Another trip to the beach

We took a little trip to Oxnard Beach again. Can't get enough! It was cold and overcast at first. As the day progressed the sun poked out here and there. We didn't stay as long as we usually do, but we were getting too cold, and everyone was ready to go home.

Ryan did great for his first trip to the beach. He reminded me of Nathan when he first went, fascinated by the sand.


Ty and the boys built a nice castle, and then he let them destroy it. Then he buried them both Ian and Nathan in sand.

Teresa did a great job with her castle too. I helped her a little with the mote, but not much. I was being a sissy and pretty much stayed cozy ;) We didn't realize until we saw this picture that her castle looked like a smiley face upside down.

Nathan didn't let the cold stop him

At first both Ian and Nathan would cling to Ty when the waves came.

Build-a-Bear

The kids both took their birthday money and built bears at Build-a-bear workshop. They wanted the new ice cream flavored bears.

Here's Nathan getting his fluff put in and hugging his bears heart. This was his first time building a bear

Now he's brushing and fluffing it

Teresa getting her fluff put in and grooming it

Teresa and Nathan with their bears. Teresa chose the mint chocolate chip, named Peppermint. And Nathan chose the Hot Fudge Sundae bear, named Fudge.

Lil' Update

Ayda and Evie came to play one morning. Ayda was too busy to sit still. Nathan wanted to help and hold Evie. Teresa wanted to help too, she was much more of a help than Nathan.

Look at that happy baby!

Nathan has been to 4 swim lessons. The first one he was screaming, he was so afraid to get in where he couldn't touch. He was genuinely frightened, clinging to the instructor. We were at a swim party earlier this summer and he just jumped in. Then later he fell in, so he was a little apprehensive about going in this time. We worked on it a little at the hotel pool while on vacation. It took a lot of time and coaxing for him to let me take him in the deeper part where he couldn't touch. So when we got back I took him again and he was AMAZING, the difference was so drastic. His instructor was perfect with him, first they played and then they eased their way in. I was so proud of Nathan. Since then he's been 2 more times and done well, he looks forward to swim class. Whew! What a relief!

Here is Nathan on his new scooter, it's a little hot to get out and ride too often. But he has a good time when we do

(Oh, and those of you who know Nathan, notice, he has a short sleeve shirt and shorts on - Up until his birthday he would only wear pants and long sleeve shirts. But since he got new clothes for his birthday he has been much more willing to wear the shorts)

Here's a cake I did this weekend for a friend. She emailed me Friday needing a cake for Sunday, she had planned to do it herself, but ran out of time. It's so hard to plan birthday parties AND do the cake. Anyway, I was so excited to do it, had fun making it and I love it!

A little comparison

I posted a picture awhile back of a drawing Nathan did. I searched and searched for a similar picture Teresa did. I just found it today and had to post(I am So excited to have found it :)


Teresa was 3 1/2 and drew hers on her Magna Doodle.

Nathan was also 3 1/2 and drew his on a huge piece of paper.

Happy Birthday Nathan!

Nathan turned 4! My loving, ferocious little boy. I know those two words are a little contradictory. But that's Nathan right now. He has a lot of love to offer and can be very gentle. But there's also a little monster in there.

We didn't have his party at the house this year. But it's become tradition to wake up to decorations. So here are his jungle/Diego decorations.

He had to find 4 of Diego's backpacks around the house

Peek-a-Boo!

Another tradition - breakfast of choice on the birthday plate with candles to blow out. Pancakes and eggs.

Teresa wanted Nathan to have a present in the morning. Here he is with the huge dog she bought him. Nathan was sure the dogs name was on the tag, so his name is Circo(Target brand).

Here is his Diego Safari cake

We had his party at a place called "The Wild". All he wanted was an inflatable, but since his birthday is in July, it's just too hot outside. This place has 3 huge inflatables - inside, plus some smaller slides and toys for babies. He had a great time, for the first hour, he was non-stop. A blurr if you tried to get a photo.

Blowing out his candles

Opening presents(He's been saving his money to buy Buzz Lightyear, it was his birthday wish to get Buzz, from Grandma and Grandpa Sproul) ------Playing on the slide

Eating dinner with family and friends

After the party we came home and he played with all his cool stuff for awhile. It was a good birthday!

Our Trip

We left Wednesday the 30th and headed for Mesquite, Nevada. An easy uneventful trip, we arrived in enough time to swim, have dinner and rest.

The kids with their pillow pets, a special surprise(no, they aren't really sleeping, but they did sleep a lot)

The lobby of Falcon Ridge Hotel - Highly recommend it. The rooms weren't anything fancy, but it was so quiet and no smoke, plus a hot breakfast

We went swimming in the 112 degree weather. It felt so nice - plus no sun, since it was 5:30 and the pool was in the shadow of the building

Thursday morning we were off to Kenan's house in Hooper, UT. We had a Delicious dinner and a great visit. We met his sweetheart, Stacy, everyone thought she was awesome. Friday morning they made us more delicious food.

The dog is doing tricks - - - - - - Kenan, Stacy and Nathan are relaxing

The boys couldn't keep away from the equipment, so Kenan helped them try it out

Friday we headed to Provo, UT for a family reunion. We had a great time. I posted pictures on that blog and also on Facebook here and here. There are way to many to post them here.

Sunday was a day left for the 4 of us. After going and going and going, we needed to rest. We had familiar food and watched a movie. Then off to Boondocks in Draper for a little fun.

They have this really cool 4D theater/roller coaster experience

Playing some arcade games


And Miniature golf. It was the coolest mini golf place I've seen. Bakersfield needs something like this.

Monday we slept in - way too late. But it was needed after all the late nights and early mornings. We packed up and headed to John's house. They had a very delicious brunch for us. Rick and the boys were able to come and we hung out for awhile. Dylan wasn't feeling well, so Amanda stayed with him. It was so nice to visit and the kids played.

Theo and Nathan ---Braden and Rick

Emily, Theo and Nathan -----They loved Aidan and Williams Harry Potter room. It's pretty Amazing

Everyone hanging out. John made homemade root beer AND homemade ice cream. Both were so, so good!

It was a great trip, very quick, but nice. And now we're glad to be home and ready to celebrate a 4th birthday!

Thanks to everyone for being so hospitable. We weren't able to see nearly as many people as we had hoped. We stayed at my aunt Nedra's house and didn't get to see her, we crossed paths. Luckily, we have a Sproul Reunion in November, so we're hoping to see everyone else then.