Best snow day ever

Eric and Mr. Rich groomed an epic hill for sledding in the back yard of our Big Bear rental today.  I think the kids had one of the best days ever.

Got to sign him up for baseball

Got to sign him up for baseball, originally uploaded by leslie_capron.

Owen got to pick up his new baseball uniform last night and I think Andrew feels like he's missing out on the fun. Got to find a way to get him on the team!

Another re-edit

I really like this picture and its more serious mood.



But I kept thinking about it and thought it could use a little lightening up.  Here's another version and I like it a lot.



I think this image captures more of Andrew's serious side and hints that he can take things pretty seriously.

Presidents Day

No official school today, but we played school!  Andrew, Owen and Sarah each did school work today and loved it.  I think Andrew is ready to be home schooled full time :)





I learned that I totally rock homeschooling...one child.  Once those other two needed attention it all kind of fell apart.  It was hard to keep them all busy and not interrupt each other, but I felt good that we didn't spend the day in front of a screen.  Andrew got a ton done on his report and Owen did some great work practicing his writing.

The Front Yard!

More yard shots, here's the front:







So happy to have it all done!

We have a backyard!

This arrived yesterday



And turned this:








Into this!









Bye-bye backyard dirt!  We need to wait two weeks for the sod to get established before the kids can go nuts, but I am so excited for our real backyard!  Oh, and take a good look at the grass because I am sure that this is the best it's ever going to look.  Probably should buy a mower...

Valentines time!

365 - 42 Valentines time!, originally uploaded by leslie_capron.

Andrew is faithful in his love for Lego Star Wars. And I this is why I will never be a marketing genius: If someone said to me that Darth Vader and Storm Troopers on Valentines cards would be best sellers, I would have said you were crazy.

Bangs!

DSC_3544.jpg, originally uploaded by leslie_capron.

Miss Sarah is sporting her new bangs here. She didn't want to get her hair cut, but once she was on my lap in the chair with my phone, she was just fine. She's looking older everyday.

Mr. Andrew has a new 'do too!

Wondering when it will be her turn

Wondering when it will be her turn, originally uploaded by leslie_capron.

She's so ready to start something and play with the big boys. I'm waiting until she's four, then look out for the gymnastics and taekwondo pictures of Sarah in action!

Baseball ready Owen!

Baseball ready Owen!, originally uploaded by leslie_capron.

No rest for our sporty Owen! He started baseball today! I almost pulled him out of baseball in favor of another spring season of basketball. I'm glad I didn't. Owen has a friend on the team and the coach is really nice. I think it's going to be a good season. (He's a Padre this year. He's wearing last year's uniform to practice).

Working hard

365- 38 Working hard, originally uploaded by leslie_capron.

Andrew started his research tonight on his biography report.  Did I tell you he's writing about the The Wright Brothers?  Great subject for an airplane junky.

Hoop dreams

Hoop dreams, originally uploaded by leslie_capron.

We had the last practice of the season tonight. Owen had a blast and got reprimanded for not passing enough. I thought he would be upset that the coach had to talk to him about it, but nope, he was fine and kept on trying to shoot three pointers! Got to work on that whole 'teamwork' thing.

Last week Owen's PE Coach called him Kobe the whole period because he was wearing this jersey. He wore it tonight in hopes that his basketball coach would too. So cute. (He called him Owen).

Dinner Party? Check. With Bonus Recipe!

I checked off another resolution this weekend!  We had our dear friends, the Leggs and the Juges over for dinner Saturday.  We've known each other since grad school and have been friends ever since.  We've followed each other in major life events: marriage, houses and kids.  It was hard to believe, but it had been three years since we'd all been together and it was like no time had passed at all.

You know I love taking pictures, but at parties or get-togethers I am the worst. I only got a few of the kids and none of us adults.

Here are Erica's and Ellen's girls with Sarah


Here's Evan and Finn with the boys


We had family friendly spaghetti and meatballs for dinner.  And if you need a good slower cooker meatball recipe, look no further.  Have I mentioned that I'm so happy to have space to have people over?  Can't wait for our next get-together!

Trying to get this!

Tried another edit on this picture of Andrew.

Here's the image straight out of the camera (except for the crop, I couldn't figure out how to revert back to the non-cropped version).



Edit 1 - lightened him up, but thought he still looked a little cool.



Edit 2 - Cropped him quite a bit, still trying to use the rule of thirds for his eye placement.  I warmed him up, but maybe too much.



I like the last one best.  I'm still learning when to stop or keep going with editing.  Usually I make such a big improvement with just a few clicks in Lightroom that I think I'm done.  But I'm starting to see when I need to keep going.

**********

Updated without chopping off his head!  Thanks Rachel!!

Me time

Friday after I dropped off Owen at school, I realized had 2.5 hours of kid-free and errand free time.  Most days I go back home and start cleaning the house, but today and turned the car toward the beach and went for a photo-walk at Crystal Cove.  It was the best decision I made all week.  The weather was amazing, sunny in the 70's.

Here are a few of my favorite shots:







After my beach walk, I headed down to Laguna Beach to my favorite lunch spot, Active Culture, for a rice bowl and detox smoothie. And after writing that sentence, I think I am officially a Southern Californian.

I've got to add this to my weekly routine, I don't get outside enough.

Little brother

Thanks Owen for getting Andrew in on the fun!





See?  Little brothers aren't so bad.

Still a little kid

and not yet too old for a little backyard Tonka fun.







Happy for a video game tween-activity break and get back to a little fun in the dirt.