Happy Birthday Connor

Yesterday Connor turned 8 years old!  How did that happen so fast!?  He had a pretty special day!  He had a "day of  treats" so he says.  I made cinnamon rolls for breakfast as requested.  He got donuts in his last Senator meeting for the year (he's a Senator for his class in the student council).  Then we brought him treats for his class.  I made little cheesecakes with  blueberry and cherry topping look like a flag since his birthday is Flag Day, that was a big hit!  He got shrimp, his favorite food, for dinner and of course cake and ice cream. 

 I slaved all day over this cake!  It was my first try with fondant and I made the fondant myself too.  I think it turned out pretty good.  It's a charm book with a Gryfindor scarf, sorting hat, golden snitch, wand and Hedwig around and on it.

 Tristan and Haydn chose an awesome Harry Potter lego set to give Connor.  They painted and drew on a bag to make the wrapping paper too.

 I don't know why I don't have a picture yet of what this was.  This was his favorite thing.  We decided to give him a Kindle since this boy can't STOP reading.  He LOVES it.

 Blowing out the candles...Happy Birthday Connor.

Connor will be baptized on June 30th and 5pm here in LA if any you don't know that yet and want to be there.  We are going to bless Archer at the same time too.  Connor is so excited about this and we are so proud of him for all he's done these last 8 years!

Haydn's 5th Birthday

Haydn is official is officially 5 years old. I can't believe it! He wanted a "beach party", something he's never been able to have before since his birthday is in February. Unfortunately all our plans to go as a family to the beach didn't work out because it was a little too cold but we will go soon in his honor. We filled the day with a yummy waffle breakfast, presents, games, a trip to the park and pizza, cake and ice cream later. He loved everything he got for his birthday and he was so fun to watch open presents because he was SO EXCITED and thankful. Sweet boy!

Here he is with his presents...

An awesome ship that can turn into a bunch of little ones and has a shark to catch too.

Anakin Skywalker Alarm Clock

Slinky from Connor-just what he wanted!

Angry Birds game! So awesome!

Sand toys for all our sandy parks and the beach!

Here are the boys trying out Haydn's new boat and Angry Birds...


A beach cake! He wanted a cake that tasted like cinnamon rolls and looked like a beach. I made a pound cake with cinnamon swirls and apples in it topped with cream cheese frosting and candy fixings to make it look like a beach(cinnamon toast crunch sand, pretzel and laffy taffy palm trees, whopper coconuts, a laffy taffy campfire and goldfish fishes swimming in the ocean)! It was yummy and he was happy.

Happy Birthday to YOU!

One of Haydn's birthday wishes was for the baby to come on his birthday! It didn't happen that way and I'm glad since I wanted them each to have their own day. We are still waiting around for baby boy #4 to show up. He will be evicted on Feb 16th if he doesn't willingly come before that.

Marina Del Rey Beach

We went to the beach again on a nice day since the kids couldn't stop talking about it after we went the first time. We did a little burying.


Connor and Haydn helped build this with some strangers next to us.

Tristan still didn't try the water much but he played in the sand happily the whole 4 hours we were there. Who wouldn't fall in love with this face?

We left relaxed and luckily with a little January tan! We could get used to this!

Hiking in Griffith Park

We ventured to Griffith Park to do some hiking and see be a little more touristy. We had such fun doing a little off roading. Tristan did get a little grumpy at the end, but that was mainly a timing issue (hiking during lunch/naptime isn't the best idea). Scott, being the amazing father that he is, carried T on his shoulders through the rougher and steeper parts.





The best part was that these two really bonded on the trail. They spent most of it together talking, imagining and working together. This was them walking to the car as we were done. If this is how hikes end, we will go on many more!

Playing at the BEACH in JANUARY

We FINALLY decided to head to the beach on a sunny warm day in January. We went to the Santa Monica Pier and rode the ferris wheel to get the best view.



Then we walked down to the water. I envisioned the boys running from the waves and getting their toes wet, it is January afterall and the water is cold, but it went a lot farther than that. It started out like this...

And the ended up shirtless and drenched but having the time of their lives!

Tristan was a little nervous about the water but enjoyed playing in the sand...a little too much...stinker!

Modesto

After we left Sacramento we stopped through Modesto to stay at my Harrison Grandparent's house. We spent an evening talking and the kids played with toys I remember from my childhood there. In the morning we picked lemons (we brought a whole box home, yum) and went to the park before driving the rest of the way home.

Trip to Sacramento

After Christmas we mad a trip to Sacramento to see my extended family. It was so fun! We stayed with my Aunt Pam and her family but we saw everyone else almost every day too. We played lots of cards, went to the park, made a trip to Leatherby's, went on a hike and had a New Years celebration. It was busy and fun.
When I get together with my aunts playing cards is a given, it's what we do!

This is our Indiana Jones Adventure hike lead by Indiana hinself(my Uncle Jeff)


The boys loved playing a game of soccer with my big cousins.

All of the cousins together (missing a couple families)

Beverly Hills

We have to be a little touristy since we are still new to the area. Here's a pic of our family in front of a BIG Beverly Hills sign.

Pumpkins and Packing

The boys didn't have school Monday so, despite the BIG packing project going on at home, I decided that we needed to get out of the house and do a fun Fall New England activity. We went to our favorite farm and went pumpkin picking! We had a wonderful time and I even managed not to lose anyone despite my lack of extra hands. The boys got their face painted, played croquet, played at the playground, went on hayride, ran through a corn maze and picked a pumpkin.











When we got home I got a text from one of my friends that she and another friend were coming to help me pack. They swept through my kitchen and packed most of it. YEAH! I'm that much closer to being done. Thanks for your help ladies!