Take me out to the ballgame

Oshyn had a blast playing baseball this year.  He had a bunch of buddies on his team (the Orioles) & learned a ton about the game.  Cruz played on the leftover equipment that I had fond memories of as a kid "watching" Chad play and Tyce went from parent to parent talking and making friends.  The season lasted FOR.EV.ER!!  Here are some pictures of the baseball star...

 

Anyone thirsty?

Skatepark

We're back from Texas and enjoying the skatepark before the teenagers wake up!

Summer is HERE!!

After returning home from Texas yesterday we realized that the cold, rainy weather was gone--FINALLY!!  The pool beaconed us twice today and we listened.

Texas Nobmann's

We were so fortunate to be able to move in with the Texas Nobmann's for a great LONG weekend.  We hadn't seen them in about 4 years so we were way overdue and had a FABULOUS time.  The boy gene is running rampant between Beau and Sean which makes for a testosterone filled house & lots of fun!

 There was a fantastic splash pad/pool/waterpark just a few blocks from their house.  Lucky for us it was nice and hot, which was VERY welcomed by this family--coming from a June cold California.  We LOVED it!!!!!  

Every year I do a family calendar with pictures of all of the Nobmann grandkids.  Asher was adamant about my picture taking.  He kept saying, "Take a picture for the CALENDAR!"  I think I may just have enough for a personalized "Asher" calendar (18 months worth!)

We played hard with cousins--outside on the tramp and hose, wii mania, eating good food, loving on Grandma June & Grandma Annie, and throwing a few kids around.

We went on a great walk near Sean & Katherine's house next to a river.  As we would walk by people you could hear them exclaim to each other about the number of kids we had--and that they were ALL boys.  So funny and awesome.

Harrison turned 8 and was baptized while we were there & little baby Jonathan was blessed the next day.  The two most special reasons we made the trek to Texas.  What great days to be able to share with family.

The boys were great little travelers as always.  They are a pleasure to take somewhere and turn their life upside down (in a good way) for a week or so.  Can't wait to do it again!!

Cuatro

While we were up in Redding, we decided to celebrate Cruz's birthday with all of our family and cousins that were there.  It was a fabulous way to spend our Sunday afternoon.  Cruz's actual birthday was the next week, but I knew he wouldn't mind. :) 

Uncle Roger brought his real Harley over for the kids to ride on.  Cruz sat on it, but that was good enough for him. 

Oshyn was the only one to brave the wind in his hair.

 Cruz was excited for the piñata and took the first hit.

I was a little skeptic when Beau brought home a "Dora" piñata from work, but man did the boys love beating the heck out of her.  (That didn't sound too good...I'm sure none of them will be wife beaters when they grow up.)

Mr. Proud of his Dirt Bike cake 

After a few good blows, the candles were left smokin'.  He opened presents like a champ and was phenomenal about saying 'thank you', which makes every mama happy.  Cruz got tons of motorcycles and some games.  He was happy as a clam.  When his real birthday came a week later, he didn't believe me.  He was already FOUR!  So we didn't do a thing.  He giggled that people were calling him to tell him happy birthday.  I love FOUR year olds.

The Last Hurrah!

Much to our dismay, the Redding Lake House has been sold.  We decided to sneak one more family pow-wow into the place we have grown to love for all of the memories it has helped create.  Lucky for us Memorial Day was open!  (Bonus was a visit from my Mom and Pete, which was fabulous as they had heard so much about the Lake House.)  One of our traditions is to take pictures after Church on the front steps.  It has been neat to see how much all of the kids have grown over the years on these steps.  We'll miss this wonderful family meeting ground, but we are so grateful for the time we have had here.

Year One=Preschool

Cruz made it through his first year of preschool at Grace.

Doesn't he look thrilled?!?

 What a great way to celebrate at our favorite gymnastics place--Impact Sports!

Reared and ready for more!

Isms of the week

O: "There sure are a lot of people named DJ on the radio."

C: "That's how I roll!" (in other words...how he does things :)

T: "Here Mom!" (for EVERYthing he hands me--food, books, you name it!)

Handy Dad

For Beau's birthday the boys got him a book titled "Handy Dad", with step by step instructions for multiple projects.  It has evoked so many great do-able projects and many more to come.  Bottle rockets, tire swing, longboard skateboard, etc.  The boys LOVE to be with Beau and  to build things makes the time even better.

Dandelions

When Beau and I first got married we disagreed as to what a dandelion was.  I was FOR SURE it was the wishing flowers you blow and he was FOR SURE it was the bright yellow flowers growing in the grass.  Well, turned out we were both right.  What a grand lesson to learn early on in our marriage.  Two completely different ways can be right.  Every year when the dandelions emerge I am reminded of the importance and relevance of our dandelion lesson & I fall even more in love with my sweet husband because we have learned just a bit more about life and growing together each passing year.