Tea House and Beach with the Fam

On the 16th, we all piled into cars and went to Balboa park to spent some time at the Japanese Friendship Garden. It was beautiful outside and the food at the tea house was amazing!!! After that, we were determined to go sea shell hunting on the beach so I looked up the best beach and the best time and off we went. We arrived at 4:30 on the dot (low tide) and made our way to the shore but not a single shell was found. No one really cared though.:) Lukas wasn't a big fan of the sand but Owen, Sawyer and Coleman went crazy in the water!!! We were there for about 2 hours before we had to drag their tired, shivering, wet bodies back to the cars. It was such an amazing afternoon watching the pure joy on their faces. Check out Owen covered head to toe in sand after a little face-first spill!

Sea World with Baba, Sarah & the Boys!

We were so lucky to have Baba (my mom), Sarah (my sis), Coleman & Lukas (nephews) visit us in early September. It was a blast!!!! Our first big outing was on Monday the 15th when we all went to Sea World together! We saw the dolphin show and played in the Sesame Street Land. We saw the Shamu show, of course, and Baba and I both cried during the salute to the armed forces and during the rest of the show. We are both big emotional babies. :) We also had a great time feeding the bat rays!! if you have a chance to do that...I totally recommend it! The only one that didn't really have a great day was Lukas...EVEN when the promised cotton candy arrived! After Sea World we all went to Ruby's Diner for dinner and enjoyed some much needed time sitting! It was a beautiful day. :)

The Dog

...on the couch he is NOT supposed to be on...out cold.

Our beautiful Sawyer

I will NEVER get over those eyes!!!!! I am the first to admit I am biased but heck, these are amazing!!

Cute little runner

Yes...he is getting faster and faster!!!!!

Just in case you forgot Owen's cheeks

Sawyer's First Day of School

Sawyer attends preschool at Johnson Elementary now 5 days a week for 3 hours a day! We love it! He loves it!! His teacher, Miss Ruby, is very sweet and he talks about her all of the time. It is the best thing in the world to watch your child LOVE school even if you are scared to death to leave him there...in this giant school...full of big kids...and surrounded by lots of streets. He was far braver than either Eddie or I were.

***UPDATE*** Sawyer no longer attends this school because the wonderful school district messed up the paperwork! Grrrrrrr. Say some prayers that we get him back into another great school soon!

Playdates with Grammy & Grampa

We were lucky enough to have a wonderful visit from Grammy & Grampa (Eddie's parents) last week. I can't begin to tell you how much the boys enjoyed it! The first words out of Sawyer's mouth each morning were, "Are Grammy & Grampa coming to play with me!?? On this day???"

Delicious...that's all I have to say.

Mud

If you look closely you will see that my largest children (Soy & Charlie) have been enjoying the sweet gooey-ness of mud. They were both attacked by a hose shortly after this picture.

Mining

The backyard at our place may not be the prettiest to look at, but it is definitely a wonderful place for exploration! The boys have taken on the task of digging for buried treasure. To date we only have an old straw and a washer to show off but I have no doubt you will soon hear, "There's gold in dem der hills!"

Our Little Swimmer!

Sawyer just completed his first swim class and he took to it quickly! In two weeks he learned to float on his back and swim short distances (with a close eye from the parents or instructor). He is very proud of himself and we are looking forward to getting him enrolled in the next session!

Our Artist!

Sawyer's amazing rendition of Mama and Dada using his medium of choice...the MagnaDoodle

Another Sea World outing

Dada and Mama took the boys to Sea World on a Friday night to see the fireworks. They had a blast! This is an adorable shot of them as we entered the Shark Encounter.

Our Anniversary!

Well, my wonderful husband and I have survived the 7-year itch!! On August 11th we celebrated our anniversary! Yes, it is true...we are as in love as people think! he is an amazing man and an outstanding father. Honestly, I can not begin to imagine this life without him. I truly love him more each day.

Here are a couple of pics. Sawyer took the one of Eddie and I and then you can get a glimpse at the beautiful flowers he brought home for me.

A visit from good friends!

Over Labor Day Weekend our friends Chad and Kim came out to visit from Arizona. Chad, Bill and Eddie grew up together in No. Cal. Anyway, one of the highlights of the visit was Wii night at the Kop household! Check out these pics and my favorite video of the night!!