One Last Hurrah

One of our favorite things to do as a family is to go to the beach.  We love taking advantage of being only 4 hours away from it! This year, we seemed to have a hard time getting away.  Between basketball and my unexpected surgery (more on that later), we finally did a VERY quick 24 trip in August and hung out at our favorite spot in Laguna Beach all day before school started. 

I love how tan and blond they are at the end of the summer!

Don't you just love Ernie's "cool" look? 

Caleb definitely fits in with his new long hair look he has decided to go for!

We all love to go out on the boogie boards.  It really is a blast!

I love our little Laguna trips.  next summer, maybe we will stay for more than one night at a time! Although, it has become a tradition the last few years to make a whirlwind trip out of it..... and I will take it no matter how long we are able to go! 

Pre and Post Birthday Hooplas

The weekend before Ernie's birthday we had a movie party at my mom's house. My dad has a projector and a huge screen that he puts up in the back yard for movie nights about once  month in the summer. We all love it.  It is like a drive in in your own back yard!  Ernie really wanted to have one at their house for his b-day and watch National Treasure.  

They were so sweet to make him his requested birthday dinner before the movie.  Steak, bake potatoes, and asparagus. 

I tried to get some pictures, but not one turned out! Oh, well, I at least have a few to remember......

Caleb was the worst!

He also wanted me to make him a banana cake, and at least I got a couple of cute pics then. 

Before our movie, we had an impromptu dance party.  I wish I had been able to get some good pictures of that.  They boys were hilarious.  And so were my parents! And Micah I think had some of the best moves of us all! 

Here is a picture of Caleb and Micah.  If you look closely, you can completely tell it's them :). 

It was a blast! 

Ernie loves movie nights so much, that for his birthday with friends, he wanted to borrow Grandpa's movie gear and have a movie party in our back yard.  We have a friend party on all of their even b-day's.  The kids were at that silly, crazy boy phase for the last few years and have been avoiding having the friend parties at my own house as to maintain my sanity somewhat.   (It's so much nicer to leave a mess somewhere else!) This year I could not talk Ernie out of wanting to do this movie night.  He was SO excited.  

And an amazing thing happened that night.  I realized how grown up he is now! I LIKE having his friends hang out! They are fun, and past the silly, let's make the biggest mess we possibly can phase! More on that in a bit.......

A couple of weekends after his birthday (Labor Day was the weekend after, and I will post about that later!) we had his ever exciting every-other year friend celebration.

Here is the b-day boy and some of his decorations. 

Some of the kiddos eating pizza. 

His Aunt Layne made him a fabulous movie "take one" cake. 

He wanted to keep it small because he felt like it would be more fun and they would actually be able to enjoy each other.  He has a couple of friends that are girls that he enjoys hanging out with and so I suggested that he invite them.  His response....well, I couldn't even make it up if I tried. "Mom, we are only ten.  I think inviting girls to a party is for when we are older and a little more mature." (More mature than that? Really?)

We found a really fun little candy store called "Rocket Fizz" that had a bunch of old fashioned pop and candy.  The boys definitely were able to get their fill of sugar!

I realized a few things that night.  I am so grateful that Ernie has so many fun friends his age.  They really were a FUN group of boys.  Their conversations were so hilarious to listen to. They were SO kind to the little brother.  And they were kind to each other and just plain had a great time.  I think I had as much fun as they did!

The First Day of The Life Of Ernie.....As a 10 (yes TEN) Year Old

I can still hardly believe it, but my son turned ten a few weeks ago.  

We had many celebrations, as per usual around here.  But I thought I would start with the account from his actual big day. 

We started off the day with the usual Dee's donut breakfast in the birthday chair. 

(And don't you worry, he did NOT miss his 6 am workout.  In fact, he woke his Dad up to go even earlier so he made sure they had enough time.  Even birthdays do not warrant varying a schedule for this OCD schedule oriented kid.  And yes, he has ALWAYS been that way.  From day 1.) 

 Caleb was very proud that he had bought him a gift he really thought he would love with his own money. 

After homework (once again, his routine always comes first :)!) his dad met us at his favorite restaurant for dinner.  

Olive Garden.  My boys love this place. They eat at least 2 baskets of bread sticks themselves. 

Attempt 1 at a picture:

A little closer, they are both looking at the camera: 

And we Finally have a winner:

After dinner, he had a basketball game.  It was a great day.  We got him a kindle.  His reaction was typical Ernie, and I LOVED it!  He was genuinely surprised and then said, "I have been looking at these and hoped that I would be able to get one someday, but never dreamed I would EVER get one!"

I love so much about this kiddo.  One of my favorite things about him is his graciousness.  He is truly grateful and one of his best qualities is being able to express his gratitude.  Some of the other qualities that I have seem blossom over this year:

-His desire to be successful.  His drive is remarkable for such a young kid.

-Love of learning. He thinks deeply and asks a lot of questions. 

-Desire to have good influences.  His ability to recognize desirable qualities in his associations amazes me.  He has talked to me many times about about how he has realized good friends are extremely important.

-Responsibility.  (ex: He had a pack meeting for scouts a few months ago.We were really busy that day, and I just REALLY didn't want to go.  We had about 10 min to eat before we had to leave, and so I just mentioned that it may be easier to just sit this one out.  He thought for a minute and then said, "Mom, these things are really important.  The leaders work really hard and we learn a lot from scouts.  I really should be there."  Yep, he is for real!)

- Innate ability to recognize good. 

-Sensitivity. He is so aware of others around him.  Especially his family.  A few weeks ago he was snuggling with me (which I will take as long as I can!) and he got a little emotional and said, "I couldn't imagine a better family.  I really am so blessed mom." 

What he will probably never truly understand is that I am the one that is blessed.  

I could go on and on about this remarkable child.  I am constantly amazed by his depth and his maturity. He is far wiser that any child should be at his age. 

Yes, I am very blessed.  

Renaissance Groupies

Last fall (yes, like a year ago!) I found a deal on some tickets for a Renaissance fair.  I am not one to put on my corset and head out to the medieval get togethers normally.  But the tickets were so inexpensive that I thought, why not?  I talked my sister Nat into going with me and then my Dad and sister Micah met us over there later that night. (What great sports!)

I must say, I was SO glad we went! The boys loved it and I had a great time as well. 

The boys fought swords. 

 And won! 

I have a confession.  A lot of the fun was seeing the people dressed up.  There were many people there from a very different walk of life.  They live and breathe the Renaissance fair.  They follow them around all over the country. And I feel bad, but I couldn't help but capture a picture every once in a while to text to my husband. 

The above picture was one of my favorite laughs of the evening.  We had some pioneers show up at the Renaissance fair!

Not very medieval :).  But Caleb sure loved his scorpion. 

 Caleb still talks about the best corn he has ever had......

 The boys each decided to spend their money on a sword and shield.  They were actually really neat ones hand made out of wood and they have had endless fun with them.  

(Although, the wooden swords have also lead to some intense battles, and may have been taken away on numerous occasions. :)

 The final picture of the evening was during the concert at the end.  

This very interesting fellow lead to some of the best entertainment ever. 

I wish I had a better picture.  He was VERY into his dance ritual he was doing. 

I am so glad that I am able to do things like this with the boys.  We had a such a great time.  (Thank you groupon, for I would have never known about this without you!)