Birthday Boys are 4 and 6!

4 and 6 but yes, they still ride in a stroller!

I can't believe another year has flown by! (And yes I say this every year but seriously... it's insane.)
I have lost my blogging momentum as the years go by (also because Instagram and Facebook are much easier) but the kids love to go back and watch videos and see pictures of themselves so I've at least got to keep up with the important things... like BIRTHDAYS!

Carter Francis Hill... 6 years old! I will never forgot what he looked like when he was born. It's burned into my memory... especially because I had to wait days before I ever got to hold him in my arms. Today, he is thriving in life. He has many friends, loves Kindergarten, is learning to read and write, and is becoming more independent each day. He is definitely a mini-Dave and loves to tell jokes and even scare and surprise people. But he is sweet and empathetic and always makes sure everyone is happy and having fun.

Archer Anderson Hill... 4 years old! This kid is pure excitement and energy and he definitely has the most amazing memory. He makes us laugh daily with the silly things he says. He still loves all things Batman and Star Wars and knows everything about every character and every story line. He is super outgoing when he is comfortable but tends to get very shy and reserved and grumpy when he is feeling out of sorts or nervous. He is starting preschool next month for just a couple of weeks as a trial run. We'll see how he does away from home and me and in a new environment!

The best attribute of both boys? Their love for each other! They are truly each other's number one defender. They both have the "don't mess with my brother" attitude and honestly, they really do get along very well. I hope this lasts forever!

This year we bought Disneyland annual passes for the boys' birthday. It's been a year since we've had passes and with the crazy price increase, this will be our last year of Disneyland (at least until the new Star Wars land opens up!). The magic hasn't faded but the crowds are a little crazy which can make things frustrating (I refuse to wait in a line that's longer than 30 minutes!) When I told the boys that instead of a party, we'd be going to Disneyland, they were thrilled until they realized that we were the only ones going. They were bummed that they didn't have friends joining us.

So I pulled together a very last minute birthday party in the park. In the midst of a horribly hot fall season, the day I chose to have the party was freezing cold and nearly rainy. It turned out great though as the kids pretended to be jedis and ran around the park for hours and never complained once about being cold (us adults were freezing though!) We had some humorous moments (I made light sabers out of bubble wands by painting the handles chrome. They looked awesome but the silver spray paint stained everyone's hands! Not sure why but oh well. Pinterest fail.) I also brought a Keurig machine to make hot cocoa and coffee to combat the cold weather but despite all of our valiant attempts at getting electricity, we never managed to get enough power to brew one cup! Ugh. That being said, everyone had a blast and the boys were so pleased to get to spend some time with kids and not just boring old mom and dad!

Rebel Alliance cupcakes vs Dark Side cupcakes

Star Wars snacks, decorations, and bubble wand light sabers

I laugh every time the kids wear this mask!

Basketball with the guys

Everyone looks ridiculously bored here but it really was fun!!!

Disneyland was a big hit too because they opened Seasons of the Force in Tomorrowland. Dave ate a Jedi chicken sandwich served out of a Han Solo carbonite box, we had popcorn served in a tie fighter, and we watched a cool Star Wars video and explored all the new Star Wars merchandise. We met Lord Vader and the boys were super nervous to talk to him! The biggest hit of the day was Archie's first ride on Star Tours. He is still under 40 inches and isn't a fan of fast rides so he's never cared that he can't go on certain rides. But he begs for Star Tours. So we gave him some boots, put extra socks and an orthopedic lift inside, spiked his hair, and told him to use the Force and stand as tall as possible. He was height checked twice and they were extremely hesitant to let him ride but we managed to get him on! He LOVED it. Seeing his grin as he got in his seat and put on the 3D glasses was priceless. Definitely my favorite part of the day.

Dave's multi-tasking skills--can steer a ship,
check his phone, and hold his kids at the same time.

Both boys love "Jack's house" which is the Haunted Mansion
turned into Nightmare Before Christmas.

Carter had a full conversation with Spiderman but Archie wouldn't even look at him!

Potential Christmas card? Merry Sithmas?!

School's in Session!

Kindergarten has begun! We decided to try out the tiny little school in the canyon. When I mean tiny... there are only three classrooms and a hundred kids in the whole school. The school opened in 1879.  Pretty awesome, right? So far I am completely in love. Driving down into the canyon in the morning is so serene. There are huge pumpkins growing in someone's garden along the roadside and the school has its own farm (with animals!). The campus is beautiful and there are big shady trees and pine cones everywhere. It's so fun to watch the kids swinging on the swings as the rooster crows in the background. We gather together as a group in the morning for the announcements and the pledge. It feels like a little community.

Archie is stuck with me all day but we are making the most of it!

Labor Day weekend was lovely. It was hard to get back to work and school today. Yesterday we had a BBQ with my mom and then spent a fun afternoon bowling with the cousins. I'm excited that my boys like bowling. I have some fun memories of bowling when I was younger.  It's a sport that I can handle!

Summertime 2015

Well, this was the shortest summer ever. Carter's last day of T-K was the end of June and his first day of Kindergarten is on Monday! It just whizzed by! T-K was an amazing year. Carter made friends, I made some great mommy friends, and we both had a blast. I got to volunteer each week in the classroom and loved to see all the fun projects they did. Carter had the most amazing teacher and I am keeping my fingers crossed that Archie will be in her classroom for the 2016 school year.

Our summer was fairly uneventful. Dave started a new job (we are so proud of him and how hard working he is) but that meant no summer vacations for us. So instead, we had lovely long mornings spent in our pajamas, playing video games and toys. We spent time at the beach, parks, and the pool! The boys were in swim lessons all summer long and they are finally both feeling pretty comfortable in the water. I plan on continuing lessons for one day a  week throughout the year so that they don't forget all the things they have learned. I'm still dreaming of a family vacation to Hawaii but Dave insists that both boys be able to swim independently before we can go!

Playdough mornings

I survived Adventure Playground TWICE this summer!

We found a new favorite beach (Aliso) that made it really easy for me to take the boys to since it was a short drive (less than 30 minutes) and easy parking/walking. And they have a cute playground where the boys pretended to be Batman and Robin, scaling the tops of buildings in 

search of the Joker. 

Love

The loves of my life

Besides swimming, Carter started playing basketball this summer. Archie is so bummed that he couldn't play but as soon as he turns 4, he is going to start T-ball with Carter. It'll be so fun for him to FINALLY get to be part of the action instead of watching from the bleachers!

Archie is growing up so fast and is desperate to keep up with Carter. I decided to "homeschool" him for preschool with another little friend of his for at least the start of the school year and then I might put him in preschool starting in December/January. He is currently obsessed with Batman. He loves the old cartoons and has a million Batman toys (thanks to Imaginext who needs to make a new Batcave every darn month). We bought him a Batman costume and it is the cutest thing ever to see him put the mask on and actually embrace the character of Batman (deep voice and all.) When he takes the costume off, he becomes very serious and says, "Mommy, I am now Bruce Wayne."

How can you not smile when you see this?!

Easter 2015

Time keeps zooming by! Work and school and activities and life just all seem to be on fast-forward right now. I had been looking forward to Easter weekend for weeks as just our chance to slow down a bit. We are now on Spring Break and loving every second of it... more pics and posts on that to come. For now, here are some pictures from our Easter weekend this year.

We kicked off the weekend by lounging around at home. Archie was sick so Carter got to make (and eat!) all the Easter cookies. He has been seeing a GI Specialist in order to gain weight and has managed to gain over a pound in the past month or so! (His love of cookies has definitely helped!) Carter then got to play video games with his Daddy and Uncle Brian all day. My brother bought them the new Mario Party game and Carter was thrilled!

Thankfully, we all woke up feeling pretty good Easter morning. My Grandma sent the boys giant Peter Rabbit eggs full of treats. The Easter bunny hid a present for each kid and so we spent the rest of the morning playing Batman jail and Angry Bird Trouble. We went to Dave's brothers house for dinner and the kids had a really fun Easter egg hunt.

Aren't these so cute?!

Cousins are the best!

My mom got the kids a new bubble machine and they spent the other morning in their pajamas popping bubbles all morning! I love it because I don't have to do anything!

Karate chop!

Happy Easter! Hope yours was as relaxing and enjoyable as ours!