Pumpkin Patch

This fall we went to the pumpkin patch with our friends Joshua and Noah. The boys had a great time but I miss going to a real pumpkin patch in a real field or farm. But here in L.A. they bring the farm to the Albertson's parking lot. :\ The boys didn't care at all but I felt a little claustrophobic. It was still a lot of fun though. There was a lot of activities for the boys and they were all smiles and laughter. :)

There was a hay bail maze.

At first, they were trying to find their way around the maze the conventional way like everyone else. . .

but then they just decided that it was easier just to climb over the hay bails.

Luke and Noah on the train.

The petting zoo was by far Ben's favorite thing about the pumpkin patch. He fell in love with the bunny. He must have followed it around for like 15 minutes. They had to practically kick him out of the petting zoo to let those who were standing in line come in.

Who knew they would have a roller coaster at the pumpkin patch! This is the kind of roller coaster that my boys will actually ride!

Ben was begging me to buy a pumpkin there but I couldn't bring myself to spend $20 on a pumpkin that would cost $5 at Vons. That seemed a little pricey to me. Is that how all pumpkin patches are?!

Why is it that these boys will make guns out of anything - sticks, paperclips, bananas, balloons, pumpkins - you name it!

It was a fun day and as you can see from this picture they were a little wired after the whole experience. Too exhausted to look at the camera I guess!!

Luke's First Day of Pre-K

A week after Jimmy and Ben started school Luke started Pre-K. He loves it! But he definitely loves the playing part more than the learning part! I guess that doesn't make him any different than most other kids. :)

First Day of School 2011

We had a great summer but like all good things it had to come to an end eventually. Now the boys have all started another year of school. Jimmy is in 3rd grade this year and Ben is in 2nd. Luke started pre-K but he started a week after Jimmy and Ben. My little boys just keep getting bigger and bigger!!

Here is Jimmy with his friend Josh. They are really excited to be in the same class this year.

Here is Ben with his friends Kaleb and Jacob. They were in the same Kindergarten class last year and now they are together again.

When they got home from school I surprised them with a back to school pencil cake. I kind of got the cake decorating bug this summer. The cake looked a lot cuter online but the kids enjoyed it regardless of the mistakes I made.

End of the Summer Bonfire

Last weekend before school started we decided to go to the beach and have a little bonfire as a family. It was so much fun. We've been here for 3 years and we totally should have done this before now. It was a perfect end to the summer. You really can't go wrong with a beautiful sunset, the ocean, and s'mores. Oh yeah, and a raging fire to keep us warm.

The boys liked to pretend their roasting sticks were guns or spears or something violent and grotesque like that. Oh well, at least they weren't poking each other.

I think I have a little pyro on my hands. He couldn't get enough of the fire. I'm in trouble - or maybe I should say his scout leaders are in trouble. ;)

I don't think I've seen my boys this dirty before. This picture doesn't truly capture it. It was pretty bad. I had to scrub my tub really good the next day to get it all out. But it was totally worth it. (I can't remember why Ben is crying but he really did have a good time while we were there.)

Breakfast in Bed

I think I am seriously the luckiest mom in the world. I have three of the sweetest little boys. One morning my amazing little boys decided to make me breakfast in bed all by themselves. Jim had already gone to work so I figured that they would make me something simple like cereal. But these resourceful boys made me strawberry waffles with whip cream and mango orange juice. Jimmy loves to cook with me and he has helped me make waffles before but when he told me that he wanted to do it all by himself I was a little skeptical. But I relinquished control and let them have at it. I wasn't expecting much but it turns out that they made me the best strawberry waffles that I have ever had. When I said that to Jimmy he said, "Do you know why Mom?" I said, "no, I don't know." He said, "because they were made with love." That melted my heart and made me cry. I was so proud to call those boys my sons. I think they are the best!!

Bike Riding

A while back in the spring our kids bikes got stolen (one of the many joys of living in LA). Our neighbor gave us a bike that is just the right size for Ben and it didn't have training wheels so we thought it was time for him to learn. He is doing a great job on his new bike and seems to really like going fast. Unfortunately, we don't have many open places to ride our bikes (yet another wonderful thing about LA) so we have to go to the church parking lot. Recently, we discovered that the UCLA campus is also a great place to go. We went on Labor Day because there was hardly anyone there and the campus is beautiful. Much better than the boring church parking lot. One day I hope we will live in a normal neighborhood where my kids can ride their bikes. I can dream anyway.

Ben doing a victory jump for his new found success of riding a bike!

The other two wanted to join in on the celebration. I love how excited my boys are about life. I really hope that they never lose that spark!

Luke got a new bike for his birthday. He loves riding his bike and he's been riding it around so much that his legs are getting really strong. He can climb the hills really well.

Luke the Ladybug

Grandpa Garfield had some fun with Luke at the beach when they were visiting this summer. If you ask me, I think he's the cutest ladybug ever!