King and his princess

I love this photo! Bet you didn't know we have a King and Princess in our house!

Silly kids

The kids love climbing up on our bed and laying down under our down comforter. They never stay for long (don't want us to think they would actually sleep!).
And I got a photo of all three with Daddy! It is getting harder and harder to catch them at the same time!

Zoo trip!

We took the kids to the Santa Barbara Zoo. We weren't sure if we should go because Mason was sick with a head cold and they didn't nap well the day before but we managed to make it work. Days like that are exhausting but it is all about the kids!

First stop was the penguins for feeding time!
Anna was very excited and was very silly, can you tell?
Olivier just wanted out of the stroller but was entertained by me taking his picture (and of course he says "cheese" every time) and then I let him see the photo on the camera.
The elephants were close to the penguins (odd I know!)

We saw the lions and the giraffes. The baby giraffe was 7 months old and was full of energy and jumping around. It was fun to see to much excitement!
One of Mason's rare smiles. It was not his day but we did manage to get a couple of smiles!

We tried to get a photo of all three sitting on the railing while we were waiting for the train. Here is a collection of some of the photos we got:

Anna and Olivier sticking out their tongues, Mason not looking
A little less silly from Anna and Mason is close to looking at the camera.And Mason looks at the camera and Anna and Olivier and aren't.

We took the train ride around the park. It was all for the kids and in case you can't tell by the grin on Anna's face, they really enjoyed it!

Making a mess at Natalie's house

We went to visit Michelle, David, Natalie and Rhys and the kids were not shy about making a mess with Natalie's toys.

I loved this photo of Olivier giving Natalie a high five!
That is one busy kitchen!
And this is a photo from during the week of the boys hanging out on the ottoman together. And moments later the shoving began! :-)

Smiles!

Just had to share these happy faces! Just looking at them, you just have smiles! :-) I know I do!
Anna - she is a very talkative girl who continues to surprise us with everything that she knows and is learning. It was very sweet when we went to see Rhys, David and Michelle in the hospital when Rhys was born and how she tried to sooth Rhys when she was crying. She is a very loving girl and very excited that she isn't three anymore, she is three and a half now! She is still in gymnastics and loves dressing up in the princess dress Heather made for her. She is very much a girly girl!
Olivier - can make a mess from nothing! It is amazing to see! He is talking more and more and will repeat just about anything (except Mason's name). If you ask him to say Mason he usually points to Mason and say "Olver". Very cute! He loves Curious George and his favorite word is monkey. He has been through a lot but really doesn't let it phase him. And when it does, you know it must be bad. He loves giving kisses and reading books (book and story are also common words).
Mason - he doesn't use words very often (although he understand what we tell him) but he sure can be loud when he wants to be! If you ask him a yes or no question he will shake his head to answer the question, and he usually answers correctly. He has a lot of very silly moments and loves a good giggle. He loves playing with puzzles. Instead of demanding to be picked up, he likes to grab your hand and take you to what he wants. Poor Matt can't get on his hands and knees without Mason climbing on his back and demanding a pony ride.
Yesterday Olivier got his shirt very dirty just as we were walking out of day care. As soon as we got home I took his shirt off to wash it and of course Mason wanted his off too. Then they got on the ottoman and made a train. Silly boys!

Matt's 100K bike ride

Matt was able to go on a 100K bike ride as part of the Central Coast Cancer Challenge. He had an amazing time (you could just tell by looking at his happy grin). He was able to see a lot of areas that he didn't even know existed in the county. And consider this, he did it in under 3 and a half hours! Wow! Way to go!

The morning of the race the kids were having fun playing on the couch. Three smiling kids!

Matt riding into Arroyo Grande where my parents were able to get a few photos during Matt's very short stop there:


Matt riding out of Arroyo Grande, look at those muscles! :-)


Matt riding into the finish line in the white long sleeve shirt. He was thrilled the fog stayed put until the very end of the ride and happy that he decided to wear long sleeves. Crazy to think in August!
Congrats on a job well done!

A few more July photos!

To end the month of July I have a few photos to share of things we did during the month, including more from the wedding when our memory card decided to give up.

Anna wearing Matt's glasses for biking. Love the smile!
And riding her tricycle. She loves that bike and you can hear her coming! It is a squeaky one! :-)

And here are some wedding photos (sorry, they ended up in a rather random order):

Olivier and Mason getting dirty with the wood log. Perfect for climbing.

Grandpa being silly with Olivier. Keep in mind that it was very hot (mid 90's at the lowest). No great for our cool weather blood! We were melting!
Mason needing some time with Mom. He was hot and tired. It was a busy weekend!
Anna loved dancing! When she wasn't dancing with Abby, she was dancing with Daddy!
Anna loved playing with Abby! They were a happy pair!
And this is us with Kyle and Susie and my parents at the reception. Anna was in heaven, the princess picked her up for the picture and knew her name! She talked about it for days!