Mariposa Fishing Trip

We had to squeeze a little more fun in to the month of June... So over the weekend we took a road trip (5 1/2 hours) north to to the mountains of Mariposa, CA (near Yosemite National Park) to visit our friends Jeremiah and Julie. We arrived Friday.

On Saturday Jeremiah, Tim, and Toby took off on a fishing expedition - Toby's first time fishing. He had a great time and they came home with an amazing catch of six (none of them whoppers...but Toby didn't seem to mind!) fish.

The fishermen.

On Sunday morning we enjoyed some time playing in the Merced River

Asher did some of his own fishing, catching lots of imaginary fish.

That evening we were good and hungry for a hot-dog roast and s'mores!

YUM! Julie provided the delicious food. Toby and Asher were especially grateful for the marshmallows, much of which ended up on their faces!

Toby, who would LOVE to have a pet of his own, became very attached to Ebony...who for a secret reason all his own, he renamed Gwydeon. We have no idea where that name came from, but it was cute and made us smile every time.

We love it when our friends live in places that are fun to visit! (By the way, Jeremiah and Julie are expecting their first baby in August - YEAH!)

Say June

Every year of my life seems to go by faster, so I can't believe June is coming to an end. Here is an update on the happenings in our lives this month.

My close friend and college roommate, Flavia, was married on June 5th, so I flew to New York, New York for her wedding. Nakeischea, my other dear college friend, was also in the wedding, so we roomed together at a hotel near Times Square. I seriously had to pinch myself that I was actually getting to go to New York, sans kids, to hang-out with girlfriends for a long weekend!

Flavia and her man at the rehearsal dinner. Bob is a great guy! I'm so happy for Flavia.

Nakeischea and I kicking it in Times Square.

The gorgeous bride!

Tim and the boys had a great time while I was gone, eating junk food, playing Star Wars, and probably watching too much TV. This sweet poster they made welcomed me back:

June 16th was Toby's graduation from Pre-K. The preschool had a short and sweet ceremony. Following are a few pictures of Toby after the event. He was pretty proud:

Pictured with his classmates from the Bear Class

I did it!

Pictured with his teachers, who are graced with much patience!

We all know that boys tend to love getting dirty, but Tim and Toby took it to the extreme. On June 20th Tim and 4 of his buddies competed in a MUD RUN. His team did well and after running up mounds of dirt and trudging through plenty of muddy mudness, they came in second place. Following the competition, Toby was allowed to do a little mud-running himself, which he thought was awesome, especially when he was awarded a medal along with his dad.

At short notice, Tim ended up having to work on Father's Day, so we were glad that we had made watching him compete in the mud run the day before a family event. Toby and Asher will tell you that there is not better daddy than theirs, and I have to agree that he is a fantastic dad and very much loved in this family.

If you look closely you will notice the gap in Toby's teeth - he lost his first tooth this month.

6

I am blessed.

My two cuties on Mother's Day.

Toby, Toby, Toby

Our Tobiah is growing up fast. He has his first loose tooth, has grown 3 inches since this time last year, and is off to kindergarten next year. Unbelievable.

May 4th was his half-birthday, which we celebrated with half a cake and one present.

May 28th was Toby's preschool Open House:

He proudly showed me around his classroom.

He played his last t-ball game of the season Saturday, May 23rd. It was great to see how much all the players improved in their skills. Toby had a great time and played well!

Had to get a picture of the dugout scene.

Here is Asher with his posse of little brothers who would run around and get dirty while their older siblings played t-ball.

And lastly, Tim and I took Toby to his first movie! He has always loved animals, so when we saw that the documentary Earth was out we decided that would be a great show for him to see in the theater. (Debbie babysat Asher.) It was a time for us to do something special with Toby, since he is growing up quickly and is about to enter a whole new phase of life next school year. Sigh.

April Recap

Most of my computer time lately has been spent translating a lengthy document from English to Spanish for a family friend, but I wanted to update my blog with some recent pictures before I get too behind!

My parents visit in April was full of fun outings and time together:

Here are two love birds in a nest...my mom and dad inside a sculpture at the arboretum made of live willow branches. The kids call it "the fort".

Grandma enjoys time with Asher at the park.

My parents generously allowed Tim and I to take advantage of their free babysitting to go away for the weekend to Santa Barbara, a place I've wanted to go to since we moved to California. It was as beautiful as everyone had described it.

In front of the Santa Barbara Mission.

Watching the sunset. Notice the shadow of Tim taking the picture.

Yummy Italian food.

Uncle Andrew came down from Reno to join the family fun while my parents were still in town.

The boys went easy on him.

So that's April for you...now on to May, which you will soon notice is all about Toby, Toby, Toby...is it fair that he gets to have so much fun?

Easter 2009

Finally posting some pictures from Easter! Since we attend a large church, Easter was a huge production. We had to park remotely and be transported by shuttle to the service, which was fun for the boys. We went to the early service, so had plenty of time afterwards to come home and barbeque (Easter a la California!).

Tobiah and Asher were excited to receive their Easter "buckets"

Wonderful to have my parents here for Easter!

Debbie and her best friend, Jen! Thanks for making the drive from San Diego! We love you!

Our friends Cammie and Robert, who we almost always go out to lunch with after church also joined us. Don't ask me why I didn't get a picture of them! They are awesome friends!

Egg hunt

Where in the world were Toby and Asher on Papa's birthday?

AT THE ARBORETUM!

They had a great time tearing around the beautiful grounds and enjoying the wildlife: ducks, geese, turtles, fish, a heron (which we got to watch catch a fish!), lizards, squirrels,

AND peacocks...

(see video)

Right before I took the video this peacock has his tail feathers fully fanned out, but by the time I filmed him they were down...so some of the effect was lost...but we believe he was wishing you a Happy Birthday nonetheless Papa!

Here is what the peacock looked like in full splendor. (My dad took the picture.)

Lots of love from your California family!

Palm Springs on Palm Sunday!

We think we might have started a new tradition of visiting Aunt Dianne and Uncle Duane for a day while they vacation in Palm Springs every year. The drive (1 hour and 45 minutes) was definitely worth the fun filled day (and the kids slept all the way home). Last time we saw Aunt Dianne and Uncle Duane it was in inches of snow in Washington, so it was fun to see them again in sunny, sunny Palm Springs. Tim and I were excited to see that the boys' water skills had not regressed - Toby was doing a lot of swimming and Asher was very comfortable playing in the pool.

California Boy

Getting ready to jump off of Daddy's shoulders!

Toby enjoyed swimming and water fighting with Uncle Duane.

Thanks for the great time Aunt Dianne and Uncle Duane!