Holy Cow!

Time sure does fly quickly. I can't believe so much time has passed since I was last on this. Once again I will recommit myself to staying more on top of this blog. Life is getting busier and free time is hard to come by. Well, I won't really try to fill in any blank from July til now. All that really needs to be said is that we are all still in one piece and enjoying life as a little family.

I took a class on blogging tonight (which is why I am back on this thing in the first place). I learned a couple of new things. The best thing is probably the cool backgrounds. cause face it. those guys over at Google might be smart and creative when it comes to software, but they fail miserably at creating a good looking template that doesn't look like a resume.

I hope all of you had a wonderful Halloween and are starting to make room for Thanksgiving dinner.

We love you all.

(ok, just one quick Charlie story... He is now tall enough that he bonks his head when he goes underneath the table. This morning he hit his head hard enough to land flat on his back. It was pretty funny to see. )

That really is our life in a little clamshell.

Mommy's little Helper

Charlie decided to help me as I was cleaning up camping gear. While helping he found a new toy.

Charlie was checking to make sure the bowl was clean enough. He proceeded to carry the bowl around the house with him for the rest of the afternoon.

Love you all!!

Denise

Camping at Mt. Palomar

Hello dear friends! We just rolled in from a great weekend of camping. Thought I would share some of the pictures from our relaxing weekend under the trees with some good friends.

Too much fun playing!

What a way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Denise, January, Loretta and Heather on our hike.


Charlie, Dave, Read, John and Ethan on our hike.


Close up of my boys (with Read helping out to fill in the picture).


A sample of the sights on our hike. Very pretty area.

Charlie and I. I was kind enough to give Dave a break.
I definitely got my workout for the weekend.


Charlie and Dave checking out the fire.

Oh so cute.

We are already planning our next camping excursion with this group of friends. We have learned alot about camping with a baby. Lesson #1 plan simpler meals. Lesson #2 bring gifts for neighboring campsite when baby screams for 30 minutes at 11pm. Lesson #3 Pack n' Play is a must.

That was our weekend in a clamshell!

Happy July!!

Hello all of our loved ones! Isn't life great? Dave and I are thoroughly loving Charlie. He is so much fun to watch as he grows by leaps and bounds. If he could leap and bound I am sure he would be doing just that. Back a couple of weeks ago our little man started walking. He of course is much better now and I will add video of Charlie walking now, but I finally finished editing Charlie walking back on June 24th.





We hope that everyone had a great 4th of July. We spent most of Friday relaxing and visiting with Dave's family. It was a nice, needed break from normal life. Friday evening we took Charlie to his first fireworks show. Sorry, no pictures, I forgot the camera. We went to a shopping center overlooking Ladera Ranch and watched the show from there. We were far enough away that the fireworks were not that loud, but we could still here the music. We could also see about 5 other shows going on at the same time. It was quite entertaining to watch Dave and Charlie pointing at all of the different fireworks.

We are starting to plan for Charlie's first birthday. It is amazing how fast time has flown this year. I am so glad that I have been able to spend the last month at home. For that matter, I am glad that I will be able to spend all of the coming months at home with Charlie. I never knew that being laid of from one's job could be so nice. I am currently looking for some help on planning a first birthday party. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. I think I am going to go wander around Michaels and Party City for some inspiration.

We love everyone of you and hope you have a great month. I promise to get some more Charlie walking footage up soon.

Thats our life in a clamshell!!

Denise

Rock Climbing

In an effort to get caught up on what has been going on in our little family I will start off with this oh so cute video clip of Charlie.





Dave says I should do the clips of Charlie walking first. But I haven't had a chance to edit the clips yet. I will try to get them up in the next few days.

Love ya all!

Busy, busy, busy

Busy Denise...

I have been really busy at work lately. We have two 20 million dollar projects bidding in 2 weeks and it has been just down right crazy. With Hawaii just a week away I have come down with a major case of vacationitis. It's a lot like senioritis. You stop being productive and all you want to do it start deciding where you want to go and what you are going to need to pack. Just 8 more days and then we are off to 10 beautiful work free days on the Big Island. Woohoo!!!

Busy Dave...

Dave has been extra busy lately with work. The Lord is blessing us greatly right now. We are excited about the future and what it holds. Other than work Dave is busy playing with Charlie and doing a few jobs around our home. Right now he is working on installing a new faucet in the bathroom.

Busy Charlie...

As always Charlie is a busy little boy. He has been busy learning how to crawl on his hands and knees (the past two months he has been training to join the army). He is also learning how to pull himself up and cruise around the furniture. He is also graduating to more solid food and finger foods. He wants to be walking, but just isn't strong enough yet.

Here are some latest shots of Charlie being cute.

Finally...

I finished the video that I promised a month ago!!! But it's too big for the blog. Sadness. Nana we will send you a copy and Grammie we will show you the next time we are over.

So instead here is a cute video clip of Charlie from about two weeks ago. Our little baby is starting to talk!!





This weekend has been pretty exciting for our little family. Yesterday Charlie and I went to cousin Leslie's baby shower. Kylie (Mark and Christina's baby) and Charlie enjoyed playing together. Kylie tried to poke Charlie's eyes out but was unsuccessful. They were very cute together. We are excited to have another cousin for Charlie to play with at family get togethers. I enjoyed the time with Aunt Gerri, Grandma Arva, Christina, and Leslie. It's been awhile since we have seen them. They are all doing well. Grandma Arva loved playing with Charlie. He is lots more fun than the last time she saw him at his baby blessing. But then, he was just a little cuddly newborn back then. Oh how the time flies and how Charlie has grown.

Since Grandma Arva and Grandpa Theron are in town til Monday they had a little family gathering tonight. Grandpa Theron finally got to meet Charlie. We had fun playing and talking with all of the family that showed up. It is a little weird now at family gatherings since everyone but Gerri and Kevin's family has moved away. Grandpa said that they are going to try to come back down soon so we look forward to spending more time with them.

Dave and I are enjoying life here in sunny California. We have been enjoying our Disneyland passes and are trying to get in as much time as we can there before we are blacked out for the summer. We are also preparing for our trip to Hawaii next month. Part of my preparation has been trying to lose some of my baby fat. Charlie is gaining his baby fat pretty nicely. I just wish I could lose mine as easily as he is gaining his. The break from everyday life will be welcomed after the next few weeks at work. We have known about three large projects that were supposed to come in late in March and have some time in between them. But as the construction industry is they were both late, came in one day apart, and are due the same week. Good thing I will be gone that week. :)

Dave and I watched a good movie last night. We have been meaning to watch it now for close to two years. It's called Good Night, and Good Luck. It was really interesting and worth watching if you are in the mood for a drama.

Love you all!! Until next time...

That's our life in a clamshell.