He's 10!

I can't believe my baby is 10! And yes, he'll always be my baby (I've got 4 of them). Check out my baking skills. I make these super delicious homemade oreos, and since Braxton loves them, he thought it would be a good idea to make a giant Oreo for his b-day cake. Honestly, I didn't think it would work, but turned out super delicious.

Braxton is seriously the best kid ever. Whenever I ask him to do something he ALWAYS does it. He loves to dance with me, and he's got the best sense of humor. He never gets mad when I tease him, and his younger brothers adore him. He always tells me I'm the best mom ever, and he'll still let me tuck him in at night. He's super smart, funny, and is one of the most compassionate kids I know. He bears his testimony in church all the time, and truly loves the gospel. I am so lucky to be his mom!

Braxton got a Rip Stick for his birthday. He already got injured on it. The Dr. thought his arm was broken at first, but it ended up not. Then a few days later Calvin was riding the rip stick and broke his foot. He's out of baseball after only one game. The sad thing is that he's really good at baseball. There's always next year.

Funny

Tonight Calvin said, "Ow, my liver hurts!" Huh?! Not his head or his tummy or even his throat...it was his LIVER! Chris and I were chuckling at it and trying to figure out how the heck the kid knew where his liver was when it dawned on us. A few weeks ago in his class they did a life size replica of themselves complete with body parts: including heart, brain, intestines, and LIVER. So what do you give a kid for liver pain?!

Liar, Liar Pants on Fire

Ok, so I'm a liar. Here's how it all started:

Last week one of our cats was in the house (they aren't allowed) and wasn't walking at all. I felt bad for him, so I put him in my room thinking he may not live. I told the kids (big mistake #1) that I thought he might die or have to be put down. What was I thinking?! Braxton lost it. He cried and sobbed and mourned all night long. He is such a tender hearted kid. I really love it in some ways, but in some situations I just want to tell him to buck up and get over it. Well, the cat ended up having a broken pelvis, and the vet said he would live, it would just take several weeks to heal. Ok, lesson learned: Don't tell the kids until I know for sure, and when I do tell them, sugar coat it. What I actually did: LIE.

Fast forward a few days. Three teenage girls come to my house and pull out a teensy bunny that looks dead. They ask me to help them, and want to know if I know what to do to help this bunny live. It was a wild cotton tail and looked to be only a few weeks old. It was actually alive, but wasn't moving very much. Of course, the kids were all in the living room and very interested in what was going on. Braxton got really involved and decided it was his mission to research. He went upstairs and googled "how to take care of a wild baby rabbit".

In the mean time, I pulled out my heating pad to warm the bunny up and got a medicine dropper to try to hydrate it. While doing this Braxton came down stairs completely excited, telling us how to care for the rabbit, and exactly what we needed to do. While I was giving water to the rabbit, Braxton's friend came to pick him up to go somewhere, so he didn't see that the rabbit completely stopped breathing. Chris and I were sure it was dead. The girls weren't so sure, so they took the bunny and left.

When Braxton came home he asked if the bunny lived.

Me: "Yeah"
Braxton: "Oh, mom, I knew it would. I prayed to Heavenly Father, and that's when I knew I should go upstairs and google to see what we should do."

All day today he has been saying how glad and thankful he is that the bunny lived and how wonderful it is that we saved the bunny's life.

Ugh....guilt, guilt, guilt for lying. I don't think he can handle it though. He was saying he knew the bunny would live, and it would have been so sad if it had died.

People around here shoot cottontails as target practice. He'd die if he ever found out.

Our Last Night

Late night swim.
The pier at sunset.

Brack and I checking out the gorgeous sunset.

Oh, I just love the palm trees!

I just thought I'd throw this in there. We were driving along the freeway, and saw this amazing building. I thought, "wow, that looks like an LDS temple." And....IT WAS, so I got a picture. It's a beautiful temple.

I kept telling Chris on our last day in Oceanside that I didn't want to leave. I loved every minute of it. I loved the smell of the ocean. I loved going on our deck and hearing the waves and seeing the beautiful shore line. I loved the palm trees, the dampness in the air, and not having to worry about our responsibilities.

So, we stayed up late the last night to make it memorable. We went for a long walk on the boardwalk and pier at sunset. It was so gorgeous. Then we went for a late night swim. The next morning we got up early to collect shells. The kiddos thought we were the best parents ever.

I think my favorite parts about the trip were: buying just picked produce from the veggie stands; seeing the looks on peoples faces when they saw us with 4 boys, "are they ALL yours?"; and marveling at the diversity of beauty Heavenly Father has put on this earth for us to enjoy. He really must love us!

USS Midway

The end of the ship
Inside a cargo helicopter

Brack and Cal, trying to act like it's no big deal.

Roy loved climbing inside all the planes and playing with the buttons.
Anden was so excited and begged me to take his picture in every one.

We went to an aircraft carrier called the USS Midway. It was so much fun to explore and see the wonder in the boys' faces. Afterwards Calvin decided that he wanted to join the Airforce so he could live on a ship like that. I think this was definitely the highlight of the trip for the boys. They got to climb inside airplanes and helicopters, squeeze into the cramped living quarters, and ride in a flight simulator. Chris and I both really enjoyed it, too.

Cabrillo National Monument

Gorgeous view!
The boys loved seeing this "battle ship" go by.

Beautiful (the pics don't even do it justice!)

All the boys

San Diego has the best National Monument. We love going to national parks and hiking, so when I found out that San Diego had a national monument, we knew we were going. Cabrillo National Monument is on the tip of Poing Loma. You gain elevation as you drive into the park, so the view is incredible! There are rocky tide pools full of marine life, beautiful short hikes, and a lighthouse (which I forgot to take a picture of). The best thing about the park is the view. I read about it and was excited to see, but I just can't describe the beauty of this place. It is a piece of undisturbed heaven in the middle of urban chaos. The shoreline isn't made up of sandy beaches. There are rocky cliffs, and did I tell you it's gorgeous?! We even saw a seal hunting for some vittles next to the rocks. It's quite small, so it only took us a few hours to explore it, but it was so worth visiting.

The Beach

Calvin playing ball with his dad.
Braxton and I coming in from boarding.

Sand castle time!


What a kicker!
You gotta love the sand encrusted face!

We had such a blast at the beach. When we went, the tide was low, so the kids got to play in the tide pools. Since I'm an expert boogie boarder I taught Braxton how, and he said I was tons better than dad :D The other kids didn't want to step foot in the water because it was pretty cold. It actually wasn't that bad once your body went numb.

I did trick Andy into getting into the water once. I said I was going to pull him around on the boogie board in the tide pool, but after a few minutes I pulled him into the surf. He was mad.

We saw a group of dolphins playing, and that was awesome.

Braxton was very into the whole "modesty" thing. You should have seen the look on his face when he'd see a girl in a bikini. It really made him uncomfortable. I have to say I am glad about that for now. In a couple years I'll have to cover his eyes.