Super low tide

 

We went to Hearst Beach the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Tyler didn't go because he was playing at a friend's house. We felt bad he missed out, but he had fun chasing/being chased by an emu.

 

 

The reason it was so great was that it was super low tide. There were tide pools there we've never seen before because they're usually covered with water. Right off, Spencer spotted this gigantic red abalone shell. Most of it was buried in the sand, but he's just really good at finding things.

Beautiful!

 

There were so many sea anemone! And there were lots of different kinds. Some rocks were completely covered by them - we had to be careful where we stepped. I especially liked these ones. We had fun watching them close up when we touched them. One even zapped Spencer.

There were TONS of sea stars - all kinds.

A little sun star.

Spencer's favorite: a bat star. It was the first time he's seen them outside of the aquarium, and they were everywhere.

 

Even Chloe enjoyed finding things and putting them in her bucket. It's also where she kept her crackers.                 

It's a little over-exposed, but I like this picture of Brennan splashing in the water.

Dallin made mud pies.

Spencer was excited to find this seaweed rose.

Brennan liked how the seaweed was totally stuck to the rock.

Notice there aren't any pictures of Levi. That's because he was not a happy camper that day. He was cold and scared of the water and wanted to go home.

I had fun taking pictures of everyone under the pier - great lighting.

She's not smiling, but at least I got her to look at me for a split second.

                    He got happy for the picture.                       This was right before Dallin's haircut.

Levi got much happier when Dave found him surfing booties to keep his feet warm.

 

 

See all those rocks? They're usually all covered with water. We'll have to pay closer attention to when the tide is super low so we can do that again.



Thanksgiving/birthday/anniversary

This year Brennan's birthday and our wedding anniversary both fell on Thanksgiving. That's a lot to be grateful for! Now you see why we celebrated our anniversary a little early. Brennan requested a Minecraft cake. 

We were especially grateful that Brennan woke up healthy on his birthday. He had a fever and felt miserable the day before. I made his cake that day, and he loved it so much he said it made him happy every time he looked at it.

We ate our Thanksgiving dinner at Kristen's house at lunchtime so my dad could be there before heading off to work. Then we had everyone over to our house for presents and desserts later that afternoon.

One of Brennan's presents was an Airzooka. It blows big puffs of air really far. He was able to blow out his candles from the opposite side of the room! That was a fun twist. Happy 7th birthday, Brennan! I'll close with a list of 7 reasons I'm thankful for Brennan:

 

 

1. He's creative. He's always making something, and he has a great imagination.

2. He's funny - he likes to make up jokes, and his execution is perfect.

3. He's cute! Seriously cute.

4. He is friends with everyone he meets. Everyone loves Brennan.

5. He's sweet. He's constantly leaving us pictures and notes on our pillows, telling us how much he loves us. Every night in his prayers, he says, "Thank you I have a really, really, really, really, really good mom. Thank you I have a really, really, really, really, really good dad."

6. He's patient. He has some pretty tough physical challenges (food allergies, asthma and ADD), but he has accepted it very well.

7. He is confident. He gets teased for his small size at school, and he has some great comebacks. He is the epitome of tiny but mighty! What a great anniversary present.

Change of Seasons

We went on a family hike the Saturday before we left for Hawaii.  Spencer was really itching to find a geocache. We couldn't go in the morning because I was doing Christmas crafts with the women at church. So we went after lunch, and it was hot! See those red faces? This is under Niblick bridge.

I had to be careful how I angled the camera to avoid the bad graffiti. Although it felt good to get out of the hot sun, we couldn't stay there too long.

It's hard to believe it was that hot not so long ago. We tend to get one last big heat wave in October.

My friend Nancy gave me some black-eyed susans for my birthday a couple years ago. AND she planted them for me. What a good friend! I love them so much. They all died after our recent frosts, along with the remains of our garden. I had to actually buy tomatoes and zucchini at the store last week.

 

 

The first rainy day of the season is a really big deal. The boys always love to break out the umbrellas and run around in the rain. After 7 dry months, it feels so good!

Spencer ran around taking pictures of our wet yard.

So pretty!!

I do enjoy a change in seasons, as long as it doesn't get TOO cold. The low was in the teens all last week, and that was a bit much.

Chloe: 21 months

These 3 month updates sure come around quick. Chloe is well on her way to being 2!

 

She is talking more and more - even the occasional sentence. Her first was, "I want mom!" New words include hot dog, happy, heavy, trash, Levi, binky, drink, socks and "I got it."

Other new things: she now hates her baths. I mean HATES! She screams and tries to get out the whole time. I usually wash her hair in the sink instead. She has also decided she's too big for her high chair. She wants to sit at the counter instead, even though she occasionally falls off the chair and gets hurt.

 

Once she peed in the potty. She woke up with a dry diaper, so I put her on the potty, and she went! It was very exciting, even though I think it was a one-time thing for awhile.

 She loves playing outside. That's probably nothing new, but she is more intense about it.

Halloween was a hit. She loved trick-or-treating. She walked up to every house with the boys and held out her pumpkin. People went nuts over her cuteness. She was taking a nap when the boys carved the pumpkins, and she thought they were hilarious when she saw them.

 Peek-a-boo never gets old.

 

Levi does such a good job watching out for her. He was so happy when she first said "Levi!" All his brothers were jealous and tried furiously to get her to say their names.

 So cute!

She LOVES shoes, especially sparkly ones. Whenever we go to a store, she finds the most sparkly ones there and tries them on. She went to her first movie: Frozen. She sat still the whole time and laughed and clapped. We decorated our Christmas tree today, and she spent the rest of the day taking off ornaments and playing with them.  We won't be putting any presents under the tree before Christmas this year.