Swimming and Smiles

Phil's parents are here for a visit, so we headed to Ryan and Angie's pool to cool off after dinner. The kids were excited to show off their swimming skills to Grandpa and Grandma - and they were amazed at what the kids can do this year! It was a nice evening for all of us.

Elizabeth's New Hobby

Two weeks ago, our dear friend Jen brought her sweet girls down for a quick visit with us. When they arrived, they presented Nathan with a great birthday gift - a jar for storing and watching bugs, along with magnifying glasses and a book. All three of our kids have been enjoying this great gift, but none have enjoyed it more than Beth. She constantly goes outside and then quickly returns with a moth cupped between her hands. She and Allie manage to get the moths safely into the container, watch them for a short time, then let them go. At one point, there were five moths in the container at once! We have a caterpillar named Blossom living in a small jar at the moment as well! Beth holds this creature, talks to it and really enjoys finding special leaves for it to eat - and it is a very good eater! Beth is holding out hope that Blossom will make a cocoon in the near future. I'm not so sure... But it's fun to see her enjoy this new hobby, for however long it lasts! (I should note that this particular moth was injured - that explains why it let Beth just hold it without flying away!).

Grant's Grove

Today we decided to go to the mountains! We packed a picnic lunch, loaded up the kids, and headed off to Sequoia National Park. It was just beautiful up there - the temperatures were in the 70s. It was overcast and cooler than normal - just perfect for our short hike and picnic. We hiked the General Grant Trail and were again amazed at the size of the giant sequoia trees. Beth was especially interested - and read all the trail markers as we went along. After our hike and a picnic lunch, we explored a bit more and headed home.

It was a great family day!

A view of "The Nation's Christmas Tree"

Nathan was in awe as he looked up at the top of the tree!

"It's way huge-er than me!" he announced.

Beth was intent on finding a tree that all five of us could hold hands around. We managed to find one at the picnic area. Here's our little tree hugger!

Nathan stands at the beginning of the "tree tunnel."

He wanted to be an explorer!

The trail was mostly paved and very easy for the kids. Phil was longing for a longer, more difficult hike, but we're just not ready for that quite yet.

The girls peek out of the window of a rustic cabin. They could not believe that people actually lived in it long ago! Hopefully it will make them more thankful for what they have today!

UP, UP AND AWAY!

Nathan is loving the stomp rocket he received for his birthday. (Thanks, Tim and Tami!) I'm not sure why he insists on wearing his new flannel pajama pants with no shirt, but it's a battle I'm unwilling to fight right now! We've already lost one rocket (on the roof) but the other three provide loads of entertainment. I love to watch him run, jump, and then watch the rocket shoot up into the air. Very fun!

Birthday Boy

Nathan woke up this morning, came into the living room and announced, "I'm the birthday boy! Mama, am I four now?" He was so excited! He opened his presents right away - after dressing himself in jeans and a t-shirt. He was most excited about his toy tractor, new game and an ABC book that I made for him on Shutterfly. He kept saying, "I really like it, Mommy. Can we keep it?" We continued the celebration with monkey bread for breakfast - thanks to Daddy, who got up extra early to make such a yummy treat! We had a pretty ordinary day except for lunch at McDonalds. Ryan met us there with Zachary and Ainsley, so that made it extra special. Nathan chose to have chicken and rice for his birthday dinner. I splurged a bit and got some mini-cupcakes - so we could have a special birthday treat!

I can't believe that my baby is four years old. It just sounds so much older than three! But, oh, what a joy he is! He makes me laugh every single day. Nathan is a gift from God.

*reading his new book with Allie*

*modeling his personalized "Super N" cape, which came in the mail today!*

Look Who's Swimming!

During the last week, we've been going to swimming lessons every morning. Nathan is in the "Tadpoles" group this year and really enjoys lessons. However, he has stubbornly refused to put his face in the water every single day. (I didn't expect anything less than this - when Allie was his age, she screamed every time the instructor made her go underwater.) On Friday afternoon, I took the kids next door to swim for a while. Nathan was a bit braver then. We returned to swim on Saturday afternoon - and he started swimming! I could not have been more surprised! He was so proud of himself. He kept saying, "I opened my eyes underwater! Isn't that cool?" I have to admit - that's pretty cool!

Here he is swimming to my mom this afternoon...

I think this picture pretty much sums it up!

Celebrating our (almost) Four Year Old

We celebrated Nathan's fourth birthday today - just one day early. Grandpa and Grandma Tos and Uncle Ryan, Aunt Angie, Zachary and Ainsley joined us for lunch and lots of fun! Nathan was very anxious to open gifts, so that was the first thing on our agenda. Phil grilled while the kids played with the new toys he received. Instead of a traditional cake, we opted to make a Rice Krispie Treat "Cake". Since Nathan's birthday is the third one we're celebrated during the last sixteen days, we're a little tired of cake. Also, I didn't want to turn on the oven and heat up the house during this recent heat wave. Nathan was thrilled with his unique cake -and that's all that mattered!

*getting ready to blow out his candles!*

Nathan insisted on wearing his new pajama pants and Detroit Tigers shirt while watching his new Backyardigans DVD after our guests left. What better way to relax after all of the hoopla?

Growing Garden, continued...

Our garden continues to grow and to produce! We have more cherry tomatoes than we know what to do with, several squash, lots of bell peppers, chili peppers, and a few cantaloupe. The kids are most excited about the cantaloupe! It has been a lot of fun watching our garden grow. Phil is already planning for next year - we have learned a lot!

Cooling off with Cousins!

Since Ryan and Angie escaped to Monterey for some time alone, Zachary and Ainsley came to our house for a sleepover (after spending one night with Papa and Grandma). Our neighbors are on vacation, so we were able to use their pool for an evening swim. Ainsley has absolutely no fear of the water, so she kept us hopping. Zachary is a little fish and swam everywhere. He especially enjoying shooting the water guns. Our kids thoroughly enjoyed showing Daddy some of their new skills learned at swimming lessons - and loved having some special cousin time!

A Conversation to Remember...

Since this blog has become a journal and a scrapbook of sorts, I wanted to write down a recent conversation that I had with Nathan. I don't want to forget this precious conversation!

I was laying in Nathan's bed, keeping him company at bedtime. As he grew still, he looked at me very seriously and asked, "Mommy, what do you want to be when you grow up?" I kissed him on the nose and said, "Oh, honey, I'm just happy being your Mommy!" He grew very quiet, put the palms of his hands on my cheeks, looked into my eyes and declared, "And I'm just happy being your brother!"

It was all I could do to keep from laughing out loud! I suppose we need to work a bit on familial relationships - what do you think?

Escaping the Heat

We headed to the coast this weekend to escape the heat of the valley. It was at least thirty degrees cooler in Los Osos. What a treat to wear sweatshirts and to pull up the covers at night! We walked on trails in Morro Bay and Beth and I ventured onto the beach. It was a foggy morning and very gray, but we loved it! The rest of our time was spent walking in the woods, going to "Art in the Park" in Morro Bay, seeing "Wall-E" in San Luis Obispo and just relaxing with my parents at their little house. It was a great weekend!

Happy Birthday, Phil!

Today is my sweet husband's birthday. God has blessed our family so richly through Phil. We are going to have a great time celebrating his big day. In his honor, here is a short list of the ways that Phil is special. They are listed in no particular order. As I was writing them, I realized that this list could go on and on and on! (I honestly tried to stop with ten things, but just couldn't stop there!).

30. He doesn't make me feel silly for taking so many pictures. He just makes sure he backs up all of our pictures on CDs to prevent future disappointment.

29. He doesn't complain when I ask him how to pull up my voice mail messages on my cell phone. Even though he has explained it dozens of times.

28. He handles our finances. What a blessing!

27. He loves organization. His shirts are hung in a particular order and his CDs are alphabetized! I tease him mercilessly, but I secretly appreciate his need for order. I like things organized (but I'm a bit more flexible than he is!).

26. He absolutely loves maps. He hopes to visit every single state someday.

25. He listens to me when I just need to talk to an adult - even when he's been listening to people at work all day long.

24. He is willing to drive 19 hours (with three children in the car) to visit my sister in Denver. And he enjoys every minute of it!

23. He budgets money every month for my scrapbooking hobby.

22. He buys me Cherry Coke. =)

21. He knows more about the cheese and butter making process than anyone else I know. (And he is patient enough to try to explain it!).

20. He is brave enough to teach 7th grade Sunday school. Enough said!

19. He loves my family and truly enjoys being with them. (And they love him too!)

18. He brings me flowers, just because.

17. He knows the lyrics to most all of the Disney songs and isn't afraid to sing them!

16. He values what I do here at home - even when the beds don't get made and dinner isn't ready when he gets home. He believes that the time I spend with the kids is valuable.

15. He routinely fills up the van with gas, even though I'm perfectly capable of doing it myself. He says he just likes taking care of me.

14. He is extremely patient with my indecisiveness - even though I know it drives him crazy!
13. He is a die-hard Detroit Tigers, Detroit Lions, Detroit Pistons and Detroit Red Wings fan. It doesn't matter how bad their season could be. We rarely watch any games on TV (except for the play-offs), but he already has Beth trained to check the scores on the computer.

12. He is a Civil War fanatic. If there is a book about the Civil War, he wants it sitting on his shelf (even if he doesn't have time to read it!).

11. He loves to read and is always sharing information about his latest "book-on-tape." I learn a lot from him.
10. He loves to play games - especially cards. Quiddler is our current favorite. (Now if only he wasn't quite so competitive!).
9. He is more than willing to help in the kitchen.
8. He has always given our kids their baths (and clipped their nails).
7. He actually enjoys doing laundry and ironing. (Yes, he's weird!)
6. He loves to be silly and make up original songs for our kids - which drives Elizabeth absolutely crazy!
5. He works extremely hard to provide for our family - and he never complains.
4. He makes the yummiest ice cream ever - and grills amazing steaks! Oh, and we can't forget his apple pies!
3. He is a loving and patient daddy to our children.
2. He sincerely loves God and strives to serve Him.
1. He loves me and shows me his love in so many different ways. I thank God every single day for bringing Phil all the way from Michigan - for me. I am so blessed.

Celebrating with Daddy

Our long weekend began tonight! I love it that Phil is always off on his birthday. That's a special gift for all five of us! Phil's employees surprised him with a Tahoe Joe's gift card, so guess where we went for dinner? The kids loved the steaks and we all had a great time. It's just the beginning of a long weekend filled with fun, festivities and family time. What could be better than that?

Roller Skating

Yesterday we discovered a fun and inexpensive summer activity. Roller Towne has free admission two mornings a week, so we headed there for a few hours of fun. We only had to pay for Nathan's skate rentals, since he doesn't have a pair of his own. This was his first experience skating and it was a bit challenging! We got about a third of the way around the rink when he looked up and said, "Mommy, everyone is gooder than I am - but that's okay!" He ended up doing most of his skating "practice" on the carpet outside the rink. Each time he'd look at the rink, he'd announce, "I'm not ready for that yet! Maybe when I'm four or five!" The girls had fun with their friend Kendall and wore themselves out skating laps. It was a fun outing!