More California and Cousin Fun!

After we got home from the beach, Kelsey and her kids came down for the weekend for Rowan's baby blessing. My kids LOVED having all of their cousins there. Just a side story that makes me super sad but is on the topic of cousins. Parker has a friend named Jace who moved away. He was coming back for a visit one weekend not too long ago. Parker asked me if Jace was going to be his cousin now. I was confused and told him no, but asked him why he thought that. He said, "Because cousins are friends we don't see very often." Ouch! We officially live too far from family. 

Kelsey put together a game of sardines for the kids and they had so much fun playing. They found a great hiding spot that fit almost all of them--the closet for the vacuum!

 Parker hid under the computer desk for quite a while. Look who was first to find him!

 I've been taking pictures of these boys sitting on Mimi's couches together since they were babies. It's so strange to me that they are all getting so big. Erik is only about an inch shorter than me these days and I'm pretty sure our feet are the same size. He's a good sport with all of his cousins and my boys adore him.

 Speaking of little boys that adore their cousins. Brody loves babies and baby Rowan was a special treat for him. He always has a soft place for babies and is very much aware of where they are and what they're doing when he's around. He asked to hold and snuggle Rowan several times. It made me smile! He's a great big brother.

 Bethany bought these awesome self-filling water balloons on Amazon. None of us had ever heard of them so we were very excited to try them out. Cue cousin water balloon fight!

 Poppy, are those excited fists?! :)

 The little guys getting in on the action...

 My boys played many hours of cards with their cousins. I had taught them how to play Egyptian rat slap at the beach and it became their favorite game. They taught the Christensens and alternated between that and War. I love Erik's happy face here.

 Capri took quite the liking to Brock. She followed him around and always wanted to sit with him. He was so sweet with her and would always pay attention to her when she came around bugging him. We have such good big boy cousins in this family!

 A couple of times while I was there I would lose Capri. I'd often find her in the shower using the squeegee to clean off the water. She is just like Brody sometimes and it cracks me up. This girl likes to clean!

 Just 5 silly boys!

 Let me introduce you to Uncle Jordan, aka the kid magnet. Poor guy is mauled wherever he goes. He is well loved also!

 Capri also had her share of Erik snuggles. 

 Baby Rowan!!! She is the sweetest baby. I miss her.

 Capri and Weston also formed a little friendship. She would always find him and together they would count, jump off Mimi's step and continue being "jumping beans". I think they'll be great friends as they grow up! She's definitely used to boys so this makes sense.

 Now to Rowan's blessing. It was a beautiful day and I'm so grateful we got to be there for it. Rowan was just perfect. I'm so lucky to have Kelsey and Bethany (and Katie!) as sister in-laws. They teach me so much and make me laugh all at the same time.

 Cutest proud siblings. Weston, Kamryn, and Tessa

 So hard to get everyone looking the same direction and with eyes open--especially with sensitive eyes in bright light! This is the best one I got with Mimi and Poppy. Lucky grandparents!

 Cutest 2 year olds around

 Aunt Rie!

 Best group shot of the day. Love these little people something fierce! Happy blessing day baby Rowan!

Letter About Parker

I had to write a letter for Parker's Kindergarten teacher tonight and wanted to save a copy for my blog books. 

Mrs. Morrison,

I’m so excited to get to introduce you to Parker and help you to get to know him a little better. Parker is our middle child who has an older brother, Brody (2^nd grade) and younger sister named Capri (2 years old). Parker is a wonderful brother. He has a very sweet, thoughtful personality. Last week he went through his piggy bank to count how much money he had so he could spend it buying a birthday present for his big brother. He is always very aware of what his little sister is doing and is happy to entertain/help her.

            Parker is a very physical little boy. He climbs on everything he can at home and has been “training” for American Ninja Warrior for about two years. He’s incredibly strong and just has a need to spend his free time moving his entire body. He’s very athletic and naturally good at sports. He has played soccer and baseball so far and has really enjoyed both. He just really thrives with the idea of a coach and loves to learn. At home, Parker loves to play with action figures. They are usually going through some obstacle course that he’s created throughout our house. He will do this for hours!

            All of last year Parker wanted to be a meteorologist. He even got upset with his pre-school teachers that that wasn’t an option on a graph they were doing on future career aspirations. He checked out every book on weather from the library that he could and spent many hours in the weather section of the Perot Museum. His pre-school teachers gave him the award at the end of the year for being their hardest worker. When describing him they said that he is a very focused little boy who finishes what he starts and always does his best. I think that describes Parker very well. He’s very determined. If he can’t do a physical skill, he’ll repeat it as many times as he needs to to figure it out. I’m hoping that translates to school work as well.

            Parker is also incredibly creative and funny. He has made us laugh from when he was very little. He’s just a happy kid who is eager to please. He tends to be a little unsure of new things, even though going to Kindergarten has been a breeze for him so far. He does like to talk and tell stories. I’m already getting way more feedback about his school day then I’ve ever gotten out of his older brother, who is much more introverted.

            Parker has a great memory and picks up new skills quickly. He likes math and often asks me math questions when we’re just riding around in the car. He’s known his letters and sounds for a long time and has been trying to read a lot more lately. I think it helps having a big brother that he idolizes.

As far as concerns go, I don’t really have any in the learning department or socially. I feel like Parker will do just fine. I do have just a heads up, though. My husband’s job requires him to travel quite a bit. During our older son’s Kindergarten year, Jared traveled to Chicago every week Monday-Friday. He’s been home for this last year, but we anticipate his travel schedule to pick up again here in the next few weeks as his current project in Dallas is ending. I am hoping that the transition to Dad being gone again goes smoothly for my kids. I’m hoping that maybe when that time comes you can keep an eye on Parker for me just to see if you notice any changes in behavior from him at school. I just want to make sure he’s getting the extra attention he needs and not acting out at school when we have that life change. Thank you in advance for any insight you can give me!

We love our Parker very much and are really looking forward to his adventures in Kindergarten. I have heard wonderful things about you as a teacher, so I’m very excited that he has you! Thank you for all the hard work you have already put in to this year. It looks like it will be great! Please let me know if there’s anything I can ever do for you. Thank you again!

Sincerely,

Cherie Musick

Beach Time With Mimi!

After Capri's little haircut, we hopped in the car and headed for the beach! Jared's Grandma and Papa Musick have a trailer at the beach, so we had a great little place to stay out there. The kids were so excited and we had a wonderful time. Thank you, Mimi, for taking us! 

Exploring the pier:

Dance party for the female surfer down below them. ha!

 Mimi treated us to some yummy frozen yogurt

 I like the photobomber behind us. Also, hooray for a real Parker smile!

 What I saw when I looked up as we were sitting there eating our frozen yogurt. It looked like a postcard! Beautiful place.

 Mimi introduced us to the sand dunes and the boys and Mimi spent some time chasing seagulls! Capri and I were just trying to stay warm as it was rather cold out there.

 Jared had told me I was silly for bringing such warm pajamas to California in the summer time. ha! It was like 58 degrees in the trailer when we woke up. I had the kids take some pictures so Daddy could appreciate the difference between Bakersfield and the coast in June. I love these three.

 Hi-ya!

 The next morning I found this great little park in Pismo. It was a great place for the kids to get out and run around with beautiful ocean views. The boys got to climb to their little heart's content---until Parker stepped on and got stung by a bee. It was so sad!

USS Imagination

 My kids are monkeys...

Little miss was so funny. She kept stealing this little tiny broom and sweeping the porch. She spent a lot of time out there enjoying the breeze. I think she looks so grown up in her little swim suit. 

 She didn't quite believe me that she was no longer 1. 

 That night we headed out to Avila beach to play in the water. Oh the water was so cold. My boys and I all got in up to our waists. That was as far as we could make it. I was actually shocked that they even wanted to do that. They loved playing in the waves, but not so much fighting off the seaweed.

 Capri liked the water, but was not a fan of the sand. She really, really hated the sand in her toes. 

Mimi was a really good sport and hung out with Capri. She loves her Mimi! 

 Capri spent most of her time at the beach sitting in the chair eating her snack---up above the sand that she hated.

 Hilarious!

 Happy girl chasing waves with Mimi:

 We were also treated to a rare showing of Humpback whales. They were jumping halfway out of the water and were just so fun to see! A treat for sure.

 Whale watching:

 As long as her toes could stay on the towel she was happy to dig in the sand:

 The tunnel we built:

 Cutest beach bum I ever did see! Thank you again, Mimi!