Sunday Snuggles

My babies are growing.  I try not to think about it, because when I do, my heart aches.

And we have a scooter....

Despite our best efforts to prolong the "immobile" stage for as long as possible, Jacob took it upon himself to learn to scoot.  He's a much happier baby now that he has free access to things to chew on.  And I'm a Nervous Nelly trying to keep small objects off the floor. 

Back to School

Theodore Judah is an old school and the feeling I get when I'm there is that it's a well-loved school.  Change is hard and the first day my boys came home with an unfavorable report, but the next day was much better and they seem happy. The boys can ride their scooters to school, they love that.

A visit from Grandma & Grandpa

Grandma & Grandpa drove up to see us for Connor's 3rd birthday. We celebrated by going shopping for toys (of course) and taking the boys to the California State Railroad Museum, which is amazing.

I went all out with the cake this year, right?  I'm not going to mention any names, but someone got his hands into the cake when it was sitting in the fridge, just minding its own business.

This little guy just goes with the flow. 

My mom and I also got our craft on while she was here.

Costco with four boys

I just had to document my bi-weekly adventures to Costco with four children.  Yes, it is as exhausting as it looks.  Add 100 degree weather and a trip to the gym before and a trip to the pool afterward for added effect.

Morse Park

In Sacramento, there are a ton of free splash parks. Morse Park in Elk Grove was our favorite.

Jelly Belly Factory

We met up with our good friends from our Shoreline days (the Holts who are now living in the bay area) to visit the Jelly Belly factory. Did you know that President Reagan helped make these guys famous? He insisted on having Jelly Belly's at his meetings and gave them to visitors as gifts.

Andrew, Timothy, Jack, Joshy, Kassie

Bertha Henschel Park

Andrew, Jack (our neighbor), Joshy, Connor

This is the park a block away from our house.  It has a play pool that's open all summer and then this play area.  I really don't think we could have found a better place to live while we're here in Sacramento.  It feels like we were planted in the exact right spot we're supposed to be.

Swim Lessons

I was debating on doing swim lessons this year.  I looked into it before we moved to Sacramento and it looked too expensive, but we found a place that was close by that was reasonable and I'm so glad we did.  The teacher was phenomenal.  After two weeks, Andrew could swim elementary free style and Joshy could swim! My neighbor had a pass to this pool, so we did a babysitting swap where one day I'd watch her two, and then on another day, she'd take the older two swimming.  It's been such a fun, easy-breezy summer for these boys. 

Muir Woods

We visited Muir Woods yesterday.  It's just north of San Francisco, about a 2 hour drive from Sacramento.  These coastal redwood trees are the tallest living things on the planet.  It was a crowded day, lots of people, but I can't get over how quiet the woods were.  It felt like a sacred place.  There was even a section called the "Cathedral Grove" that asked visitors to be quiet.  Of course, that's when my 6 year old decided to tease my 2 year old, resulting in ear-piercing screams.  Yep, we're "those" people.  Our verdict: It was worth the long drive in traffic to get to.  A must see if you ever visit San Fransisco.  We're a little nervous to go to "The City" with four children.  Maybe someday in the next 10 months we'll get brave. 

Little Boy Paradise

We've been to North Tahoe Beach twice in the short time we've been here in Sacramento.  It's about a 2 hour drive.  We met up with my step-sister Cristiana and her boys.  And also my step-brother Brad's boys.  10 boys in all!  Each of us moms packed lunches and plenty of snacks, not a crumb was left by the end of the day!  A couple of weeks later, I took Randy with us and we met up with my friend Mandy and her kids.  This is the perfect beach for little ones.  We, as parents, can actually sit back and relax.  The water is warm and clear.  The sand is so soft.  This place is amazing!!  The boys also enjoyed fishing for crawdads.