Blogging…what is that?

Long time no blog! It has been busy around our house with Summer time activities. I am way behind in blogging, but we have had a great time together. I have been focusing on just being with my family rather than documenting everything. I might catch up and I might not.

Chase starts school next Monday. He has morning Kindergarten which I am THRILLED about. It really is the perfect schedule for our family. School, chores, and a little preschool (taught by me)  for Parker in the morning, and our afternoons are open for activities and naps .

I am starting to think about my homemade Christmas gifts. I am going to make an apron, 3 superhero capes, and a few other small things.

I am looking forward to going to a Giants/Braves game next week with my hubby. It will just be the 2 of us. Can’t wait!!

The following weekend my cousin is getting married in Half Moon Bay. We will be going down just the 2 of us and leaving the kiddos home. I am looking forward to celebrating with the happy couple and our family!

We feel so busy all the time. However, we don’t do much out of the ordinary. Our kids, work, school, church, and our family keeps our schedule full. We are tired. Life often feels out of control. Our home is LOUD and ACTIVE. I should be used to it by now, but I am not. Probably by the time I am used to it the kids will be grown and moving out . I am holding on for the ride!!

Fathers

This post is a day late, but I don’t want to let Father’s Day pass without mentioning the dads in our lives. This weekend we spent time with my grandpas, our dads, and our brothers. These men are not perfect and they would be the first to admit that fact. However, they are present. They play a role in their children’s lives. In this world, where so many men choose to leave off their responsibility as fathers we are truly blessed to have dads that have made the hard choice to stick it out and take up the responsibility of fatherhood. God bless them!

 

 

The greatest gift I ever had
Came from God; I call him Dad!
~Author Unknown

Giants Win!

We had a wonderful time on Friday at the Giant’s game. It was a little hectic getting ready to leave and coordinating with everyone’s schedules. There were 12 of us total at the game, and that can be a little complicated. It all worked out well!

We were able to get to SF by about 4:00. We ate dinner at our favorite burger joint-Holy Grill. We were able to park our car across the street from the restaurant, and walk to the ball park. It was about a mile walk, but well worth it. It can cost up to $30 to park near AT&T park.

It was a good game. The Giants scored early which was exciting! Madison Bumgarner pitched an excellent game. The score was 4-0 for most of the game. He got into trouble in the 8th inning, and the coach pulled him. The Cubs ended up hitting a 3 run homer. The Giants were able to hold them off and went on to win the game.

We enjoyed the walk back to the car after sitting for so long. We made a wrong turn, but our GPS on our phone got us back on course. It felt good to get back the car and turn on the heater. Some of snoozed on our way back to Sac. We pulled in around 12:00 AM.

My parents were troopers. They had 4 kids 5 and under their watch. The kids were thoroughly exhausted and slept in the next day! Thank you Mom and Dad.

Here are some pictures from our day:

Abe and Me

My brother and his wife

Ben and Tracey

Abe, Stacey, Nate, and Johnny

My friend in South Carolina was watching the game and posted this to my Facebook wall. Giants win!

Fairytale Town

We went to a fun birthday party at Fairytale Town on Saturday. We took Chase when he was about 1.5, but we haven’t been back with Parker or Maggie. It was fun to watch the boys enjoy this special little place. It feels like you have walked back in time about 5o years. It is very simple, and I found it to be very calming.

When we entered the gates on Saturday, I noticed that they had memberships. I mentioned this to my mom, and we decided that Bridget and our kids would enjoy going throughout the year. We hopped in the car, picked up Chase from school, and headed over to buy the membership.

We went late in the afternoon, and there were about 4 other families. The kids were able to run and play on anything they wanted. It was nice to just let them go. They were safe and couldn’t hurt much or be hurt. It was so very enjoyable. Can’t wait to go back when the rain lets up!

Here are some pictures from that afternoon:

 

In the Tee Pee (sp?)

Had to get Mags in the picture.

At the top of the owl slide.

Bridgie!

 

Chase!

Mr. Parker

Maggie is THRILLED to be out of the stroller!

Trying to get all these kids looking in the right direction and smiling=close to impossible!

Grandma and Maggie

Boys MUST climb EVERYTHING. The great thing is that they are free to climb

Parker was driving the train away from lava! Love the imagination.

Maggie is trying to walk. She took 4 steps in a row later on that night.

Parker doing his ninja moves. Chase climbing again!

He got his dance moves from his mom and dad…poor guy! LOL!!

Sherwood Forest

The Boys!

Chase and Parker are about 2.5 years apart. They just started really playing together within the last 3-4 months. They would play along side each other but not really together. It has been such a blessing to watch them enjoy one another. Don’t get me wrong. Most days they fight more than they play, but their friendship seems to be getting stronger.

Parker is so imaginative. He will pretend that a piece of wood is a cell phone or a book is an iPad. He will turn anything into a sword or a gun. He loves to dress up. This is so different than Chase. He is very literal and has never been into pretend play. However, he is learning from Parker. It is so neat to see Parker teaching him.

They are very interested in superheroes (Star Wars, Transformers, Captain America, The Incredibles, etc.). They often have battles. I love hearing the conversations that are setting the stage for the battle, gun noises, cries of agony as they are “stabbed” or “shot.”  Sometimes they are too rough and they end up hurt or in an argument. However, I love that they are pretending and enjoying each other.

Here is a picture of them playing with Parker’s new carseat and the box that it came in. They told me that Parker was Captain America that he was “getting strengthened.”

We are giving Maggie the kitchen set for her first birthday because we knew that the boys would be able to enjoy it as well. They will play with her and teach her how to pretend as well.

It really bothered me that Chase had no interest in pretend play. I felt like we ruined him with too much TV and computer/phone games. Growing up, my brother and I would play with our toys for hours. I would play with dolls and he would play with Playmobil and his cowboy dress up toys all the time. I am so grateful that this part of Parker has shown through!

California State Fair-2011

My family has been going to the State Fair for almost 20 years. We haven’t missed too many years. We really like the exhibits and the livestock. When my brother and I were younger we loved the rides as well. Since having kids our State Fair experience has changed dramatically. We barely fit in the Livestock part and spend most of our times at the rides.

Abe and I skipped last year and my parents took Chase. We almost didn’t go this year, but Abe spoke up and mentioned that he wanted to go. My Grandma watched Maggie for us, and we went last week. It was so nice to know that Maggie was in a safe, cool place. It is not the best place for a newborn. Thank you, Grandma!

We bought the kids unlimited ride wristbands. We were debating whether or not we should get one for Parker because he is risk averse and not a daredevil. We ended up getting him one, and boy were we glad we did. He had a blast!! He didn’t want to leave. He wanted to ride the whole time. It was so fun to watch Bridget, Chase, and Parker have fun! We saw a little livestock and watched a showmanship contest for cattle. We had perfect weather! The only downside was that my mom and myself were quite sick. We are looking forward to going back next year totally healthy!

 

Summer Time Fun

We love Summer. We love the extra light in the evening, the ability to play outside. swimming, late bedtimes, family trips, lazy mornings, and so much more! It is such a blast. I am trying to enjoy this Summer because Chase starts school in August and our life is going to drastically change. Here are some pictures from our Summer fun so far.

Swimming and popsicles in Hood and Grandpa and Grandma Berger’s house.

Backyard and sprinkler fun!

Water Painting

Our Little Get-Away:Part 1

On October 7th, Abe and I will be celebrating our 2nd wedding anniversary. I decided to surprise Abe with a weekend get-away. He did not know where we were actually going until we were 33 miles from our first destination. We are currently in Fort Bragg. We will be leaving here today around 3 PM to head to Eureka. We are going to explore the Redwoods and the other beautiful attractions in the area.

When we were driving yesterday, we passed through Lucerne. We were able to see the Lucerne Christian Conference Center. Our church has had many Family Camps at this location. We decided to stop and take a look around. It truly is a very interesting place. It is quite pretty. Here are some pictures of our little detour.

Here is the ghetto water slide at Camp Lucerne. This thing has caused quite a few injuries through the years. I would have thought they would have torn this thing down. Guess not!

We thought that we would give Chase a little break from his carseat, and let him "drive" for a little bit. He has been such a trooper so far. He hardly complained at all during our 4 hour drive. We only stopped this one time in Lucerne. He travels really well. We are really happy that he is with us. What better could we spend our 2nd anniversary than with our little man.