Thursday, September 29, 2016

The First Day of School - Kindergarten & Second Grade

On Monday, August 29, 2016, Samuel & Micah had their first day back to school.  It was an exciting day for everyone, with lots of fun!  

Each year we usually write down these fun things about our boys on our chalkboard, but then I started noticing Pinterest and Facebook being filled with the super creative back-to-school signs, and I figured we'd try that instead?  I think this came out great!  

Micah's favorite color, though, changed about five times while I was filling it out... so I'm not so sure if red is really the correct answer?

The week before school starting, Micah was lucky to go to his Kindergarten Orientation where he met his teacher and explored the classroom.  Though both our boys are blessed with amazing teachers this year, I was so touched when Micah whispered to me that he "loved his teacher" when we left Kindergarten orientation.  <3 an="" answer="" hat="" nbsp="" p="" prayer="" to="">

Our little reader was happy to find a pile of good books!  

Now back to the first day of school... here we are walking in & hanging up his Cars backpack!  My little boy is now a big Kindergartener!  


Saying goodbye to Mom & Dad! 

 Since Micah starts 30 minutes before Samuel, we had time to say goodbye to one, then walk the other one in.  And here we are standing in front of Samuel's classroom.  

Samuel hanging up his backpack & checking out his desk!

 After the bell rang, the teacher introduced herself to the class...
 ...and met each student again individually (with a handshake, high-five or or fist bump) before walking into the classroom (Samuel chose the handshake).  I loved that their first assignment once they sat at their desks was to create something with the play-dough at their desk, and then write about what they made.  Samuel made two snowmen having a snowball fight.  :)  

 I've got a feeling its going to be a good year.  They sure are loving it so far.  Praise to God!  

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Samuel's 8th Birthday!

Happy Birthday Samuel!  
You are so incredibly precious to us and we love you more than you know!  
This is the boy who has so wonderfully changed our lives.  Our first little bundle of joy, has now grown into a handsome, sweet, thoughtful and kind boy.  He is athletic, smart, creative, inventive, fun, friendly, sensitive, and considerate - and he loves the Lord.  What more could we ask for as parents?

Here is one last picture we took of our boy as a 7 year old...  

...because now we have a big 8 year old!!!   On Friday, August 19 we celebrated Samuel's 8th birthday!
That's right everyone!  No more booster seats for this guy!  

We had a yummy birthday breakfast & watched him open up some awesome gifts for his birthday.  He was wishing for his own drone - and surprise!  He was so excited!  

(Flying his drone has since become one of his favorite pastimes.  He practices almost every day and has become very good at it!)

Then we got ready and spent the day as a family at Legoland & the waterpark!   

 That evening we met up with both sets of Grandparents and had a special dinner together at Buca di Beppo.  

 On Saturday we invited all of Samuel's grandparents, aunts, uncles & cousins over for a fun "Minute-to-Win-it" themed birthday party.  Everyone had a blast!  
We played tons of games and kept score for everyone.
Some of the favorite games we played were: Nutstacker...
...Suck It Up...
...Cookie Face...
...Defy Gravity...
...Movin' On Up...
...and Junk in the Trunk!

After all the games were played, we tallied the scores, and since Samuel's birthday happened to be during the Summer Olympic Games, we played the Olympic Fanfare song in the background as we passed out the candy bar "medals" to all the kids who participated!  

And then prizes for the 1st, 2nd & 3rd place winners, Laylie, Adam & Jason!  

Next it was time for bbq, cupcakes & presents.  The kids loved decorating their own cupcakes at the sprinkle bar.  :)  

We were so blessed to see Samuel having so much fun on his birthday.  This boy is so loved!!!
Happy, Happy Birthday, darling boy!  

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Our Summer of Fun

I should have posted this several weeks ago, but life happens!  

Have I told you that one of the reasons I absolutely love summer, is because we get to enjoy all three kids at home every day?  I absolutely cherish it.  (I might be one of the few moms out there who actually misses her kids when they are at school)  But seriously, spending time together as a family of 5 was one of my favorite parts of our summer!

We did a b-u-n-c-h of fun family outings this summer - - here are the photo highlights!  (Sorry if this post seems long - but it really does cover like 8 weeks of our activities!)

Fun at the Del Mar Fair

 Warm days are perfect for running through the sprinklers!  

 Splashing in the spa, water balloon fights & fireworks on the 4th!

Lots of days playing, riding & building at Legoland!  

Swimming at the pool at Grammy & Grampy's house 
 

Visiting the Great-Grandparents

Dressing up like a cow for free food!

 Getting our fill of bouncing at Sky Zone 

 Playdates & cupcakes with our cousins

Serving the homeless with friends at Fill-a-belly

Plenty of beach days & mermaid (or shark!) tails in the sand

A private tour of the San Diego Midway Museum Aircraft Carrier
 
 Earning their special "Junior Pilot" badges!  

Lots of lazy mornings building legos

Playing golf with Daddy!  

 Our lovely date to Laguna Beach, the Sawdust Festival & seeing the Pageant of the Masters

Micah learning to ride a bike with no training wheels! 

& look how Kendall rides her scooter - so lady-like!

Exploring during a Saturday morning hike in the San Elijo lagoon

An afternoon of ice skating! (we were all so thankful that Andrew was steady on his feet to help the rest of us!)

Playing at the park

Running errands with 3 kiddos in tow...

Making homemade ice cream!

 Exploring Sunshine Gardens 


And visiting Great-Grandma June

 Visiting the Birch Aquarium in La Jolla 
 

 Evening picnics at the beach to watch the sunset (plus throwing rocks, playing in the sand & metal-detecting!)

 Roasting s'mores & camping in a tent in the backyard was so much fun!

Coloring fun at Mamoe & Grandad's

We celebrated cousin Grace's 1st birthday on August 14th at the Oceanside Pier beach

We hiked & played at San Dieguito park in Del Mar - loved these cool suspension bridges!

 And we took the kids bowling for each of their very first times!  
 
 The kids all beat mom!  How embarrassing for me, but I'm proud of them!   

 Having fun with friends!

Morning runs to VG's - yum!

A day full of fun, exploration & painting at the Botanical Gardens
 

Playing kickgolf together as a family

An interactive morning at Reuben H. Fleet
 

And savoring so many snuggles!   




Hopefully you can see why I absolutely loved our summer!  How could it have gotten any better than this?  Seriously! 
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