Battleship Iowa

 As a special pre-birthday outing, Jeff took Grayson to tour the Battleship Iowa.  The Iowa was a WWII battleship that is now docked in San Pedro.

 Grayson was impressed my the huge guns and artillery.

These two manly men spent a manly morning exploring the ship before heading off to have lunch a Ruby's together.

Irvine Park Pumpkin Patch

Dad and Grayson had set off on their own outing, so Cole and I headed to Irvine Park.

 They were having their annual pumpkin patch.

 Cole was finally old enough to drive the mini tractors by himself. 

Afterwards, he played a game and won a giant, inflatable crayon. 

My favorite part, was when we left the bustle of the patch and sat by the lake to enjoy a picnic lunch together.  

Fireman Cole

 Never fear good citizens, fireman Cole is on duty to save the day.  Cole recently showed off his skills at the OC Fire Authority Open House.

He knocked down the flames with ease and then knocked out the ladies with his dazzling smile.

Tanaka Farms

 The boys took a field trip with Mountain Peak Charter School to Tanaka Farms.  Tanaka is a working 30 acre farm that holds seasonal tours for families and schools.

We started at the petting zoo, where Cole made some new fuzzy friends.

 A tractor gave us a ride around the perimeter of the farm so that we could see the different crops they were growing.

Finally, the boys were able to pick our their own pumpkins to take home.  

Rain!

After a hot, dry summer Cole was excited to greet the first raindrops of autumn.

Cole's 5th Birthday

 The day started with the birthday boy in his birthday suit.

 Later that night we went to dinner so the birthday twins, Nana and Cole, could celebrate together.

 On the Saturday following his birthday, Cole had a big party with all his buddies at Bounce U.

 When it was finally time for pizza and cake the birthday boy was sweaty and happy.

Happy birthday sweet prince!

Knott's Berry Farm

 The flexible schedule of homeschooling allowed us to get in a midweek trip to Knott's Berry farm.  There were very few people at the park and we were able to walk onto most rides with very little wait time.  We had an amazing day.

 Grayson and Cole got their first taste of roller coasters.   Grayson was a big fan of the Sierra Sidewinder.  He went on it 5 times.

Cole enjoyed making new friends.

Easter 2013

 The whole family enjoyed another wonderful Easter together.  

There was the traditional egg hunt.  Grayson and Cole are realizing that the hunt gets more challenging for them each year. 

 This year we held the first annual Humpty Dumpty drop.  Each team was given a raw egg and asked to design a package that would protect their egg when it was dropped from the second story balcony.

All the teams came up with very different packages, but all the eggs survived the fall.

Easter Egg Hunt

We joined some homeschooling comrades at beautiful Eisenhower Park for some egg hunting fun.  

Beautiful day...beautiful family

St. Patrick's Day 2013

It's St. Patrick's Day and time for wearin' o the green. 

 In Grayson's case, he isn't wearing much else.  

Grandpa's Birthday

Everyone worked to make sure Grandpa felt special and loved on his 69th birthday.

D is for...

Each week the family helps Cole learn about a letter of the alphabet.  

The letter D is our favorite so far.  

 D is for donuts, sweet and delicious.

D is for ducks, who eagerly eat crackers the boys feed them.

I can't wait to find out what other fun the rest of the alphabet holds.

Getting Ready for Christmas

Santa is coming!   

 Time to curl up with good books,

 decorate the Christmas tree,

  build gingerbread houses that hold as much candy as possible,

visit Santa with our wish lists,

and ride his Christmas train.

Looks like we are just about ready.  Now it's time to wait for the big night.

Mother Nature's Son

Cole enjoys anything outdoors 

whether it be singing in the rain

or hugging trees.  

Homeschool Means...

Homeschool means that big brother can be an art teacher.

 Homeschool means that sometimes lessons can be done in nothing but underwear.

Creativity

We got a chance to enjoy Emily's artistic side when she was hanging out one afternoon with the boys and a bucket of sidewalk chalk.