We had such a nice visit with my mom on Saturday. She brought donuts with her, so she was instantly Nathan's best friend. We just played at home for a while, and then headed to the mall to walk around and have lunch. I took a few pictures of Nathan and her cuddling.
My little lifeguard. We went to the beach with some friends last week, and Nathan had fun up on the tower. Nevermind the "keep off" signs all over it - what a bad influence I am. He had fun running around, and had his first ever s'more. And Keaton had his first ever s'more also... I was holding him, and he must have grabbed it off my plate without me seeing. By the time Ryan noticed, he had a s'more stuffed in his mouth, and was so proud of himself.
Taking Nathan's picture has become a challenge. He sees a camera, and either runs away, is just too busy, or has a perma-frown until the camera is gone. So I thought I would have an easier time taking pictures of Keaton. I was wrong. ;) He will NOT stay still for longer than half a second. Even though he didn't give me many pictures, he had fun.
Just a few more pictures of the kids (all three of them) from our park trip the other evening. I wanted to include one of my oldest child on the horse. Now I know why Ryan always suggests the park when we are planning where to go. I think he has more fun than the other two.
I definitely have some California boys. We have had pretty warm weather lately, but the other day, it was dark and overcast all day. Sure enough, it started to drizzle out. Nathan was going nuts, running outside and feeling the rain on his face. He was singing, "It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring", and watching the drops hit the ground around his feet. We have had practically zero rain in the last year, so this was a big deal!
Since Nathan is a train guy, we took the kids down to the train station yesterday. I love it down there. It is surrounded by old-looking buildings - an abandoned brick movie theater, a street lined with quaint shops, and a train-turned restaurant. There is also a petting zoo just around the corner, and we headed over there first. It was evening, so the zoo was closed, but we watched the animals through the fence. We learned something new about Keaton - he is absolutely terrified of emus. He gripped onto Ryan as we approached the emu pen, and then all of a sudden, just wailed. Poor guy... (but the thing does look scary!)
There was also this neat-looking house at the petting zoo.
We got back to the tracks just as the train was coming through. Nathan gets so excited, he can hardly speak. The best part of the evening was when the conductor yelled, "All Aboard!", and Nathan was thrilled. I am not sure if the guy yelled it for Nathan's benefit, but either way, it made his day.
And finally, one of Keaton playing with Ryan.
We had a great visit with Grandma over the weekend. The kids had fun, and I had a chance to catch up with my mom. Nathan spent nearly the entire time in the toy room. Grandma's toys are always so much more exciting than the ones at home.
We took the kids to the park yesterday evening, and it was beautiful. They both had fun swinging and playing in the sand. I liked this silhouette of Nathan.
Nathan is SUCH a homebody. Yesterday, I did everything I could to get these kids out of the house. I bribed him with a park trip, a ride on a merry-go-round, an ice cream cone... but no luck. He would consider it for a second, and then would say, "No, I just want to stay home and play." So, yet again, we stayed inside and played.
Nathan and I had a traumatic experience yesterday. It was a beautiful afternoon, and the kids were playing outside. I decided to pick plums (they are never-ending!), and as I was reaching for one, I saw THE hugest bug I have ever seen. So of course, I grabbed my camera and called Nathan over to have a look. I was holding Nathan in one arm, and as he checked it out, he gripped my shoulder tight. In the other hand, I was taking a picture of the thing. I snapped one picture of it's head, but I wanted a picture of the body (at least 2 inches long! The picture below does not do it justice!). So I slowly pulled the branch out, and all of a sudden, the mooshy plum that it was eating fell off, and the thing went on the attack. It flew into our faces, and sounded like a helicopter. Well, I have never heard a sound come out of Nathan like the shriek I heard yesterday. The two of us went running and screaming, and the thing flew away. Nathan, who normally throws a fit each time we come inside, bolted in the house and was shaking for a while. Poor guy. Keaton? He was clueless...
Here is the beast.
This is a picture of Nathan after the attack, describing how big the bug was. It is out of focus, but still shows the shock in his eyes. 
The whole thing just makes me laugh....
I wanted to post some pictures of our visit with Chris and Teresa last weekend! It was great! Good food, good company, and good entertainment to keep Nathan busy. Collin and Nathan played together in the pool, and Keaton just chilled in the swing and chased after Savannah, the dog.
Collin and Nathan having a tender moment. :)
Playing in the pool. 
Just hanging out.
Collin with his "catch".
Keaton relaxing on a push toy. 
