Happy Fifth Birthday Calen!

Our little boy is growing up! Calen turned 5 and had a great celebration with his friends. He made his own cake and even did the icing. He had a water slide and did crafts with his friends all afternoon. Everyone had a blast!

At Sequoia Nation Park and the Kern River

We Recently went camping at the Kern River and took a day trip up to Sequoia Nation Park and the boys got to see the largest living creatures on earth. It is an amazing place and we had a blast searching for the trees that had caves to explore. Steph was in heaven looking for wood to carve and sticks to turn into bow drills.

out on a hike

This was taken in Northern California on POST property as a part of our trip with friends to Venture Retreat. It was a lot of fun. As you can see, Bryce likes to travel with the camel back pack on and Calen does not mind sharing it. It was a really pretty day and we spent time at the lake and on the trail.

Building a castle for Cinderella

Caught Bryce playing alone the other day. He said he was building a castle for Cinderella. Too cute. This was totally self generated are and probably the first time we've seen him create something as substantial as this block tower. He went on to build it for about another half hour and had a blast.

New Waterslide

You have to love Craigs list. We got this practially brand new wateslide and it has already paid for its self. Calen and Shon Eaves from the neighborhood are loving it jumping from the top and sliding at top speed to the bottom. To much fun!

Homemade Condensed Elderberry Juice

We collected a small bowl of elderberry's from Bonnie's tree at Rock Rose. We juiced it with the Norwalk and then froze it twice to do the thawing condensing process (basically, the juice melts out of the ice, then you throw away the ice).

The result, a half cup of sweet and nutritious elderberry juice. And just in time for the flu that is hitting San Diego (and the rest of the world).

Bryce is Pottie Trained

We think that it is official. Bryce pottie trained himself over the last couple of months. Right now he only wears diapers in the car so that we dont have to stop frequently or in traffic. He is quick to pee, most of the time just running outside and hitting the grass. He learned that trick from Calen. I'm sure accidents will happen, but he seems really happy that he taught himself that (with Calen's example and help).

Fishing with the Sims

Calen caught this unusual crab in mission bay while fishing with Emerson and Tate Sims and of course Byrce. It was a real blast. It was unusual fish day becuase we caught a shark and a ray as well. Thanks to Capt. Tony for taking us out.

Swim Class

Thanks to YaYa for giving Calen swim classes this spring. He is really getting comfortable in the water, even without goggles on. He can swim accross the pool no problem and with snorkling gear on he can stay in a pool for a very long time. Murray Callan Swim School gets my two thumbs up!!!

Everage Boys at the Creek

Steph took this pic back in April. We went down to San Vicente lake in Ramona,CA and had a picnic. Everyone loved it. Calen is holding a tree that we just caught.

Steph gets a new car

The Suburu was starting to give us trouble so we went
shopping for a new car for Steph. Ended up getting a really
really good deal on this Camry Hybrid. Steph and the family
love the smoother quieter ride. Jeff loves the very low monthly
lease payment.

Calen and friends at Rock Rose School

Calen loves his school. We have to pull him away every afternoon. This
is on the swing set at the school. He is playing with Kalia and
Phoenix.

Rock Rose

Bryce an Calen both really like their school out in ramona called Rock
Rose. This is a photo with Mrs. Kat. She is Calen's teacher and a
great person. Bryce loves being with her every morning while the
bigger boys play outside.

Steph at the range with the FBI

I was doing the FBI citizen's academy which is a great program that I totally recommend and Steph was able to attend the last day with me and go to the shooting range. We shot all the FBI weapons. Steph looks like a natural!

new addition to the family

This is a little frog that just changed from being a tadpole a few days ago. He is the latest addition to our family that now includes 2 frogs in a vivarium and a planted fish tank that includes shrimp and sucker fish.

At North Island with Uncle Steve

The boys when to work with Uncle Steve and had a great time exploring the types of helicoptors that he flies as a reservist. It has been great having Stephen around with us for the last couple of months.

I just saw a Frog!

This was a really funny photo that Steph took when we were out at the lake by the creek. Calen had just seen a frog jumping and wanted to catch it. He is becoming quite the outdoorsman!

Calen the craftsman

This is a great photo of Calen sanding a table for us to refinish. He had a great time doing it though he did not quite finish the job. Then it was on to making a skim board for the beach.

Bryce and Calen playing together

This is a great example of how close Bryce and Calen are becoming. Sometimes Calen is a little tough on Bryce, but over all he is a sweet brother that likes to share and play. I love the one with Calen sticking his tongue out. Brycie is having a blast!

Bryce loves to swing

Bryce is just like his brother in that he loves to slide and swing. He was climbing up the slide before he was walking and just wont stop swinging wants he gets into the seat. Today he was on with dada and loved it!

The family garden!

Calen and Bryce love their garden (and so does mom and dad). The sprouts are oru second crop of beets, letuce and radished. It has been a really cool to watch the boys explore the garden and pick and eat some of the plants. Calen is getting good at finding the good stuff like the large japanese cucumbers.

picking blackberries in Julian

We have a secret spot to pick blackberries in Julian. Here is Calen enjoying the results. We probably picked 8 of the containers that you see in his hand. That is a lot of berries.

First riding lesson

Calen and Mom have been feeding the horses for the last few years. From there, Calen rode ponies in a rink at Victoria Gardens. Riding Roxy was his first time he rode in the open. The instructor was impressed at how well he did. Calen got to hold the reins by himself and ask Roxy to turn, trot, and stop. We were all pleasantly surprised to see that he was ready for lessons.

YaYa in SD

Yaya came to see us and we visited the flower fields

Bryce's first Birthday

Bryce loved his first bite of home made carrot cake. It was the quietest that he has been in a while!

New addition to the family!

I'll have to rename the blog Calen and Bryce not since it is photos of both going forward. Our family grew last week with the arrival of Bryce. Calen is such a sweet big brother. He is so happy to have his brother around. One morning he even woke up and said "I want to go see my baby brother." We look forward to new adventures with the two of them together.

Christmas in the keys

Long time since I have blogged about the little man, so here is a photo from awhile back. We rented a house in the keys to get away for a bit and had a blast. A couple of days we went fishing off of a boat and Calen really enjoyed going fishing. It helped that we happened on a spot that had him catching a fish on his pole almost every cast! He caught more than I did! Of course, when it came to cleaning, Miami and I got to clean all the fish!

I figure Calen is permanently jaded with this fishing adventure. They practically jumped in our boat so that any future trip will not be as good.