Matthew is 5!!!

 

 

It has happened!!  My baby boy turned 5, he's starting school this year.  Where has the time gone?!

 

 

This year Matthew wanted to have a Star Wars birthday party, so I made light sabers out of bubble wands to give to all the kids as party favors.  We kept things simple with the cake this year because we had back to back parties since Merrie was leaving for her mission. (We had her farewell the night before.)

 

Matthew's cute Little Jedi dog.

 

We spent the morning getting ready for the party and hanging out.  My dad was reading his scriptures and Matthew climbed up in his lap and asked grandpa to read to him. 

 

Lilly decided to enjoy the bubble wands!

 

Once the party started pandemonium ensued!  I was shocked we had as many pictures as we did! (which is mainly thanks to Merrie!)

 

Jackson was feeling the love that day!  Everyone wanted to hold him!!

 

*Side Note*  Like I mentioned before Merrie's farewell was the night before and we actually had Matthew's birthday party a week early so that she could be there.  She reports to the MTC June 25th and will be serving in the newly formed Fort Collins Colorado Mission!*

 

Matthew received his ultimate present this year from Rick and I, a Nintendo 3DS XL with none other than his favorite video game Mario Cart!

 

More Love for Baby Jackson!

 

As always everyone had a blast in the pool!!

 

A few things about Matthew:

His favorite color is blue, favorite food is still spaghetti, his favorite candy is lolly pops.  His best friends are Jonas and Lilly, his favorite toy is Legos.  He likes to watch Star Wars and play Mario Cart.  He loves to play out side and swim.  He LOVES going to the park, and he is so excited to start Kindergarten and soccer this fall!!

Beach

 

The second week in June we packed up and headed to the beach to escape the Bakersfield heat!  The kids were so excited they had been begging to go to the beach for months!!  So early Monday morning we packed the car loaded the kids and set off.  The kids watched movies and Jackson slept the whole way over! 

 

We always take Old Creek Road over to Cayucos and we all try to be the first to spot the ocean as we come up over the hill!

 

As soon as we arrived we headed to the pier!

 

After the pier we checked into our hotel changed and headed to the beach!

 

We like to take the kids over on the far side of the rock where it's less busy and the water is calm.

 

As soon as Lilly got wet and sandy she wanted to leave, and spent the rest of the day tucked up on her daddy's shoulders wearing his sweatshirt.

 

Matthew enjoyed the tide pools and hunting for crabs and other creatures.

 

After spending some time down by the water we went back up to our hotel cleaned up and headed to dinner.  We went to one of our favorite haunts, The Sea Shanty!  Lilly slept through dinner so we grabbed some chicken nuggets for her later.  After we ate we took our dessert down to the beach to watch the sun set, then we went for a night time stroll along the beach!

 

The next Morning we checked out of our hotel and went to our traditional breakfast at Kitty's Kitchen, and then walked along the Embarcadero and visited all of our favorite shops! 

 

Later we headed into San Luis.  We took the kids to see Gum Ally, and we left our mark!  We also visited some fun shops. 

 

Finally we ended up in Pismo where we met up with my Mom and Merrie!

 

We spent some more time down by the water.  I just realized the complete lack of pictures of Jackson.  He spent the majority of the trip strapped to me in the baby carrier, covered in a hat and blanket to protect from the sun and wind.

 

We had a great time together as a family and the kids are already planning a trip back!

Pool Side

 

We have spent a lot of time pool side this summer!!  Matthew's swimming skills have really excelled and he is able to swim all over the pool and jump in anywhere with out any floatation devises!  Lilly had a rocky start to the swimming season this year and has been very cautious around the water! 

 

Jackson enjoys getting in the pool and cooling off and then taking a nap by the pool!!

 

Matthew is such a boy, so many of the little boy things that he does are very foreign to me! (since I grew up with only a sister.)  

 

Lilly is our accident prone child!!  She is always tripping over her own feet!  I'm not even sure how she bumped her nose.

Mini Golf For Family Home Evening

 

This past Monday we took the kids to play mini golf for the first time!!  Matthew and Lilly started out strong but around the 4th hole Lilly began to loose interest!!  Matthew however played to the very last hole!!  My mom and Merrie also joined us on our golfing adventure!  After we had our fill of mini golf we headed inside to the arcade!!  The kids had so much fun we literally had to carry Lilly out kicking and screaming because she didn't want to leave!!

 

Bowling

 

Before I get into our most recent adventure I'd just like to thank my Mom and Sister for picking Matthew and Lilly up and taking them to church while I was recuperating and Rick was working!  I know they are a handful!!

 

These kids just went bowling for the first time, and boy did they have a ball!!  Our friends the Solberg's mentioned that the bowling ally was having a "kids bowl free day," so we made a play date of it!   

 

Matthew and Lilly were super excited to get started!!

 

Lilly scared me a few times, throwing the ball, running onto other peoples lanes, using her head to roll the ball...

 

Matthew was very into precision as he usually is!!  He ended up with the best score (he's pretty competitive I think he gets that from his dad!)

 

As usual my kids are always drawn toward the arcade games! (They get that from their Father as well!)

 

The kids definitely had a good time!!  We will have to bowl again soon!!