About Turning Six

Some years call for a big birthday bash, and others are for going somewhere special as a family. For Toby's sixth birthday this year (November 4th) we decided on a family trip to Disneyland!

On the tram - ready for our big adventure.

One of the highlights for Toby was participating in the "Jedi Training Academy". He was chosen to be a padawan learner and taught a series of movements with the light saber. Then everything got really exciting when each child had a chance to fight Darth Vader or Darth Maul (not pictured). Toby fought Darth Vader bravely! In the second picture he is using "the force" to make the stormtrooper to the left fall back. Definitely a memorable experience for our little Jedi.

The force is strong in this one.

Toby is still a big fan of Peter Pan. Here he is enjoying the Peter Pan ride with Dad and Asher. Debbie and I were in the pirate ship ahead of them.

We all really enjoyed the Jungle Cruise!

It was a fun, fun day - also an exhausting day! The kids were asleep practically before we pulled out of the parking lot. Before we left Toby declared it the best birthday he has ever had, which is what a parent wants to hear.

The following day we did have cupcakes and ice-cream and Toby opened his presents. His favorite gift was the Nerf dart guns that we bought for him and Asher. As if having footballs and light sabers flying around the room isn't enough, now we have darts going all directions. This is my life.

Recently we were going around the table saying what we like about our family and Toby said he liked that we love him. He certainly got that right. He is very loved in this family and we have treasured watching him grow up and are excited to see him continue to change and learn.

Happy Birthday Toby!

Halloween Cuties

Pumpkins Anyone?

Hurry!! Must get pumpkin pictures on the blog before the end of October! (Phew. I made it.)

This year we decide to keep it real and go to an actual pumpkin patch. We drove to Oak Glen, an area of California famous for its apple orchards (we were too late to pick apples - that happens in September - maybe next year!), for a day in the country. Debbie and Andy piled in to the van with us and we were off to enjoy some scenery and fresh air. Our day's activities included a corn maze, picking pumpkins straight off the vine, visiting a petting zoo, and drinking apple cider. It was a fun way to celebrate Fall.

Cooking a little pumpkin in the oven!

A little late, but still heartfelt: Happy Birthday Dad! Our little family loves you very much!

A Kindergartener and a Preschooler!

The first day of school fell on the same date for both Toby and Asher, and today was the BIG DAY. Toby, especially, has been looking forward to starting kindergarten for a long time. He was ready! After milling about his new classroom for awhile, he finally asked me, "Mom, when are you leaving?" I could tell he was waiting for kindergarten to really begin. He had a great day and we are very proud of him!

Asher has tagged along to either drop off or pick up Toby from preschool for the last few years, so it was neat to see him finally get to stay and play himself. One of my favorite things has been hearing Toby, the expert on his old preschool, give Asher advice...like to make sure to be first to get the blue shovel in the sand yard. Really important stuff.

Asher also had a great day. I expected him to be quite tired, and maybe quite cranky, after his exciting morning, but he was happy as can be, even singing a little song he had been taught. Such a big boy.

How did they get so big?

What happened to August?

I usually try to get in at least one or two blog posts per month, but August kind of slipped by me. We did have a fun month, though! Here are some of the highlights:

We fit in several visits to the local children's museum, called Kid's Space, including this fun visit with friends:




Nana & Papa, and Uncle David & Auntie Kristi visited! The pictures below are from our day at the arboretum. We all loved having so much family around!


Aunt Debbie took a day off from work to hang-out with her nephews. We went to the Los Angeles Natural History Museum. In the summer the museum has a butterfly pavilion, which we visited first. Butterflies of every color - it was amazing. Indoors, it was dinosaurs!

Unfortunately the very end of our summer, the last few weeks, were spent mostly indoors due to wildfires in the foothills near us. The smoke and ash made it unhealthy to be outside. But that only made us more ready for the fall routine to set in.

Time for school!

Asher is Three!

Having a few friends over for a pool party seemed like the perfect way to celebrate a summer birthday! Asher was really looking forward to his party, and was most specific about his cake: it had to be CHOCOLATE and it had to be ROUND (he even pointed out a few things that are round to me, in case his mama didn't quite get the shape he had in mind...).






Asher you bring so much delight to our family with your affection, sweet demeanor, and fun-loving personality. We love, love, love, love you!!

Especially to make the grandma's happy, there are many more pictures of Asher's birthday posted on our web album: http://picasaweb.google.com/tsbundy

If you are feeling especially nostalgic, you can take a look at the slide show I put together for Asher's birthday last year: http://tsbundy.blogspot.com/2008/07/our-baby-is-two.html

Soccer Saturdays

Coach Shane started up soccer practice again this summer, so every other Saturday the boys look forward to kicking the ball around with their buddies. Asher loves that he is included and really hustles out there! A friend took these photos last Saturday:


During the last part of practice the kids have a short scrimmage. Asher runs around with a lot of energy, but doesn't usually get to touch the ball much. It's very cute. Toby gets in on the action, though!


Celebrating a goal!

Knee High by the 4th of July?

This was the 3rd year in a row that we have enjoyed our town's 4th of July parade! I was thinking about how much the kids have changed and grown over the last few years and wanted to compare pictures. The change is obviously more apparent in Asher, who unbelievably will be three this month!

- 2009 -




- 2008 -

- 2007 -