An Afternoon At The Beach!

Our first afternoon in San Diego we had a chance to head down to the beach which was only about 500yards from our hotel. The tide was out a ways and the kids got to play in the waves and the sand. They collected sea shells and drew pictures in the sand. The water was pretty cool but the soothing sound of the waves made you forget that your feet were a little chilly. At one point Hudson and Tori were running in the water and they lost their balance and they each took a head dive into one of the waves. They thought it was pretty fun and wanted to change into their bathing suits to dive in the waves. We said no for the time being hoping that we would get back to the beach but we ended up running out of time and this ended up being our only time at the beach. Hudson drew a picture of a little man and about five seconds after I took the photo a wave came in and made it disappear. He was kind of heart broken!
We all had an incredible time and can't wait until we can go back and stroll along the beach again, hopefully soon!!!

The airport and the airplane ride to San Diego!!

We took a trip to San Diego with Deb's parents and the kids were so excited about it! Emily and Hudson had been on a plane before but they were young when we did so they weren't able to remember it.

They loved watching the other planes take off as we waited for our plane to start boarding. Luckily for us the flight from Phoenix to San Diego was only an hour, so if things didn't go well it wasn't too long for them.

As it turned out, the kids all did very well and thought that riding on a plane was pretty neat! The flight out was only half full so we could go two to a row and the kids each got a window seat. Max thought that getting his own soda and some peanuts made him a big kid!!

The kids waiting to board our plane!

Tori on the plane. She sat with Nana, Emily sat with Deb, Hudson with Papa and Max with Jason.

Max and Jase!

All of our crew on the plane!

Halloween Fun

The pumpkins!

The kids all decked out in their Halloween costumes. Hudson is an Ice Ninja, Tori a Bratz Cat(she had a cute tail at the back too), Max as a dinosaur (he had wings and a tail at the back) and Emily as a vampire.
Max thought trick or treating was pretty fun. He caught on pretty fast that if you held out your bucket that people put candy in it and all you had to do was say thank you after they did it, haha.
My parents arrived the day before and they went out to escort the kids along with me while Jason stayed at home and watched scary movies and manned the door.
They had a very successful haul and we think they all had a great time!

Jason's 34th Birthday!!

Jason turned 34 on October 18th and we had a fun family birthday party.

The kids picked out his cake and thought he would like the pool table theme. The kids and I got him a cordless mouse for his new laptop and a new movie. Jase got some money from his parents that he will use to most likely buy a new computer textbook!!! haha

As always, for Jason's birthday we had taco salad. His favorite meal :)

His brothers, his Nanna and my parents called to wish him a happy birthday during the day. It was nice that they all thought of him.

When it was time for Gram and Grandpa to leave Max walked them outside with us and he wanted to go 'bye-bye' with them. Grandpa picked him up and let him pretend to drive his truck and Max thought he was pretty cool. Before we know it he will be asking to borrow our car...urgh. Man how time flies!

Zoo Day

*click on the photos to make them larger!!

The kids are off on fall break this week and I promised them a trip to the zoo on Friday if they were good. We have a membership there so its nice to go and see the animals and to get out of the house for some exercise and fresh air.

It was pretty warm today (96) but it wasn't too hot. The kids had a real kick and I had a pretty good time myself. It wasn't too busy which made it nice. We went around lunch time when most school tours are on their way home and most early morning risers (not us) have already come and gone.

Max kept calling all the animals 'doggies' no matter what we told him but he was having a hoot. He got his own zoo collectors cup. All the other kids already had one from before but since he is now proficient with a straw i thought he might like to be like the big kids.

When we went in to pet and brush the goats it was obvious to most adults that one of the females was in heat. The males were trying to show off for her, butting their heads together and jumping all around and trying to ride the female 'piggy back' as Hudson called it. The female didn't seem to give a care (kinda like real life? haha) Anyway at one point Emily pulls me aside and asks, "Mom what is up with the goats." I laughed and then she pulled me closer to her and then said, "Oh No Way! Are they mating?" I then turned to her and asked, "So what do you know about that?" and she turned bright red and said, "Not much but i know what they are doing Mom." (with that total i know everything eight year old way that they speak now, haha) Yep the time is coming that we will have to sit down and have a little chat with our eldest.

I think the highlight of the day was Stingray Bay where the kids get to put their hands into a shallow pool and pet the string rays. I pretty much had to tear them away from there when it was time to go home.

Max's First Professional Haircut!!

My hairdresser has been after me to let her cut Max's hair and each time i was in I kept putting her off with, "Next time." On Tuesday I was in getting Hudson's hair cut and finally caved. Maybe it was the fact that he looked so excited to sit in the chair and he loves to have his hair brushed that aided me with my decision to do it.

He was such a good boy, sitting on my lap and smiling up at my hairdresser Alicia. The only time he moved at all was when she took the clippers to his neck and it tickled. Other than that he would hold his head still to one side if she asked him to...perfect client!!!

I didn't have my camera and was going to use my phone when Alicia offered her camera and Emily was more than happy to act as photographer.

This was the finished product...didn't know his forehead was so big, haha:) Man i need a tan, i look like a ghost. Never believe it was 100+ outside!!

The Diamondbacks!!

Hudson's coach pitch baseball team this season is called ironically enough, The Diamondbacks.

This new league they play in is pretty nice. They play on regulation fields and play regular baseball rules with the only exception is that the boys each get eight pitches to hit the ball which their coach tosses to them. Hudson's coaches are a great group of guys, most of whom played college baseball and now have kids of their own. He seems to be having fun and is getting pretty good!!

Number 11 this season!!

You can see him just rounding first.

He sure loves baseball :) Half the games are played at night under the lights and the other half are daytime games on Saturday mornings. The kids feel pretty cool about playing under the big lights like "real baseball players."

Emily, Max and Jason watching Hudson play baseball.

Hudson getting ready to make a really nice hit out over short stop into center field!!