The many faces of Charlie...and a little of the rest of us. Posted by the Mrs.

I thought Charlie needed some of the spotlight here on our family blog.

So here's just a sampling:

Duncan and I set up a little play station with cushions and pillows for Charlie to work on his core training.

Going for a walk in the great outdoors of our neighborhood.

He loved the fresh air and new scenery.

Chillin' in the bumbo.

Of course, one of my favorites is a peaceful sleeping child.

(don't mind the multi-colored and patterned theme in this picture...we go for comfort and convenience first and foremost around here). :) 

Now onward to our other random happenings...

This is one of those funnel coin tornado drop things.

We always have to remember a few penny's when we head to the library so that Duncan can donate them to this cause. 

Book Barn! 

(we may need to acquire another bookshelf)

When I unloaded my bag of books, Duncan eagerly grabbed 'The mouse and the motorcycle' by Beverly Cleary (a children's novel), sat down in the rocker chair, flipped it open and browsed the pages of words.

I love that he loves books...even if he can't fully grasp how awesome they are yet.

Our little carrot-lings.  

This is an old picture...they are twice this full now!

It is truly amazing what can come from a tiny little seemingly simple seed.

This picture is for Joanne, she wanted a visual!

We needed pots for some of our plants but didn't want to spend lots of money on them.

Bobby had a brilliant realization to use check sockets for plant holders.

If you are unfamiliar with that term, it's basically a mold taken of somebody's thigh.

This is our little garden of leg pots.

I think it's quite artistic!

Going for a walk and finding a giant one of these!...

If there's one thing I don't mind about California, it's that warm weather comes a lot sooner than anywhere we've lived.  

This metal screen door is one of my favorite details about this house, on warm days we just let the fresh air in along with all the sights and sounds of spring.

Duncan's photography skills at work, not too bad.

Having fort time with daddy after work.

"we're so glad when daddy comes home, glad as we can be!"

This last one is a great candid picture of the boys. 

Neither one is looking at the camera but they both have a great smile on their face.

Quote Time!

Duncan's measurement term for anything is always the same no matter what he's measuring.  The only thing that changes is the number.

The other day as he was crunching some numbers on the calculator and with great excitement and enthusiasm he said,

"30 pounds and dollars and coupons and disneyland!"

It's really a great idea because it's basically an all-encompassing measurement. :)

Quotes and Such - Posted by the Mrs.

For Valentine's this year we had heart-shaped eggs in a basket for breakfast.

Everyone got a little something that they "love":

Bobby - Strawberry Nesquik

Me - Tulips and a love letter from Bobby

Duncan - a Hot Wheels car

(according to Bobby it's a "Gangsta' Car" because it's got massive bling'd out wheels. 

I just thought it was a monster truck-car.)

Charlie - Laurie Berkner Band music.

Cookin' up some themed breakfast...

Flowers!

 Nothing like having fragrant beautiful flowers to greet me every morning.

Brotherly Love

I know it looks like Charlie isn't very excited to be featured here but I assure you he LOVES his big brother.

When you have 'retro' furniture, you don't have to feel too bad about the kids jumping on the couches, tipping chairs over, or getting permanent marker on the cushions. :)

Tipping this particular chair over has been a daily ritual for Duncan lately. He pretends it's a train engine, a rocking boat, and even discovered he could play bank by slipping objects through the wooden slats.

We finally got serious about starting a garden.

We have Romaine lettuce, Spinach, Tomatoes, Carrots, Bell Peppers, Strawberries, Green Onions, and Sunflowers...all of which are actually growing! 

I've managed to kill a cactus and two bamboo plants so hopefully with Bobby's help we can enjoy the fruits and vegetables of our labors.

After a day of gathering supplies, reading, and planting, we have a beautiful little garden of hope.

2 weeks later:

Sprouts!

We have loved checking in on these seeds every day and seeing the changes they've made.  

We made a visit to Bobby's work for the first time since we've lived here (about time right?!)

It was nice to put faces with names and have Duncan see where Daddy works all week long.

Duncan loves playing "LIFE".

Actually, he just loves the track, cars and putting the little people inside the cars.

Here's our little Char-Bars or Char-Blars 

(that's how Duncan introduces Charlie when people ask him what his little brother's name is).

This little munchkin has got such a happy and easy going attitude...he must take after his dad.

You've probably heard of people driving away with their coffee still sitting on top of their car,

well, this is the Mormon version...

l

l

l

l

V

Notice the sheep-ish smile.

Bobby spent the first part of Sacrament Meeting getting the pages all untangled.

Quote Time:

#1

Bobby was in the bathroom helping Duncan while he went to the bathroom. 

As Duncan began doing his business, he broke out in unexpected song,

"Give said the little stream, 

give, oh, give, give, oh, give, give, oh, give"

(and no, that's not a typo, there actually were more 'give, oh, gives' in Duncan's version).

#2

I think Duncan had the idea of seeds and gardening on his mind because Sunday morning he came into our room after just having woke up and said, "Do eggs come from Jelly Belly's?"

#3

This next one is actually from Bobby.

During our nighttime prayer together, he was saying the prayer and began to drift off. 

The next thing I heard out of his mouth was,

"...and bless that we can get more Clorox Wipes".

Not even a subject we had been discussing recently but somehow it made it's way into Bobby's subconscious mind. :)