So Very Grateful

This month (yes, its been that long folks!) I am grateful for:

Our cutie- who still smiles despite the fact that his lip is throbbing

The kids having a wonderful and magical start to their mornings

Finishing Jacobs birthday monster- Bacon

Emily getting the courage up to finally ride her bike with no training wheels.

Luke learning how to style his hair- all by himself

Jacob and Brenden making me stop at the Art Museum when they saw the Glashoff works out front.

The kids admiration for beautiful art

Brotherly love

Luke's artful eye

Emily, Brenden and Jacob loving their teachers and doing great in school

My mom and sister Amy who are there when I need advice and support- and there when I just want to blab.

The kids upcoming 3 day weekend- woo hoo!!

Balloon Chasers

We've been spotting a lot of these lately and the kids are loving it! Emily and Luke are the most excited by it all. They love hot air balloons and no matter how many they see- they are still in complete awe.

FRIDAY

On the way to school, this beauty floated right over our car. It landed right next to the street we were on.

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SATURDAY

We were on our way out for garage sales when we found these two treasures instead.

Here's the first one we spotted. The basket tipped while they were trying to land! No one inside seemed bothered. In fact, they all were laughing!

And the second balloon

Emily and Luke feel how soft and smooth the hot air balloon fabric is.

They even got to get inside the basket

Big Lip

Our accident prone Luke was running to his bed, tripped, and hit his lip on the bed frame. OUCH! His poor lip was so swollen!! After a nice cold popsicle, a little Orajel and a good nights rest, his lip was nearly back to original size (though bruised). Now he tells everyone his proud war story of how he "busted" his lip.

It Was A Grand Fort

Clever little Luke made a fort for him and Trevor today. They had so much fun playing in it- roaring at eachother like crazy little animals. Theyre nuts!

It looked a little cramped so I pulled the beds a little further apart for them.

Huge Suprises

Look what we found in front of our house early yesterday morning! There was a total of 5 balloons out yesterday- this one landing in a field across from our house.

You can see two more balloons further off in the distance.

This one landed in a field a few houses down.

The kids did end up a wee late for school but how often does a hot air balloon nearly land in your yard?

First Days and Birthdays

As it is the "norm" for this family- we have been busy. This time we were been busy with preparations for school and birthdays.

Jacob's birthday and the first day of school fell on the same day this year- the last day of July. What a present, hu?! The kids have wonderful teachers that they already adore. Now, I'm usually not the gushy mushy type but the first day of school always gets to me. Its a symbol of my kids getting bigger and that tugs on my heart. Brenden is already in 6th! Next year its Jr High for him!! I better enjoy it all now because as soon as he hits 16, we'll never see him again!

Being the thoughtful girl she is- Emily picked some Naked Ladies (aka Belladonna Lilies) for her teachers. And yes- the kids love that the flowers are called Naked Ladies and snicker every time their name is said. I guess we could call them Belladonna Lilies but where is the fun in that?!

As we posted earlier, we celebrated Jacob and Trevor's birthdays by going to the SF Exploratorium. So, when it was Jacobs actual birthday, we did the usual of letting the birthday boy open his presents and pick his favorite dinner with cupcakes for dessert. Then a week later, when it was Trevor's birthday, we did the same.

Happy Happy Birthday Trevor

To our silly little guy & the king of the monkey bars

HAPPY 9th BIRTHDAY TREVOR!

We love you!

Happy Happy Birthday Jacob!

Happy Birthday Jacob!

Happy 9th birthday, my Já Bear. Another year has flown by with me hanging on to its coat tails. I wish there was a way to slow it all down. If there is a way- I know that you (my inventor) will figure out how. We are so proud of you. Your heart is big and your mind even bigger. So many creative thoughts and ideas. I anxiously await the day that I come home to a giant robot in our yard! We love you.