Jonah the bug hunter...

So Jonah has been into hunting for rolli pollies and snails the last couple of days. the other day he spent all day from 10 am - 5:30 pm looking under every rock and bush for bugs...and ended up with hundreds of bugs..I wish I would have taken pictures of his hands after digging in the dirt...I had to do a major scrub afterwards....

Swim lessons..

It is that time of year, Jonah has been taking swimming lessons for a couple of years, but Makenna just started last week. She has been waiting forever to be old enough to take lessons, and she just loves her teacher and learning to kick and make sandwich hands..

heat wave

We had a few days of blistering heat last weekend, and we did anything to just stay cool. It was up to 106 F , which is very unusual in this area.

Peter loved the kiddo pool and Benjamin loved the cold washcloth on his head... and popcicles were the best...

california wildfires...hits close to home....again

Peter took these pictures on his cellphone on the way home from work today

view from Highway 1

This is taken from the backroads of watsonville

We now have the 4 big wildfire in this county in just a few weeks. It is so hot ( today it was 106..) and it has not rained for months, so the fire danger is just huge. The one that started today is right by the freeway anly about 15 minutes south of us. They closed 6 miles of the highway. Peter had to take the backways home from work...and he took a few pics on the way...We have friends with houses in the area of the fire, and just pray for them they will have a house to go home to. The heat wave is suppose to last for a couple of more days.

Jonah said in his prayer tonight to " please bless all the people that are fired..that they may be safe..and that daddy plase will not go to work tomorrow"...

Jonah The Pooper Scooper

"Mommy I don't like this chore, I want a new one"
..but he realized fast that there was no way out of this one...

When we got our new dog, Ruby a couple of months ago, Jonah happily volunteered to be the pooper scooper as one of his chores. I don't think he knew what it really meant..but he is now wishing he had another chore.

I had to take some pictures the other day when I told him there was no playing until his chores were done

The joys of potty training...

Jonah happy to teach her how to use the potty

So Makenna is 2 1/2 and I have been wanting to potty train her for a few months, but with moving and the baby I just have not been ready! I knew a few days ago that she was getting ready as she lifted up her dress to make sure she had a pull-up on before she went pee!!!! I kept asking her when she was going to use the big potty and she would just say soon.

Well, we started Thursday because we ran out of diapers and pull-ups and I was not going to buy another pack at Costco, so I just told her that all the pull-ups where gone...

She ran around for a couple of days with a dress and no underwear, and she did not have one accident. She even held it during night time...However she has refused to go number 2...and it has been 3 days. I figured it would have to come sooner than later....

So today as we were visiting with some friends in the living room, she ran to the bathroom, pulling her pants and underwear down as she was running, and suddenly I just hear a scream. I thought she must have slipped and hurt her head or broken a leg, and we ran into the bathroom...She was standing devastated next to the toilet, where she had not quite made it, and she was so sad about missing the toilet. We had to really try not to laugh and make sure she knew that we were so proud of her.

She got her lollipop we had promised her, and she walked out happy as can be.

Siena's school play

Peeking out during intermission

She looked really pretty in her dress
Siena is the tallest blond in the middle
She is the first policeman on the edge

Siena had a school play a couple of weeks ago called "Pirates of Penzance", and she did a really good job. She had a couple of roles as a beautiful fair maid and a policeman, and she did a great job.

Jonah and Makenna was in total awh... by the pirates and the "princesses" and still talks about it.

My little baby Benjamin

Just thought this picture was so cute...striking a pose at 3 1/2 months

My little boy is graduating from Preschool

He is offically graduated

Here is Jonah moving a little closer

And he would not have anything to do with the hat or cermony when we first came...

Jonah graduated from Preschool yesterday, and I was so excited about the cute little ceremony they were going to have with graduation hats and marching to the graduation music. When we got to the school there were so many parents and kids, Jonah got so overwhelmed he did not want any part of it.

I tried it all ...bribing all the things I could think of...because I really wanted a Picture of him...but he would not! Wonder where he got his stubborness from?:)
So we watched the ceremony from afar...but as it came to an end Jonah moved closer and closer and by the time they were done, he let me have one picture of him with the hat...

which is all I wanted:)

Where have my brain cells gone...

I used to be very good at writing and expressing my thoughts and feelings, but post kids that skill seem to have landed on another planet somwhere in the universe. I have all these thoughts i my head during a day, and I get interrupted so many times a day...MOMMY here and MOMMY there...that they are only small little pieces of logic and sense.
I know I have opinions and I like to think...but somewhere in the lack of sleep or time for myself to even hear my thoughts, I guess my brain cells, or at least most of them are on a shelf somewhere in my head waiting for more sane times.
I just sat down at the computer to write about today, and my mind is blank. Peter is out of town and juggling the 3 little kids and the puppy just had the best of me today.

Do they have to grow up...

Makenna is just such a sweet age right now...2 1/2 and I wish sometimes she would just stay this age and NEVER grow up. Her days are about putting on lipstick, whatever is pink and purple, playing with her doll Emma and dress up....if life was just that easy:) The smallest things makes her happy and is a great reminder to me to not forget about the small things. The best thing also is that every day she says " you are the best mommy"...I just hope that last forever:)

Like Father like son

This is Jonah


...and this is Peter at about the same ago...

Jonah, our oldest son seems to always get into trouble. He has no fear and is very competitive. He just turned 5 and have crushes on girls and tells us who he likes and who he doesn't. He is always trying to see how far he can jump, and how fast he can bike...I am just amazed I still have not had to take him to the ER ( knock on wood)

I was asking Peter the other day where he gets all his energy and troubleness from...and as I was saying it realized...he is just like his father.

Not only do they act the same..they do look quite the same....