Back to School 2015

Mr. P moved up to middle school this year. He is LOVING it. This transition has gone so well! He likes his classes and likes 5 out of his 6 teachers. He is taking advanced placement math and English. And...he is doing very well with his grades. In band he chose to play the saxophone. So fun! He's made great progress (as in...it's no longer painful to listen to practice). Mr. P also joined the cross country team. 6th graders cannot compete but they turn out for the practices. So basically he ran, and ran and ran...just for fun. He takes after Cam. But, all that running was good for him and it put him in great cardio shape for basketball tryouts. He just tried out for the AAU team and he made it!! Woot! So proud of this guy! The only down side to middle school and sports is that I really miss him. He leaves for the bus at 6:45 am and doesn't get home until 4:30 pm. That's a LONG day. My baby!

The younger three have adjusted to the new school year with ease. My kids truly love school and needed the year to begin after a long and fun summer. 

Baby George (yes he is a baby still) began his first FULL day of school. He is in heaven! He keeps telling me all about how he gets 2 recesses! 2!! George is fantastic reader. I love seeing him curled up with a book. George is playing soccer and is having a great time. He wants to play year-round! 

Sis is off to a great start in 2nd grade. She has some great friends in her class and loves recess too. She is less shy this year and is settling into the classroom routine well. She is in tune with all the kids' feelings and moods. Sis is playing soccer too. She is so fast and is really engaged in the game this year. 

Moses is loving 4th grade. He had a student directed conference and did an amazing job! He told us all about his goals for the year, both academically and goals for home. He made me get teared up with his goal of being kinder to siblings and playing with them more. What a nice boy. Moses applied for the Lego Robotics team. It's very competitive!! 4th and 5th graders may apply and they only accept 10 students. He made it!! It's such a great fit for him....and he is loving every minute of it. They will go to competitions too. Moses is on a soccer team too (yes, that's 4 kids in sports!!! BUSY practice schedule!!). He hasn't played soccer for 3 years and is so glad he returned to it. Soccer is his sport!! He's now looking into playing on an indoor team for winter. 

Tuba was happier than anyone to go back to school! He is in his second year of job training. He is training at a local pizza place. They put chairs down, wipe tables and make pizza boxes. He loves the social aspect of school! Tuba is our biggest cheer leader. He loves going to all the kids' practices and games. He happily cheers for the kids. Good thing...because we spend A LOT of time doing just that. 

On the first day of school Cam and I headed out for a day date. This sums up how sad we were to leave our kids at school. Ha!!

I have so many cute pics of our dogs. In our family we frequently say, "It's a dog's life" when we see our pooches lounging around (while we work and clean) or being spoiled. 

Truly around here, "It's a dog's life".

And that's a wrap!

Annnnnnnd! One more day of vacation.

We opted to stay at a hotel for one night on the way home. A hotel pool is the BEST!!

The kids go back and forth from the hot tub to the pool. 

Tuba and I just skip the pool.

Whoohoooo!

And that's it. Vacation is over. Boo!

Mama and Papa Relax

The best part about vacation is that it's about the only time of year I totally relax. I don't know what time/day it is...and it doesn't matter.

We get to hang out all day long with our kids, eat snacks, and take in the view.

Like I said before we work out every morning on the beach. It's so beautiful!

I love to sit on the deck no matter what the weather is doing...but of course the sunshine is the best! Pjs, sunglasses, magazines and a dog. The best!

Or I perch myself on the sand and watch the kids boogie board with Cam...and soak up some sun.

Cam's had skin cancer so he is good about covering up all of his skin. This is his fave outfit. We all tease him but seriously what can we say since we all wear pjs on the beach. 

We love to walk long walks on the beach...really it's me that loves it but Cam goes along with it.

I don't even know what this is...or when it happened on our vacation. But, there it was in the photos. This about sums up how much Cam loves vacation. 

And that's a wrap. Whew! What a fun time we had. I want to go again soon. 

Tuba's Beach Faves

The ocean speaks Tuba's language. He could sit and look at the waves all day. He loves to wade in and dance in the ocean. 

You're never too big to sit on your dad's lap and snuggle. 

Tuba didn't climb the whole dune but he did go up further than last year. He had a good run down. 

Sitting on the deck...no matter how cold or windy is a fav of Tuba. Blankets, hoodies and dogs to keep us warm. And pjs of course!

What a beautiful boy!

Here he is dancing his ocean dance and cheering the boys on as the boogie board. In case you wonder why he doesn't boogie board. He do not want to try it. Emphatically!

Other vacation faves of Tuba....slumber party style sleeping with the boys, huge fires in the fireplace and chips with every meal!

Vacationing Mr. P

After looking at my photos I'll dub this kid my elusive preteen. I don't have so many photos of him! He is definitely past the, "Mom! Take my photo!" phase. Boohoo!

But, this one of us together is very cute! I love it that he still asks to sit next to me when we go out. 

I already posted lots of boogie boarding photos of Mr. P. Just look back to see those. That was is fav part of the beach. Other than that he does love to walk the beach, climb rocks and driftwood too. I love it that he is still young enough to play. His imagination is alive and well! It's fun to see him fighting imaginary foes while leaping around the sand. Do NOT tell him I wrote that. I will be scolded. 

Mr. P loved all the games of Sorry and late nights staying up to watch movies....and the junky cereal. 

He adores the dune too. I think he climbed it at least three times!

Moses Loves the Beach

Moses is all about vacation! 

One of the things he (and all the kids) LOVE is eating junk cereal. We let the kids each pick a box of horrible-sugary-processed cereal. They are thrilled...and it's really embarrassing when we go through the checkout. They eat it every morning...and sometimes at lunch. I do remember liking those cereals but that feeling has past. 

This was the first year Moses was excited about boogie boarding. We bought him his own board this year. He also got a pair of gloves to keep his hands warm.

He loves to hang out with the boys! And anything Cam is doing you will find Moses right behind him.

And he loves to climb the driftwood too. Notice his athletic shoes...at the beach. He HATES his feet being sandy. He will also wear socks and slide on shoes on the beach. 

The kids and I went on a beach walk one afternoon to look at the tide pools. Of course the kids thought the water was really warm so they walked in it up to their necks.

Moses is a great brother to all his siblings. That middle kid that gets along with both ends. 

Moses is awesome at helping me pack! He knows which items we take to the beach and he gets them all lined up in the garage ready to go. He is the BEST!!

Sister's Ocean Loves

Sis has great enthusiasm for life. And hugely great big enthusiasm for vacation! I have lots of pics of her because I spend more time with her on the beach while the boys are in the water.

Sis loves all things about our beach vacation...except she isn't ready for boogie boarding yet.

I'm not sure if George is her best friend any more. Her best friends are probably the dogs. She greets them first thing in the morning and loves them all through the day.

She was always ready with Rocket's leash so he could come to the beach too. She would not allow her babies to stay in the house. 

Sis LOVES to dig in the sand. Maybe she is part dog?! She and Rocket were hilarious digging side by side. Sis also builds sand castles.

She is not afraid of a little sand....or a lot. She loves to dig down deep enough that the hole fills with water. 

Look at her! Oh! My heart melts and I swoon to see that pretty face. She does the best "puppy eyes" when she wants something. Seriously I can't look at her or I'll cave. 

Sis is always up for an adventure. She loves to walk the beach and look for cool things. At the jetty she loves to climb the rocks and driftwood. 

Snuggling her "sister" Kali.

She loved dancing and skipping in the shallow waves watching the boys boogie board.

I had to take a pic of this. She cracked me up. She kept everything on the beach ultra organized and lined up. As the tide came in we had to keep moving back. Each time she would re-do her rows. 

We had great weather and Sis took advantage of the sun.

Who wouldn't have fun on vacation with this fun girl?! 

Everyone's Favorite Things

I will break up the rest of our vacation photos into each person's favorite things.

First up is George.

He loves to run on the beach and find drift wood that he can use as a pretend gun. Small ones are pistols...all the way up to large ones that serve as rocket launchers. I'm a girl. And a mom. I don't get it. I'm just reporting the facts.

George had a great time running with the dogs...especially Rocket. He also insisted on carrying him around. I love that George is wearing his pjs on the beach in this photos. Vacation is all about relaxation. No rush to get dressed or go anywhere.

Hanging out on the deck....in pjs. George definitely takes after me. 

Going out to eat and spending time with his Papa. 

Here he is with some kind of double gun system. 

Love this sweet face. 

Hands down his fav activity was boogie boarding. He crossed over into one of the big kids. Instead of hanging out on the beach he spent all his time in the water. He's become a good swimmer and boogie boarder. 

Other activities he enjoyed were climbing drift wood at the jetty and playing board games. He played about a zillion games of Sorry with Cam and the boys. 

Cam's 46th Birthday

On the second day of our vacation it was Cam's birthday! Woot! What better place to celebrate than at our favorite place on earth!

We started our day with exercise on the beach. Cam headed out first on a run and then I went out for a brisk walk. As I was walking on the beach I notice that I was walking in Cam's footprints. Literally. Well, except that his stride is much longer than mine.

Anyway, as I was walking I started thinking of ways that I should be more like Cam. You know...ways to walk in his footsteps.

Cam is an amazing person and there are many things about him that I admire. I decided that I would spend his birthday trying to be "more like Cam".

I already had a good start on my plan since I was exercising. Cam is devoted to exercise. You see, he truly loves. He calls it his medicine. Actually he LOVES it....can't get enough of it.

After my brisk walk Cam and I lifted some weights on the beach house deck and then did our stretches.

I already told you how Cam and the kids were boogie boarding like crazy. Well, if I was going to spend my day being more like Cam then I decided I should boogie board too. I don't have a wetsuit so I borrowed Cam's. The boys were all excited for me to head out with them.

Once in the water I took direction from Mr. P and Cam. They would tell me when to catch the wave. It was SUPER fun!! I yelled and laughed just like Cam.

I got rolled once. By rolled I mean that the ocean swamped me and threw me off my board. I couldn't tell which end was up or down. I swallowed half the ocean and the other half was lodged in my nasal cavity. Whew! I stood up sputtering out the sea water. Cam laughed and said, "welcome to the club". Okay, since I was in the club now I laughed it off and headed back out...Cam style.

Boogie boarding was a blast. My Christmas list is also full of wetsuit items and a boogie board. Next year is going to be so much fun!

For Cam's birthday lunch we headed to our favorite place for fish and chips. We got to sit at our fav table too!

After lunch it's our family tradition to climb the dune. Most of the kids and Cam climb it every year....maybe even two or three times! I've never climbed to the top. But, if I was going to be more like Cam....then I would be summiting! So, off I headed. It's STEEP! I mean it....and windy....and exhausting....and STEEP. But, I persevered. And rested. And climbed. And summited!

The view was amazing! And the wind was whipping! I do not recommend putting on fresh lip gloss before climbing a sand dune in windy weather. Lesson learned. Although all that sand acted as dermabrasion and I now have no wrinkles on my lips.

The kids and Cam love to run down the dune at top speed. I reserved the "be more like Cam" and trotted down.

Back at the beach house we baked up a yummy pie for the birthday dessert. We found a nice local made organic pie! We searched for a candle and came up with one. Well, it worked.

Happy Birthday to my love! You are smart, energetic, friendly, kind, impulsive, athletic, driven and funny. And I want to be more like you!!