Dinosaurs in December

I got a killer deal on some kits for dinosaur escavation so we invited some of my little guy's pals (and their sisters) over to dig up some fun.

Burning Calories

We went for a hike with my new sister around our lake on Thanksgiving day before heading over to stuff ourselves with turkey.  It was a beautiful day for a walk and the kids made the whole trip, which is about  8 miles total!

Really REALLY tired

I came upon this sight recently while looking for my son at bedtime.

Our "Under the Sea" Halloween

 Duh, I'm a jellyfish (and I light up, which was cooler in the dark)

 My little turtle boy (he insisted that the shell I made be able to carry his candy, which it did)

 My sassy little mermaid (she LOVES the colored wigs for some reason)


Our trunk-or-treat decorations.  Unfortunately it was about 4 degrees outside so she and I both froze!

What, No PICTURES?

These are all the pictures I took in Mexico this year. My little man caught a lizard and it had to be captured for posterity and I was waiting in the airport with my camera in hand.  Other than that, it no camera, just relaxation on vacation...very nice.

Another Homecoming

Every October, we journey back to our alma mater to visit those with whom we graduated.  This year was no exception.  Afterward we attended the family carnival where there were blow up bounce houses, face painting, a beer/wine garden, balloon sculpting clowns, all the free food you can eat, carnival rides and some really great fish stories.  Here's a shot of Daddy and his little girl, enjoying a trip down a huge inflatable slide.

What Adventures Lie Ahead

You should never underestimate the potential any given night has in becoming memorable.  This was no exception.  We went to some friends' house for a simple barbeque, just a few families enjoying each other's company.  But then....

...the kids came running into the house yelling "We saw a deer!  We saw a deer!"  Oh, did I forget to mention that it was opening day for deer archery hunting?  Oh and did I ALSO forget to mention that one of the dads with us had his bow in the car?  Well, one good shot, some skillful tracking and a few hours later....

A night that none of us will soon forget!

Fall Traditions

Every year we have several fall traditions that we enjoy as a family together.  One of the things is we usually go to Mexico with our paternal side of the family for the week prior to Halloween.  We make an effort to enjoy the season though by carving pumpkins before we leave.  For the first time this year, the kids were allowed to carve their own artwork.  Daddy carved a tuna into his pumpkin, my little prince carved a scary face and my princess carved shapes into hers.

 When we get back (usually on the day of or before Halloween) we do final touches on our costumes and take our pumpkins up to the forest for the woodland creatures to feast upon at night.  They never last more than a couple days, depending on the weather, so something out there enjoys them.  I remember seeing the zoo leaving pumpkins in the cages for the animals to play with in the fall.  We have seen the bears feast on them, the hippos demolish them and the elephants toss them like balls.  That's what I like to think happens to our masterpieces... well, except it's probably not hippos... I hope.

Story about a Duck

Here's a little story about a duck named "feathers"

Imagine a man who works with his hands is outside working and sees a mama duck.  Now imagine that mama duck has a trail of 10 or so baby ducklings behind her (I'm talking BABY baby ducks...itty bitty ones).  Mama duck is walking along a tall wall and sees some stairs so she goes down them.  The baby ducks, still waddling in a line behind each other, stay on the wall, unaware of mom's diversion.  Mom waddles along a bit more, realizes that the babies have not followed her, and calls up to them.  The babies, in angst over their mother's separation, attempt to jump to her.  One after one, the baby ducklings don't survive.  Perhaps only 3 of the ten make the jump safely.  One of them has a hurt foot and cannot keep up as momma duck waddles away with the remaining 3 of the original 10 baby ducks.  All of this is viewed by the man working with his hands outside.  He sees the injured duck and makes his way to it, scoops it up into his hat and nurtures it as he brings it home.  Now image that man has a daughter.  That daughter LOVES animals and quickly comes to the aid of the duck and names it "feathers".  The girl helps her father make a crate for "feathers" and raise it from barely a handful of down to a full grown adult duck.  She feeds it, plays with it, cares for it and eventually realizes that ducks are better off in the wild.  She comes to a hard realization of the love it takes to set something free.  It takes a special kind of heart to make a sacrifice like that.  Imagine this proud mom and dad sniffing and blinking as their daughter releases "feathers" into a lake. 

My Brother Finally Wises Up

 My little ring bearer and my parents

 My 3 gorgeous nieces

 Table #1 at rehearsal dinner

 Table #2 at rehearsal dinner

 The beautiful bride

The church

 Our side of the family

 The flower girls

My littler sister & my bigger brother, all smiles after the ceremony

The Other Stuff

We obviously cant blog EVERY playdate, there's plenty of "other stuff" that happens that doesn't make the website, but here's some cute shots of fun times with friends this year...

Ida-who?

We took a little trip up north to visit some dear friends this month.  We had an excellent time playing in the rivers, going bike riding, seeing wildlife, visiting, cooking together, playing on their farm, picking apples and blueberries, getting into shenanigans, going mutton-bustin', and wielding deadly weapons.  It may have been the first trip we took to visit them but it will most likely not be the last.

Robin Hood

Our little Robin Hood got a gift card from his aunt and uncle for his birthday this summer.  So we finally got to head down to Bass Pro Shops and naturally, what he picked out was something dangerous...

 

First Day of School

Here they are on their way to a new year of school.  

FREEEEDDDDOOOOOMMMM!!!!

Oregon Comes to Cali

My best friend from my home town came down to visit us this summer.  She brought her daughter and their friend and we did some sight seeing.  We went to six flags, Hollywood, the Santa Monica Pier, had In n Out and pretty much did the whole "touristy" thing.  I miss those girls a bunch when they're gone but when they come back to visit it's like we never left.  That's the best kind of friend.

Family Picture

The Richardson clan cleans up nice.

Living in Paradise

Just another beautiful day on the lake with some friends from off the mountain.

Water Play

We went down to one of the neighboring towns on our mountain recently and the kids got to play in the water park they've created on their lake.  It cost a small fortune to get it but they seemed to enjoy themselves.  They even found friends from school to play with that they hadn't seen since school got out.  Add that to mommy getting to rest on the beach and the small fortune was worth it.

Boys are not Girls

My little guy got to have his first sleepover recently.  His sister was gone to church camp for the week and he was feeling her absence.  So a couple of us moms whose boys were in the same boat decided to let them tough out their sisters' absence together.  It's funny because up until now, I had only seen a little girl's sleepover, which they really should call a "Stay awake over".  Not these boys.  When it was time for bed, it was lights out.  No gossipy whispers, no crying, no fussing. 

The play was different too.  The girls do each other's hair, play barbies, dress their baby dolls, practice gymnastics, giggle, gossip, play games and put on fashion shows all in an hour's time.  It's a madhouse.
The boys played legos. . . . . . That's it.  Just legos.  And it was enough.  No crying, no fussing, jeez, they barely even talked except as it pertained to their lego imagining.  Now I get it.  THIS is why they say boys are easy.  They really ARE easy.  This mom was so excited at how well they got along and how easy it was that we celebrated by going to the pool the next day where they swam all day.  Boys are AWESOME!  Not that girls aren't, but it's a whole new awesome I didn't even know existed.

In Suuuuummmmmeeeeerrrrr!

The movie "Frozen" by Disney is HUGE right now.  My kids are in the perfect age range for it and they both loved the movie.  In fact, they memorized several songs from it.  One of the songs was chosen to be their team's theme song this summer while they were at acting camp.  Their team was called the "Olafs" and their big finale performance was singing "In Summer" (Olaf's theme song in Frozen).  The song is about a snowman who dreams about summer coming because he has never experienced it and wants to romp in the sunshine and get a tan.  I guess it's kind of like those moments when a mom dreams about about her babies growing up without fully realizing that when they do then she's going to melt.