LA Weekend

Over the long three-day-weekend and in the middle of Dave's work trips, we all met down in Southern California for a little sunshine and family time.

Levi was ready for a much-anticipated Disneyland trip.

After an amazing breakfast at Bruxie in Rancho San Margarita, we took a stroll to a local park.
Here's Caleb and Auntie Sarah.

We even got in some time at the pool because it was in the upper 70's/low 80's all weekend. It was amazing! Levi swam all over the pool (with his floaties on) and jumped in about a thousand times.
Sarah, Mom and Me.

Our good friends complied and "decided" to have their new little guy this same weekend so we were able to sneak over to the hospital to say hi to baby Timmy. No pictures from that, but we then were able to sneak over for a quick dinner at the Smarts' house. This is my only picture of Caleb and Evie who were born only a couple of weeks apart.

On Sunday, Auntie Alison ran in the Tinkerbell Half Marathon and then Grammy, Papa, Uncle Bryan, Auntie Alison and Auntie Sarah went to Disneyland. Levi got to go inside with them and ride a few rides. He was so excited!

Levi reading the map and planning out the day.

Riding on the new Mater ride at Carsland with Grammy and Auntie Sarah-- and LOVING it! :)

Another trip to the spa, cupcakes and dinner our for Grammy's birthday, two successful car rides and a three night stay in a hotel room. One last shot of my boys as we loaded up the car to head home from a great weekend. These guys sure do make life more fun! :)

Two Family Vacays in One Week!

We made the most of Daddy's time off and the Grandparents' love and patience by taking not one, but two out-of-town trips this week. Lots of fun and lots of pictures! :)

First stop: Monterey with the Hardens. The boys and Dave were still getting over their colds, but we had a great time. Two night hotel stay, two days worth of Aquarium fun (thanks Whitney!!!), lots of walks along the ocean and even a New Years Eve date night. The boys LOVED the sharks and the fishes and seeing all the boats and the ocean. Thanks Grammy & Papa!

Family picture attempt: FAIL.

Levi didn't know that this actually worked if you put money in it. :)

Trying to be like his big brother.

A rare moment caught on tape: Brothers willingly sharing!

Daddy and Caleb cuddles

Levi loved these little sharks and rays.

Grammy is always up for an adventure with her boys!

Caleb, Daddy, Levi & Grammy enjoying the tide pools.

Walking across the bridge at the Dennis the Menace Park.

Climbing anything and everything.

Then we drove home, unpacked, did 6 loads of laundry, repacked and drove up to Long Barn for a few days in a cabin with the Lockridges. It had just snowed so the cabin was freshly covered but the sun was out the entire time we were there. The cabin was great-- lots of down time, great conversations, yummy food, and playtime. With our boys being so little and not having the proper snow gear, it was perfect that we could walk out the front door to sled and then walk back inside when they were tired or covered in snow. Thanks Lockridge family for a fun few days!

Uncle Charlie getting some serious air off the ramp.

Levi liked sledding and even got so good that he could go down the hill and then hike back up by himself, but he still liked to ride with his Auntie Tina.

Even Caleb got in on the action!

Levi and Daddy going over the ramp--good thing Daddy was holding on!

Caleb liked the sledding but he really liked eating the snow. :)

Mommy and Caleb cuddles

Group shot with all eight people looking = MIRACLE!

We had a fantastic week and feel very loved and productive and just a little tired. It's always fun to go and explore and do fun things, but then it's nice to be home. Time for more laundry and some grocery shopping! :)

Christmas Time!

The Lockridge boys spent the weekend before Christmas sick, they spent Christmas eve and Christmas day sick, they have been sick all week-- need I elaborate on the runny noses, yucky coughs, two boys with double ear infections, and general crankiness? Our poor boys were feeling lousy but there were still moments of fun and Christmas excitement. Levi really got into the idea of Santa coming and presents to open, but even he was feeling so terrible that he barely opened any of his presents and mostly just wanted to cuddle with Mommy and Daddy. So here are a few pictures of our Christmases with the Lockridge family and the Harden family. 

Grandma & Grandpa Lockridge found this gem of a rocking horse for the boys. They were so excited to give it to them that they couldn't wait until Christmas morning. Levi was a little apprehensive at first but he was able to feed it a carrot and brush it's mane. The rest of us reminisced about the rocking horses we had as kids and how the springs were uncovered and how you could ride it so much that you could get the nose to hit the ground. :)

Once he warmed up to his new friend "Bullseye" he got pretty good at it and now that it's up in his playroom he likes to watch movies while sitting on top.

I could not have paid these boys to sit politely together and pose for a picture in their new Christmas jammies. So insert the "frametastic" app on my iPhone. Check! Here they are all bathed and handsome in their pj's.

Caleb couldn't get over the fact that he got to sleep in the same room as his cool older brother. All night long he would fall asleep (or so we thought) and then pop back up and talk to Levi, pull on his blanket, or try to walk out of the room. Needless to say, we didn't get a whole lot of sleep! Good thing he woke up in a good mood, ready to open presents!

Levi not-so-much. This is how Daddy spent most of the morning: cuddling both boys.

We did get some smiles when Levi saw that Santa brought him a bike!

Then we packed up and headed back to Modesto to celebrate with the Hardens. Santa brought a cool riding Jeep for the Lockridge boys. Levi was stoked to drive it but the first thing he said was, "Brother sit here!" We all breathed a sigh of relief because we would have bet that Levi would have tried to push him out instead. I guess we don't give him enough credit sometimes!

Sarah instagrammed this great picture of us chasing behind Levi as he off-roaded over the grass.

After a couple of days of down time, we emerged to try to get some vitamin D and try out our new bikes. With a little practice, Levi's going to be zooming all over the place!

This one always wants to be like his big brother!

A week+ of some antibiotics and these boys are finally starting to come out of the fog. This wasn't exactly how we envisioned Christmas this year as we were picking out gifts and getting excited, but it's life and now we can enjoy the time we got to spend with our awesome families who showed our cranky boys so much grace and love. Thanks to all who helped make our Christmas holiday so bright!

Lead Up to Christmas

The weeks before Christmas were filled with lots of fun and special things:

Making lots of yummy cookies and realizing that this cookie monster was tall enough to steal his own from the counter.

Visiting the fish tank at Bass Pro Shops.

Riding on Daddy's shoulders.

Goofing around with Auntie Sarah.

After nap cuddles from happy boys.

A terrible picture of my Christmas crafting endeavor.

And an after dinner trip to The Ice Cream Company for a family sized banana split!

Next up: Christmas!!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

The day after Thanksgiving we went and picked out a Christmas tree. (Yes we're those people!) We grabbed the first one we saw at The Home Depot, picked up a couple of wreaths for the front door, and made it home in time to decorate. It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Caleb found one just his size!

Lockridge boys 

Our new Fisher Price nativity. I wanted one that the boys could touch and play with. They LOVE it! Baby Jesus may have been missing for a few days but, thankfully, he's been found. :)

 We have to get outside every day. These boys need exercise and fresh air and a place to run. The weather has been ok (rainy one day, sunny the next) so we've had lots of time to play. Thank goodness!

Enjoying some sunshine and a walk. Levi's quite the helper these days!

A little rain doesn't keep us inside for long!

These boys love playing in the leaves,

and under the slide,

and eating picnic lunches outside!

And we also went to the mall to visit Santa! Levi was excited. Caleb was excited until the strange man touched him. Oh well. That's just how it goes right? Merry Christmas!