Happy Birthday, Wesley

Last night on the way home, Wesley made the remark that now he is a "pre-teen" so...... The thought amazed me that my oldest child is now 11 years old. We spent his birthday with some friends from church at a friend's swimming pool. We all got much sun!

Wesley really wanted a new video game (as pictured), and Gary really wanted to get Wesley a new set of clubs. Wesley really enjoys playing golf with his dad. Gramma and Poppa bought the bag for him when they were here last week.




Home-made waffles for breakfast---with a birthday candle in it :)


Wesley also had a party last Friday with a couple of friends from school.

I am so thankful for an oldest child who is a good leader and a strong advocate for what is right. Of course, he has his moments, but all in all, I am very proud to be his mother :)

The stop-over before China

Mom and dad stopped over in the LA area for 5 days before they left on their 3-week trip to China. I considered "forcing" mom to use chopsticks at our house (as a good practice), but she thought she would enjoy her last use of the fork for awhile. We enjoyed the time with them, and will be praying for their trip and safe return to LAX in 3 weeks.

We had a visit to Build-a-bear workshops (not in our pj's).

The boys showed gramma and poppa their new skills at the skatepark.

Fun games!



We took them on a hike in Malibu.



Dad and I took on Wes and Drew in a nerf gun war. Andrew won this battle.

New summer activity

As I have stated before (and many others agree): I love summer! I live in Southern CA, where it is nice weather year round, but for some reason, it is still just more fun to play in the summer.

Yesterday, Wesley was going to go play a round of golf with Gary, so I wanted to play with the three kids in the morning. I "happened" to discover a skatepark in a nearby city, that I knew the boys would love. Of course, I had no idea what was involved in a skatepark, but I was not to be discouraged from doing some adventure seeking. We learned that the park was open to bikes only at certain times, which Wes and Drew much preferred. I paid for a one-day pass to see if they enjoyed it or not. The question at the end of the day was: "Can we get an annual pass and when can we come back?" I think they enjoyed it!

I love when I "happen" upon some good new adventures! Thankfully, it is located in a community recreation area with a nice park. Brooke enjoyed herself too---just without the need for a helmet :)




Last week, we went to a park that has a zip line. Wesley and Andrew have been on "real zip lines," so I warned them that this was a small one. I think I downplayed it enough that when they get there, it was more than they were expecting :) It was a cloudy day, but still fun to play.