Father's Day

I got to help Daddy put the top part of the bed together.

Garrett and I tried to do it without Daddy, but we didn't get very far. At least we tried to read the instructions...

Father's Day this year was celebrated on a few different days. We celebrated with Brett's parents and sister's family down in San Diego before the actual day. Then we decided to spend most of the actual day putting together the boys' new bunk bed which meant rearranging and redecorating the room that used to belong to just Garrett. Finally the day after we spent some time celebrating as a family. The boys decided that Daddy just couldn't do without a new Y-Wing bomber for their next Star Wars battle.

Garrett 5y 1mo

Garrett graduated from preschool this month, took his first gymnastics belt lessons where he learned how to do flips, joined a Junior Giants team, performed his tap dance recital, and started his summer swim lessons where he is swimming laps down the length of the pool with the big kids. But the most dangerous thing is he is starting to read road signs and advertisements and telling us where we are supposed to be going...

Bad boys, whatcha gonna do when I come for you? Well, I guess I'm gonna thrill ya!

I have been specifically instructed not to hit anyone with my ropes nor wrap them around my neck...I think I can handle that.

I think I look good in my graduation cap, we decided not to have gowns because it was too hot.

Why am I the only one looking this direction? Because I gotta pose for the picture, that's why.

Thanks for the high five, Bryce.

The best thing I learned in preschool was the mastery of lightsaber techniques, see this is how Daddy chose my preschool because of that elective being offered...okay so I'm just kidding, but you believed me for a little bit, didn't you?

After some hard work in the yard, Daddy and I stopped to appreciate the blooming white flowers and I showed off my dirty grin.

Bryce 2y 11mo

Bryce has made some big strides this last month in preparation for his third birthday. He showed us how well he can sleep in a room with Garrett while on vacation, so we took advantage of the new found good sleeping habits and built the bunkbed we had purchased a while back. Bryce graduated from the race car bed to a really big boy bed in the same room as his brother Garrett. He loves it. While we are still working on the potty training, he is motivated to get things in order so that he is eligible for swim lessons this summer and gymnastics in the fall/winter.

I found a towel just my size, good thing it wasn't any smaller... Here is my new friend, little Shamu, so I can remember our trip to San Diego with much joy.

Bring it on Garrett! Your powers are weak old man.

I was really hungry for an artichoke so I cut this one off a little prematurely, but it sure looked like it was going to be a good one.

I love playing Star Wars and Transformers, just like my big brother...and Daddy too.

I've lined up all the toys after emptying the drawers...what you want me to put them away now?

Griffin 1y 2mo

Griffin continues to try and keep up with his older brothers. Well now he has a little more ability to do so, because he is walking which will soon be followed by running. He tries to climb up on anything he can and pretty soon not much will be outside of his reach... His brothers are sensing the threat and are trying to figure out new ways to combat their perceived threat. Griffin finally got his own room this month also after many months of sleeping out in the fireplace room. He also has his new favorite word with a purpose: "ball" which is followed by a swinging motion. Now he just wants to figure out a way to ascend the stairs to get to the top bunk in his brother's room. Yikes!

I am excited about my new mobility, now I can really come get you! And usually I can escape from my brothers more successfully, not this time--I got sandwiched.

This basketball might seem a little large for my body size, but I can already lift it up. Where's the rim?

No longer am I limited by where you put me, I can go where I want and explore the great outdoors...freedom.

Mmmm, my brothers kept telling me about the quality plastic food we can cook up on our BBQ.

"Ball" I say, and then I swing anything that looks like a bat at it. I'm just doing what my brothers do.

USS Midway

We spent a morning exploring and learning all that we could with the attention span of our kids on the USS Midway aircraft carrier. The boys loved getting to climb into the cockpits of the airplanes, seeing the beds that the soldiers slept on, and comparing all the different types of planes and helicopters on display on the ship. We took part of the audio tour that was available and hope to return again in the future.

I'm getting ready to get on board my very first aircraft carrier.


We're just trying to give you an idea of how really HUGE this ship is, or maybe how really HUGE a photo angle can make us seem...



This was my brothers favorite helicopter, he walked up and down the ramp about 5 times with a big grin each time.

It took Daddy about 15 minutes to get all the gear on for this picture...or not.

I might be a pretty dangerous pilot, especially since I can't see over all the controls!

...but with a set of headphones, I can just listen to orders and follow them.

If Garrett can fly a plane, I know I can too.

We were warned not to sit in the front row, but we figured we looked intimidating enough that nobody would mess with us.

Daddy's Grandpa flew a plane similar to this one in World War II.

San Diego -Visiting Friends and Family

We are studying the bios on all of Daddy's friends and family that we are visiting so we can look smart, or at least try to. Want to know what's on your bio, sorry it's classified.

Whenever we are traveling we like to see some friends or family that we haven't had the chance to see in a while, so this trip was no different. We got to see Chuck and Kristen (Brett's friends from college) and their three kids at the beach on Mission Bay. We stopped in West Hills on the way down to San Diego to see Brett's cousin Tristy and her husband Devraj for a delicious breakfast. We stopped in Los Angeles to see Brett's high school friends Stacy and Adrian where we hung out and played some games on the way back home. We also got to see our friends Peter and Cheryl on the beach as they were vacationing down there as well.

Daddy's friends Stacy and Adrian never thought they could fit this many on their couch. "Wii" had fun playing with you guys!

Chuck and Daddy had a lot of things to catch up on, but the real competition was for who would get the best sunburn.

My brother Bryce was trying to look like the oldest kid by putting together his best sand beard.

Daddy's cousin Tristy and her husband Devraj gave us a great breakfast, doesn't it just make you want to salivate and have it all over again. Can we stop here next time too?

My "G" shaped pancake with a circle of fruit, talk about presentation.

Daddy's "B" shaped and Griffey's "G" shaped pancakes didn't last long before they ate them.

I'll sit in my seat for good food like this.

San Diego Beach Bums

While we were down in San Diego for seven days, we made sure to spend some quality time on the beach relaxing, which actually amounted to three days devoted to just time on the beach (one not intended because Brett got sick). While we may have accumulated a few sunburns in the process, we had a lot of fun which included kayaking, pedal boating, going out on a catarmaran, visiting with friends, building things in the sand, and just generally relaxing.

We all paid visited the pelican statue, so we didn't get pooped on of course.

Does this thing go any faster? Would it help if I got out and pushed?

Come on Daddy, pedal harder, I can't even see a wake back here.

Check out my brother Griffin pulling Uncle James and cousin Rachel ashore!

I know what you're thinking...I've got some really long legs that sprouted while I was down here. That's how I got to walking so well this month.

Poppy told me that I shouldn't drive the truck past this line in the water...of course once he left his post, you know what I did...

Yeah, that's right we both have blue tops and yellow bottoms, but I hope you know who is who.

While we may have thrown some balls pretty far out into the bay, we never encountered an octopus like this one, or maybe that's why we can't find Bryce in this picture...

Have you ever seen sand-drawing with oars? Well Haley and I started the art form in San Diego, we'll see if it catches on.

Should I be getting out of here...I'm not sure what all the bubbles are about, but I'm guessing it can't be good.

There was no shortage of sand toys, that's a good thing because I think we left some buried on the beach.

That's how you spell my name. And the pose was suggested by Haley, so I'm trying it out.

Can I get some help with a little drink? Hey, is anybody still out here?

If I didn't have a face full of sand, I could've sworn I just saw a female spiderman run past.

The best treat after you are cold and wet is some cuddle time with Mommy.

Daddy tries to rescue the soccerball from rolling into the bay, maybe he should've been playing defense in the extra period against Ghana.

Yeah, I think I said something about that I didn't want to put my swimsuit on because I wasn't going in the water, and then I felt this insatiable urge to just get wet...

I'm trying really hard not to spill the water I need for huge moat.

Come on Daddy, I want to be wet just like Bryce got to...let go!

I'm a little cold right now, nothing a warm towel and some sun can't fix.

As you can see I was successful in my quest to get wet too. Yes!