August

<New videos added below>

Caleb was not into having his picture taken for their cubbies at school, and they ended up getting a side profile shot of him just to have something to put on his cubby!  A few days later he told me that he wanted me to take his picture, and here it is - so cute, it looks like he is posing the same way I imagine all the other kids in his class stood to smile and have their pictures taken!  The actual picture day is coming up... hope he is in the mood to smile!!

Caleb just learned how to take a picture on my phone, and this is what he snapped of me.  Not bad... at least my head is mostly in the picture!

Red Bell Peppers are one of my favorite vegetables, and we tried growing them a few years ago with little success.  Seemed like they would always go bad before turning red.  This year we have three plants, and they have produced a decent number of peppers, the prettiest and most perfect of which is this one - looks like a really nice one you get at the grocery store!  I was very excited!

Cool 'rock wall' for younger climbers, with slide on the other side.  Boys loved it.

Cool slide, huh?  Fun for races...

Trying to get a few things done around the house, kids unattended briefly, and this is what I came in to find.    

We headed up to South Lake Tahoe for a weekend in the middle of August with Nana Gigi, Uncle Ben, and Auntie A.  The house we rented was on a quiet street with this fabulous gated front yard that had brand new sod.  It was perfect for the kids to run around, but still be contained and safe.  We didn't do much of anything, and in fact didn't even leave the house on Saturday, but since the kids had so much fun playing somewhere new, it was fairly relaxing, and fun to hang out with family. 

The boys played LOTS of baseball

Auntie A the Wheelbarrel chasing Caleb

Uncle Ben and Landon standing on their heads :)

The house had a massage chair.  Caleb has never sat in one before.  I think he kind of liked it!

A stop at an Emerald Bay Lookout Spot

The rental house had a jacuzzi, which the kids were excited about.  It took overnight to get it from the 70s up to 100 degrees, but the boys didn't mind too much.

On Saturday Uncle Joey, Aunt Aly, Tessa and Beau drove up to hang out for the day.  Tess and the boys spent a lot of time playing with this little Skeeball toy they found in the closet.  Luckily no one swallowed the tiny balls.

Dance Party!!! Nothing like Thomas the Train theme song to get the kids movin'! (Video):

Playing LIFE with Uncle Ben.  Well, the spun the dial and moved the cars around. That was about as complex a version as Caleb was into doing.

Landon wandered in to join the fun.  He mostly kicked the cars and pushed the money around...

Caleb and Cousin Beau...

Making crazy hair with Uncle Ben

Some crazy racoons kept lifting the new sod in the backyard digging for worms.   It was so weird to come out and find the sod like this, rolled perfectly as if human hands had done it! 

On Friday we stopped by a beach area to see the Lake and the Tahoe Queen taking off before getting a snack at the Riva Grill.  Caleb saw these water tricycles and was talking all weekend about wanting to ride one, so on Sunday we did before heading home.  At first Caleb was unsure about it, but when he saw Uncle Ben and Auntie A go on it first he warmed up to the idea and wanted to ride.  His favorite part was sitting on the bar in the middle and touching his toes in the water.

I didn't put a suit on Landon because I foolishly thought we would be able to keep him out of the water while we rode the water tricycle.  He got soaked, and then rolled around in the sand, and then touched his tongue with wet sandy hand.  Oh well.  Good thing we had dry clothes in the car to change into afterward!

All the boys mowing the lawn :)

My brother Joey and sister-in-law Lindsey came home to visit for a few days over Labor Day weekend.  We had fun hanging out, having lunch at the shoppe, and playing with their doggies, Maverick and Stella.

Dinner at Pietro's with the fam...

Landon must have been extra sleepy this night because he kept wanting to lay his head in my hands in the middle of his dinner.  He would eat a little, lay his head down for a second, eat some more, lay his head down again, etc.  It was so sweet.