Getting Crafty!!!

This morning, while Luke was still at Cooper's 10th birthday slumber party, Nate and I built this awesome Haunted House! Nate is enjoying drawing, writing, and creating.... And we are enjoying watching him explore literacy!

Our Alaskan Cruise

We were So fortunate to be blessed with yet another amazing trip courtesy of Nana and Grandpa Hal, this time to beautiful Alaska. Cruising on the Norwegian Jewel and spending time with our family was a treat; Nate asks every day when we can go on the cruise again. 

The kids enjoyed eating at their own table in the main dining room, Tsar's Palace.

They had Teppan-Yaki on board, so we got to enjoy a Benihana style dinner!

The pool was a huge hit with the boys, and they both enjoyed going down the water slide.  The water was warm enough that you didn't notice the cold Alaskan air.

They had circus training, where the boys learned to balance feathers and spin plates. At night, this venue became a karaoke lounge, where Nate would hip hop and breakdance while Luke sang either Justin Bieber or Imagine Dragons.

Seattle

After our cruise to Alaska we tacked on three extra days to spend touring Seattle. Luke and I braved the Ferris Wheel while Nate and Scott played arcade games and won Monkey (above), who is the newest member if our family. We rode the monorail and visited the Chihuly Glass Museum and Garden, which inspired in me a new appreciation for blown glass. 

A real highlight was the EMP (Experimental Music Project) museum. They ha a fantasy exhibit, so Luke got to pose with dungeons and dragons and sit on the Iron Throne:

Here the boys admire the tower of guitars... We also saw a cool exhibit about Jimi Hendrix and another about Nirvana.

After spending some time in the sound lab, our family put on a concert as Swollen  Guitars, singing "I Love Rock and Roll." Luke sang lead vocals, Nate was on the drums, Scott on guitar , and I tickled the ivories. There was a simulated audience and a curtain that opened, so the  entire experience simulated a concert. Despite Nate's initial trepidation, We put on a show, and we have these concert tickets as proof:

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Nate and Luke posed by the gum wall- the nastiest attraction, but a marvel to behold!

In all, Seattle was a beautiful and very walkable city with cool shops, neighborhoods,  and yummy bakeries ( the gluten free pumpkin cookie is most memorable!). 

Summer Fun!

This summer we have spent a lot of great time with our BBQ crew friends, and not just at BBQs:

Exploring the botanical gardens and playing slugterra with the Garriotts and the Ormsbys

With the Ormsbys at Splash in La Mirada, where my boys together swam the lazy river and rode the big slides!

With the Masseys at Seaside Lagoon ! Nate passed his first swimming test and braved the blue slides into the salty lagoon!

We are truly blessed with the greatest pals!!!!!

Luke's Slumber Party

Because we were traveling over Luke's birthday, we had his first ever slumber party one month late. Guests included Tyler Lumbao, Aaron Nicholson, Kai Smith, Cooper Reitinger, and Grant Mabry. The boys ate ahi and rascals, played Wii Infinity, and Minecraft on the iPod. Late night they watched Jack the Giant Slayer, and finally went to bed about 1 am. Luke had a great time- and now we are all off to get some much needed sleep!

La Quinta

Last weekend we headed to 120 degree heat to celebrate some BBQ Crew Birthdays; Rudy turned 50 and Cael and Caden each got a year older also. We had a great time making adult mischief while the kids swam in our practically private pool. We were lucky enough to each have a beautiful poolside casita, and our rooms were all in a row! The kids were in heaven, with Luke playing Wii, iPod, D&D and dice games, and Nate coloring and playing Avengers with Caden, Aubree and Surina, under Bridgette's watchful eye.

Nate learned to really swim on the trip, and the kids enjoyed walking to the candy shop. Scott and I enjoyed our great friends- our "crew"- who made the extreme heat almost bearable! :)

Fourth of July

Our annual Arvada Street block party is always a blast, and this year was no exception. Joined by our family as well as the Clarks, the Cristafaros and the Masseys, we enjoyed a day of fun in the front yard, complete with bouncers, the Cheetoh throw, a scavenger hunt, and a water balloon toss! 

Bieber Fever

On Tuesday night Nate and I went to see Justin Bieber at Staples. We had amazing seats in the first row of the VIP section, just stage left. Nate made the sign below, and told me to write "like" because only girls write "love." 

Nate is a very serious, stoic concert goer. He told me before the show he was nervous. From our seats we could see the stage AND the backstage, so that kept us pretty interested- especially Nate, who is a student of all things production. We made it through Posner's "Cooler" and Hot Chelle Rae as opening acts. At 9 pm, we could see behind the stage: Justin Bieber put on the wings pictured below and was lifted up, and we got to see him waiting, hanging, to make his big entrance. 

It was awesome. He started with "All Around the World" and then hit song after song in what seemed like shortened versions in the form of mini-medlies. Nate's favorites were  "Eenie Meenie" and "One Time." 

At about 10 pm Nate was ready to go. They had showed a short video of Justin getting lambasted by the media, and Nate said he did not like them being mean to Justin Bieber and he had to go. I explained that there were words on the video like "I just wanna be me" and other positive messages on the screen that Nate could not yet read. That made him feel better, but we still decided to call it a night.

Justin Bieber put on, from what we saw, a great, family-friendly show. Bieber  Fever is one fever that I'm comfortable having in the house!

D&D

Over the past year, Luke has been participating in a Dungeons & Dragons group. This group belongs to Brian and Don Ormsby, a relic from their childhood.  Alll the boys from the barbecue crew have now joined the Dungeons & Dragons group, and Luke's imagination has been ignited. Fran's garage is totally converted into a workcenter with the large table, castles, and a hanging area for creatures to fly; outside of the garage the weapons are lined up against the wall (Luke's favorite part is testing out the weapons- bows/arrows, thunder hammers, scythes, etc.). Luke has created a character named Dicer, who is a brave level 4 fighter with the most hit points. His brother is Slicer Goldstone, a character played by Owen Ormsby. Luke reports that his favorite level was level two, when a giant tornado attacked them.

There are so many positives to him belonging to this group:amazing adult interaction; decision-making and choices; teamwork and collaboration; mapping; imagining and creating. This is one activity he looks forward to regularly!

Cool Dudes

Aren't these a couple of cool dudes?  Luke and Nate are total Homies. Here they are stylin' and profilin' last year. And below, Luke leads his posse in poses at Cooper's ninth birthday party.

 Conor, Carter, Cooper, Luke, Grant, Cohl, and Kai

And then, sometimes, the girls get in the mix, too. Here Shyla and Kylie compete with Luke and Nate for the title of "Coolest Cousin." Impossible to pick which one, they are all so fabulous.