Gabriel's June

For various reasons, I decided to have Gabriel's birthday party with his friends early. So on the Saturday after the last day of school, we had an adventure-themed party!

Ephraim helps with the decorations.

Torches (cupcakes in a cone)

Gabriel wanted a "feast" as part of the party. I did my best for kids in the afternoon.

They colored dragons and knights from a coloring book.

We decorated the house with candles. Glowing wands were favors.

Gabriel's friend Daniel from church was the only other kid to attend but they had so much fun! I created a scavenger hunt (follow clues to spots around the yard) and it was perfect for just the three of them.

The treasure at the end was fruit snacks hidden in a chest of play jewels.

Make a wish!

Gabriel loved it all. But perhaps his favorite part was picking out a new Lego set and putting it together.

Love that smirk!!

You're almost eight years old, my amazing intelligent boy!! Growing up so fast!

Mostly Ephraim in May

One Sunday in May we found a dead dried-up lizard in the backyard.

Dad tried making truffles and ended up using it as cake filling. There was too much delicious cake so mom and dad had to call us all over to help them eat it. It's tough living close by them!! :)

Family puzzle time!

Ephraim is so patient with it.

 Collecting bugs!

Mom and dad bought an outside umbrella for me as an early birthday present. My uncle Tom got a discount for us and shipped it here. Some assembly required, but Ephraim eagerly helped me out.

We emptied our sandbox (which we haven't used in two years!) into the sandbags to make the base solid. Ephraim was there to help with relocation of the sandbag.

Enjoying the shade of our labor! Perfect for our sunny backyard that faces west.

 Both boys' reading has improved greatly. Gabriel was reading Dr. Suess to Ephraim.

 Ephraim continues to be adorable! Look at those eyes!

Look at that... underwear... what in the ...?! 

May Already

A few months ago, my cousin Neal and his wife Amy had a baby. I got to see them on Sunday at my cousin Jenny's birthday party. Here is my mom holding the sweetie-pie (I took several photos, both my mom and baby Josie took turns being blurry!).

Long but beautiful drive to Watsonville and back for the party. We enjoyed the new sunroof to see more of the trees all around us.

Gabriel pointed out that we were having Death Star waffles for dinner.

Tonight Ephraim wanted some Ranch on his salad. He instantly broke out in laughter when this happened!! 

My active climbers.

Tonight the cat was snuggling so closely to Ephraim. He loved every minute of it. The park (above) must have worn him out because instead of hearing "tell me a story," Ephraim said "I'm tired" and went right to sleep.

Busy Happenings

Happy Easter. Yes, it came and went and we celebrated. Here are the boys when they discovered the candy dish was empty (I hid the rest so they wouldn't get sick).

One evening, we went outside and used up some after-dinner energy.

 

Gabriel at the top of the rope pyramid

Gabriel at the top of the fig tree in grandma and grandpa's backyard

Gabriel at the top of his bunk bed, being a pirate with his Bunny first mate

Sunday church smiles. Easter break from school seemed to charge us all up. We had a super great week back.

 So handsome...

So handsome in his new shirt and tie (thank you, Grandma and Grandpa Gunn)

We got a new compact SUV! A Honda CRV. Dad asked what CRV stands for and I said, "Cool Rachel Vehicle" of course. :)

 Oops, it comes with a sunroof too! My long commute is so much more pleasant now.

I bought a Dance Dance Revolution pad and game. So fun to play (it's been over 10 years). Gabriel is even learning it too. My friend Chris is lending us his pad, so we can play together.

Gabriel's school had a fundraiser night at Chuck E Cheese. Gabriel saw a schoolmate there and went off and had fun hanging out with him. Ephraim and I explored the games together.

Hot spell came. We inflated the pool to cool off. Splashing is the best!

March Marched By

The boys play nicely together.

Batman has a new tool on his utility belt: a lightsaber! Gabriel is so good about responding to Ephraim's "force push" hand gestures. It's adorable.

Ephraim turned 5 on March 16. We had a party the Saturday before it with a cat theme. We invited his friends from school and some showed up. It was a new experience for me (having friends over for the party). It was wonderful to meet fellow parents. 

With help from my dad for the form, I made a cat pinata and filled it with candy and small toys.

I made paw print cupcakes.

My dad made the cute cake that looks just like our cats.

Ephraim and his friends pose as cats. 

Pinata time! (...wait... all that work...)

Make a wish!

Grandma Cook came to the party too. Yay! So cute with their ears together.

 Working on one of the new puzzles.

Gabriel often sleeps in my bed. The other morning, I told Ephraim to go wake up Gabriel. Instead, he crawled in and snuggled right up to his brother.

Ephraim spent about 10 minutes licking and sucking on this lemon. This was after he refused the super sweet orange I peeled fresh from our tree. 

The squinting is from the sun, not the sour.

Watching the birds.

Gabriel prefers to fall asleep in my bed... uh, there's no room for me, kid. And my pillow doesn't make the best blanket, ya know.

They fell asleep in the van holding hands. So sweet!

We picked green peas from our backyard and shelled them.