That's How We Roll

I don't know how time gets past me. I feel like I have a hard time keeping track of days and that our days really aren't THAT busy but yet I don't get nearly as much done as I intend to (aka keeping up on the blog more regularly). But things have been pretty busy. We found a permanent place to live (yeah we don't have to be homeless when the homeowner comes back in a few weeks), we play with our friends, we joined 2 play groups (one for Joel and one for Vance), and I am trying to keep up on the housework, laundry, bills, etc that go along with a family of 4.

Tj is so funny. Since getting done with training (and even before) he has really gotten into being physically fit. It's funny to hear him say after the boys go to bed, "I think I'm going to go for a run" when he already worked out in the morning. For someone who does not enjoy going to the gym and hasn't found her "work out niche" it's hard to see the pleasure in running. But he enjoys it and is good at it. Another regular occurrence around our house is to pile the boys up on Tj's back and to help him with his push-ups. Joel takes his responsibility VERY seriously. Vance is such a goof but likes to be in the middle of things with Daddy and Joel. They love it!

Joel and Vance helping daddy with his push ups.

Vance's turn!

I think I have mentioned a time or two that Vance LOVES his blankie. So at night when he won't go to sleep his consequence most of the time is to have his blankie taken away. One night it got taken away and he was very upset with me. When I went to check on them after they had fallen to sleep I started to panic when I couldn't see Vance. I looked under the bed and around the bed when I saw this:

Now this picture was taken with a flash.
In the dark it was fairly difficult to see.
Do you see him?

He had curled up under the pillow.

Chocolate pudding is messy. My life with two little boys is messy in general and I try and minimize the mess. But I hadn't realized how much I had deprived the boys of life's little joys until I realized that I don't know if Vance had ever had messy chocolate pudding- at least with me. So when they decided they would rather buy the dollar chocolate pudding pack at Wal-Mart than get lunch I decided it was a steal and bought them the pudding. The look on Vance's face says it all. I suppose I may cave and get more pudding more often for them. :)

I have every intention of blogging about the full extent of Nama's visit, our trip to the fair and rodeo, more of Vance's rockin' outfits, and some of the other stuff going on around here. But we move into our permanent place on Wednesday and so realistically there's a good chance it will be another 2 weeks before I blog again. But we'll see- because that's how we roll, best of intentions meets reality. :)

Vance's 3rd Birthday

I can't believe that it's been two weeks since Vance's birthday! Life has been super hectic and crazy around here. But more about that later. My baby turned 3! I have to admit it was a bit of an emotional day for me. The last three years have been so busy and really there's something so strange in thinking your baby is three- especially when it's probably your last.

But it was a really fun day. He got to go to the gym and show off his Batman birthday ribbon. Nama took us all to McDonald's (can't be a birthday without a trip to McDonald's.) Nama took the boys to her hotel for naps and playtime so I could make Vance's birthday cake. Nama took us all to dinner at The Elephant Bar. In a nutshell Nama made it a really great birthday! :)

Don't mind Vance's silly face- two cameras confused the boy.
Soda and nuggets, talk about doing a birthday right.

Our family at the Elephant Bar.

Vance and Mommy at dinner.

Growing like weeds.

I know I promised more birthday posts. But life was pretty crazy last week. Of course we had Vance's birthday on Monday, but we also had Tj's mom fly in on Sunday to spend most of the week with us. We had doctor appointments on Tuesday. And did I mention Nama was in town?! Anyhow, that will be a post unto itself. But like I was saying we took the boys in for their annual check ups.

I was not completely prepared for their check-ups. We had some mix-ups with the previous doctors office so all their files were not available at the check-up. I thought for this reason we could avoid the dreaded "S" word. Yes, shots. No dice.

Vance went first. At three years old he is 35 3/4 inches tall and 27 pounds. As his doctor stated he is the average size of a two year old. =) Our little dynamite child. What he lacks in size he more than makes up for in intellect. lol He's in the 6th percentile for weight and the 4th percentile for height. But the doctor didn't seem worried as long as he's always been petite- which he has. Here in CA they test for TB every year. So he had to have a TB test, an iron test, and four- yes you read that right FOUR- shots. Poor kid was so sad! I felt so bad for him. If you're keeping track at home that's 2 pokes and 4 spider bites.

Joel also had his 4 year doctors appointment. At four years old he is 41 1/4 inches tall and 37 1/4 pounds. He is right smack dab in the middle of the growth chart- 51st percentile for weight and 41th percentile for height. He also got to do a vision and hearing test. He took them both VERY seriously! He would listen very intently for the beeps and then raise the corresponding hand very precisely. The nurse said it was the very best hearing test she's ever seen from a 4 year old. He is such a good boy! He perfect hearing and 20/20 vision. Hopefully he and Vance get Tj's eye-sight and not mine! Joel also had to have a TB and iron test, and four - yes again FOUR- shots! Again he was not very happy about his 2 pokes and 4 spider bites.

So as I said earlier, I didn't know if the boys would get shots or not. I figured if they needed them we could get them prepped for the shots at the doctors instead of telling them about them before we went and have them (especially Joel) freak out about going to the doctor needlessly. So when we found out that they would need shots I told them that they were going to have to get shots and they would probably hurt a bit. We talked and then I was hit with inspiration. They LOVE reading their spider-man books from Nama and Pa and in one it talks about how Peter Parker was bit by a radio-active spider. So I told them that the shot would probably feel like getting bit by a radio active spider. We also talked about how just like the spider bite gave Peter Parker special powers the shots would help them from getting sick. It was a rough day and even though they were okay with the idea before the shots came they were both pretty traumatized.

"The shots hurted me so bad. I didn't know they would give me shots. Vance was very brave but I couldn't. I didn't like the shots." Joel

"I was so brave, mom!" Vance

That about sums it up. Vance cried while they gave him the shots but was pretty much okay after wards. Joel was very upset for the rest of the day and would tear up every time he talked about it. Luckily, we won't have anymore shots for a little while- I hope! Next up we tackle the Dentist!

Vance's 3rd Birthday- The Main Event

Vance turned three yesterday. I seriously can't believe it! There's something so strange in having your baby not be a baby anymore- and at three Vance is no longer a baby at all. We had a really fun day and I actually remembered to bring my camera for the fun. But this post is the main event. We had a little party for him last night after Tj came home from work. We had our friends come over for cake and presents and play!

The characters: Officer Vance, Jaxon, Katie and Joel

Vance with his gifts. Can you tell that he's trying
to be oh, so patient while we take pictures
but he REALLY wants to rip into them?!

Vance was a PRO at opening gifts! He would rip right through one gift just to move on to the next one. Which is really funny because he knew pretty much what they all were because HE picked them out. But it was funny. Once they were all opened then he was ready to go back and play with each one.

Quick tangent: I think I've posted this on here before but Tj is a GREAT gift giver. He just has an innate ability to pick out the perfect gift even if it's not even so mething the gift receiver had even thought to ask for (speaking from personal experience). Some women have husband's who buy them appliances for gifts- I will never have to worry about that (except if I SPECIFICALLY ask for one) because Tj is such a great gift giver that he would never even think to do that. Anyhow last week for date night our amazing friends watched the boys so we could go birthday shopping for Vance. We went to dinner and then spent LITERALLY at least an hour in Toys R Us. We walked down every aisle-twice. We looked in just about every department (minus the baby, clothing and girl departments). I had something i n mind but Tj wasn't thrilled with it so we looked and looked and looked. Fortunately I had the wisdom to follow the Gift Guru (which I am hereby naming him) and we got Vance the ultimate SWAT Team Dress Up Outfit.

Checking out the outfit.
(On a side note Joel had a bit of a hard time
yesterday with it being Vance's birthday.
For the first time Vance wanted to do
EVERYTHING by himself and Joel, I think,
felt a little displaced. But he handledit pretty well.)

Daddy getting it off the hanger and
getting him set up.

This outfit was great! It came with a shirt,
a SWAT vest, a helmet, 2 granades, a walkie talkie,
handcuffs and a night stick. Vance was really
excited for the walkie talkie!

Getting his gear on!

Vance the SWAT Team member.
I love this picture because you can see
just how excited he was for this!

Now I have to add that one of the funniest things is that of course with Vance in full gear an all out nerf war was launched. 4 Nerf guns, 3 little boys, 2 bigger little boys (aka the daddy's), about 20 nerf bullets and a small condo were the combination for quite the attack. It was really fun! Of course I don't have any pictures of that- I was just trying not to be collateral damage. :)

Vance with his chocolate birthday cake
with the sparkly 3 that he picked out.

There will be more birthday blogging to come. Tj was just so excited to get pictures up of Vance in his SWAT gear!

A Day at the Farm.

Last weekend we went to a "You Pick" farm nearby. It was so much fun. The weather was perfect! The boys had so much fun and it was just a really enjoyable time as a family. We checked out the animals (llamas, pigs, goats, cows, horses, chickens), let the boys run around the play area, watched the animal show and picked strawberries and raspberries. On our drive back we took the scenic route. Seriously, it was such a nice drive back! This is one of the things we missed most about living in FL. Going for a drive in Florida was less than inspiring- don't get me wrong there are cool places to see in Florida but the drive there usually isn't much to write home about. We just really had a fun Saturday! We're looking forward to taking Nama there when she visits next week.

The boys showing their wild animal side.

The boys taking a break from their mad fruit
picking skills to pose.

Playing on the wooden train.

Feeding the chickens.

Waiting for the animal show to start.
I love the looks on their faces (Tj included).

The boys at the puppet chicken show.

A few thoughts going 'round my head.

So I wanted to write down a couple of things before I forgot because I always think that I'll remember and then I look back and try and remember the thing I thought I'd never forget. Funny, huh?!

Joel has now done this a couple of times and it's just the sweetest thing. I always lay down and sing them a song before naps and bedtime. Well there have been a couple of times when I ask him what song he wants and he starts singing 'I am a Child of God' all by himself. His little voice singing those words. And then he says- Mommy, that song is for you. Seriously, so tender! When he's 17 I may need to remember what a tender and sweet little boy he was. No, I don't think I'll ever forget. He's always been such a sweet soul. Vance on the other hand..... lol.

Okay this part is because I need to get this down so please indulge me. I made a goal after I got the conference edition of the Ensign to read it cover to cover. I was so impressed with this talk. I feel like there's been a lot of hard things we've gone through the last two years or so. I was reminded again though yesterday why we go through hard things. I don't mean to make light of the trials that our family or others have gone through but it was just a simple reminder to me.

I am not a runner; NEVER have been. I don't like to do it and I was not blessed with that talent. But after over a year of getting into shape it was the next step in my fitness regimen. So a little over a month ago I started jogging/walking. Nothing big. Well with the example of several friends who have done the Couch to 5K program I decided to see if I could run 3 miles. So I set my mind that my cardio for Wednesday was going to be to run 3 miles without stopping. I was nervous but somehow knew that I could do it. I didn't tell anyone though because in the back of my mind I thought that if I couldn't do it then nobody needed to know. And I wasn't doing it to impress anyone- no this was for me. So I get on the treadmill (this might be cheating because after running on the beach in San Diego I know that the treadmill is A LOT easier than the boardwalk) and got warmed up with a walk around "the track". Then I reset the machine and start jogging. The first mile and a half were good. I thought okay half way through. I got to 2.25 miles and thought I could just take a little break and walk and then finish but I just didn't want to short change myself. Luckily I had made a playlist of some of my favorite songs and just about then one of my favorite songs came on. So I continued on. 2.75 and I was trying to remember why I was doing this. But I could see the end in sight. So I finished my final lap. I couldn't believe I did it! It took me 35 minutes but I finished. Something a year ago I could not even FATHOM doing and I did it and wasn't even dying at the end. The thought, "I CAN do hard things" rang through my head with such clarity and power. I know some of my friends and family run half marathons and full marathons and triathlons. And I still stand in awe of them but I was able to do MY hard thing.

One of my favorite lines come from a book called "The Road Less Traveled". In fact it's the first line, "Life is difficult." I love that because I know this. Not in a depressive never get out of bed sort of way. But with my belief system I know that I came here to Earth not for a vacation to kill time before I return to my maker but as an opportunity to learn, grow and become more like Him. And as anyone who has ever REALLY accomplished anything- from painting a picture to raising a child to hosting and making a full holiday meal- knows is that anything worth having or doing is difficult to some degree or another. That's part of what makes it meaningful. If it were easy then we wouldn't appreciate it to the same degree. I know that there will be MANY more hard things ahead of me in this life. And I think that's why I felt so impressed to write all this down. Because when you're in the midst of your own personal trial and you know all the "Sunday Answers" sometimes it's that vote of confidence that you received in the not so distant past that you can do hard things. You will get through it and you will be better for it. You may or may not be grateful for the experience but you can do it.

Vacation Wrap Up

We got back yesterday night from a week long vacation with my family down in San Diego. The weather obviously didn't get the memo that it's end of August. It was a bit chilly and overcast almost all week but it was fun in spite of the uncooperative weather.

Saturday we drove down to San Diego. We didn't realize that traffic would be as heavy as it was. But we got there safely. My parents and younger sisters were already at the condo. My oldest sister and her boyfriend had dinner in the oven but were scoping out Ikea so Tj, the boys and I decided to brave the ocean. Man, it was COLD! We got VERY spoiled in Florida with the warm water- especially on the gulf.

Sunday we got up and got ready to go to church. Tj was heading back home to try and avoid the terrible traffic we encountered on the way down. (So sad that Tj couldn't stay the entire week but somebody has to bring home the bacon. Just another reason I love him, he works so hard without complaint even when the boys and I are vacationing.) Sunday we enjoyed afternoon naps and a visit from my younger cousin who happened to be in the area for the summer selling pest control.

Monday morning we braved the ocean and the weather to go let the boys play on the beach. RiKenna, her old roommate from college Stephanie, and Stephanie's boyfriend helped watch the boys. The boys loved running away from the waves and building sand castles. Unfortunately I didn't get the gene from my dad to routinely check the weather channel or we would have known to wait until Monday AFTERNOON to hit the beach. By lunch time (just as the sun was burning off the cloud layer and warming up) the boys had had it and we headed inside for naps. Monday afternoon my oldest brother's wife, Sandy, and their kids came down. Their oldest is a boy who's 9 and Joel practically worships him. My brother couldn't come with them either (he too had to work) so it was a girls' week plus a dad. :) That evening we grilled and the kids played in the sand.

Tuesday we headed down to Old Town San Diego. I don't ever remember going down there although we've gone to San Diego for family vacation pretty much my entire life. It was really fun. We got to see a blacksmith making an ax, walk through the village, eat at a really YUMMY Mexican restaurant, stop at a candy store (and purchase some treats), get some ice cream and tour the recently remodeled Mormon Battalion visitor center. The visitor's center was the highlight of the day. The tour was an interactive tour and was so interesting. It ended in a court yard where you could pan for gold, pump water, build with bricks, clean clothes on a washboard and walk up to a tower where you could look over Old Town. It was SO fun. The boys (and all the kids) really had such a fun time! We went home and I put the boys down for naps. Then Tuesday night we went to the amusement park just up the board walk called Belmont Park for their family night. I think the boys rode the boats with their cousin about 105 times. They also got to ride on the carousel a few times. PaPa sure appeared to be having a good time spoiling those kids. It was so fun to see him ride the carousel the first time with Vance and Emma.

Wednesday the kids played in the sand in the morning. Then we decided once more to brave the weather. Bad idea! It was cold. Literally we had our sweatshirts on over our swimsuits and wrapped up in towels too. The kids played in the sand and the ocean for a little while before we called it. The rest of the day was spent in the condo playing.

Thursday PaPa and Monie treated us all to a movie. Most of us went and saw Despicable Me (cute show!) although Vance fell asleep. Joel seemed to enjoy it. We went back to the condo and headed out to the beach. Once again it was cold! The kids had fun playing though. Joel and Vance helped Matthew dig a hole which ended up being a really cool with a tunnel and everything! Thursday night the kids got to experience the joys of the ice cream truck treats followed by a bon fire courtesy of Monie and PaPa. Tj came down Thursday night after work.

Friday we hung out and packed everything up. Just before lunch we headed home.

It was a really eventful week. It was so fun seeing the kids play with their cousins and hanging out with my sisters and parents. You will notice that there is a lack of pictures. The first part of the week my camera battery was dead and the second half of the week I forgot my camera. I'm hoping to update this post once my sisters sends me pics from her camera.

Cute Family Portrait Idea

My friend is having a give away on her blog See it! Love it! Win it! She is giving away a free family portrait done by Penguin Stands Alone.

So it's not your traditional family portrait but aren't they so cute?! So go on over to See it! Love it! Win it! for your chance to win a portrait of up to 6 people (a $200 value). Don't forget to tell them that I sent you. And to see more of Penguin Stands alone AMAZING art work (she does more than just portraits) click here.

Sir Vance- alot

Vance is two and a half going on 12. He will gladly tell anyone who asks that his birthday is Ausgsis sisteenth. He is so funny and never stops talking- although sometimes that's not always so funny. He has the mind of a steel trap. He NEVER forgets anything. If I tell him that we'll do something and we haven't done it in the following hour he will come up to me either a) very disturbed or b) with shock and surprise and say "Mommy, you know what we forgot?! We forgot....." and this will continue until the promised activity has been completed.

He loves to tell stories and he loves to say prayers. It's kind of funny because lately all of his stories start and end the same. He starts them "One time..." and then when he's done he says "amen". It seriously makes me laugh all the time.

Vance is SO opinionated. He has to weigh in on everything and will continue to repeat and repeat said opinion until it has been acknowledged properly. It is always amazing to me how different he is from Joel. He is definitely my type A personality kid. And I do have to admit that I see a lot more of myself (personality wise) in Vance than Joel (Joel has Tj's laid-back-everything-will-be-fine personality).

Vance is very creative. He loves to do art projects. While Joel will color to pass the time at a restaurant or in church Vance LOVES to color. He will often invite me to color with him which is fun. He will go get his crayon roll and color book or paper and sit and color. It's really fun to see. He also LOVES to play with play-doh, paint, draw and write.

He still continues to be my little munchkin although he's slowly getting bigger. He is finally too big for his 18 month clothes (except for pants) now. I think that it's just because he never stops! He too is a good eater. He favors hot dogs and peanut butter and jelly and fruit snacks. I swear he would eat fruit snacks constantly if I allowed it. It's what he asks for first thing in the morning and every time he's hungry throughout the day. He too likes carrots and broccoli and tomatoes. He'll eat just about anything chicken although sometimes surprises us by choosing a haanguber instead of chicken.

Vance knows how to relax.
Blanket and a comfy couch- who could ask for more?!
Seriously I love that he sits like this all the time:
on the couch, in the car and in bed.

Joel is slowly outgrowing his naps and so occasionally
for a treat I'll let them watch a movie for quiet time.
Vance ALWAYS falls asleep but tries to hide it from me.

Vance is at the age where he likes to pick out his own
clothes (which usually include some of Joel's) and get
dressed by himself. It can be quite the experience sometimes.
This is one example, I can't believe that he got his entire waist
through the leg hole! He was quite upset but I made him model
his outfit before I helped him correct it. He also almost ALWAYS
has his pants on backwards and often his underwear is on backwards
and maybe even inside out. I love it though! I know there will come
a day when he won't make those mistakes and he's growing up way too
fast as it is. I'll keep every reminder that he's still little as long as I can.

Vance has such a funny personality.
He will often decide that he likes one
article of clothing and that will go with
everything. In this instance it was his old
baby sunglasses. There's also his button shirt
(that he will ask for by name most days of the week)
and his flip flops that he almost never has on right
(he usually has the divider between his second and third toe).
It's just funny because even now Joel rarely cares what he wears
but Vance wants to pick out his own clothes and do it himself!

Mister personality for you, once more!
(Also you get a shot of his "button shirt" named
because it has snaps- that he loves- on the shoulder.)
The funny thing is that he loves to swing in the baby
swings at the park. If I'd let him he'd stay there pretty
much the entire time we're at the park. He loves going high
and while he can swing on the big swing he prefers the baby one.
He goes back and forth between asking us if he can be a piewlot
and fly airplanes or have a gun and fight bad guys when he's a daddy.
I would not be the least surprised with either one.

Our Polar Bear

It's been awhile since I've update the blog on things the boys are currently doing and saying. So here's our latest update on Joel.

Joel loves babies. He's always been such a good big brother to Vance but especially lately he loves babies. He loves to play with them and make them smile. He likes to help get their toys and is so gentle with them. Now granted he's not around them much but he loves them just the same. (No this is not an announcement.) The other day we were looking at a photography blog and the blogger had photographed a mom who was pregnant with triplets. Needless to say he belly was really big. Joel was fascinated with it and so I was explaining how that mommy had three babies in her tummy. Joel thought for a minute and said: "mommy if you had 5 babies in your tummy that would be awesome!" When I told Tj this story he said, "No, no it would not be awesome." I did have to clarify to Joel and Vance that mommy's tummy only can have one baby in it at a time.

Joel also is quite the fashionisto. The other day I was sitting on the couch and he sat down next to me. My hair was down that day and was apparently getting in his way when he told me, "Mommy, your hair is too long- you should cut it."

He's growing up so fast. There are some things he was doing a few months ago that he doesn't do now. The thing I miss most is when he would ask for a napkin he would call it a natkin. I thought it was so cute. Tj always corrected him though and now he doesn't say it that way. Although every once in awhile he does slip up a little bit. He also had a pair of pants that had a label on the outside that went in the back. He really liked seeing the label and would always put them on with the label in the front. It was so cute- but Tj showed him the right way to put on those shorts and now he doesn't wear them that way anymore.

One morning we were hanging out on the couch and Joel was trying to get me to honk his nose. I was teasing him and wouldn't touch it. So he came up and said, "My honkey is broken. I need someone to help me and make the honk sound when I push my nose." It was really cute.

Joel is such a good brother and friend. The other night Vance was having a meltdown and really wanted something. Tj was trying to get him to calm down and ask for it nicely. So Joel was standing there by his side whispering what Vance should say to have Tj get him what he wanted it was so cute. He has always been so laid back and is usually willing to do whatever it is that Vance or his friends want to play. I'm always so proud of how well he plays with other kids and what a good brother he is to Vance.

Joel is still a really good eater. I have to admit that I always feel like I'm doing a good job parenting when the boys request a tomato or ask for more broccoli. But really I know it says more about their personalities than my parenting ability. Joel still would eat a cheese sandwich just about everyday, he loves yogurt and oatmeal, and likes to give his broccoli haircuts (thanks Ostvig cousins!!!). He will dip just about anything into just about anything (aka cheese sandwich into yogurt, apples into ranch or ketchup, carrots and broccoli into yogurt or ketchup or mustard) which often grosses me out but as long as he's eating I say let them be. Out here in CA they have Otter Pops again (yeah!!!!) and the boys have been properly introduced, especially since the weather has been SO hot lately. Joel's favorite Otter Pop flavor Louie Bloo Raspberry.

Joel is officially at the awkward photo stage.
It's not that he can't take good photos he just
usually chooses to make some random face or
pose right before you take the picture as evidenced
here and in the movie picture in the last post.

Joel is our Jumper. From the time he started
walking he rarely ever really walked. There
was usually at least a little hop in his step
if not an entire leap. He is still our Jumpin' Joel.
I cannot count the number of times we have
had to tell him to quit jumping around the condo
that we're staying in. The downstairs neighbor
will probably be relieved when we move into our own
place. (Besides the fact that the boys would wake
up and be running around at 6:45 if left to their own
devices. We try and keep them in bed as long after 7
as possible though. Sorry neighbors, only a couple more months!

Joel is funny about feet. I don't know if I
would say that he loves them but he likes
to play with his feet or our feet. It kind of
grosses me out because usually our feet
have been running around barefoot and
I don't mind feet as long as they're clean-
Joel doesn't even care if they're clean.
Silly, silly boy.

Surprise Visitors!

So last weekend we had not one, not two but three surprise visitors! The first two were my sister and her boyfriend who were traveling down from working in Seattle. We were able to have lunch with them earlier in the week (which I don't have pictures from) and then we got to hang out with them over the weekend. We went back up to the rocks and did some more climbing and exploring (which apparently I also didn't get any pictures of). It was so great to see them and have them around!

The next surprise visitor was one that Tj and I had a couple days advance notice but the boys had NO idea was coming. I LOVE the look on the boys faces- have we mentioned lately that the boys ADORE their Pa?!


Tj's dad had a job in Sacramento that started on Tuesday. So Saturday night he flew in LAX and drove so we could have dinner. He then stayed with us until Monday when he had to head up to Sacramento. It was SO fun to have him here. He played with the boys, took the boys and I to lunch and then to go see Toy Story 3 and played some more with the boys. It was a very fun and busy three days but we were anxious for Friday to come back around because he was going to come back and see us before he had to leave. So much to our pleasant surprise we got a phone call from him first thing on Friday saying he had gotten into town the night before and was ready to see the boys. So he went with us to the park with our friends, took us to lunch (where the boys were treated to Orange soda!!!) and babysat the boys while Tj and I got to go on a date night for the first time in almost a year. It was such a fun time but it was quite sad (more for me I think) to see him go. He is such a great grandpa and I love the close relationship that he has with Joel and Vance! You really couldn't ask for a better Pa. So Dad, thanks for going out of your way and the sacrifices you and mom had to make to come visit. We loved having you and can't wait to see you guys again!

A picture of the boys at the movies.
Joel was being silly and wanted to make a sad face in each picture.
Notice Vance's awesome outfit?! Yeah, he dresses himself.

Vance showing how Batman goes down the slide.

Joel posing with his scooter for Pa.

Pa returned the boys goggles and old sunglasses.
The boys have since rarely been seen without
the goggle on whether it's in the bathtub or
on the way to the park or at dinner.
Silly boys!

The boys with their new books from Nama and Pa.
No visit would be complete without Pa and Nama
spoiling the boys and this trip was no exception.
Not only did the boys get new Spider Man books
from Nama and Pa but Pa also read them to the boys
over and over and over and OVER again!

The 5th of July

Monday Tj had the day off. We decided to take the day and spend it with some of our friends. We headed out to some rock formations. It was really fun. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't a little worried the ENTIRE time. But it was a really fun time. The boys had SO much fun climbing the rocks and dirt and with their friends. We are enjoying being able to do stuff outside and enjoying CA.

Joel climbing the rocks with his friends.

The kids taking a little break.

Vance taking his moment on the rocks with Daddy.

Tj with Jax and Joel.

Joel perfecting his form climbing the rock.

After rock climbing we headed home and then had our friends over for swimming and BBQ. All in all it was a really nice holiday weekend. We hated to see it end.

The ACTUAL 4th of July

Sunday the 4th was pretty low key for us. We did our normal Sunday routine and then Sunday night had some friends come over to watch the fireworks with us. Fortunately there were fireworks just up the road from us and so we walked out to the median and watched the fireworks. After the fireworks were over we came back to the house and chatted while the kids played. We couldn't believe it when we realized it was past 11pm and the kids were ALL still up. It was a really fun evening!

Rosen Family 2010

Joel and Vance with their friend Jax.
I love the facial expressions!
They were VERY excited for the fireworks.

Vance and Jax had enough of the noise.
Well Vance just wanted to be like Jax. :)

Vance and Mommy at the fireworks.

Tj and Joel watching the fireworks.

On a side note it's times like these where we're so glad to have Tj home. The boys (and me too) really love having Tj around and the excitement he brings. We're also so grateful to live in a country where we are free to chose the life we want to live and have the freedoms that we have due to the sacrifices of so many men and women and their families. With our trip to DC and the 4th of July we have really tried to start to help the boys understand the respect we have for the soldiers who fight for our country and for their families who sacrifice so much so that we can have these freedoms.

4th of July- Part I

On Saturday we went to a church patriotic picnic. It was a beautiful day! They had a little parade of all the kids on their bikes and scooters. We had helped the boys decorate their scooters and dress in complete patriotic regalia. It was a pretty fun morning.

Vance all dressed up in his patriotic outfit.
Notice sunglasses upside down
and pants on backwards.
LOVE it!

Vance on his scooter.

We couldn't get Joel to stop long enough to get
a picture of him and his scooter.

The boys on their scooters at the start
of the parade.