Pink Picnic Table

Gramps was very kind to build a picnic table for Natalie identical to one she found in an American Girl catalog. She loves to use it with her dolls or for picnics in the yard with her other 'baby'. I'm not sure how much he appreciated it this day though.

Baseball Season!

We've been busy with baseball for the last few months. Since Henry and Carson are age 7 and 8 right now we were able to get them together on the same team (yeah!!). They are playing in the Irvine Pony machine pitch league on the Giants team.

This was the first season for either of the boys to play baseball so they have definitely learned so much and improved week to week. The coaches have been great and taught the boys all they need to know (like where is right field). Carson has been a strong hitter and was chosen as one of three boys on the team to be in the home run derby next week. Henry shown great perseverance and has never given up even when he has trouble hitting. He's also very attentive to the score during the game (just ask the scorekeeper!).

I'm surprised how much both of the boys love the game. They are always talking about it, wanting to practice more and looking forward to the next game. When I told them the season was almost over, they were heartbroken.

But the season is not over yet! They finished regular play in third place so now we are getting ready for playoffs to begin. If they make it to the championship game, it will be on May 22.

The boys have loved their teammates and coaches. After every game all the boys run over to an empty field and play their own pickup game together. Well, that is after they get their snack which I think they love almost as much as all other aspects of the game.

And don't you love the photos? Claire is the mom of one of the players and takes some great shots! Thanks Claire!

Orange County Great Park

Back in March we went to visit the Orange County Great Park for the first time while Gram and Gramps were here to visit. They have a huge helium balloon that takes people for a ride in the sky. Gram wasn't game for the altitude so she gave us someone to wave to while we floated higher and higher.

We were impressed with the view and how quiet the ride was. What a fun ride (and it was free!)

The kids also loved the big orange bike. They climbed and climbed and kept switching seats until someone got stuck.

Building Banks

Money is a hot topic around our house. Especially after Christmas with gift money to spend (immediately!!!). I now understand the concept of money 'burning a hole in your pocket' in a new way as I watch my kids wanting to buy stuff.

We've decided to begin allowance for the first time, mainly to give the kids a chance to learn to make wise decisions with money. Eric has been doing a number of family 'seminars' on how to think about money. Some of the topics have been whose money is this? what are lies money tells? how do you know when you love money more than God? It's been good and they've come up with lots of good questions (when can I get a loan, Dad?).

I saw some cute banks with three compartments for save/spend/give and thought using them would be a good way to help them steward their money. Unfortunately they were $25 each so buying four of them didn't sound like a good way to steward my money!

Instead we used some of the plastic icing containers I've been saving for... okay I've saved them for years (that's why we had 10 of them... we didn't binge on frosting this week). We cut holes in the lids and each kid decorated one in red (for save), blue (for give) and green (for spend). Not so beautiful, but we'll see if they do the job.

Red Radioactive Lightning

Carson and Henry were part of a Junior First Lego League team this fall. They joined brothers Jordan and Elan (who are also homeschooled) to make up "Red Radioactive Lightning". We spent Saturday at Legoland in Carlsbad where the boys presented their model at the JrFLL Expo.
The theme for this year's challenge was 'Smart Moves'- the boys had to come up with an item and research how it is transported. After much lively discussion, the boys chose to learn about land mines. Their model consisted of a field of land mines and a vehicle which can lay down or remove the mines. They also had larger scale mine models and a few causalities as only lego people can have. (I must say it was one of the most 'boy' projects at the expo- as opposed to the transportation of things like soccer balls or pencils.)


A reviewer came to each team (there were about 35 teams here) and asked them lots of good questions about the model and their research on the poster. The boys did an awesome job! At the end of the morning, there was an award ceremony where the boys received certificates and ribbons.
And of course, there were a few rides to enjoy too.

Natalie's First Lost Tooth

It was a long time coming (and very terrifying when her tooth first began getting loose) but Natalie officially lost her first tooth on Jan 5th. Gram and Gramps were even here to share the joy. I'm happy to report the tooth fairy was quick to arrive on the scene in this situation (hasn't been the case for her brothers' last few teeth.)

Happy 7th Birthday Henry!

Henry turned 7 years old Wednesday Jan 27th. We went out to Denny's for his grand slam breakfast, had cake with some neighborhood friends, and pizza (with rootbeer!) for dinner. He was very disappointed to have to do school on his birthday (he was quick to remember that we didn't for any of the other kids last year), but he survived and was excited to open presents.
His favorite gift this year was his very own baby Taylor guitar. He is already writing his own songs and playing by himself in his bedroom. We look forward to seeing how he progresses with a few lessons from Dad!Henry makes us happy! He is easy going and fun to be around. He can be very creative and gets wrapped up in imaginative play or building tree forts. He likes to play nerf gun battles and tag with the older kids, but he usually takes on the role of a spy and can be found sneaking around the edges of a room- especially in his night vision googles. We love you Henry!