The Boys Take a Hike!

My husband is really good to me. On Saturday he took the boys for some Father/Son time for a couple hours so I could run some errands without any kids. He decided to take them hiking along a trail near the soccer fields where they play. The boys were so excited. What could be better than being in the woods on a beautiful day for boys?

Along the trail they found this tree trunk that had been hollowed out.

They boys were using their imaginations and in the pic on the left they are feeding their horses (their sticks!). The other pic is a pretty big caterpillar they found along the path. Too exciting for a bunch of bug boys!

All along the trail were fitness stations. Here Jose decided to show the boys how it's done.

Here are Christian (left) and Diego trying a station. You are suppose to lie on the board and use your upper arm strength to pull yourself up. Christian has an amazing amount of arm strength so this wasn't a problem. Diego had a little harder time.

The happy hikers! What a great dad and husband to take them out for a fun afternoon.

Backyard Campout

Jose and the boys had a campout in the backyard last night. The boys were so excited. They love camping. It is such a treat for them. I'm just glad that Jose likes to camp and is willing to do this. I was a little worried though since our neighbor had just told me that some kind of creature has been getting into their trash every night. That didn't seem to bother the boys at all. Diego had the idea of leaving their flashlights on and trying to catch it in the act. He also wanted "to make fire and roast marshmellows". Maybe in a few weeks. Now that it is a little cooler, we're thinking of a family campout in a few weeks. They survived a chilly night without any unwanted visitors! Here are Christian and Anthony ready and willing to help Jose put up the tent. Christian can't wait to use the hammer. Christian was actually really good at hitting the mark. He was very proud of himself. Here is Anthony not quite sure of what to make of the bendable sticks that keep the tent up. He enjoyed trying to make it one big stick and lifting it in the air. The boys lost interest in helping put up the tent. They thought it was more fun to run around. Anthony was pretty bummed that he didn't get to actually sleep outside. But the other two were so happy. Here they are getting ready to go to bed for the night. Can you tell Jose is so excited?!!

Jose is a citizen!

It has finally happened. Jose is a citizen of the United States! He was sworn in this afternoon. This has been a long time coming. We applied back in July 2007, did not hear anything until Dec. 2007 and then nothing until August 2008. He went yesterday for his interview and "test." (It was actually just the interviewer asking him a few questions about the flag, stuff about our state and a few government questions) He said it was pretty easy. So he was able to go back today and be sworn in. It has seemed like forever since we applied and with never hearing anything for so many months was crazy! I'm proud of him and all he does for our family.

Diego starts Kindergarten!

Today, Sept 2nd, was Diego's first day of kindergarten. He was so excited. He woke up and said "Hey mom, today is my first day of school!" Having him so excited made things easier for me I think. I was suprisingly calm this morning. I was sure I was going to cry, but haven't....yet. We'll see how he liked it when he comes home.

Here we are walking to the bus stop. Yes, the whole family went!

Here he is getting ont he bus. This was his only look back. He couldn't wait to ride the bus!

Happy Birthday Diego!

While on our last trip of the summer, Diego turned 6 on Aug. 30th. We can't believe it. Time sure does fly by. He starts school this year and is looking forward to it. He has such a tender heart and a great smile. He still has a love of dinosaurs and animals. This past summer he learned to ride a bike (his "two-wheeler" he likes to call it) and his swimming skills grew. He makes us laugh with some of his thinking and comments. We are so happy he is in our family. Ever since we had a little party for Christian at the beach when Christian turned 2, Diego has always remembered that and asked when he was going to have a party. So this year we had a little something. We kind of had a dinosaur theme. We played dinosaur bingo with M&M's as our markers, had a water balloon fight and goody bags. We were going to have a pinata but there wasn't a good place to hang it at the house we were staying at. Diego was happy with what went on and that was good enough for me. I think the best part of Dinosaur Bingo was eating the markers!

Anthony turns 2!

Anthony turned 2 on August 29th. We were down at the Outer Banks for one last vacation before school starts so we celebrated his birthday there. Can't believe he is two already. He has been such a joy. He has a funny since of humor and gives the funniest looks. Diego and Christian like to see if they can get him to make different looks all the time, especially with the eyes. He has the nickname "Numnuts" and it suits him perfectly. He is full of energy and keeps us on our toes. We are blessed to have him in our family! Anthony was intrigued by the fire from the candles. He kept trying to stick his fingers in the fire. He wasn't quite sure what to do.

He had a little trouble blowing out the candles. I think it was a group effort in the end.

Diego's Special Day

Before Diego starts kindergarten I wanted to have a special day for him. I wanted it to be a day where he and I did something he loved where it was just us--no brothers. He wanted to see some tarantulas so we headed to downtown D.C. to the Smithsonian. This is his favorite museum because of the dinosaurs and animals. The last time we went the Insect Zoo was closed. We checked online this time and saw that they show tarantula feedings. He was so excited to see it. While we were waiting, there was a worker there with a cart with 5 containers of bugs that he would pull out and talk about. These are bugs that they will let the public touch. Diego wasn't brave enough to hold the giant grasshopper (don't blame him!) but he was brave enough to hold the "Hissing Cockroach". Luckily I was able to get 2 pics before the camera died. Too finish the day, he rode the Carousel and enjoyed the Metro ride home. I can't believe he will start school in just 3 weeks! He is getting so big. It was nice to have this alone time with him to watch his excitement of the creepy crawlies, animals and dinosaurs. He is such a loveable boy!! He is so brave!! They were so gross just to look at!