June '09

- Ate olives. -








- Went camping at Dixon Lake for Father's Day. (We love you, Chief!) -


Good morning.



This was the boys' first camping trip ever. And they loved it. Our campsite consisted of shrubs and dirt. Lots of dirt. And the dirt was their favorite thing to play with. They shuffled through it. They licked it off rocks. They rooted around in it searching for who knows what. They threw it in the air and watched the breeze carry it into Mommy and Daddy's annoyed faces. They had a ball with dirt and next time, I'm going to be a kill-joy and look for a dirt-less camping site. Think one exists?



We got a row boat first, then promptly traded it in for a quieter motor boat after squeaking our way around the serene lake setting, scaring all the fish away and annoying our camping neighbors.



GOOD MORNING! Good thing we're not coffee drinkers . . . don't think we need it. :P



They have the same quirky, crooked smile. I. LOVE. IT.


- Went to Family Sports Night organized by a friend -






- Pretended to be Elders -


I was tipped off that Bugga had awakened from his nap when I heard our bedroom doors jiggling. I slowly opened the door and found him accessorized as in the photo above. He stood there wafting toddler aromatics in my direction while piping, "I'm the Elders!" I changed his diaper and escorted him to the front door for a proper missionary photo shoot. Buddha grabbed a bag and joined his younger brother as his "companion."











- Found a snail -






- Played al fresco in the water in the backyard. -

What Else Did We Do in May?

Said good-bye to Elder P. (far right) who was finishing up his mission and heading back to Utah.



Played with light.



Took off Buddha's training wheels.



Blew some steam.



Got some owies.



Pretended to be Jon Schmidt.



Practiced taking self-portraits. (ick)



Played in the sprinklers.



Photographed my first wedding.



Spent Memorial Day at Fort Rosecrans Cemetery. BEAUTIFUL!

At the Bagel Home - May '09

We did get to spend a little time hanging out at the house, playing in the backyard, creating with play dough, and just enjoying each other's company with the windows thrown open and the ocean breezes dancing through the sun-kissed interior of the Bagel Factory. And where sunshine couldn't bend and twist its way to dispel lingering shadow, laughter and love permeated and prevailed instead. There is nothing on the earth more powerful, more wholesome, more celestial than family. I love my family.

"The happiness of the domestic fireside is the first boon of Heaven; and it is well it is so, since it is that which is the lot of the mass of mankind." ~Thomas Jefferson

The boys gathered buckets and rags to do a car wash . . .



. . . which evolved into a Strawberry wash . . .



. . . and a lawn chair wash. And pretty much anything else they could get their rags on. Who knew? Gotta get them out there with rags and buckets more often! :P



Faces and Bugga are at the tail end of the "annoyed" stage where they are basically annoyed with every kid that gets in their way, whether the kid is just trying to play with them or not. Translation: they are starting to get along and that is FUN, FUN, FUN!



This (and the following three pictures) is how Faces got his pseudonym. These were ALL taken within a one minute time frame.









This one is the crowning beaut. Chubs was tired. I love his eyes.

Sea World - May '09

I didn't take too many pictures at Sea World and those I did take were captured with my little point-and-shoot, a camera I use more and more exclusively for video since I know what fabulous pictures I can get with my pro camera. It's handy, though, so I shan't complain. Sea World came the day after La Jolla Shores. We meant to get up early and spend the entire day at the park, but our bodies protested and whined for more time relaxing. Therefore, we got there just after lunch and spent our afternoon cruising rapidly from one show to another before we finally parked our exhausted selves at the Sesame Street Bay of Play to let the kids roam free.

My favorite Sea World show? The dolphins, of course!


Cousins are the best! Having grown up with multiple family reunions, I have great hope that my boys will get to spend lots and lots of quality time with their cousins. I love my cousins.



I love Faces' shifty eyes in this picture. Alas, he was on the verge of making a very poor decision to wring his baby brother's arm and, consequently, get busted by Auntie for it.