The Getty

This morning we took the boys to The Getty. We all really enjoyed ourselves. And how could you not with a view like this outside every window! I couldn't believe how big the museum was. We obviously couldn't see the whole thing. There were four different buildings with at-least two floors in each building plus there are gardens outside. Some of our favorites: "Christ's entry into Brussels" by Ensor.

"The Bridge over Water-Lily Pond" by Monet.

"The Rue Monssier with Flags" by Manet.

"Irises" by Vincent van Gogh.
William walked around with me a lot picking out his favorite art pieces. In the statue department, William made sure I took a picture of every statue. There was a family museum. The boys had fun reading in an 18th century King's bed.

Playing in the different exhibits.

Coloring masks. Or as for Harrison, playing with his reflection in the mirror :)

If you come visit Los Angeles, I highly recommend a visit to The Getty.

Lights 2009

Well it's that time of year again. We got out the lights and decorated the house yesterday. We have "upgraded" since last year. We have added some feeding deer, candy canes, presents and a Mickey Mouse character (just for the boys).

Archer Tidbits

There must be a few things I say too often when my two year starts asking things like, "what's going on in here?" or "Are you begging me?" The other day I asked him to be good and his response was, "are you begging me?" It's hard not to laugh at him when he asks that.

We went to the park this morning. It is warm outside but it is super windy. The boys always love stick hunting :)


After we got home, I lost William and Harrison. I couldn't find them anywhere. Could you? Life is so nice when the littlest things can make them laugh so hard :)

Woke up to an earthquake this morning. I am used to the little "shakes" we get often but it sucks when one wakes you up. The good thing is the boys slept right through it. That's about it. Just hanging out. I'm super tired today and my neck hurts (have a cyst laying deep on my muscle- it hurts to even swallow today) so I really am hoping for a nap.

Mr. Klutzy and Mr. Serious

Yes I am the mom who takes 94 pictures in the matter on an hour. So because I had such fun pictures I have another post. Check out Mr. Serious as he plays Harrison in air hockey. I would give anything to know what he is thinking. My guess: "You are not going to score on me again Harry!" Oh and the Klutz. It's a wonder we haven't made more trips to the emergency room. He is always falling down and always has a bruise on his forehead. Here are some examples of Mr. Klutzy.

Where's Mr. Klutzy? Oh there are his legs!

And his feet.

Down again

The Jump Around

Oh oh oh oh boy. William has been, how do I say this nicely, a monster the last two days. He is normally a very well behaved child. The last two days have been wearing on me. He is beating his brother up by punching, slapping, body slamming, head locking and kicking him. And when I told him not to spit on my floor, he came over and spit on me. And if I tell him not to hit his brother, he hits Miss Belle. I really have no idea what has gotten into this kid and I am PRAYING this phase will pass ASAP because it is too darn hard. Well call me a bad parent if you will but I completely believe in negotiating and bribing when I am at a loss like this. So where do I take them...The Jump Around. My goal is that William has so much fun that I can remind him that we can go back if he behaves. Lets just see if it works.

Look how cute they are playing air hockey. I never taught them how but they got it.

Harrison and Addi hugging at the bottom of the slide :) xoxo

Harrison loved the slide but it was cute that every time I took him up there, he would just plop down on my lap to go with him.

Check out Air Jordan while Harrison and Addison raced each other! William made a ton of baskets too. The boxing ring was more of a jumping house for us.

There was a toddler room to play in, an Arcade and tons of jumperoos. It was a lot of fun and a great playdate especially for the price. Oh please William, lets remember this as so much fun. We need to behave all of the time and not let mommy pull her hair out!

That's how

Miss Belle keeps making her way inside without me letting her in. I assumed it was the boys letting her in. Well I caught her this morning. Sleek little genius can open the door herself!

Monsters...

New haircuts and such

Because Harry's "surfer" hair was so long that I could put him in ponytails AND because he was being mistaken for a girl lately, I decided to get the boys haircuts. They were so good today. They sat very still while they got their haircuts resulting in suckers. Then at the grocery store, the clerk thought they were so good that they got more suckers and balloons. Talk about happy boys!

My picture of Harrison.

William's new hair.

William takes a much better picture than me :)

Cuddle bugs at the store. They are in love lately. Always hugging and kissing each other.

And here is Harrison talking.

A 2 year old photographer

This is what it looks like when a two year old gets a hold of the camera. And I have to admit, when his little fingers aren't in the way, he doesn't take bad pictures :)

Friday Night Lights

Friday night was the annual lighting of the Simi Valley Christmas tree. I find it a little weird that they don't wait till Thanksgiving. It was way overcrowded but the boys enjoyed eating Hot Dog on a Stick for dinner and watching the laser light show. And it was fun that they had fake snow falling from the roof.

Yesterday Scott and I went to a wedding. It was really fun. And did you know glow sticks are a big hit at weddings now :) Today we are just lounging around. Gotta love lazy Sundays.

Brotherly Love

I wish I caught it on tape but right before this, Harrison was hugging William. William said, "Thanks Harry, that's very nice." So this is the video of the follow up. I think Harrison was more interested in watching TV at this point. And for some reason, William looks like he has a bowl haircut. I think it is the static from rubbing his head on the couch pillows. :)

Back to the park and Misc Toys

We went back to the park today for a play date. I brought some bread today in hopes the ducks would be there again. They were and the boys and Addison were very excited to feed them. Addison (Will's love interest), Addi's mom, William and Harrison feeding the ducks.

The boys imaginations are going wild lately. They love playing with just about anything. Laundry baskets are always a house favorite.. The other day they found tongs in the utensil drawer and it kept them entertained for TWO days!

Beautiful day ruined by a grumpy old lady!

So we were having a fantastic day. We took Belle for a nice walk around the neighborhood. Then we headed to Lemon Park to play and watch the birds swim. We were having a fantastic time. William came out of his anti-social shell and made a lot of new friends.

Look at Harry's hair is this picture....cracks me up.

The boys were being so good that I decided to treat them to lunch. We went to this hole in the wall diner by our house. I sat us outside (where nobody else was) in case they acted up. Surprisingly enough, this is the ONE time they were little angels. Well an older couple came and sat down right next to us opposed to inside or anywhere else out on the patio. They backed their truck in and left their dog in the back of the truck looking at us:) I am going to make this story as short as possible. I was so incredibly proud of my boys. They were eating all their food and engrossed in their lunch opposed to being loud. William seriously did not say a word. Harrison is learning to talk and he was saying, "french fry." Every time he said french fry, the old woman turned around and yelled at him to shut up. I was about to lose it. Finally their dog barked and Harrison got excited and said, "puppy dog." He said it is a regular tone- didn't even yell. Well the woman started yelling at me: "we are paying for this too. Control your children. Have them use their inside voices." Well I apologized first for what reason I do not know but she kept going on putting Harrison down and then the mommy in me finally talked back. I was so upset and still upset about it. Here we were having a great day and the one time my boys are great out in public, someone yells at them and makes them feel bad. William asked me what he did wrong that the woman yelled at him. William said thank you to the waitress as we left and Harrison told the mean women, "bu bye." Little did he understand that she was a grumpy old woman who hated children. It's still makes me sad. Having an excellent day and praising my boys for being so good and someone has to ruin it. I would understand any other time when a toddler is acting like a toddler but they were too interested in their lunch to even play at the time. Ugh.

"The Blue and The Gray"

Yesterday we went to a Civil War Reenactment and Encampment. It was really interesting and fun. We watched the Wilderness Day 2 battle followed by the Gettysburg Address and the Cold Harbour battle at night. The boys loved seeing all of the horses. This is the largest reenactment of the Civil War in California. They do an amazing job and there were hundreds of reinactors. There were some professional actors there. We stood about two feet from Bruce Boxleitner and David Carpenter as they were introduced. David Carpenter told me he liked Harrison's chocolate face (he was eating cookies).

Halloween 2009