Fall 2018

It's always hard to say goodbye to summer with its fun-filled, lazy days.  But this year both boys were excited to go to school, especially Foster, who couldn't wait to go to school with his brother.  And mom was excited to experience an empty house for the first time in a long time.

Back to School

James

This year James is in Mrs. Washburn's class.  She is very cool and laid back and James is really liking her class.  This year he has class with Hudson McEwan and Evan Engel.  He is also making lots of new friends and trying new things.  He loves running club and is working hard to achieve 100 miles this school year.  For every 5 miles they run, they receive a foot charm to put on their running club necklace.  He is determined to have the most feet in second grade.  We will see how he does!  To help him in his goal, he has started running with Heidi Trotter once a week.  They run between 4 and 5 miles in an hour and Heidi says he reaches her about dinosaurs as they run.  He has lots of information to share.

He ran a 1 mile race in September and kept up with the fifth graders, finishing around fifth.  Foster ran in the race too but he skipped an entire section of the race.  He did finish strong in front of the crowds, sprinting to the finish line.  

Heidi and James

Both boys went home with a medal

James ran 9 laps in The Painted Rock Jogathon

This photo cracks me up.  On the left is James' school picture from first grade and on the right is his school picture from second grade.  I think it's the perfect imagery for his growth so far this year.  Last year he had so much anxiety over school and had a hard time going every single day.  This year, he runs into school on his own, never complains in the morning and has lots of positive things to say at the end of the day.  His independence and happiness at school is visual!

Starting Kindergarten

Foster

Foster was so excited to be in Mrs. Greenan's class.  And I was excited to Foster to make his own friends and grow socially.  He was fortunate to have a classroom full of nice boys and girls and has made so many new friends.  His new best friends are Hagan, Christopher and Colin.  He is doing great with reading and always tries hard.  He is definitely a class clown and loves attention from Mrs. Greenan and his classmates.  He almost always wants to go to school, unless he is feeling "drippity" which I think means tired.  And sometimes he cannot find socks he wants to wear so that makes us late.  We are working out the kinks and I love watching him grow and enjoy school. 

Foster and Hagan on Wacky Day at school.

 This fall, Foster tried soccer and Scott tried coaching.  There team was The Raptors.  It was a fun experience and we loved cheering our player and our coach on at the Saturday games.  He made one goal during the season and mostly just had fun but he was always fun for me to watch. The Raptors went undefeated during their season which was amazing.  We had some great players and an even better coach.  Go Raptors!

The Raptors played a night game and won!

Foster and Hagan battled it out on the soccer field. Orange Crush was defeated by The Raptors.  But no hard feelings!

Kindergarten Jogathon

Foster ran 6 laps in The Painted Rock Jonathan

JeNae's 40th Birthday

Its' my birthday and I'll have three desserts if I want to!

In September, I celebrated my 40th birthday.  I planned a birthday extravaganza with some of my best ladies.  We went to Disneyland on my birthday, spent the night in Irvine and then went to Roger's Gardens the following day.  They had their Halloween Harry Potter displays up and it was the perfect way to usher in the fall.  It was the perfect weekend and I had so much fun turning 40.  

The boys had a little plan for me too.  I came home to a cake, a decorated house and presents.  To say that I'm spoiled is an understatement.  

It was so fun riding the big kid rides.  It made us all feel 16...not 40!

We had a leisurely lunch at Zacolo including some of my favorites like cinnamon chips and mexican hot chocolate slushy.
YUMMMMMM

We got to enjoy all the Halloween Festivities at Disneyland which is my favorite time to visit the park.
Left to right: Dawn, Me, Suzanne, Melany and Julia...the dream team.

Fall Traditions

Apple Picking

We made it to Julian for our annual apple picking trip and we timed it in the evening so it wasn't blazing hot.  It was still pretty hot and it wasn't the best year for apples but we still love the hunt for the deepest red apples we can find.  We always go home with way too many but that's part of the fun. We had dinner in Julian and Foster even tried a pepperoncini pepper at the pizza restaurant.  He did NOT like it.  We made a stop at the local candy store and went home with assortment of gummy candy that is sure to rot our teeth out.  We also went home with a MOMS apple pie.  We love our Julian tradition and have so much fun taking the boys up there.

CANDY!!!!!!!

Poway Rodeo

The boys have gotten really into the rodeo.  They love watching the bulls and the mutton run.  There's not a chance James will let us leave early, even if it ends after 10:00.  Foster didn't make it to the end but he had a blast on the mechanical bull and we ate lots of kettle corn.  He always puts on a show when the country music starts playing and James loves to sit next to Grandpa and hear all about the bulls.  And of course, it was one of Scott and I's first date so we have lots of good memories of the rodeo.  It's a great night to live in Poway.

Handsome Cowboys

And....he's out.

Halloween

Dracula, Haunted Mansion Lady, Grim Reaper and Zombie

The best time of the year.  This year we hit up some new Halloween stores which were a little too scary.  Think clowns that reach out for you and have creepy voices.  Yep....to scary.  The boys even felt it was too scary this year but that was nothing compared to the movie we went to see.  In my defense, it looked like a silly Halloween movie for kids.  But The House with the Clock in the Walls ruined our lives for about 5 weeks.  Let's just say it was too scary for the boys, especially for James.  And after watching that movie, he slept on the floor of our room for five weeks.  I have officially learned my lesson.

We went to our favorite pumpkin patch in Ramona to pick out our carving pumpkins.  We skipped the hayride this year and opted for the corn maze.  The boys picked out excellent carving pumpkins and we got to visit the Buffalo.  We even found a gopher who kept popping his head out of the ground.  We sat there and watched him for at least 15 minutes...oh the simple things in life!  The boys went home with giant pumpkins and snow cones because of course it was 1,000 degrees.  Gotta love the fall.

There were lots of fun Halloween activities at Painted Rock.  The four of us went to the Halloween dance but not all of us danced.  You can guess who danced.  Yes, Foster and I.  But can you guess who got on the stage with all the fifth grade girls and danced for an entire song.  The question was too easy.  Yes, Foster.  

As room mom for both kindergarten and second grade, I was very busy planning class Halloween parties and had a very full schedule on Halloween running one party after another.  But the kids had a blast and I had a nap...so it worked out.  

Fun Painted Rock Party with the Tilley's thrown by Foster's friend Jack.
Alexis, Tatum, Arden, Foster and Me!

Kindergarten class party:
Kids made bat necklaces
Decorated Halloween Sugar Cookies
Played Halloween carnival games

Mrs. Greenan's Kindergarten Class

 Second Grade class party:
Pizza Party Lunch
Decorated Halloween Cookies
Halloween Carnival Games

James and his buddies Max and Donovan

Halloween Bingo

Mrs. Washburn's Second Grade Class

One thing I love that Painted Rock does is a Halloween Costume Parade.  It's how they start out the morning every Halloween.  Such a fun tradition and the best way to kick off the day.  Here are my Zombie and Grim Reaper in the costume parade.

Trick or Treating

We trick-or-treated with the McEwans this year and saw many of our friends from school.  Summerfield is the best place to be on Halloween night.  MiAni came over and handed out candy and after a few blocks, James joined her.  He loves to see his friends from school come by his house.  It was an amazing Halloween.  Probably one of our best.  So busy but worth every effort!

Ready for Trick-or-Treaters!

James, Hudson, Ruby, Cannon, Bronson, Foster, Skeleton Man.
They are READY!

Summer 2018

So Much Fun in The Sun

This summer was packed with fun days at the beach, the zoo and some trips along the way.  We love the easy days of summer, schedule free and a great combination of rest and rowdy!  I told James this was the summer he was going to fall in love with the beach.  I don't know if it's love yet but he strongly likes playing in the waves with friends and especially with his dad.  He became a great body surfer this year.  And Foster is a beach lover through and through, especially when he gets to be buried in the sand!

Foster became a fearless boogie boarder this summer!  

Body Surfing in Action

Foster and Isabelle

How most of our beach days end!

We started a new tradition this summer which was to go to Creme and Sugar after the beach.
It was a very fattening tradition!

Big Bear

If there is one thing we can all agree on, it's that we LOVE Big Bear.  The day after Scott's birthday, we headed to Big Bear for some of our favorite traditions and discovered some new traditions!  The cabin where we always stay had a deck addition that allowed us to fully appreciate the outdoors.  The beauty of where we stayed made it hard to leave so most nights we ordered in and had dinner on the deck followed by a few hundred rounds of the game SORRY. 

We love the Big Bear Zoo and it's always a trip highlight.  This year we watched the Grizzly Bear Brothers get into a little disagreement which meant lots of bear roars and aggression.  Of course the boys thought this was the coolest thing ever.  

Scott and I love the Alpine Pedal Path.  It is a five mile walk that borders the lake.  Now that the boys are older, we made them walk the path.  It worked out well for about the first couple of miles and then everyone was very tired.  Of course, Scott and I were perfectly fine and would have gone every morning but we were outvoted!

The boys discovered that walking sticks are the perfect Big Bear accessory.

We tried something new this year and took out a pontoon boat at the Big Bear Harbor.  This was a great decision, the boys absolutely loved it and so did the parents!  Scott is an expert sailor around the lake and each boy tried his hand at steering.  We were out there for two hours exploring the little harbors, checking out the houses and seeing just how fast our little boat could go.  Even Bella got in on the action!

The boys always have so much fun at the Big Bear Discovery Center.  They made this house out of logs with quite a bit of help from dad.  They even made a wooden walkway!  Not a bad place to live.

Bella had a terrific time hanging with the family, going on walks and taking lots of naps!

Until next time Big Bear...

4th of July!

We invited the Thompson family to spend the fourth of July at our house this year.  We spent the morning with the boys at Poway Park watching the cowboy shoot-out reenactment and having breakfast at the Original Pancake House.  Then we headed home for some swimming and BBQing with the Thompsons.  It was a perfect fourth of July spent with good friends.  

Beach Camping

Every year, just before school starts, we head to Carlsbad State South Beach for some camping with friends.  It's a blast every time.  This year we shared our site with the Simpsons and they were great camping buddies!

This year the water was so warm, it was breaking records.  We literally stayed in the water all day long because it was so nice.  The only time we took a break, was to head up to the camp store for a shaved ice.

JeNae, Melany Simpson, Dawn McEwan

Boogie Boarding Mamas!

 Del Mar Fair

 

The boys are getting so big that we are starting to outgrow the kiddie section of the fair.  I'm relishing the baby rides while they are still relevant.  We always have a great time at the fair; looking at the barn animals, riding the rides and eating the food.  Each of the boys managed to win themselves a stuffed animal, a frog for James named "Froggie" and a blue car for Foster named "Bobby".  They sleep with their stuffed toys every night.  

For whatever reason, James always get a little scared on this ride.  Notice the tight grip on the steering wheel.

The highlight of the fair was riding the Ferris Wheel once it was dark and looking down below on all the lights and fun.  There is nothing like the Del Mar Fair to usher in summertime.  And of course we had to get a slice of gingerbread cake to end the night on a sugar high!

More Summer Fun

Strawberry Picking with the Warren's is a tradition that is three years strong now and I hope it's one we can keep going!  It is so fun to pick berries and eat them along the way.  The kids love filling their baskets and their bellies, except Claire Warren, who to this day hates strawberries.  She manages to fill her basket anyway!  I'm hoping we'll be bringing our teenagers to the strawberry fields and forcing them to recreate the barn photo every year!

Charlotte, Foster, Claire, James

The Whole Crew

We took lots of trips to the Zoo this summer.  We went almost every week.  Some of our favorite spots at the zoo are Reptile Mesa, the crocodile on Monkey Trail and the Baboons.  Mom loves going just as much as the boys which is probably why we went so much.  We even started riding Skyfari this year now that we no longer bring a stroller, it's a whole new world.  

We brought dad along with us to Night Zoo and we took the boys to Alberts in the Tree Tops for dinner.  Our table was right next to the waterfall and from where we were we could see the Bonobos in their bedrooms for the night.  Such a fun night.

James with his best friend Jacob

Mom and Foster on Skyfari

Mom and Dad took our family to the Padres Game on Mormon Night.  It was a fun night and the boys loved watching the game.  And let's be honest, I enjoyed eating the food.  Fun had by all!

Of course we spent many of our summer days by the pool.  Whether it was at the Summerfield pool or a friend's house, we love swimming with friends.  Foster learned to swim without floaties this summer which made pool days even more fun!

It was a summer for the books.  These precious summers with our boys are some of our best times.  As they get older, I realize how fast they are growing and it just gets better and better.  We love our boys so much.