Can it be true?

For the first time in our marriage... and my life for that matter... I have got some Christmas cards done. The bad news is that I don't have most people's addresses, emails and/or phone numbers. So I am putting it out there. If you would like a Christmas card, I would love to send you one. Just put your address in a comment.. I moderate them all before they are posted and then I will just delete it and not post it! Or you can email it to me at general@niguelsante.com (my junk email just incase there are spammers following my blog...ha ha ha.)

October Escapades

The easiest way to record what we did in the month of October is to show the photographic proof. If you regularly read our blog you saw the Monkey video. This "funky monkey" (as the boys refer to him) paid a visit to our house. He knocked on the door and Luke let him right in. I don't know if I should be worried that Luke and Noah didn't question a giant monkey knocking on the door and coming in to visit. Maybe it was the bananas and candy that we was carrying, or the games of peek a boo he played.

Either way he was a hit.

Later that day we went to a car show at a friend's facility in town. The boys loved the old cars. This was half of an old model T that you could sit in and mess around.

Luke and Allie had fun. Luke kind of has a crush on Allie and would follow her around all day if he could.

The bounce house was a winner as well.

What kids don't love them?

We hit the local pumpkin patch one Saturday. The boys were very excited to get "face painting" done. I convinced them that getting something on their hands was much cooler than their face.

Thank Goodness because the paint was smeared in about 10 sec. It looked good long enough for a picture.

The other thing they were excited about was measuring next to this pumpkin. They LOVE to measure stuff. They like to measure how tall things are and everything is 13 tall. Whether it is me, Charlie or the stuffed animal. Luke always reports that it is 13 tall. You can see him explaining this to me here.

We also took a little family drive up to see General Sherman in the Sequoia National Forest. It is about and hour and a half away and so worth the drive.

You can park and take a little hike to the General Sherman (the largest tree in the world, no joke). Luke was excited and showed it with his classic thumbs up.

It is hard to explain how huge these trees are. It is very awe inspiring to see the groves of them. They bring a feeling of reverence and awe of God's creations out of me. Here are the kids nestled in the trunk of one.

You can just here them saying "CHEESE". Here are the boys running out of an alcove in one. You can kind of get a feel for how large they are.

And here is the big one.

The boys are learning their letters and like to pretend to spell things out and read them. This is them "reading" the sign.

Luke's preschool took a field trip to the pumpkin patch so Noah, Charlie, and I tagged along. Here are my little turkeys.

The boys enjoyed the hay ride and the whole experience (again).

Luke loves his pre-school and all that he learns and does. He recently explained to me the difference between deciduous trees and evergreens. Here he is with his teacher, Mrs. G. She was kind enough to take him and Noah on the hay ride while I stayed with Charlie.

Noah loves to run around. He has an innate need to move and run. He especially loved the little maze they had. I couldn't get him out of it because he would run back in as I would try to grab him.

It was a lot of fun to go with the kids and Luke's class.

October was a really fun month for us. I have enjoyed the warmer California temperatures and extended fall weather.

Charlotte's Blessing

We blessed Charlotte Labor Day weekend and so it was a really fun weekend. We had Ryan's parents up as well as his sister, Casey and her three boys. We spent the weekend enjoying the heat in the pool.

The boys loved having cousins and grandparents to share the pool with. Kevin is Luke's best buddy.

Charlie enjoyed some quality pool time with Grandma.

As well as a nap in her pool-side bed a.k.a. the camping chair.

Here is grandpa and the boys. I cut off heads and half of Kurt trying to get the shot before they all jumped in the pool.

Ryan made a cool video of the day. You can view it here... Summertime fun

Sunday was all about Little Miss Charlotte.

She behaved as beautiful as she looked. She went to sleep at the beginning of Sacrament meeting and slept through the blessing. What more could a mom want? Ryan gave her a beautiful blessing. I always love baby blessing day. I feel so close to the quads at each child's blessing. I think because it is then main earthly experience we had with each of them. Anyhow, here is our family after church.

And here is the whole group.

Nine o clock sacrament meeting doesn't lend itself to pre-blessing pictures, but here is Charlotte later in the day.

My mom made the dress and it turned out beautiful. We are lucky she is so talented and enjoys sewing for the grandkids.

Great day, good friends, and wonderful family. We are so glad this little girl joined our family.