Cousins!!!

Wednesday was cousin day! Joy and the girls came over for a fun day and a sleepover. We had a pirate and princess tea party at lunch. It was great. The kids loved picking out their tea cup and eating fun foods. Weston planned a Music Show after the tea party, so when we had eaten our fill of chocolate sandwiches, Cheetos, and cupcakes, we headed into the music room. Lizzie and Mimi played the piano for us. Weston played a song on the instrument he built. Davin danced while Rachel played a song on an instrument she built, and the adults even got in on the action. Mom, Joy, Jules, and I sang "Be Our Guest" from Beauty and the Beast and did a kick line. I'm pretty sure the kids thought we were crazy. They just stared at us when we finished. :)
Later that afternoon we slicked everyone up and went down to South Coast Plaza for a grandparents and grandkids photo shoot. It turned out cute, but I might be biased.
By the time we finished up with the pictures we were all ready for dinner. We thought we would drive down and have dinner at the Newport Beach Spaghetti Factory, but when we got there and couldn't find a place to park we found out there was an hour wait, so we turned around and drove back to Fullerton. Needless to say it was a late dinner. I kind of thought it would be a disaster going to a sit down restaurant with six kids when they are all usually in bed, but they were great. It was low key and fun to all be together. Plus the food tasted amazing.
We were all ready for bed by the time we got home, so we set up sleepover central for the kids in the music room and got everyone settled. They were surprisingly good about going to sleep and not waking up at the crack of dawn. Although I think Rachel's middle of the night snit with Mimi will be immortalized. Around 2am Rachel woke up and realized that Mimi had stolen her blanket, so she ran down the hall screaming at the top of her lungs "Mimi's bugging me!!!" Luckily Auntie Jules, Grandma B, and Joy all descended on her quickly and took care of the situation. :)
In the morning the cousins all played together until we finally decided we had better get ready for the day. The Henshaw's headed home and we packed up the car and drove out to Palmdale to visit some more cousins. We sure love cousin time.

Cute Kids, Summer Fun

Talia is 8 months old tomorrow! She cut her first tooth last week while we were in California, so the Bowles tradition of first teeth at seven months is holding up. She is also the sweetest, cutest thing. She melts our hearts on a regular basis and is just such a pleasant baby. This morning I got a couple cute pics of all the kids playing together on my bed. Of course, they all have crazy hair, but I guess that's what they look like the majority of the time. :)
We picnicked and played at Liberty Park today. It's Davin's favorite park and he asks to go there all the time. The boys wore bathing suits and enjoyed the splash zone and playing restaurant in one of the play structures.
Talia was chilling with me, so I took her 8 month picture. I sure love my beautiful girl.

Karate!

About a month ago I had a conversation with Weston about what activity he wanted to do. Maybe tee ball again? Meh. Maybe soccer? Meh. So I asked if he would want to learn karate. He replied, "Well, Mom, I kind of already know a lot of kung fu moves." I managed to convince him that he could learn something new. :) I also found a fantastic deal for 3 months worth of lessons at a martial arts center really close to our house.

On Tuesday we went to sign him up. Wednesday he had his first private lesson with Master Troy (for which I forgot to bring my camera). And today he had his first regular Dragons class. It was great. He loved it. It's hard for him since he's not the most athletic kid. Seriously, you should have seen him trying to do a sit up. Hilarious. I think that it's good for him to do something that doesn't come easily though. And, of course, he's having a blast punching and kicking and LOVES his uniform! Today he got his white belt after class and he was very proud. Skidoosh!

Museum and Baseball

Tuesday we spent the morning relaxing, but rallied enough for a little outing to the good old La Habra Children's Museum. We always have fun when we go there. We hit up the standard theater room, grocery store play area, and the animal room. They also had a fun art exhibit that Weston especially enjoyed. When it was time to go Grandma B let the boys pick out a fun toy at the museum store. They both chose a cool jet. Thanks Grandma!
We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing until it was time to get ready for the Angel's game. The boys had never been to a major league game, so I was really excited for them to watch the Angel's play (thanks Mom and Dad!!!). As we all got dressed in our Angel's (and matching colors) gear Weston was sad that he didn't have a hat, so I told him we would see if we could buy him one at the stadium. We ended up finding perfect red Angel baseball hats for the boys for only $7! I couldn't believe it. Davin mostly went for the hot dog. And it didn't disappoint. We had a grand time eating our way through the game. The Angel's even scored two home runs, which meant we got to stand up and cheer and see a few fireworks. Very exciting.
Around 8:30 Davin asked if he could go home and sleep until the sun came up. Poor kid was so tired. His 15 minute car nap just didn't cut it. I made him tough it out until after the 7th inning stretch. Mom and I picked up Talia from Blake and Paige's house (thanks for babysitting!!!) and took the boys home and put them to bed. Ian, Jules, and Dad stayed for the rest of the game. It was another long, fun day.

Balboa!

Monday my dad took the day off work so he could spend it playing with us down at Balboa. We took the ferry over to the peninsula, which I had actually only done once or twice before. It's a fun little free boat ride. The kids loved it.
The kids went on the carousel and Auntie Jules was sweet enough to take Talia on her first carousel ride! She was so cute and made noise the whole time. They had these little mini horses that were stationary, so it was perfect.
We also went to the arcade for some good old skee ball. I loved it! The boys did a couple little games and rides too, then they played a game of air hockey. It was hilarious watching Weston and Davin battle it out (slooowly) in air hockey. Weston won, but Davin got a couple points on the board too. Good things we had some tickets so the boy could pick out a prize because Davin was on the verge of a meltdown when the air hockey game was over. I think it was his favorite. Davin picked out a rainbow slinky and Weston got a pair of play handcuffs. Oh my that boy was in heaven. Arresting everyone, locking himself to the stroller . . . ready to play cops and robbers.
We stopped for a slice of pizza then we rode the ferris wheel. Auntie Jules is the best and took the boys with her so Ian and I could enjoy a kid free ride. It was a gorgeous view and a beautiful day.
I couldn't believe what a trooper Talia was. She didn't fuss or cry. She just hung out in her stroller and chewed on toys and watched all the commotion around her. She's such a good baby. We took the ferry back to the car and drove around to where we were renting a little boat for the rest of the afternoon. We cruised the harbor and looked at all the beautiful homes. Mom had packed a picnic, so we ate on the boat and touched the water.
By the time we got back in the car we were all exhausted from hours in the sun and wind. The kids got a nice nap on the way home. What a fantastic day! Thanks Mom and Dad!

California!

We just got back from a wonderful week in beautiful California. We enjoyed spending time with family, playing lots, and relaxing a little. :) We drove out last Friday. It was a long day in the car, but the kids all did really well. Talia got a little fussy here and there, but you can't blame her. We managed to only stop three times. First we took a little break in Beaver.
Our next stop was in Mesquite. The kids picked McDonald's for lunch. No surprise there. They had fun running around on the play place and we all ate and stretched. Even Talia ate some yogurt. She's such a big girl these days.
Our last stop before my parent's house was in Baker. Man, it was hot! We stopped in for some ice cream at DQ and it barely kept the heat at bay. Good thing it was cooler in La Habra.

btw about 4 seconds after Ian took this picture the thermostat said 111 degrees.

We made good time and got into town in time to go out for dinner at the gourmet food trucks. It was a fun experience. I was surprised at how crowded it was! We ate tailgate style and visited. We were all tired though, so as soon as we got home the kids crashed.

Saturday morning I took the boys in the "pool." It felt so nice. Once we all got dressed and going (after lunch) we went to the nickelcade to play some games. Ian loves the Nickelcade by my parents house because it has his favorite game, Prop Cycle. :) He spent the entire time playing on it. We earned some tickets and got the boys some fun little toys.
Afterwards we drove over to the bowling alley and got to cosmic bowl in the middle of the afternoon! I have to admit that I kind of prefer bowling with the lights on. I do better. Oh well, it was still lots of fun.
Mom and I went shopping after bowling. I hadn't been to the Brea Mall in probably 8 years. So many things had changed that I hardly knew my way around. Weird. I got something new to wear to my high school reunion. That night I went to a wedding with my mom. I didn't know anyone there except the Green's, but it was still pretty fun. They had a shaved ice "bar" with gourmet shaved ice flavors. I had the root beer float one. It was amazing. Seriously.

Sunday we went to church. I enjoyed seeing old family friends. Weston loved visiting another ward and Davin was pretty stoked about all the different toys to play with in nursery. That evening we went to dinner at the Green's. It was such a blast! We don't get together too often anymore, but Blake and Paige, Jordan and Freesia, and Vance and Quinn were all there, so we had dinner and homemade ice cream then stayed up late playing Things. Good times.