Levi Turns 3

Levi turned 3 on Monday, June 21st - but we celebrated on Sunday. After church, Jim brought out our gift for him - a BIG BOY bike. It is a 12 inch bike - with training wheels. He was surprised - and excited!

His first ride - he was a pro already! He is wearing "Bubba's" shoes - so his feet look enormous. He loves his new bike.

He rode for quite a long time - after Jacob came in - he kept riding around the track. Over the last week - he has told me several times that he has a new bike - and that he his a BIG BOY.

We went to my brother Joey's house for a combined party for Levi and Father's Day. The kids (and Jim!) loved swimming in the pool. Levi is having a time of it trying to figure out how to hold on.

Salma - chillin' on her ride!

Caleb is great with the kids - and tolerated all of them spraying him in the face with the water guns. Antonio is quite the swimmer - at only 6 - he has been a fish since last year.

And - Jacob is like night and day from last year. He is wearing a life vest - but so comfortable in the water - confident that he won't sink and can get around. He loves using the squirt guns. Last year - he wouldn't hardly get in the water. This year - he was "willing" to stay in and get all of the toys out of the water....one.....by.....one......

Levi blowing out his candles - needed a little help from Mommy. He had fun at his party - playing with his cousins - swimming - eating cake - opening presents. It was good! He is ready to do it again!

He is growing so fast. Slow down boys! One downside - we had to pay for Levi to eat at Fresh Choice today - eek!!! :) Birthdays are so fun for the kids - and for us too. Looking forward to the next one.

County Fair

We went to the one of the California County Fairs on Saturday, June 19th in Placerville (about an hour from our house). We got there not too long after they opened - and it was a beautiful, cool morning with not too many people there. Here are the boys at a fire safety area - testing out fire extinguishers. They enjoyed spraying the water at the pretend fire.

Jacob really wanted to go on this ride. He is harnassed in - and connected to elastic bands that spring him up as he bounces on a trampoline. Once he got up there - he was not very adventurous - I think the height was getting to him. He gave the operator a work out - they were doing all the work raising him up and down. He had fun - and next time - there will be no stopping him!

Jacob as he is getting into a drum display - in an interactive area.

Jacob was excited for the carnival rides. He got to go on a few - here is him and Jim riding the "Rockin' Tug" - which swung back and forth and spun around. They had fun.

We really enjoyed the county fair - much smaller and less crowded than the state fair. Soon - Levi will be joining his brother on the rides.

Camping at Samuel P. Taylor State Park

We decided to try "Attempt #2" of camping as a family. We travelled to Samuel P. Taylor State Park on Thursday, June 10th for two nights in the beautiful redwoods. This park is located about an hour and a half west of us - near the coast. It is in the redwoods - about 45 minutes from the ocean. We took a walk when we got there - and here are the boys near some of the HUGE trees.

Jacob enjoying his "bug collector" - which he actually mostly put dirt in - but it was fun! He did end up finding a caterpillar - which he tended to on the way home - and called it "Catty" the caterpillar.

We went all out - and rented a tent trailer for the trip. It was a nice trailer - fun for the boys - and much comfier to sleep in.

The boys after getting some good sleep - don't they look ready to take on the world! :) Levi was rudely woken up by Jacob - and the flash in the dark caught them at their best! They actually slept pretty well - once they finally fell asleep - and when Jacob wasn't rolling over on top of Levi.

On Friday morning, we drove to the ocean and walked on the beach a bit. It was sure chilly and windy. The boys found some cool drift wood.

Levi trying to keep warm. They were both in good spirits and had fun. Unfortunately, right when we got there, we were told that there was lots of poison oak everywhere. Therefore, we had to keep a pretty tight reign on the boys and restrict them to camp and not getting near any leafy green areas.

Jim and I quickly realized on Thursday evening - that we are not that fond of camping. We decided to cut the trip short and come home on Friday afternoon. Although we didn't make it the entire two days - we did make it over 24 hours! Last year - much of our decision to come home early was based on one of the boys not enjoying themselves. We felt accomplished that both boys were having a good time - it was just Mommy and Daddy who were ready to come back to the comforts of home. Maybe we will try again.....and maybe we will move our future camping to indoors.....and where some call it a hotel!

Safetyville, CA

The boys were invited to a birthday party on Saturday, June 5th at Safetyville. A co-worker of Jim's - it was her little boy's 5th birthday party and they rented the place out for the afternoon. It is an outdoor self-contained park that has miniature buildings, roads, stop lights, and stop signs. The boys brought their bikes and had a blast.

It was one of the first pretty hot days in Sac - as you can see from Jacob's red cheeks. We had to insist the boys stopped once in a while to rehydrate. Jacob couldn't hardly stand sitting for more than a few minutes - and wanted to get back out there and ride again.

Levi didn't have quite the energy - and we would find his scooter parked somewhere as he was wandering around checking stuff out. One time - he had hi-jacked a lil girl's Barbie bike and was walking it down the street. We walked it back to the girl - and apologized - she looked so sad and pitiful. I guess it wasn't the first bike theft of the day!

It was fun to see them have the freedom to ride as much as they wanted - up and down the streets - stopping for the lights - and playing with the other kids. Can't wait til next time!

AWANA 2010

Jacob completed his first year at AWANA as a Cubbie. He did well - enjoyed going - learning verses, participating in songs and activities, and learning about God. He has graduated to the next class - and will be in Sparks next year - and his lil brother Levi will get to be a Cubbie. Although we don't attend church there, Riverside Wesleyan has been great to Jacob and our family and it has been a great year. Good job Jacob!

Jacob Swim Lessons

Jacob started swim lessons this Spring - on Saturday mornings in April and May. He started off a bit timid - and it didn't help that it was a bit chilly at 9a.

But in a short time - he was enjoying it and getting more brave to do some stuff on his own.

It definitely helped his comfort level in the pool. Last year, he was pretty terrified to get in at all. He would just stand on a step and try to squirt water on peeps in the pool.

And - during the first few lessons - he was terrified on the kick board and had a death grip on the instructor. She coached him from strangling her wrist to just relying on the board. He got pretty good at it - and even liked it.

The first few lessons - we had to strongly encourage him to get in the water. By the end - it was hard to get him out.

By next year, hopefully he is ready to be more adventurous in his learning and take off like a fish.