Football

Ryan's First Game was on Saturday night. Football is new for us. It was exciting to watch. The team played hard. The girls were enamored by the cheerleaders, Justin by the "jungle gym" underneath the bleachers. Fun time, but not a victory for the Poway Raiders. In the top picture, he is in the front middle. He is #11.

I love that his eyes are closed as he is giving it all that he's got!

First Day . . .

3 Kiddos Ready to Go!

Grades K, 3rd, and 5th.

This year they will all be at one school together.

Fun for them. Nice for me.

One Kiddo, off to catch the early morning bus!

Again, Fun for him. Nice for me.

Last year of Middle School.

Next year, Whole New Game Plan.

The End

Our Last Summer Sunset . . .

Tomorrow the kids start school. The weather has warmed up right on schedule. We tried to stay cool this week and enjoy our last week of summer. Sniff. Sniff.

It has begun.

Ryan's evenings have been filled with Football. Every day. Fun Times.

We went to Rubio's almost as much. Frozen Yogurt 2nd runner up.

Umbrella Forts - A new found love. (Thanks Tylers). Throw a glue gun and a bunch of crafting stuff in the mix, even better!

A fort in the making. Throw a little brother into the mix, and it becomes a "bomb shelter" for all of his guys.

Wednesday - Ice Skating. Cool.

Many "Baby Belloongas" were made out of water balloons. (Named after Baby Beluga Whales). My bathtub was often used as an "ocean" full of belloongas and bathing suits.

The floor, wet.

Thursday, another beach day. Blue skies plus Low tide = Beautiful.

The kids did their usual and I did mine. Oh, how I love beach days.

Friday, Pool day. We only have a few days left. . .

They are ready. I am a little sad. Another Summer gone. It was a good one.

Ready, Set, Go!

Big Bear

Big Bear Car Show. Friday night after football, we drove up the mountain to Big Bear. Saturday morning, we walked around the village enjoying good music and fantastic cars with some of our favorite people. It was fun to walk the streets with Papa and share his love of cars and some of his memories. . .

Girls

Boys

Cousins and Snow Cones

Candy Cane Seating. Sweet.

The boys loved all of the Flames.

Big Bear Weekend Part II. We took the kids to the Animal Rescue Reserve. It is a tiny "zoo" where injured animals from the surrounding area are taken. Some are missing limbs, some just need TLC, but all are fun to watch. Some favorites were: The one armed Bear who performed Kung Fu with a stick. The Sitting Bear. The Sleeping Fox. The Wrestling Coyotes. Sarah, Percy, and Bill ( three baby owls). The Bald Eagle Brothers. The "Statue" owl. Snowy owl. There were a lot of owls. Lots of Wildlife Fun.

Lindsay loved this guy. His expression was hilarious.

Sleeping takes cute and then brings it up a notch.

I feel the same way about my kiddos.

Ahh, togetherness.

Back at the cabin, the kids worked all afternoon and into the night digging up rocks with sticks and making a fort. They were filthy and happy on our ride down the mountain.

The making of a Fortress

This little girl is as sweet as she looks. She must have gotten a dozen mosquito bites. Funny thing is, I didn't get one while I was out watching them. I must not be as sweet as I thought. At least I am not the only rotten one, nobody else got any either.

These guys were doing an excellent job of excavating rocks. Thanks for taking a moment to give me this great pose.

Legoland

The weather was warm, we had 9 cousins all together, the summer is nearly over, so what better time to take a trip to Legoland to check out the new water park? Thanks for the nudges Lorie and Brady, we had not been since Ryan was five. He still managed to cram his adult sized body into some of the "6-12" year old rides. He hasn't been 13 for a whole year yet, and Justin will be 6 in less than a year, so we sort of made it work. A crowded day, but overall, a success.

Some braved the slides, others went on the lazy river. That is, until someone pooped, and it had to get cleared out for an hour. It happens. Glad we were on the slides:)

Uno

Dos

Tres

Cuatro! Gotcha, Mr. Pants.

Back over at the Main Park. More Water.

Mr. J and his Mimi

A tight turn

A tight squeeze

Two Jousting Boys

Our favorite ride was The Dragon. Everyone loved it (times 4).

Miniland was Amazing. Such detail. Such fun. We heart Legos.