End of soccer party...

To say we had a great soccer season would be a huge understatement.  It was phenomenal.  We have tried other activities in the past that have all been hit or miss.  Scott really wanted something more competitive ("I want to be on a real team and verse another team.").  Sometimes he can be a little timid and a lot of the time he really doesn't like attention.  He can also be unsure when the expectations of him aren't crystal clear.  All this made me a bit nervous about committing to a team for a whole "season".  

Thankfully we had some amazing coaches who really helped each of the boys shine.  Scott took direction well and learned so much from each of them.  He nearly burst with pride when they pointed out to his teammates how good his throw ins were and he was frequently chosen for this job.  He learned to be more aggressive when needed and really started to hustle in games instead of run at the back of the pack.

Most importantly he looked forward to soccer each week and had so much fun!  Although its nice to have our Saturdays back, I'm a little sad that its over.

After the second to last game (the last was the weekend before Thanksgiving and everyone was headed out of town) we had a little soccer party at a local pizza place.  The boys got to play and hang out and eat pizza and then the coaches gave them each a trophy and said something nice about each of them.

The coaches said Scott was our most improved player and they appreciated his inquisitiveness and willingness to learn.  He accepted his trophy proudly in front of all his friends and their parents (kind of a big deal for him to have that many people looking at him).  It will go down as one of those proud parenting moments - there is nothing like seeing your kid proud of themselves!!!

Such a proud guy:

Here's to many more adventures in sports!

A visit from some special friends...

Back in November our friends came to visit from France (although its hard to keep up with them since they seemed to have lived all over Europe in the last few years).  We had never met their kids so it was extra special and fun that the kids all got to meet and play together.  They had an absolute ball!

Owen still just loves him a baby so he was smitten with baby Elsa - I was too ; )

Silly boys

Scooter gang headed for the park

The dads.  Friends since the college days.  Wish we all got to see each other more often - and next time this little reunion needs to be with the Johnsons not separately, right Leilani?!?

Chumash field trip

Before Thanksgiving Scott's kindergarten class went on a pretty awesome field trip to Malibu Creek State Park.  We spent the day with "tracker Rob" and learned all about the native chumash people.

We started the morning with a smudging ceremony and some songs with clapper sticks.

The kids learned a game that used to be played where you throw rocks or nuts like dice.  There is a song that goes with it that Scott taught Owen and the two of them haven't stopped singing since.

We ground acorns to make flour and sampled some native foods: yucca, cactus, chia, elderberry, pine nuts and horehound.

They also got to go hunting and make seashell necklaces.

The kids ground down rocks to make paint and then painted their faces.

Tracker Rob told some great animal stories and finally the kids all got to make their own clapper sticks.

It was definitely one of the coolest field trips I've ever been on.  Scott still talks about this day.  So happy that our school is able to do such interesting field trips!

Mimi's Birthday

Nearly a month ago Mimi turned 60.  We celebrated with a  little family get together at our house!

Owen picked out some cinderella and minnie mouse plates and of course we decided on some silly string for a family silly string fight.

Don't know if you can see Owen's face in the background but he was NOT a fan of the silly stringing.

Mimi with all the grand babes.

It was a fun night and a great way to celebrate Mimi!!!

More friends

Started this post ages ago, just another fun phone dump of the boys with their pals. 

Owen taking Kenz for a spin in his race car:

Owen and Ryder doing the looking for dracula song at circle time at school.

Buddies in the morning.  This whole crew used to be on time/lateish to school last year, well now we all drop off the older siblings at kindergarten and carpool over to preschool.  We have our own little breakfast club since we all usually arrive 20-30 minutes early!

Love lazy afternoons hanging out at preschool with our friends and sharing snacks.

A recent visit to gull wings museum with Parker and Eden

Blasting off into outer space:

Owen and Kenzie in the clay room:

I think I have one clay project from Scott, it was like pulling teeth to get them to go last year.  But this year it has become one of Owen's favorite things to do

The cutest friends

Carpools galore.  We are so lucky to go to school with so many friends.  There is always someone to drive kids and pick up or drop off, many times at the last minute via group text "hey, who can bring my kid home today?" Someone always can!

This particular day I took these three to kill some time at whole foods, complete with a popsicle treat!

And its always nice taking the bigs to pick up the littles at preschool, its like coming home

Littles at preschool:

The magical Jen Mundy reading stories to picnic pallers:

And just because he's the silliest:

A bunch of crazies

About a month or so ago we headed to Mimi and Papa's for a sunday afternoon.

Owen was nice enough to share his food with his Eden, and if you know Owen you know that means he really really loves you!

Then we got our ninja on.  

They crack me up!!!

Two wheelin'

And just like that Owen learned to ride a two wheel bike.

And he's already almost outgrown the 12 inch bike.

These kids are growing up way too fast!