More brother love

Matthew and Aaron have a serious love-hate relationship. To make matters worse, they are both very physical and we end up spending a lot of time breaking up fights and trying to decipher who hit who first (or, did Aaron actually "bump his head" or was another seemingly angelic face involved)? Then they go and do this:

Aaron was sad one day, so Matthew offered to wrap him up in his favorite blankie.

 Matthew wanted to carry Aaron around the house like that. We settled on him holding Aaron on the couch.

 Matthew decided Aaron looked really comfy so he wanted to be wrapped up in his blankie, too.

And they snuggled.

The love is almost too much to handle.

Daniel and the Christmas tree

We still have our Christmas tree... At first it was just too rainy outside to spend time cutting it up and putting it in the yard waste bin. Then when it started getting nice again, Daniel decided to adopt it as his own personal outdoor toy. Now, I'm not sure when (if ever) it will finally make its way to the curb.

 Daniel is one strong kid. He managed to get the tree this far before asking for some help maneuvering the tree all the way up.

 Not quite sure what he has planned here.

Oh, of course. He's a fighter pilot. The tree is his "A-wing."

After a few days of the a-wing, the tree was launched off the top...where it is subsequently beaten by Matthew...

 and then dragged away by Daniel...

who has a new plan for the tree.

 Of course. Every play structure needs a tree to stop the swings from going too fast.

Bodega Bay Road Trip, Part 5

On Sunday, we were sad to leave our friends and beautiful Bodega Bay, but excited to drive along highway 101 for a bit and see the redwood forest.

Not long after we left, we had a car full of sleepers.

"Gateway to the Redwoods"

 Well, we made it to the redwoods, but by the time we got there the sun had gone over the hill and it was hard to actually SEE the redwoods. It was pretty spooky there.

 The boys still had fun, though. And it was nice to get out of the car to stretch our legs for a bit.

 After a stop in Eureka for dinner, the boys got a fun surprise toy to play with in the car. Super cheap, super fun, glow sticks are perfect for nighttime car rides. (And yes, that is John Denver singing "Grandma's Feather Bed" in the background)

We decided to push through to Grants Pass for the night. The boys were super excited about staying in the motel on their little cots. Aaron probably would've slept with Daniel had we let him. He did a lot of snuggling with Daniel on this trip.

Not long after we hit the road on Monday Aaron looked like this. Luckily we still had lots of snacks, car activities and...

Matthew's sweet sweet singing. (With C.S.Lewis' "The Magician's Nephew" on in the background)

There you have it, the only photo left not shown is the one that Chris took of my backside to commemorate how I spent most of my time in the car--turned around. I spent more time rubbing legs, passing out snacks and retrieving lost items than actually sitting in the car. And to think, I brought a book and a knitting project to do so I wouldn't get bored. Ha! All kidding aside, we had a great time and made lots of wonderful memories together as a family. We're looking forward to many more trips like it in the future. :)

Bodega Bay Road Trip, Part 4

Of course Sunday in Bodega Bay had the best weather we'd had all weekend, and Sunday was the day we were packing up to head home. It was still a good day, though...

While the adults packed and cleaned up the house, the kids made blanket forts...

 ...and got to watch a few shows.

 Over the weekend we kept score of "relaxation points." The O'Learys had an early lead, but we pulled it out in the end. :)

With the last load of laundry in the dryer, we decided to take a side trip to see St. Teresa of Avila church just outside of town.

 This church is over 150 years old! It was closed when we got there, so we didn't get to go inside, but we did get to have a few family photos taken of us outside.

 It is so rare to have a picture of all of us!

 A very kind passer-by agreed to take a picture of the group.

 We stopped for lunch on the way back to the house, said our goodbyes to the O'Learys, and took off up the coast for the first part of our trip home. So long, Bodega Bay! We hope to see you again!

Bodega Bay Road Trip, Part 3

Day three of our trip started with a small miracle...Mommy slept in. Till 8:45. This is unheard of. Usually if the kids wake up, Mommy wakes up and even if Mommy gets to stay in bed after the kids wake up, Mommy stays awake. Daddy was the hero today, he took the boys into the main part of the house so that Mommy could try to sleep.

 While Mommy slept, Daniel and Matthew enjoyed one of their favorite shows...

 ...and Aaron enjoyed a breakfast treat of pirate booty. (It is vacation, after all...)

 Daddy taught Casey how to play cribbage.

 Once Mommy got up, Aaron started practicing his piano skills.

 And Matthew practiced being cute,

and Daniel built a tower using all of the mega blocks.

 Aaron's hair was out of control this weekend.

 After everyone was up and ready we took a group trip to the beach.

 Monique and Emma. The boys were IN LOVE with Emma. (And it's not hard to tell why...she is SO cute!)

 Ah, the joy of being the first child. Casey followed Monique and Emma around the beach with a camcorder for most of the morning. :)

 Aaron spent his morning throwing "sandballs" into the waves.

 Daniel found a crab.

 Super big waves! There was definitely a storm brewing.

 Daniel and Matthew work to dig up the treasure they buried the day before. (Marked with a "Y" because if they marked it with an "X" somebody else might dig up the treasure.)

 Found the treasure! An old feather. 

Watching those waves.

 Running away from the waves. Matthew was a bit scared of the water.

 Daniel was so sweet with Aaron. 

 And then Aaron ran away.

 Running up and down the sand hills was fun.

 And we found this crazy feathery seaweed.

 Helping Emma run in the sand.

 More running.

 All of the kiddos. 

 Stormy skies mean we needed to head back for...

 hot cocoa!

 Mmmmm...

 Licking up every last bit.

 What a treat!

Cocoa mustache.

 Aaron was trying to show his mustache. It turned out more like a fish face.

I'm not sure what game they were playing, but it sure looks like fun. :)

After dinner we were very blessed to have our good friend, Fr. Steven, come and say Mass for us at the house. Daniel practiced his keyboard skills all afternoon and played the entrance and recessional music (on the organ setting, of course). It was so nice to visit with Fr. Steve for a bit--the boys especially enjoyed his visit because it meant they got to stay up later than usual. What a nice last night at the house! Tomorrow we would be getting up, cleaning up, packing up and heading out on the next leg of our adventure.