Summer 2013

No pics in this post, but I promise to post some later. I wanted to write some things down before I forget everything.

The littles are growing so fast. Tucker was in the 97th percentile at his 18 month check up and Ryder was in the 75th. I can't believe that was over a month ago and they are already 19 months old. They are walking (running) around like crazy men which means that Cory and I are sweating from the moment they get up until they are in bed at night. They have tons of words and use them all the time to try and let us know what they want... if that doesn't work they have also become very good at collapsing on the floor, flailing their arms and legs and wailing at the top of their lungs. I'm mostly kidding and they are actually really happy kids. They are super friendly kids, very quickly adjust to strangers and ten minutes after meeting you will typically be sitting in your lap asking you to read to them. On our last airplane trip I walked behind Ryder and he stopped at every aisle to say 'hi' and if the person did not look at him he would touch their arm to get their attention. Ryder had his first visit to the ER for stitches in his eyebrow after getting very friendly with the coffee table. Unfortunately this happened on the first night that Cory was out of town on a week long business trip. I won't go into details but imagine 3 kids in the ER after bedtime and only 1 mama. The nurses and doctors were amazing and we left with a stiched up Ryder and Jackson and Tucker hopped up on Popsicles and covered in stickers. In July, the boys started in the toddler room at Jackson's school. They are the favorites of the entire school and very loved and well cared for by their teachers Ms Ginger and Ms Casey. The boys are amazing sleepers and typically sleep from 730pm until 6am with a 2-3 hour naps every day. If they don't get enough sleep, they are the crabbiest kids on the planet. They are great eaters and will mostly eat everything that Cory and I eat... now if we could just get their older brother to jump on this wagon.

Speaking of the amazing older brother... Our just turned 5 year old started kindergarten a few weeks ago. He is thriving and loving every minute of it. His teacher Mrs Juillerat is wonderful and really cares about our little boy. He is going to have a great year in her classroom. Jax has mastered riding a bike without training wheels. He is a little bit of a daredevil and takes a few too risks than his mama would like but he always wears a helmet so I need to let go of that one a little bit. Jackson is a really great swimmer and is now in the Eel class at swim lessons. He has great friends at school and a really best friend that lives right next door. Charlie is 8 and is Jackson's favorite person on the planet to play with (aside from his dad). They ride bikes, jump on the trampoline, build legos, play football and baseball and just have a great time. Charlie is a great kid and we love that Jax has such a positive young role model in his life. Jackson loves Sea World and his favorite thing to do is go on the Ride to Atlantis. It is a river ride roller coaster that even some teenagers are too scared to go on. Jax LOVES it and hoots and hollers the whole time. Cory and I take turns riding with our little daredevil and end up going until the babies get bored and have a meltdown or the line starts building up.  Our 5 year old Fashionista has a very strong opinion about what he wants to wear. We usually let him choose his outfits and most of the time he does a much better job matching his clothes than his dad or I would do. Jax is the best big brother and looks out for his little brothers all the time. He is always taking away things they shouldn't be playing with and will look out for them all the time. These boys love each other even when they don't like each other very much:-)

In May we went on vacation to Maui with Amma and Boppa and had the best time. We played in the ocean, pool and sand every day. Jackson was a fish and would collapse in exhaustion at the end of the day from so much swimming. Cory, Jax and I went on a submarine tour of the bottom of the ocean and saw a real life sunken ship. This was definitely the highlight for Jax and he could not stop talking about it. Cory had an awesome round of golf with Boppa while I got the best massage I have ever had. Cory, Jax and I were able to sleep in every day while Amma and Boppa assumed early morning baby duty. Cory and I also got to go out on few date nights (Mama's!) which was so awesome. Overall we had a total blast and are counting down the days until we get to go again!

In July we hopped on a plane and headed to Minnesota for the 4th. We spent the first half of the week at Nana and Papa's with the Koser clan enjoying the amazing parks and lakes of the Midwest. The boys loved hanging out with their cousins and played and played and PLAYED. We headed down to Mankato for the actual Fourth and had the best time experiencing a small town celebration of this holiday. The kids decorated their bikes and rode through the town as the adults threw candy and treats at them. Cory, Jax and the nephews bought a bunch of fireworks and sparklers and lit them in the driveway that night. It was such a good time and we were sad to say goodbye to our Minnesota family.

In August we got another plane and headed to Seattle to drop the boys off at Amma and Boppa's cabin while Cory and I went out to Whidbey for Dana's wedding. This was a very quick trip but everybody has such a good time. The wedding was so much fun and the boys had a blast being lake kids for a while. The trip was too short but reality was calling us back to San Diego.

Here we are in September and we are now settling in to our new house! We bought the house right across the street from where we were renting and are slowly unpacking boxes and getting life in a little bit more order. We are so excited and are already making the very long list of home improvements!

That is it for now. Not sure anyone reads this anymore but if there are some readers out there... stay tuned for a pretty big photo dump!