Back to School

The boys went back to school yesterday. We now have a 1st grader and a 4th grader. I overheard DJ telling Cody the other day “you know, this is my last year in single digits. That means you have to listen to me.” LOL

The boys went shopping and got themselves some new gear…

They were excited for school to start!

Our handsomes!

Cody did some shopping yesterday and had to have this hat. I didn’t think he would like it so much and want to where it every day, but he does and looks quite handsome in it!

Last Week of Summer Vacation–Swimming

The boys go back to school this Wednesday and last week, this is what they were up to…

While DJ swam, Cody kept splashing him.

Then Cody decided to join DJ and do his version of swimming while standing.

Cody’s 6th Birthday

This post is a couple of months late…oops….

Since Cody had gotten over pneumonia the week before his 6th birthday, we opted to not have a birthday party for him. Instead, he celebrated at school, went to Peter Piper Pizza and went shopping at Toys R Us.

He was a bit embarrassed about us coming to school with balloons and treats for his friends.

He did love his Yo Gabba Gabba balloons, though!

He came home from school and had to break through this to get to his presents!

This tricycle was waiting for him.

He went outside with it so he could ride it right away.

That night, we went to Peter Piper Pizza for some pizza and games. It was just us and his BFFs, his Uncle.

His favorite game is Skeeball. He likes to throw the ball to try to get it into the target.

Afterward Peter Piper Pizza, we headed to Toys R Us and he found just what he wanted.

He couldn’t even wait for his dad to finish building it before getting in. He stalked his dad the entire time until it was done.

The next morning, he took it out for a spin.

After Toys R Us, we went home so he could blow his candle out.

Can’t believe he is already 6. Such a big boy now.

Striking a pose!

DJ’s Birthday Party Last Month

I just realized I forgot to post pictures from DJ’s Safari Birthday Party! Come to think of it, I didn’t post pictures from Cody’s bday either. Those will come soon.

Here are some highlights from DJ’s birthday bash.

The cake…

The bottom layer had a zebra-patterned inside.

Tiger themed cake pops (since I sprained my knee and spent the night before in Urgent Care, I didn’t get a chance to finish decorating them).

Each guest posed behind the Jeep cutout and that was one of their party favors.

The other party favors:

Mini candy bar

Binoculars

The highlight of the party were the special guests. Inside each of these boxes were surprises for the guests  - all hand picked by the birthday boy.

We met a Fennec Fox.

A Tegue Monitor..

DJ enjoyed getting kissed by the monitor.

The Wallaby was shy.

And the Kinkajou was even more shy.

All the kids LOVED the python!

The guest of honor wore the Python proudly!

Bonfire on the San Diego Bay

We went to Crown Point in Mission Bay for a bonfire last Friday. Since the sun didn’t set until after 8, the boys started by wading in the water with their dad.

The water was cold, but they didn’t care.

DJ was excited to roast hot dogs over the fire pit.

Cody liked the fire until they put more wood on it and it got….

….this big.

He didn’t want to move away from it, but he was too scared to look at it. He sat with his back to the fire until it was time to leave.

Happy 9th Birthday, DJ!!!

Yesterday, our little man entered his last year in single digit numbers! Happy birthday, DJ MAN!

I asked him where he wanted to go for his birthday pictures and he picked the beach. It was cold and overcast, but he still wanted to go and take pictures standing in the water.

By the time we got to the pier, he was drenched from the waist down and didn’t mind the cold water.

These are my favorite pictures of him. He looks so grown up, doesn’t he?

He wanted me to include this picture because of the wave crashing behind him.

Of course, it isn’t a birthday without the picture of him and the bear! Maybe next year, I will have to have the bear sitting on his lap.

Here he is with his bear on his 1st birthday.

Mother’s Day Surprises

I’m pretty sure that this is the first Mother’s Day in a few years that Doyle has been home. All the previous years, he was on travel overseas.

While getting ready to go to lunch, DJ ran upstairs yelling “HURRY! There is an emergency and you need to come downstairs NOW!”

I went downstairs to find the boys standing at the bottom of the stairs holding these.

The boys also gifted me with my favorite presents, handmade presents.

A Hike with DJ

For DJ’s class field trip, we went to Mission Trails Regional Park for a hike and to learn about the Kumeyaay.

They started by listening to a Kumeyaay folk tale.

It was so pretty and peaceful up in the hills. (Well, as peaceful as it can be with 50 3rd graders.) It rained during the first half of the hike, but it was still a nice hike.

We hiked down to the river where the kids looked for “grinding stones”. There were quite a number of them still there.

DJ usually doesn’t like me taking pictures of him, but this trip he didn’t seem to mind. :)

The view overhead from the river.

I liked the look of these trees. :)

Isn’t it weird how the tree trunk is hugging this rock? It kind of looks like an octopus, doesn’t it?

There was a rock formation that looked like a chair and the kids kept calling it “nature’s chair". DJ preferred to sit on top of it instead of in it.

A cool path of rocks near the river.

DJ wants us to take his brother and dad back for a hike there. He wants to show them all the cool thing he learned about.

A Trip to the Zoo

Last month, Cody and one of his classmates took a trip to the San Diego Zoo with the other 2 “general ed” kindergarten classes.

He is usually scared of live gigantic animals, but this time, he loved it.

His favorites were all the different bears and the giraffes.

We rode the 2nd deck of the double decker bus and he loved it up there because he could see everything.

His favorite part of the trip was posing with the tortoise statue at the end of the field trip.