The Day has Arrived

When moving to California we didn't really like our apartment so we tried every thing we could think of to try get out of it and nothing we tried worked. Little did we know it was actually a blessing in disguise, because if we had moved to a different apartment we wouldn't of been able to have the Smith's as neighbor's. We have been lucky enough to get the greatest neighbors anyone could ask for. The Smith's have become like family to us and we have really come to love them. Our kids have also become great friends with their kids. In fact, Carter whole heartedly believes he is going to marry their daughter someday, and I would have absolutely no objections there! One thing we also really appreciated was their willingness to babysit our boys, even when it was last minute. It's not easy to find a good babysitter when you have three rambunctious boys, so we were very grateful to them for that. They have done so much for us and have made the past three years here great.

But alas, all good things must come to an end. The day I have been hoping would never come is here. The day the Smith's moved away. They have completed their time here and are now moving on to bigger and better things. Carl has graduated with his M.D. and is going off to practice his hard earned skills in New Mexico. I knew I was going to be sad when this day came around but I surprised myself by crying..........a lot.

This is them pulling out of the Verano parking lot for the last time :(

Here are a few pictures at Carl's recent Graduation from Medical School, Congratulations Carl!

I was so bummed to see that Amber was cut out of the picture taken of all of us together, but what do you do.

We will miss you guys a ton! Thanks for being such great neighbors!

On the Move

Our cute little man is now crawling. I really can't believe how fast time has gone by. Him and his brothers are growing so fast that I feel like if I blink I might miss something.

This is a picture of his first time standing himself up against something. You could tell he was so proud of himself.
Next step: Walking!!!!! What am I going to do with three mobile boys????
Any advice?

Books

When asked in preschool what Carter's favorite thing to do at home was he replied, "play in my school books." He loves them and will work quietly in his books for hours. He impresses me every day with how much he is learning.

This is Parker's favorite book ever! It is one of the very few books that he will not only ask for but actually sit and listen to for any extended period of time. We found it at Costco and it is a called "Disney Nursery Rhymes and Fairy Tales." It's the traditional nursery rhymes and fairy tales but with a Disney twist. I recommend it to anyone and everyone.

Firehouse

On a normal day our boys like to pretend to be monsters, bad guys, transformers or pirates. On the day of the tour of a near by fire station they came home pretending to be firemen saving peoples lives. I was so happy to see them take a break from the fighting and pillaging :)

Thanks for arranging the tour Wendy. The boys loved, loved, loved it!

Camping!!!!!!

So I have been a HUGE slacker when it comes to blogging lately and have a ton of catching up to do.
A few weeks ago we went camping with some friends. It was a lot of fun and the first time I have been camping in a few years. It was beach side camping which is a whole lot different than what I am used to in Utah. There was also an In-N-Out within 5 minutes of our camp ground so not what you would call wilderness camping, but I was surprised by how much I liked it.

Here is the boys getting ready to do some fishing.

Here is Carter wishing his Daddy wasn't out so far so he could join him in said fishing trip. All this talk about going fishing and he gets left in the dust. Poor kid.If you were ever hoping to find Parker in the water you would be sorely disappointed. He never set foot (or toe, or finger or any other body part) in the ocean at any time, but was perfectly content hanging out on the beach all day. He actually kept himself very entertained.

Now it may look like Andrew is taking the arms off these poor children but they were actually loving every minute of Andrew playing in the waves with them. We had a hard time getting them to stop playing with Andrew so he could help pack up. He was really cute with them so it was all worth the delayed packing.

Here is Andrew surfing! He was so happy I got a picture of him standing up :)

Thanks for inviting us to go camping Carl and Amber. Hopefully we can do it again before you move........sigh :(