August 16, 2009

August 16, 2009

Dear Family and Friends,

We've had a wonderful relaxing week here in San Diego. The weather is perfect, and we have taken advantage of it. The week has been a bit of a blur. I fed J this week. Over, and over, and over. Not complaining, just telling you my main activity of the week. He must be growing... I think on Monday we also went to the tide pools. We went in the late afternoon and the weather was cloudy so I could bring J in the front pack. After climbing down the stairs to the beach we headed over to check out the tide pools. J was a little unsure about all of the wind, (it kept taking his breath away) but eventually fell asleep. While he was sleeping E, B-man, and I checked out the tide pools. The tide was still going out and the best ones were under water, but we were still able to see some crabs, and some sea anemones. B-man wasittle hesitant at first to touch them, but he was easily reassured and then was scampering along the tide pools looking for any that were open to touch. We did a little FHE on Monday night with the family. We also were surprised by Q who finished her trek across America at my parent's house.The rest of the week has been a lot like the first. Q, T, and E were great aunts and would take B-man to the beach or a pool everyday. One day he was so exhausted that he fell asleep on the couch while we were all chatting. He has also gotten more brave in the ocean and went under the water occasionally.
Wednesday we broke things up by driving to San Clemente to see cousins and Julz. It was a great day, the boys had so much fun together. E was giving them rides around the pool and a little swimming lesson. It made us all very excited for our upcoming "Sister's weekend."
The sad thing is that slowly everyone has been leaving. T left for Utah first with E and Q following a few days later. Skate did come back from summer term, B-man was so excited to see him. We have been so lucky to have seen so many people in our time here. It couldn't have worked out better.
Saturday Mom and I went out looking for garage sales. We had a short break to help clean the church. I was not helpful at all with J in tow, but the work did get done. Later that day the San Clemente clan came down and we went swimming before having a barbecue. It was a great day, that left us all exhausted! The boys loved jumping off the diving board at the pool, and I discovered that B-man knows how to do a great cannon ball. He can also explain how to do it, "When we jump we tuck, and then we splash just like a cannon ball." Julz and I were rolling with laughter watching them all do their crazy jumps.

Today has been a calm day. Church was wonderful, and it all went very smoothly. We are home now and enjoying the beautiful weather. It is really a gorgeous day. We do miss having more people around, it must be very quiet here when everyone is gone.

Love,
Rebecca, Matthias, B-man, and J

August 9, 2009 Weekly Letter

August 9, 2009

Dear Family and Friends,

I have to work fast. There is only so much time I have without feeding a baby or chasing after B-man. Needless to say we miss M for a whole host of reasons... This last week has been busy. The first two days I spent packing, cleaning, and taking either me or B-man to the doctor. Tuesday B-man had two play dates, and I still couldn't get everything done. Having two kids makes going on a trip a lot harder. It's not necessarily the packing, it is the time you lose helping the second child. I was completely exhausted by Tuesday night.

Wednesday morning I tied up as many of the loose ends as I could. On the way to the airport I dropped off the last of the registration papers for B-man and found out that there was going to be space for him at our local school. Then Q took us to the airport. Everything went really smoothly checking in and getting to our gate. The only bump was that J cried the whole time we were in the security line, and we had to walk a very long way through the airport. I was so hot and sweaty by the time we got to our gate. I had just barely enough time to get our food and then we walked right on the plane. The plane ride went really well despite the fact that every seat was taken so J had to be on my lap. I think a six week old is the perfect age to travel with. They just sleep and eat and don't care if they are able to move around or not. We had one quick layover in Las Vegas, and then another flight to San Diego. The only problem was that I couldn't find the pacifier. I thought I had forgotten it, but then I found it buried in the diaper bag a few days later. Oh well. Good thing I can nurse a fussy baby. Getting home took a lot longer than it should have because two of our bags didn't make the connection, but we stayed for the next flight in and they made it on. Poor J wasn't happy about the wait. Driving with a six week old is not as easy as flying...

The rest of the week has flown by. B-man loves being here. His aunts are spoiling him and taking him to the beach or the pool almost every day. J refuses to sleep unless he is being held, something that is becoming more and more annoying. Saturday we did shake things up by going to watch my brother compete in a "sprint" triathlon. He did great and it has inspired a lot of us to try it as well.

Sunday we celebrated G's birthday. He and his family came down and we had a delicious dinner with homemade ice cream and cake for dessert. B-man had so much fun with his boys. They were like a pack of wolves running around, but it was great to see how much fun they had.

M is doing well too. He is surviving all his awful flight plans and being away.

We love you all!
R, M, B-man, and J

Beach Surprise

The Beach was great!

..water was the perfect temperature

.... clear

....and then I realized that I wasn't in the States

August 9, 2009

August 9, 2009

Dear Family and Friends,

I have to work fast. There is only so much time I have without feeding a baby or chasing after B-man. Needless to say we miss M for a whole host of reasons... This last week has been busy. The first two days I spent packing, cleaning, and taking either me or B-man to the doctor. Tuesday B-man had two play dates, and I still couldn't get everything done. Having two kids makes going on a trip a lot harder. It's not necessarily the packing, it is the time you lose helping the second child. I was completely exhausted by Tuesday night.

Wednesday morning I tied up as many of the loose ends as I could. On the way to the airport I dropped off the last of the registration papers for B-man and found out that there was going to be space for him at our local school. Then Q took us to the airport. Everything went really smoothly checking in and getting to our gate. The only bump was that J cried the whole time we were in the security line, and we had to walk a very long way through the airport. I was so hot and sweaty by the time we got to our gate. I had just barely enough time to get our food and then we walked right on the plane. The plane ride went really well despite the fact that every seat was taken so J had to be on my lap. I think a six week old is the perfect age to travel with. They just sleep and eat and don't care if they are able to move around or not. We had one quick layover in Las Vegas, and then another flight to San Diego. The only problem was that I couldn't find the pacifier. I thought I had forgotten it, but then I found it buried in the diaper bag a few days later. Oh well. Good thing I can nurse a fussy baby. Getting home took a lot longer than it should have because two of our bags didn't make the connection, but we stayed for the next flight in and they made it on. Poor J wasn't happy about the wait. Driving with a six week old is not as easy as flying...

The rest of the week has flown by. B-man loves being here. His aunts are spoiling him and taking him to the beach or the pool almost every day. J refuses to sleep unless he is being held, something that is becoming more and more annoying. Saturday we did shake things up by going to watch my brother compete in a "sprint" triathlon. He did great and it has inspired a lot of us to try it as well.

Sunday we celebrated Primero's birthday. He and his family came down and we had a delicious dinner with homemade ice cream and cake for dessert. B-man had so much fun with his boys. They were like a pack of wolves running around, but it was great to see how much fun they had.

M is doing well too. He is surviving all his awful flight plans and being away.

We love you all!
R, M, B-man, and J

Doctor's Office

**Be warned that this post is random, and rambling.

B-man went to the doctor's office this week. It was his five year physical even though he isn't five yet. We needed to do it a little prematurely so that we could get him registered for kindergarten. (A whole different topic of conversation.) He walked into the waiting room and immediately started asking if he had to have any shots. I had told him that I wasn't sure. He was apparently traumatized by the tetanus shot that he got in November. Lucky for me he was current and didn't need any. Only a finger stick to test his iron level

B-man did great, and they were very thorough. The first is normal things like vision, hearing, weight, etc.. But then they do a bunch of mental things. Name the shapes, draw the shapes, write your name, hop on your right foot, now on your left foot. I was nervous and stressed for him! Every time there was a circle, he called it an "o" (the letter) or a zero. We've been working on letters and numbers a lot... Then he forgotten what a triangle was. I take full responsibility for that one, he did know it about two years ago, but we forgot to review since I didn't know the test would be cumulative from the last three years! Drawing the shapes didn't go that well either, not a surprise since he doesn't care to color at all. I knew that one was coming. Writing his name was a wash. Benjamin is a LONG name to write out. Poor guy. He did in the end write out B-e-n which I take as a success. Fine motor skills are not his strong point. On the other side of the spectrum he was able to hop on both his right and left foot. We had been working on left foot hopping.

I couldn't help but think that the visit was more of a "test." And that the test was not just for B-man but also for the parents. Obviously I have some work to do.

One more random thought, B-man is 47 lbs, and 47.75 inches! Kind of neat to have your height and weight be the same. That puts him off the charts for height, and 90% for weight. I knew he was big, I just hadn't realized how big he really was.

August 2, 2009

August 2, 2009

Dear Family and Friends,

It hardly seems possible that we have left July behind and are into August. Where has the time gone to? It just doesn’t seem possible to be so far into the year. This has been a pretty quiet week. It has been very busy at home, but in boring ways. Like trying to get my home cleaned up and in order. Actually most of the week is a blur. I can’t remember much at all about anything.

M spent a lot of time working on getting his new car registered and the old car cleaned and ready to sell. Monday night our FHE was washing and vacuuming the old car. Q was much more helpful than B-man or me. I just sat on the stairs and B-man was playing with his friends.

Wednesday I went to the farm with J and B-man. It was my first solo trip. J cried the entire way to the farm, but once we were at the farm he was perfect. He did great. We met up with a friend at the farm, and since the weather was so beautiful we stayed longer than we have in a while. We picked peaches, blackberries, and green beans. B-man came home a filthy mess. I threw him in the shower really fast and then he went to the park with one of his friends. He had a very fun day.

Thursday I was out of commission. I woke up not feeling great, and wanting to avoid it getting any more serious I took it very easy. Luckily Q was with us. She was such a great help. She took B-man to the park and made sure that he was entertained while I rested. All of the rest was really helpful. In the morning I could barely walk to the bathroom, but by dinner that night I could get up and be helpful. I was so relived to be feeling better. I did not want to be sick the rest of the week.

Friday a friend was really nice and took B-man to a lake with a nice sandy beach that is about an hour away. Our ward was having a little play date, and so there was a group going up. I didn’t feel up to going myself, but she kindly offered to take B-man. He had a great time, and came back very happy a little after lunch. I was able to get a few boring errands done while he was away. That night we had that same friend over for dinner. It was a very low key dinner since it was our first entertaining of others with two children. That really can throw off the timing of a meal.

Saturday was a very busy and exhausting day. We started off and by going to breakfast as a family. Then we drove to the temple with the kids to attend a sealing. We got to the temple early enough so that I could feed J before going in. Our babysitter came with her parents who were also attending the sealing. The sealing was for a couple in our ward. I worked with the woman in the Primary presidency, and their daughter is in my Beehives class. We waited a very long time in the temple before even getting into a room, but the wait was worth it. The sealing was so wonderful and sweet. Being able to see a child sealed to their parents is such a sweet experience. After the sealing was over we ran out to make sure that the kids were okay. Besides a blow-out diaper the boys did great. We drove home, and then went to a little party at the home of the family who was sealed. On the way home we stopped to get B-man a back-pack for school. It took him all of about thirty seconds to decide that he wanted a camouflage one. He loves his new backpack and has been carrying it around empty in the house sporadically since then. The rest of the day we spent working on trying to get things ready for M to go on a trip. There were lots of little things that kept getting in the way. He was out mowing the grass in the dark, but it just had to be done. We also managed to sell our old car. That car was our first car we bought when we were married. It was my job to find a car since M was off working, and it nearly gave me a nervous breakdown to be in charge of such a big decision. I wasn’t able to choose until M got back. When we bought the car it had about 48,000 miles, and now it has 156,000! It has been a great car, but we knew it wouldn’t last forever, and M thought some a/c might be nice. His “new” car is a 2006 Taurus with only 16k miles on it. Hopefully it will last a very long time. M spent the night packing while I finished a little laundry that he needed. He had a taxi come and pick him up a little after 4:00 am.

Today has been a crazy day. The morning was slightly hectic. J was being fussy for some strange reason and it’s hard to get things done when that is the case. Q came and held him at the end so that I could get everything organized and make it to church on time. After church we came home for a few minutes before going to a friend’s house for dinner. They were so kind and let me bring Q and her friend Amy at the last minute. The dinner was great. There were five boys there, and they were all busy and having fun.

We hope that you are all well. We love you!

R, M, B-man, and J