Ben's Blessing

Not much to say, except that it was a beautiful blessing, and Ben was the absolute dreamboat that he always is.

 In other news, Kate lost another tooth during dinner the other night. And 5 minutes later, Ethan lost one during dessert. Twinning.

Visit to California

Ben and I got to go to California for the weekend. Ben met his namesake and they both fell instantly in love with each other. Ben even gave his first official smile to Dad, within seconds of meeting him. I won't pretend I wasn't offended.

 It was so good to be home. Jimmy and Thomas were there, although Thomas somehow escaped all photographic trace.

Jimmy really wanted to take the following picture. 

We got to go with Dad to the City of Hope where he gets his radiation every day. My dad is a rock star. There's no way around that statement. He just is. 

Of course, a visit with Bumpa was in order. Ben and I color-coordinated our outfits. It's what we do. Also, my mom is fired for not telling me my hair looked like... that:

But then she's re-hired again because she's pretty much the best ever. Like seriously.

The best.

one month

It's been one month and we are still alive and accounted for. 

And those cheeks?

I made 'em.

 And these kids?

Made them too.

So I'm feeling pretty fantastic about myself these days.

Never mind the fact that instead of washing my hair today after who knows how long, I went out and bought dry shampoo. And used it. 

Three more days of freedom, folks. 

I really like that kid right there.

Tricked ya, tricked ya. That was a picture of Drew. The good news is, if we ever lose all the baby pictures of either Drew or Ben, we're still covered. Cause they're the same.

Back to your regularly schedule overdose of Benjamin...

Yep, he yawns. He's just like the rest of us.

Except he's a lot cuter and he seems know a lot more about what's going on than the rest of us do.

The olders are getting along just fine without a functioning parental figure.

Halloween happened.

I'm sure other things have happened in the past month.  Like, our house almost got washed away in the flood. And Khloe and Lamar might get back together. And, there's a new Bachelor. And Hillary tried to explain herself. But none of that really matters right now. Cause we have a new person. And he's pretty fantastic.

And this right here is how I spend my days. It's a rough life and someone's got to do it. 

(And now you're really judging me because you realize there's 4 days of spit up in that hair that I just dry shampoo'd away. It's okay. I won't judge you for judging me.)

Benjamin Donald

This guy.

He's stolen our hearts.

At just 7lb 4 oz and 20", he runs the show around here these days.

He sure knows how to do the sleeping thing. But I won't go into details in fear of jinxing it.

He also HATES being cold. 

So we don't go anywhere without this monster of a blanket, and a hat. 

By "going anywhere", you know I mean the couch, or the other room. 

 I think he's pretty handsome.

 My amazing sister came to save the week, and I could not be more grateful!

And here we are, looking like people who know how to be a family of six.

Don't be fooled.

2nd graders

It's really hard to believe that these two are back in school again. Summer was WAY too short. I know they have to learn and all that stuff, but seriously, is just one more week of swimming, Monopoly, puzzles, Legos, sleeping in, and morning cartoons asking too much?

California- Daddy comes!

Greg came for the last week we were in California. 

Taking the kids golfing was definitely in order. 

Ethan is really loving golf, and while we were in CA, Drew and Kate decided it was their thing, too.

Of course we went to Newport.

and Legoland

And, the drive home went swimmingly. I'm so glad my kids are such good drivers. Call me crazy, but I truly, madly, deeply, hate flying. It's not a fear. I will do it if I have to. But if I can choose to drive, I will.

It was so wonderful to be in Glendora for so long. I felt like I was finally able to see everyone, do everything, and eat everything, without feeling rushed, and still feeling like I had a vacation. 

I think this is the part where I'm supposed to say that it's good to be home. But since Kristen isn't here to feed my kids and take care of my every need, my dad isn't here to feed me dessert every night, my mom isn't here to play with my kids, it's hard to really mean it. But, somehow, I do. It's good to be home.

California, part 3

The third week we were there, my mom had to go to Girls' Camp, so Kristen stuck around one extra week, to "babysit," as she called it. Turns out, she takes her job seriously. She took care of the kids, and, more importantly, me, like she was getting paid.

She even went on a hike with us.

And only cried once.

She was properly rewarded with a burrito from Taco Lita. Let's just take a moment and respect the goodness of that puddle of sauce right there.

Okay, that's enough. 

But seriously, what could they possibly put in it that makes it so delectable? 

I'll never know.

I'll just respect.

Scott came to pick Kristen up, and we spend a day at the Science Museum. 

This pic should be in the last post, with Matt, but I missed it, so here it is.

Drew can be so quiet and shy sometimes.

California, part 2

The second week we were there, Matt, Kristen, Jimmy, Kira, and the girls joined us. 

Gramps provided immediate snacking, Drew provided hip poses, and Lyla provided the popsicle face cheeser. 

We did a lot of sitting around thinking we're the funniest people on earth.

And, we spent a day at Newport. Man oh man, we love that place. 

And our second annual Duffy boat ride, complete with delicious deli sandwiches, took place.

If you're wondering what kind of people do a donut on a Duffy boat, wonder no longer. Because we, my friends, are those people.

The girls spent an afternoon at the Grove, and enjoyed a delicious lunch at the American Girl Cafe. It surpassed all of our hopes and dreams.

Yeah. I did. I took a picture of the parking garage bathroom. The Grove is no messing matter. They don't want anyone getting in their car without a proper potty stop, lotion, breath mints, or, heaven forbid, a rest on a sofa.