First Corn on the Cob

"Here let me help you Weston".

Fun in the rain

Took the boys out for some fun at the park after a rainstorm. Noah got to test out his new "bike with pedals" in the puddles.

Sledding, California Style

Went to the park today. Beautiful day. Very warm. Some kids let the boys join in the sledding fun - california style....Ice blocking. Noah jumped in with no fear, head first and rocketed to the bottom of the hill with all smiles. Weston was anxious to follow.

Letter to Santa

So I go to pick Noah up from pre-school, and a distraught Noah is waiting. Apparently, Santa had come to school and asked each child what they wanted. Noah responded "Light Ball". But since his L's sound Y's, everyone thought he was saying "Light Bulb", including Santa. His dream of getting a green, squishy, ball that lights up inside from Santa (something he has been asking for over the last month) disappeared before his eyes, and he was convinced that he would end up getting a 63-cent light bulb.

Empathizing with his dramatic conundrum, I quickly explained that we could remedy this situation by writing Santa a letter to clarify. We rushed home, got paper and marker, and I wrote verbatim as Noah spoke the exact words he wanted to say.

We immediately put the letter in the mailbox. He wasn't OK until he was convinced the letter was off to Santa. So we had to keep checking the mailbox to make sure the mailman got it. Eventually the crisis was averted. These are his words. No edits. No coaching.

Dear Santa,

I like Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer. I live in California on "H" street. I like my fishing pole. I want a light ball. It's green. Also I want a yo-yo. I want a squishy thing that lights up. I want a cookie that's really big with M&M's on it. That's all. I will listen for you on Christmas Eve and I will be happy.

Love,

Noah

Gingerbread House

The festivities continue. Amy found some supplies and we built a ginger bread house tonight. Noah was very excited. As soon as I got home from work, and before I could even get out of the car, Noah had run out of the house holding the supplies anxious to tell me exactly what we were going to do. I'm not sure if he was excited to build it, or excited to eat it. But he had fun doing both. Amy built the foundation and helped Noah attach most of the structural members, then we all pitched in for the detail work on the exterior. Noah placed the snowman.

Santa in the house

Santa showed up at the church christmas party. It was intense. It's not too often that you see THE MAN in person. Noah knew exactly what to do with this precious time: tell him your being a good boy, then tell him what you want. Weston just stared at the big ball of white hair anxious to test its durability.

Snow Day

This has got to be one of the most bizarre experiences of my life. While much of the country was trying to avoid snow, we spent 30 minutes waiting in line for Noah to get a chance to sled down a 20 foot hill. Mind you, the hill was surrounded by fresh-cut green grass, palm trees, and the periodic golfer passing by.

Sea Pines golf course in Los Osos had their annual snow day. A snow machine dumped a clump of snow on a make-shift hill. Since we did time in both Utah and Illinois, we know how to prepare for sub-zero conditions and blizzards. I guess subcontiously we were expecting something a bit colder and more winter-like than what actually occured. Our flashbacks of Utah and Illinois kicked in, and we dressed the boys as warm as we possibly could. I don't know why we didn't just look outstide and realize it was just another day at the beach. Sun shining. probably 70 degrees. But no! We are dealing with SNOW here. SNOW! Very, Very, Very cold white stuff. We dressed Noah with 4 layers of coats and 3 layers of pants. We showed up to the snow party to find kids running around in shorts under the shade of palm trees. Noah insisted that he sled down the hill in full winter gear. But it didn't take too long before I was carrying around a mountain of clothes while he and weston ran around on the putting greens.

We moved to California for the warm weather (no snow). I spent my whole life dealing with snow. I think deep down I despise it in some way for making portions of my life miserable. (Slushing through snow storms in the early morning to get to school, Scraping ice off car windows, and generally just freezing my butt off). So it was blowing my mind that we were waiting in line just to touch it. Ironic. But it was worth it. Noah absolutely loved sledding. He is very excited to do it like the pros in Utah when we visit this christmas.