another week bites the dust.

Last week we did some pretty fun stuff. On Monday we geared up for the pool but right before we left to walk over we found out that it was closed because somebody had too much fun in it over the weekend. So we headed to the beach thinking it would be sunny there too...nope! On Tuesday we did some laundry and played at the playground. The boys so kindly helped carry my laundry basket down the hall. And we had dinner with Paige, Nicholas and Ryker since Jared and Matt didn't come home till after bedtime.

On Wednesday our friends Em, Ezra and Neve came over to play and have lunch. And on Thursday we went with Paige and Nicholas to the Grove to the children's show they have there. Afterwards I bought the boys icecream cones. I have a tip for those of you potty training: If you don't have extra pants and underwear when your kid decides to pee because he hears the rushing water of a water fountain. Walk to your nearest bathroom, remove the wet clothing, and air dry it in the hand dryer. That was accident number one this week. There have been a total of 5 accidents this week because we haven't been home.

On Thursday night Matt and I went to the Dodgers game. We got to sit in our very own row all by ourselves in the All You Can Eat section. I have forgotten how amazing nacho cheese tastes! It was fun to spend the evening with just Matt, a much needed date night after spending every day with a moody 3 year old and a potty training 2 year old!

On Saturday Matt went to the clinic to clean for Clinic Pride Day. So the boys and I had a picnic with our friends out at the playground. This usually happens at least a few times a week and the boys prefer to eat outside with all of their friends. After naptime we went to the Fox Hills Mall to see Baby T, the life sized 6 month old T-Rex from the show "Walking with Dinosaurs"
This ultra real dinosaur made Gaige cry and scared Bentley who would not touch the dinosaur. It was a fun outing with our friends the Floods followed by our first Shakey's experience in LA.

vacation.

For Father's Day Matt and I were asked to speak in sacrament meeting. When I mentioned it to my mom she said, "Oh, it's too bad your church is so early (8:30 am) or your dad and I would like to come." Right after church started Bentley looked out the chapel door and said,"It's Grams!" My parents surprised us and came to watch the boys while we gave our talks. Needless to say I blubbered through the parts of my talk when I told stories about my mom and especially my dad. I don't think I'll mention it to my mom when we are asked to speak next time.

The boys decorated some homemade ties for Matt and were so excited to give them to him. They also made Grandad some pictures too. We went down to my parents' after church and had dinner with them and Trace's family.

Matt had the last 2 weeks in June off from school. We stayed in paradise because it doesn't really ever get better than Southern California. Especially when you get to do awesome things and sleep in your own bed!

We went to Legoland with Grams, Grandad, Alexa, Chance and Dane. We had lots of fun. The boys loved riding the rides with their cousins, shooting fire hoses, and playing in the water. Matt and I got to ride a couple of roller coasters too. The boys especially loved the fireman show and love to sing "You put the wet stuff on the hot stuff and put the fire out!"

Matt and I escaped for our very first vacation without kids since we had them! That's right, we have never left the boys overnight. My parents took them for 3 nights and Matt and I went to Santa Barbara. We stayed at the Fess Parker Double Tree for two glorious nights without kids. We had lunch at Longboards on the pier, went to the harbor, visited the mission, hung out and did some shopping on State St. And we ate the most amazing enchilada of our lives at El Paseo. Seriously, it is amazing. We are talking filet mignon in at least 3 types of cheese with a sweet enchilada sauce. It was expensive and totally worth it. We also had lunch with Jerry and Heather and hung out at the pool. My favorite part was all of the chalk murals at the mission. They were so amazing and fun to look at. We had a great few days together, and surprisingly my parents survived too.


Fourth of July weekend we took the boys to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. This is one of our family's favorite places to go. The boys love the fish, sharks, seals and sea lions. They used to like feeding the birds too, but both of them got bitten this time and now Gaige thinks that every bird he sees is going to bite him! They loved the giant crabs and touching all of the sea urchins, anemones, starfish, sea cumbers and other critters. After the aquarium we walked around in the harbor and had some fish and chips for lunch. The perfect way to spend the day...look at fish and then eat some! We didn't take the stroller for this excursion which is quite a milestone in our lives! The boys were tuckered out by the time we headed home. I think it only took them two minutes to pass out once we got in the car.

Lauren organized a fourth of July barbecue so we spent the evening hanging out with the Maucotels, McDaniels, Hoovers, Johnsons, Jensens, Cordons and Morrises. Then we headed over to the Redfords for dessert. We decided not to fight the crowds to see fireworks, though the boys love them. We put them to bed and watched some fireworks from our living room window. They weren't too bad. I got to see a few of my favorite fireworks - the happy faces. =D

Now that vacation is over Matt is extremely busy trying to work on all of his patients with the limited amount of clinic time he has since he is on rotation doing pedo and part of the Venice Select where he sees patients other than his own. So he stays at school for night clinic every Tuesday and is also gone on Thursday nights twice a month. The boys and I have been spending lots of quality time with our favorite people at the pool and the playground. I don't know what I would do without all of my wonderful friends and their kids!

Em and I went to the Renegade Craft Fair. The downside of going to a craft fair is that I never buy anything because I always think "I can make that myself." Then I never make it and never have it. It was a very fun girly day. Thanks, Em!

The weather here has been super overcast and chilly which is not normal in July here. Bentley took his first swim lessons with Alex, but was always so cold I had to get in the pool with him to get him to swim with his instructor. He usually gets out of the pool every 5 minutes to warm up in his towel, not so good when I am paying for him to have swim lessons. He won't be getting swim lessons from anyone but me anytime soon and I think he prefers that.

My friend Becky came into town and spent a whole day with the boys and I. It was so fun to spend the entire day with her like I used to everyday (and sometime nights) when we lived in Provo. Becky and I worked at King Henry together and devoted our lives to single college kids and their social and apartment happiness. The boys love her and have given her 2 nicknames, mostly because they can't remember or say her name - Ducky and Spikey! We love you, Ducky!

Paige turned 24 this month so we took her out to dinner/cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory in Marina Del Rey. I instructed all of the girls to get dressed up and wear heels for a girls' night out. We had lots of fun and are grateful for our friend Paige. She is pretty, fun, smart, and wears some killer loafers!

Accomplishments this week:

1. Went to the beach four times in the last 6 days. Yes, I am getting pretty tan.

2. Gaige is potty trained and isn't even 2 1/2 yet! We still have a couple accidents now and then, but he is going strong!

3. I beat my 14 year old nephew at arm wrestling without a sweat. Seriously, less than 1/2 a second. He's promised to work out so it doesn't happen again.

4. I slept in the same room as the boys for 3 nights. Bentley snores like a bear!

The End...for now! I promise there will be more soon!

and summer begins.

Bentley "graduated" from his first preschool class on May 10th. The kids made alphabet crowns to wear and Lauren made them their own little diplomas which she presented to them.

We have had such a great time with preschool this year. I didn't think I would love hanging out with other people's kids that much, but I did. I loved planning the lessons, teaching, and seeing the kids learn and grow. Bentley has learned so much from all of his teachers and loves going to school. Now that it is over he tells me almost everyday that he wants to go to school. While he was in school the first thing he would tell everybody he talked to was that he went to school. The other day he told me that he wanted to be a daddy so I asked him if he wanted to go to school ALL day EVERY day like his daddy. He got really excited and shouted "YES!" And he is very excited to have Gaige go to school with him next year.

So now that preschool is over I get to hang out with my kids all day everyday! Not only did Bentley graduate from preschool, he has also graduated from naps. One day last week he decided to be very very naughty so I didn't give him his binky for his nap. The next day I decided that we were done with binkies. I told Bentley that I mailed all of his binkies to Spiderman because Spiderman needed them for his new baby. I am pretty sure that Bentley now resents Spiderman for taking his binkies...Sorry, Spidey! Now that there are no more binkies there is no more nap. So all of this extra quality time with Bentley is driving me a little bit crazy. Thankfully he is sleeping in a little bit later in the morning so our days don't start at 6:15 am anymore. We get to at least sleep in till 7:20 am.

Marvin took our pictures a few weeks ago when he, Janni, Luke and Shane came to visit. My boys are so difficult to take pictures of. The won't look at the camera at the same time, make silly faces, and look down. At least Matt and I look good! www.kimble-photography.com

bangs.

These are my new bangs. Somedays I like them, some days I don't and other days I love them. They are like an instant glamorous accessorie which is a total benefit for a girl with a not so glamorous life! My dad sure does like them. When we went home last weekend to see Janni and Marvin he asked Matt who his new wife was. It's just because I look more like my beautiful mom with bangs.

We went to Disneyland - known as "Dineyeyland" at our house - last Thursday for Shea's birthday and then again on Monday with Mom, Dad, Janni, Marvin, Luke and Shane. And guess what...the boys still ask to go to Dineyeyland every day. In fact, they like to randomly shout "Dineyeyland" back and forth, and it is the subject Gaige talks about the most.

When we went with my family the boys took their first trip on the Matterhorn. They are both tall enough, but Bentley was the one that had to be checked by the worker. Gaige is now only half an inch shorter than his older brother. Bentley rode the roller coaster with Grandad and Gaige rode with me. They both held on tight the entire time, but said they wanted to go again when it was over.

We went to the Fire Station for Shea's birthday party and the boys loved the fire truck and fire hose. The firemen gave them a tour of the fire station, educated them about what to do in a fire, let them squirt the hose and play in the fire truck. Needless to say, they LOVED all of it. One of the firemen asked me if Bentley keeps me busy, as he was laying on the ground scooting around on his back and running around like a crazy person. The fireman didn't even realize I had two of them.

The other morning we had some time to kill so we decided to do a science experiment called "Dancing Raisins." I got the idea from my friend's blog. Here is what you do:

What you will need.
Water, Baking Soda, White Vinegar (we used apple vinegar), a few raisins or craisins, Measuring spoons, Measuring cup, tall clear glass or jar.

How to do it.
1. Pour 2 cups of water into a tall clear glass.
2. Add 2 tablespoons of baking soda.
3. Mix the baking soda until it dissolves in the water.
4. Drop in your raisins and watch them sink to the bottom (we rinsed our craisins first)
5. Slowly pour in the magic....1 tablespoon of white vinegar.
6. Voila a raisin dance party!
*If the raisins don't start dancing add a little more vinegar.

Why does this happen?
Vinegar is acetic acid and baking soda is sodium bicarbonate. By mixing them together, you are creating a chemical reaction---making a carbonic acid, which breaks down into carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O). The CO2 gas is what you can see foaming and bubbling. It is the gas making the craisins rise to the surface. The gas clings onto the raisins and causes them to rise to the top of the jar, as they reach the surface the CO2 gas evaporates, making the raisins fall.

And the boys enjoyed stuffing themselves silly with raisins too!


A few weeks ago my friend Lauren got tickets to go to an American Idol rehearsal. We had lots of fun and even got to stand the entire time in the pit where they stick all of the teenagers. At first I thought they put us there because they thought we were chaperoning the 17 year olds we were sitting next to. But now that I see this picture we looked HOT! No wonder they put us in the front row!

Bentley and Gaige went to the doctor today. The highlight of our day, seriously. The boys were so great there, and we were there less than an hour which is a complete miracle! Here are their stats.

Bentley - 3 years old - 36 inches tall - 28 lbs

Gaige - 2 years old - 35 1/2 inches tall - 30 lbs

P.S. Next time you lose your key (our apartment keys are cards like hotel keycards) look in the cuff of your jeans. That is where I found mine the other night after losing it!