Why do you have a belly button?

This kid cracks himself (and everyone else) up!

Fun & Craziness...

Monkey Bars...

"Surfing"

Who is that?

A cartoon character?

A weirdo?

Professor Trelawny?

Oh, here's a regular person, finally!

Movies, Rockies & Scouts...

Watching a 3-D Hannah Montana movie with some friends!

A future scout (or a current one)...

Go Rockies!

Silliness...

Who doesn't love Cracker Jacks?

Our Cub Scout...

Gardening and Hiking

Ken and Janae planted a garden this year...

We have lots of yummy tomatoes and zucchini, as well as some basil, peppers, and a couple carrots.

On Saturday (August 31) we took a family hike up to Ralph Price Reservoir (Longmont's main water source).

We stopped along the way a couple times to have a snack...

...and take a rest after climbing up the sleepy lion trail. We even saw some bear prints and some birds. At lunch Janae asked, "why is it so quiet up here?"

The kids did really well, especially once we found walking sticks (which were an amazing mental tool).

The hike was about 5 miles round trip. Janae led the way and wanted to go hiking again (but not that day). Ken only carried Jonah about the last 3/4 mile. Pretty good for a six-year-old.

A bear at school...

Yesterday (8/19), the kids walked home from school (by themselves) and handed me a note that said:

"We received notice this morning that there was a bear roaming around in the neighborhood. After making the decision to keep the students inside the bear DID come on to school property. We chose to keep the students in for the remainder of the day. The police indicated to us that it was safe to allow the students to be dismissed at the end of the school day."

A bear!? On school property?!

We live at least five miles from the foothills of the mountains, apparently this bear got lost or something. Total craziness.

The first day of School!

4th Grade for Janae!

She got a new backpack and lunchbox...

As well as a new outfit and shoes (thanks to Aunt Rebekah!)

Jonah is in 1st grade!

He is semi-excited...

and probably a bit nervous too.

But, they are still ready to go (woo-hoo)!

Uh-huh!

Awwww!

In Jonah's own words, the first day went like this:
"I loved the first day of school. First we unpacked. We don't have cubbies anymore, we have our own lockers and desks. We had the funnest day on the first day of school. The end."

In Janae's words: "It was really fun, and really all we did was learn the rules again, like every first day of school. But we also got to have a lot of fun. We went to P.E. and did a new thing called writing lab, and a lot, lot more..."

Our Trip to California (August 2008)

We took another trip this summer to visit family in California.

Here we are at the great little church that Grandpa & Grandma Bev go to...

Janae posing in front of the church.

Our first trip to the beach - everyone is busy building a beach "chair"

What a great day!

A California girl.

Bravely testing the chilly waters.

Jonah by the "cigarette" stacks at Morro Bay.

A nice game of table tennis (Janae likes to win as much as I do).

Driving the tractor with Grandpa (a highlight).

Janae gets a turn too!

Ken tried to beat his dad, but the champ remains undefeated.

Jonah taking it in...

A second trip to the beach - this time Ken built a boat (not the Titanic).

Jonah is building something, but I'm not sure what.

Aaaaaaaah - Sandy hands...

We surprised the kids with a visit to the Jelly Belly Factory.

The proceeded to eat their full free package of sugar beans in the car, and the next two hours of driving were very loud.

Monkey boy at a park in Paradise.

The BIG swing in Aunt Nancy's backyard - the kids LOVED this!

Playing Legos with (cousin) Cameron.

Aboard the caboose in downtown Folsom.

July 2008

When we got back from Chicago, Janae and Jonah created a Lego Wall-E

Jonah's friend Noah invited him to a bike race downtown...

The kids (age 7 & under) raced once around a 3-block x 2-block course.

Get ready, get set...GO!

Jonah had fun, but he wanted to go a few more laps. (Maybe next year).