Trip to the Coast

My great friend, Julie, and I headed for a quick trip to the coast near Santa Cruz on October 22-24. We were hoping for a little sun and sand, but what we mostly got was wind and rain. Oh well, we had a great time and ate some great food. As long as there is good food and good company, I'm happy.

Here we are eating the most awesome vegetarian pizza at Blondie's Pizza in Berkeley. We sat at the open window and watched the most interesting characters walk by. Cool place.

Happy 9th Birthday, Scott!

October 6th was Scott's 9th birthday. After soccer practice we had Grandpa Peres and Phyllis over for cake, ice cream, and presents. One of his presents will be taking him to see the new Harry Potter movie next month. He's super excited. He liked getting money from Grandma and Grandpa Turner and from Grandpa Peres. He liked the Harry Potter X-box game and other presents. However, when I asked him what his favorite present was he told me it was all of his new clothes. Funny, some things never change. He has been all about clothes and high fashion since he was very little. So cute!

Scott said the money he was getting from Grandma and Grandpa Turner was his most anticipated gift. He loves $$$$$.

He was thrilled to get the Lego Harry Potter game for the X-box. He is really into Harry Potter this year and just finished the last book a few days ago. What a reader!

Scott and the looks on his face are classic.

Really Scott?

I decided to do a soccer cake this year. He's quite impressive this year and I love watching him.

I was floored that he agreed to give me a nice smile for the picture.

It didn't take him long to start with his usual antics again, though.

Scott with Grandpa Peres and Phyllis.

We decided we had to have a picture of him and some of his new clothes. It was quite a haul
(I love clearance sales!!!) and I was proud to know I'd done such a good job. He didn't think I would ever buy such cool clothes. I told him I'd been buying cool clothes for years, he'd just forgotten.

This is Scott's classic "I look cool" look.

He told me he was having such a hard time deciding on what to wear because there were so many great choices. This was his favorite, I guess. Way to go Mom!

Fall Camping Weekend

We'd been itching to go camping again and love camping in the fall because of the fall colors in the mountains. We decided to head up to one of our favorite spots at the beginning of October. However, there wasn't much color and we realized it was the Utah fall colors that we really miss. Oh well. We still had a nice relaxing weekend together.

The boys eating breakfast.

Scott begged for an early birthday present and I knew just the right one to give him. He was so excited to finally get his own Calvin and Hobbes comic book.

Another avid Calvin and Hobbes reader.

Now all three boys have their own books and spend many hours reading and rereading them over and over again.

Noah used to HATE reading until now. His reading has really come along in 1st grade and now he's happy to sit and read to Daddy.

Scott often has his nose in a book.

Elizabeth relaxing after an awesome run through the mountains. The boys rode their bikes and mom and dad ran. Loved it!!!

Joshua

Steve fell asleep in his chair as usual.

Joshua read his Calvin and Hobbes book to me, complete with faces and sound effects. So cute.

Noah found a bottle of fish bait and got creative with it.

We went hiking on the Discovery Trail. It was beautiful and quiet.

Scott

Steve and Elizabeth

There were educational sign posts along the way.

The boys loved this walkway.

Steve

Scott looking for fish down in the water. If you looked really carefully you could see them.

Mommy and Joshua

Scott, Mommy, and Joshua

Noah loved this big pine cone.

The kids felt the need to get as close to the water as possible, of course.

Joshua. Isn't he cute?

Joshua wanted to be sure and have his turn to pose for the camera on this particular spot.

Noah insisted on having his picture taken on this particular spot. I was happy to oblige. I love pictures!

Oak Chan Dragathon

On September 23rd it was time for the annual Oak Chan Dragathon fundraiser. The kids asked for donations (thanks Grandpa Peres, Grandma and Grandpa Turner, and Mom and Dad) and then ran as many laps around the grass field as they could in 20 minutes. Scott, Noah, and Joshua all participated and did great! What a bunch of little athletes I have.

Scott was one of the faster guys out there with the 3rd graders.

Scott stops to say hi to a couple of his friends.

Scott

Scott did a total of 10 laps. Way to go! That's the equivalent of almost 2 1/2 miles in 20 minutes!

Noah was a fast little dude too.

He just kept going and going.

Joshua got to run at the same time as Noah. He was cruisin!

Noah ran 10 laps just like Scott. What a stud!

Joshua finished 7 laps. What a guy!

Corduroy and Joshua

On the weekend of September 10-12 Joshua got to bring our pal Corduroy the bear home from kindergarten. We'd had Corduroy several times last year when Noah was in kindergarten and were excited to have him back. It was a fun filled weekend of watching bike stunts, soccer games, eating at Islands, and relaxing at home.

Eating oatmeal with peppermint sprinkles and chocolate syrup. Thanks Daddy!

Playing a little soccer with Noah and Joshua.

Kitty magnets...

Early one morning at the end of August the kids came to me and reported they'd found another kitten in the yard. I suddenly had a feeling of Deja vu. We'd just gone through this last year. I headed downstairs and sure enough, there was this cute little light orange colored kitten. Of course, the kids wanted to keep the kitten, but Steve and I decided our two kittens were enough and that we'd need to find a good home for this one. We let the kids feed and take care of the kitten for one night and was able to find a friend in the ward who had been looking for a kitten just like this one. What a relief. The kids had named the kitten Carrot, but the new family settled on Cinnamon. They report to us that the kitty and the family are very happy. Another successful rescue. Who knew I'd be such an "animal lover"?