Anchor's Away!

We went and visited the USS Midway museum down in San Diego and had good time. We were blown away about how this "floating city" operated. The kids really liked it. We saw all kinds of aircraft and got to sit in a few cockpits. Here Kimbyl and Emma take their turn at the wheel. Thankfully the ship is essentially permanently anchored so no mischief was had.

The flight deck was very cool. Ian loved the Jets! So did Max.
The kids were getting a little rowdy and ended up in the brig. We just let them stew for a while.

Larson Family Night

We try to let the kids have turns giving the FHE lessons. They get pretty excited to do this. Emma always comes up with a great lesson plan and loves to use the dry-erase board. Here she is giving the lesson on speaking kindly. Very sweet.

Max and mommy doing "Who am I?" Dress-ups always get their attention.

Gowny Oatmeally Gravelly Work

Wow! She still can fit in her wedding dress! Kimbyl and Emma had a lot of fun watching Mommy try on her wedding dress. First time in 10 years? She still looks stunning as the day we wed :)

It took Ian a while to get the hang of eating oatmeal. Here is the "after" image from a semi-successful attempt. Notice the clump of oatmeal on the blinds.
Our back yard was 90% gravel which wasn't the most comfortable for us adults, but the kids never let it bother their pursuit of fun. They could run across that stuff barefooted and hardly flinch. Here's Emma, Tessa and Ian enjoying a shadowy corner of the yard with good ol' Frodo.
At least I got one photo of my work. The old MEWC!

Ian turns 2

Our youngest shining star turned 2 in August. He continues to grow up soooooo fast. He had a lot of fun on his birthday.

He was happy to get some train conductor stuff and cash from his grandparents.
He loves cars like crazy. He was excited to get a truck on his cake.
That'll buy a wad of diapers son....well maybe just three or four.
He had a great opportunity to get some of that youngest child angst released on the pinata.
Big bro Max causing some angst by taking Ian's car for a spin.

School--last year at Irwin

The kids were really excited for school this year, their last at Fort Irwin. Tessa and Ian got involved with the excitement as well. Man that school year went by fast!

Big Bear Adventure 2010

We finally made it out camping to Big Bear. We stayed at the Pineknot campground and boy it was packed. The kids loved sleeping in the tent. We were lucky to have the Robertsons with us who are pros when it comes to camping, even when deathly ill :) We had a bit of a startle after dark when a family of enormous raccoons took an interest in our delicious peach cobbler but were denied, they took their frustration out on one of the dogs in camp as after midnight as we were awakened by the screeching banchees. The kids had fun in the dirt. I love the picture of an exhausted Mindy, spacing out, staring in the smoke....a real transcendental experience.

The next day we went to the alpine slide and had a blast then we had fun on one of the hiking trails and the visitor center near Big Bear Lake. Ian wasn't too sure about the big grizzly bear!

Big Bear Trip 2010 - Slideshow