Halloween

Owen - very excited about being an astronaut!

Ian - not so excited about being a zebra.....

Is it healthy? and the math of 14.

Owen's new infatuation is finding out whether something is "healthy" or not. He has gotten the concept that he can have certain foods as often or as much as he wants if it is "healthy". So we will be asked repeatedly during the day whether pizza, hot dogs, or various types of snacks are healthy....

Ian is now learning how to count. He has got 1-10 down and has now ventured into the teens. Unfortunately, he gets stuck on 14. "fohteen". He literally will count "twelve, thirteen, fohteen, fohteen, fohteen, fohteen......" until we make him stop. It is as if he thinks the rest of the numbers after 14 are all 14. Either that, or there is a screw loose inside somewhere that needs to get tightened. Keri feels like he is a record skipping and maybe if we just slap him gently on the back of the head he'll be able to keep on going.

Boogie Boarding

We went out the other day to the beach. We hadn't gone in a while because Keri was studying so much for her Board recertification, so it was really nice to hang there with the family. We experimented with both boys trying to boogie board - and it went surprisingly well. I even let Owen ride one BIG 6-9 inch wave all the way to shore and even though he got dumped by it, he came up smiling!

OC Fair

We went to the Orange County Fair a few nights ago. The best was seeing Ian's absolute glee at getting to ride a pony all by himself. We ate enough fried food to keep a cardiologist in business for a year....and it was really worth it. At the end, there was a brief light saber battle - several innocent bystanders were injured.

Summer School

Owen and Ian both started summer school a few weeks ago. This is now Ian's first time going to school. He isn't really sure that he likes it yet. He has the same teacher that Owen had when he first started and we love her. What this means for our family is now Tuesday and Thursday mornings are kid free. Since I don't work on Thursdays, Keri and I will actually have thursday mornings free together!!

Washington DC

A few weeks ago Keri and I took Owen to Washington DC. Ian got to go to "camp" with Mazi and Pazi. Highlights of the trip: Bowling with Owen, going to some of the museums, Owen's fascination with the Washington Monument, and good family time. At one point, Owen was on the Mall and Keri pointed out "The Capital Building" to Owen. He then turned around and pointed at the Washington Monument and said "....and that is the Lowercase Building".

Nana and Papa come to town

We had some great family time the last few days as my parents came to SD for a few days. As usual, the kids were on their best and worst behaviour. Were we ever that bad when we were young? Highlights were some time at the beach "throwing rocks", Potato Shack for lunch, Ferry ride across the bay, air and space museum and an amazing flight simulator ride with dad. Papa told Owen a bedtime story "resembling" Jack and the Magic beanstalk, which also included old mother hubbard, the three little pigs, Pinnochio, Perry Como, and lots of Fe Fi Fo Fum. Owen was hooked.

Disaster

So on Saturday, I was playing referee for Owen and Ian. They could NOT play together. There was a revolving door in and out of "time out". I was about ready to put Ian down 2 hours early for his nap when they finally started to play together. They were in the study laughing and giggling. I was about 20 feet away on the couch enjoying a chance to veg out in front of the TV for a few minutes knowing that I would soon have to put my black and white striped ref suit back on. After 20 minutes I decided I should go see what was going on. For one brief moment I experienced the pit of frustration, but then I just started laughing. I took some pictures. I then politely declined Owen's offer of "assistance".

Are you Serious?

A few nights ago Owen and I went to see Monster Trucks at Qualcomm stadium. We went last year with our friend Doug Small and his son Jon. It is quite an experience. That stadium is completely packed, it is incredibly loud, and the demolition derby is hilarious! My favorite experience of the night was having Owen look up at me anytime anything exciting happened and say "ARE YOU SERIOUS?".