids in a candy store and spent $20 on candy! After watching the sunset, we warmed up with some hot chocolate. As I said in a previous post, I was very happy to stay on top of the Olympic coverage when we returned to our Hotel at night!  Mike loved having cable and being able to channel surf, watching multiple shows/movies like the good old days when he had cable. I enjoyed spending this time with my Honey. These past couple of months have been hard, and to do things like this are much needed to keep our bond strong.

Articles of Faith

In Primary the kids are asked to memorize the Articles of Faith. About a month ago I decided Max and Jesse should be old enough to start doing this. So each night before we read Scriptures, we practice. Max and Jesse already had the first 2 done, we just needed to do it together with them to help the process. Since we took on this challenge they have passed off 8! Almost one a week. On Sunday, after Primary is over, they recite the memorized Article of Faith to the "Article of Faith Specialist", they get a star by their name on a chart, and a candy. So far Max and Jesse are memorizing them at the same pace, thankfully. The competition is fierce! They cry if one gets it and they don't. They want to make sure they get that coveted candy on Sunday too! In the end, when they memorize all 13, they get a huge, homemade, chocolate chip cookie that they were given strict instructions by those in Primary that they were to share with no one!

More Summer Fun

To add variety to our summer and still stay cool and not spend a lot of money, we go to the splash park. The splash park is great because you can chose if you want to play and get wet, or just play on the play structures without getting wet. So either way you are having fun and staying cool, on your own terms.  There are a lot of things that spin at this park so I have remind the boys to be careful how long they spin for, since our first trip to this splash park a year ago ended, well, lets just say, they spun TOO much after
eating :(

Jesse showing off that he lost a tooth. So far he has lost 4. 

And Dad just showing off :)

And it's always more fun when Dad comes too!