Legomaniac

We are officially in the Lego phase. Parker has been "totally into Legos" (his words) and he is "so over trains". I always wondered how people could spend so much money on these little blocks, but after seeing him work for hours to create these little figures... I get it. For a kid that can easily get sucked into technology, I love seeing him use his imagination and create new things. We still only have a few of the little sets, but it's a fun new hobby for him. 

 These boys love dogs, and Emma is their favorite. She's so patient with them.

 We also celebrated Denise's b'day last week. Happy birthday! She's one of the most patient, optimistic, and service-oriented people I know. She's such an example to me, and I have loved living near her. So sad that after next week, who knows when we'll be back together. Sad.

The motherlode cake from Claim Jumper. This thing was no joke!

Go Blue!

Austin is ready for football season!

Backing up a bit...

I've been behind in blogging, as our move out of our apartment approaches. I'll be moving in with my folks, while Pete does his last 10 weeks of training, Naval Justice School. While the military pays for a company to pack us (yes!), I still have had to go through and organize, group items together, clean out, and clean (yuck!). Nonetheless, I know we'll be glad once we are settled at my parents home.

A few weeks ago I went to see Les Miserables atop Mt Helix. Over ten years ago, I did two musicals at this magical ampitheatre with Christian Community Theater. It's a great group, that puts on really professional shows. I was lucky enough to have Ryan and Chloe babysit (they even offered to come earlier than I needed them, to fit in all their activities. So off I went with Pernel. It was a chilly night on the hill, but the show was great, and while the musical is very depressing, the music is some of the best musical theater has to offer. Fun night out.

 And somehow, Ryan and Chloe always get the cutest pics of my boys. Choo choo!

Movie in the park, pt 2

Two more pics I found from our movie night in the park. So fun!

Coronado beach day

Parker is hilarious. His new way of breaking bad news to me is to say, "Mom, I have good news and I have bad news..." Usually the good news is that he loves me, but then the bad news varies. Haha. Good way to prep me for the news. 

Saturday morning we went to Coronado with Ryan and Chloe. I wanted to rent a surrey... so we all crammed on a one bench surrey. As it turns out, those things are hard to pedal. Good thing long-legged Ryan and Chloe were there. Ryan claimed I wasn't pulling my weight, but c'mon, my legs are half the length of theirs! Still it was fun... for half an hour. 

 And Duncan visited church. He moved to Hawaii last summer with his family. The boys adore Duncan!

Going to the zoo, zoo, zoo

Well, actually we went to the Safari Park. We wanted to see the new Tiger Exhibit which is super awesome. You are literally feet from enormously, powerful tigers. 

 And then it went up on its hind legs... and I started creating an exit plan in my mind...

 The tiger drinking blood from a bottle... again... exit plan!

 Gorgeous day and happy boys that were ready for a nap when we got home. Success!

Summer nights

Oh how we are loving these summer nights. The boys have been going to bed late and even sleeping in a bit. Whoo hoo! Austin has been having a terrible time waking up during the night, but we have moved him back into Parker's room, and I think he likes that better, because he has woken up a lot less the past few nights. Granted Parker doesn't sleep in there with him, but prefers staying on the couch or my bed, but it's progress. 

One fun thing we've been doing is moves in the park. Several nights a week, there are movies being shown in various parks around San Diego. There happened to be two nearby last weekend, so we did one Friday and Saturday night. The kids love being outside and running around before the movie begins and then the family friendly film is right up their alley.

The first movie was Despicable Me 2, and we met Sadie's family there. 

Austin LOVES Kate. He sat on her lap most of the movie. I think the love stems from all the snacks she gives him, but she's a great second-mom figure:) 

 Parker and Sadie in her wagon. Cozy date night for them.

 We also took along cousins Clare and Lexey. We had a lot of fun, except when I went to take them home at 10pm, there was a car accident by their house and the road was completely blocked. We couldn't get through, so we had an impromptu sleep over. Worked out great.

 Cute backseat view.

Donuts in the morning. 

Love these summer nights!

Plenty of swimming

It's fair to say we have been getting our fair share of swimming this summer. Up to this point we haven't been pool people, given the ages of my kids, but now that they are both comfortable in their floaties, I feel much more at ease with them in the water. 

Sadie hosted a pool party the other day and it was awesome. Parker loved the alligator raft and Austin loved bobbing around. It was a fun day for the kids who didn't even want to get out of the water for lunch, while the parents lounged in the shaded cabana eating veggie burgers. Perfection. 

 Parker, Sadie, and Reese.

 Another night we met friends at the park for a dinner date and playground time. It's a great way to get through the witching hour, that's for sure.

Since the boys had a dose of daddy, they've been missing him a lot more. This comes in the form of talking fondly about him, crying for him when they get hurt, and acting out in general. Fun times. The good news is that Pete gets to spend a few days with us at the end of the month. Can't wait for daddy to come home again! Parker's prayer the other night was, "Dear God. Bless Daddy, but I don't care that he gets to see planes, I don't care that he works out, I don't care that he's going to take me on a ship. I want him to come home." Needless to say, they miss Daddy. So do I. As much as I am not looking forward to moving, I am looking forward to being together as a family. Perhaps the joy of that reunion in October will ease the pain of moving. At least that's how I'm going to think of it. 

Odds and Ends

We went up to visit my grandparents last week. We didn't get any pics with Gran and Grandaddy on my phone, but we did stop by Grandpa Lieber's (where the kids were super crazy and we left very quickly). 

 We also did some swimming at the apt last week. The boys are so funny because of how different they are. Parker is very active and splashy in the pool, while Austin glides around like a little swan. haha.

 This face... I say that every time, but it's true. Is he just the cutest kid? And he's seeming so old lately.

When Pete called on the phone after leaving, he said very clearly, "Oh, I talk to Daddy. Hi Daddy. How Navy training? Go on big airplane?" When Pete was home and would go get him from his bed in the morning, he would greet him with, "Hi Daddy! Captain America? Wrestling Daddy? Play dragon ball daddy?" He is babbling nonstop stream of conciousness. Anything that comes to his mind he just says and the topics can be totally unrelated. Hilarious.