How Lucky Can You Get?

How cool is it to have a boss who owns a house right on the boardwalk in Mission Beach! And how cool is it that he and his wife decide to throw a party for the firm, at their beach house? The kids were SO excited about going to the beach. I had an early afternoon doctors appointment, so I just decided to take the afternoon off completely. I picked up Tustin early from preschool, so we could pick up Keegan right when he got out of school, which was pretty exciting for him! He told everyone he was going to a beach party. We zipped home, put on our suits (well, the boys put on their suits), and we headed for the beach! We had a great time hanging out with co-workers and their kids, playing in the sand, the boys got a little wet, we had snacks and drinks, and really enjoyed our afternoon/evening!

Tourists?

I'm sure we looked like tourists! Kids running around in the freezing cold water, while all the "locals" are wearing wetsuits! Mommy with her big camera, taking millions of pictures, as if we had never been to the beach before! I do feel a little bad, we've had such a chilly summer, this was our FIRST trip to the beach all summer. Yes-- we LIVE in San Diego, and this was our first beach trip. The boys were SO excited, they didn't care how cold the water was! Got the good old-fashioned bucket rinse after too!

More Beach Fun

Tustin enjoyed saying hello to the lifeguards. And, of course, never any pictures of me, so I had to take one for myself while the kids were having fun up on the outer deck on the 2nd floor of the beach house!

Feather Writing

Keegan found a big, strong feather on the beach. He practices his writing skills!

Fun in the Sand

The sun ended up peeking through the clouds a little bit later in the evening, just before sundown. We had a lot of fun playing on the sand, while others sipped cocktails up at the beach house.

A Little Fun Photography

I've morphed these photos a little: partial color, radial blur, etc. Except for the sun coming through the clouds over the water. That one is just pure and simple, no tricks!

Borders!

I asked the kids this weekend if they wanted to go to the movie theater to watch "Nanny McFee Returns," which they have been pretty excited about. They BOTH agreed that they would rather go to the bookstore! Borders is one of their very favorite places. We sit down and read books together, or they just grab a book they like, cop a squat, and start reading! It's great.

Tut Talk

One day in the car-- the boys asked when we could go to Legoland again. They heard a commercial on the radio for Legoland's new water park. I explained to them how expensive it was, and we probably wont be going for quite some time. Tustin said, "Well, how did we go last time?" (Almost two years ago.) I said, "Well, Mommy won tickets on the radio, and they were free." Tustin said, "So, is there a little ticket hole in the radio?" He couldn't quite understand how I physically got the tickets to come out of the radio! Kids are so very literal, and I forget that a lot!

Keeganism

A couple of weeks ago in the car (the boys' most creative thinking zone) Keegan said "I'm not going to have kids when I grow up." I asked him "Why?" He said "Because it's just too difficult!"

We Have a First Grader!

Keegan started school on August 12th this year! He was pretty excited to find out who his teacher was, and which of his kinder friends would be in his class. We really like his teacher a lot so far. And there seems to be a good mixture of the 4 kinder classes, split into the 4 first grade classes. Some old friends, some new. He was so excited, he pulled homework out of his back pack, and sat straight down after school one day to start working on it, all by himself! His first full week was excellent. The teacher says he's focused, he listens well, and he's SMART!! :-)

Helping Daddy in the Yard

Tustin enjoys getting down and dirty, he's been a very big helper.... with whatever Daddy is doing out there!!

Wall Project

Chris (and Danny) started on this wall project not too long ago. Wish I had a good before picture-- it was just a grass slope from their front door, all the way down to the curb. Now they have made their front yard beautiful (almost) and functional! Chris was the "engineer" and Danny was the "assistant," but all I know is that they BOTH have been working their butts off on this project, day in and and day out! Their hard work will pay off soon.

Great Job Honey!!

Check out the almost- finished product! The stairway and walls are all completed. See the great detail work he did on the side walls to the stairway?!! And Danny and Shirley did an awesome job of picking out the color and design of the concrete work-- it looks great! Now they just have to finish the top half, possibly synthetic grass, and create some kind of fence work. But I'm not sure if they've narrowed down the style of the fence yet. Nice work Chris!

Swim Class

The boys took 4 weeks of swim classes this summer, 4 times a week! (Wow, it really has been a long time since I've blogged!) These are pictures from the FIRST day. Tustin was a bit timid at first, by after the first week, he was gung-ho jumping in like Keegan. And Keegan, what a great swimmer he has become! We went to the pool one weekend, so the four of us could swim and play. Keegan REALLY wanted to jump off the diving board, so he had to pass the swim test. He was told that he had to swim the length of the pool twice (25 meters x 2). HE DID IT! It took a while, but he did it, and he was so proud of himself, as were all of us. (Later to find out, he only had to swim the length of the pool once to actually pass the test!) He jumped and dove off the diving board for the next half hour straight! And his swim coach was bragging to all of the other life guards/coaches about how she has a preschool age (3-5 yrs) student who passed the swim test! That's our boy.