Beach evening...

A couple weeks ago we had a rough one.  Scott was having a tough time at school, Owen was having a tough time with life, therefor I was having a tough time with school and life.  We had a team talk day that I spent half of sitting in the car with one of the teachers having a cry fest.  Ya'll, that's the kind of school we go to.  

The next day one of my mamas brought me this:

That would be tequila, bedazzled by hand with jewels while she worked in the art area.  My friends are the best!

That friday night we headed to the beach to meet Mimi, Papa, Auntie, Parker J and Eden. 

These boys love each other the most!

We picnicked on chili and watched the sunset.  It was a great end to a rough week.

Sister time:

O was stoked on his juice box.

And of course the most excited to hold Eden.

And then the sunset...

Beach days cure all the things : )

School days...

Excluding the week that the plague of 2015 took over the Campbell house, we are back in the swing of our school routine after Christmas break.  My kids always seem to have a tough time transitioning back after Christmas, and this year was no exception.  Scott is definitely the big man on campus and ready for kindergarten next year.  He and little buddies are trying to run the show a little bit and it has ended in lots of hurt feelings and boy play that goes too far.  With the help of his teachers (aka my favorite people on the planet!) we have been able to give them all a little more structure in their day while still allowing them freedom to play and be challenged.  But it did make for a rough couple weeks after Christmas.  And Owen, well he just decided that he doesn't want to go to school at all anymore.  Until about 90 seconds after I pull out of the parking lot and one of the teachers texts me a picture of him playing and having a great time.  What a stinker.  Thankfully the teachers are there to rescue me again and let me know that he's doing just fine.

Now for some pictures (aka iPhone dump)

Buddies hanging by the fence waiting to all walk to our cars together at the end of the day.

Auntie and Eden visited us at school one day and Scott had the best time showing off his favorite girl cousin.  It was too cute because all the big tough guys came and took turns holding her and giving her all the attention in the world.

Hanging in Ms. Dana's yard after school.

These friends and their moms fill my heart.  And also Owen's clothes were wet and drying in the sun. Although him running around in chones is not out of the ordinary.  Even at school.

Field trip to Create!

Owen was into it and made a robot.  Scott, not so much.  He glued a few corks onto cardboard and called it  day.

That afternoon was our first soccer practice.  The boys had a great time.  Owen got a little bored because he's the oldest in his class and he's used to playing with the big boys, he was also more interested in the snacks I brought. 

By the end of class Owen was picking flowers.

Scott is definitely ready for more organization and is at a very good age for this type of class.  I promised him that once we did this he can sign up for a team.  

Back to school...here's the tiny (not tiny) nugget practicing the monkey bars.

Piper (the little girl) passed out after school one day when we all stayed to play.  Her mom finally gave in and laid down too.

This particular day almost all of our friends stayed after for hours.  We were the first ones to leave, I waited until the last possible minute but I had to go to work that evening.  Scott was broken hearted.

These two cuties were having so much fun, I hated to drag him away.

Update

Getting behind on my posts again lately.  We seem to just get busier....

Anyways, we are back in the routine of school and activities and work.  A few weeks ago we had quite a bit of rain.  It was pretty nice.  As a kid I remember doing lots of crafts on rainy days, playing board games, baking.  My kids were out searching for worms.  It was fun.

And you can't come in from worm searching in the rain without some hot chocolate (almond milk).

After a few days in a row of rain we were ready to get out as soon as it let up.

We biked and scootered to the park.   In our pajama pants.

Auntie and Eden surprised us for a quick visit at the park.  Our O loves his E so much.

We've even headed out for a few night rides lately.

After a rough week at school we took Friday off and went to the beach.  It was just what the doctor ordered.  Even though Owen doesn't look too thrilled...

Look at those shorts...haha...

This kid.  I can't.  What a crack up.

Happy place.

Always eating.

Scott even worked really hard on making me a necklace from shells and seaweed.  It was a major heart melt moment.  I wore it until the seaweed broke (while I was sleeping that night), then I found the shells and saved them.  

My girlfriend snagged this shot of Owen looking all grown up with his bag and coffee cup.  Ha.

And the boys have been enjoying their new swing courtesy of Grandma and Gpa.

I know I have another chunk of pictures to dump from January... coming soon ; )

Weekend warriors

The last weekend before we started back to work and school we decided to do a few things around the house.  

First up: replace the light fixture in the dining room.  We had originally started using the space as a playroom so we put in a cheap light fixture that didn't hang down and knock people in the head.  Since we now use it as a dining room we really wanted to make it look a little nicer.  

Kind of love how it turned out:

The next day we decided to go pick up some bunk beds for the boys.  IKEA to the rescue.  We had seen a set up at a friends house and decided to copy it.

But first, one dollar fro yo when we checked out.  Huge treat!

We changed the original project slightly and actually cut the beds apart so we could make them into an L shape.  Glad I have a handy hubby.

We love how they turned out and the boys are still over the moon about it.  In fact, Scott is so excited he has been making his bed daily without being asked.  

Definitely an improvement from mattresses on the floor.  I'm not knocking it, the boys were still rolling out of bed for a while and i didn't want to put a lot of money into temporary beds, so this was the perfect solution.  And we don't look like squatters anymore. 

Auld Lang Syne

Happy 2015 friends!

I mean what?!  I have been out of HS for 15 years.  My kids turn 5 and 3 this year.  Scott starts kindergarten this year.  What is happening?!?!?!!!

That time flying craziness aside, we had a wonderful New Year celebration with our friends this year. A couple days before New Years my girlfriend asked if we had plans and we didn't, this girlfriend happens to be the mother of Scott's BFF/idol, Ryker, and they invited us over for a mellow evening and a sleep over.

We didn't tell the boys of our New Year's plans until the day of, after all you never know when plans could change due to sickness of kids etc. (I have learned that lesson more than once).  I honestly thought Scott was going to pass out when he found out we would be all sleeping at Ryker's house.  Life.made.

We headed over mid afternoon and got in a quick bike ride before starting the festivities.  

This little cutie was ready to PAR-TAY!

Happy New Year from the Campbell and Daniels boys: Owen (2), Maddox (3), Scott (4) and      Ryker (6)

The dads playing nerf wars with the kids, these two were definitely having more fun with the guns than the kids.  

The boys had dinner, a movie, a fire and we did a quick countdown before we sent them off to bed at 9!  We put them all down in the same room and, miracle of miracles, they were all out in less than 20 minutes.  Happy new year to us ; )

Then we played cards and hung out with our friends until the ball dropped!  This was the first time I have made it to midnight in at least 5 years!!!

It was a fun and happy night for all!