Fun in the bark

We've been making some progress on the landscaping on the side of our house. With the path complete it was time for some weed control, bark and rocks. Here is a before shot...

The kids made the most out of having the dump trailer
or is it a slide?
yep, it's a slide
and the after shot.
We found out from some neighbors who are also doing some landscaping right now (only they are paying to have it done so they pay for the professional knowledge & we get it for free) that it is good to plant all the native plants this time of year -they also supplied us with a list of plants to choose from- so we may be doing some planting sooner than we thought. For now we are feeling good about our progress so far.

Happy 2012

Happy New Year 2012! Hope you all had a great New Year's. We have one more day off and we are back to work & school. It was a great vacation. I actually liked working until a few days before x-mas and having the 2 weeks after x-mas off...I was able to concentrate more on vacation and less on x-mas stress that way. I would rather rush/stress on Christmas while I am already rushing and stressing on work/school/homework etc.. and enjoy our time off. We had some left over fireworks so we enjoyed those on New Year's Eve..

our awesome New Year's Eve dinner. - the boys loved it
A little goofing around with Kinect - that is actually really fun and gets you moving
Some movie time...aka...quiet time for mom & dad
Some riding & camping...such a blast! We went to Hollister which is a bit of a drive from our usual camping but so worth it. The trails are so kid friendly, Cooper was able to ride several trails we got a lot of ride time in and were able to all ride together. So fun!
Our home away from home
Cooper lived in his new rollarblades for several days after x-mas. We even went to the local skating rink for some skating. Cameron even loves it..another great way to burn some energy!
Happy 2012 everyone. We'll be at the grocery store & a birthday party tomorrow. Then back to the grind. Lucky for us next weekend is a 3 day-a nice way to transition back in.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone (a little late). Well that's how we are running this year - or actually it would be last year now since I'm posting our Christmas on Jan 2nd. So we got the tree decorated 2 days before Christmas, whew just in time for Santa. So the festivities began.

We started by making cookies for Santa - this year they even left some carrots out for the rain deer.

Then we made some Christmas treats to share with everyone
turned out pretty cute, we also dipped peanut butter filled pretzels those were yummy
we opened presents
even Roxy wanted in on the playing. Clyde on the other hand prefers napping
we played some more
a little concert from the boys- when they aren't echoing "who farted" into the mic (any Diary of a Whimpy Kids fans will know where they got that)
we ate
and ate some more
It was a beautiful day. Hope you all had a great time and Santa was good to you.

CUT

A few shots that didn't make the Christmas card....

Have a wonderful Christmas everyone!

Busy December

I think it was way back in October I said before to long we'd be decorating our Christmas tree. Well here it is December 23rd and tonight we are finally going to decorate. Nothing like waiting until the last minute. December was a busy month for us and today is officially the first day of winter break.

Cooper had a musical performance at school singing Christmas songs. He's in the front with the grey jacket & green pants. It was adorable and I was SOOO thankful I was able to get off work to attend.

The boys had their friends here from Texas. You may remember them from some of the summer posts. Their Grandma, our neighbor, passed away mid month so they were here for the services. (which was beautiful) - In fact they are leaving today as I type this. They had a great time playing and are all looking forward to summer when they'll be back. Below is movie night with popcorn - made on the awesome popper they got us for x-mas.
Hanging out-just a cute shot had to share
Billy & I both celebrated our birthdays this month. The kids made Billy a cake and he came over to do his laundry haha. He was really in no mood to be out of bed due to the previous nights celebration, but we had fun hanging out with him.
Cameron had a HUGE project due this past Monday. Why they assign a 3 week project that needed lots of parent supervision in the month of December is a complete mystery to me. I mean really couldn't they wait till January? In any case he did an excellent written report as well as the model below. He deserves an A just for time involved! We were very proud of him for staying so focused & motivated on it. Well, I guess Eddie & I should get at least a B+ too.
I can't believe tomorrow is Christmas Eve. Maybe once we get the tree decorated it will start to feel like Christmas around here!

Rockin'

A little musical entertainment! Enjoy :-)

Happy 10th Birthday Cameron

Cameron turned 10 on November 27th. We spent the morning on an amazing safari. There is a place in Santa Rosa called Safari West that does jeep tours on their 400 acre property full of amazing animals. There are Zebras, Lemurs, Giraffes, Gazelles, Buffalo...the list goes on & on. Anyway you ride in an open jeep and in most areas the animals are free roaming & could come right up to you. It's quite an adventure. Before the safari we opened presents & after we hung our x-mas lights (big fun for Cameron because we use the tractor) - he played with a friend & we finished the day with ice cream cake. Somehow - as usual- I have posted the pieces all out of whack. So here is his day all turned around.

Cameron kicking back waiting for Eddie to hang some lights

Ready to make a wish
Ta da....the lights
The safari
an example of how close the animals get
on top for an excellent view
this guy came up right next to us when Cameron was on top - it was so cool
starting off the day opening gifts
So, Cameron is officially in the double digits! Happy Birthday Cameron!