The big 8 for Ben

It was a big birthday year for Benjamin. He turned 8, which meant he was baptized and he got to have a friend party. All of his birthday celebrations were stretched out over a two week period. Party planning isn't my forte, so it was a little exhausting for me but I think everyone had fun and I don't have to plan anything like this for a while!

We got to have our own private baptism for Ben (usually we have a combined one with other kids from church who are turning 8) because I assumed it was happening on one day when really it was supposed to be the next weekend. So it was mostly a small family affair but it turned out really nice. Both of his Grandmas gave talks and Grandpa Baer sang some songs with the guitar. Ben, his brothers and cousins also sang "I'm Trying To Be Like Jesus."

For his party Benjamin wanted a Superman cake but I kind of wimped out and just did some basic cupcakes with a Superman emblem stuck in the tops. Don't know if I even got a picture but they weren't my most impressive attempt. He invited some friends over and we played a bunch of games in the backyard.

A minute-to-win-it game where you have to get a cookie from your forehead into your mouth without using hands.

This was right after he got drenched with the water from the cooler.

Easter

Spring Break 2012

Once again we headed down to San Onofre for Spring Break this year. Fun to see old friends and hang out on the beach for a couple of days. This might be the last time we do this trip for a while since next year we won't all fit in the truck.

 Ben was excited to take this picture of an anemone eating a crab.

Irvine Lake mud run

Last weekend Ryan's family participated in the Irvine Lake mud run. Anyone who was interested/not pregnant was included. There was even a little run for the kids, so Alex and Ben did that with some of their cousins. They were pretty excited when they got interviewed by a local college TV station.

Thankfully there were no injuries, just mud in all exposed orifices. Ben said the worst part was getting sprayed by the firehose afterward.





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Wesley's whining

I've been meaning to make a note for a while of a little habit of Wesley's. It's starting to wane now, but about six months ago whenever something would not go his way, he would say "Oh no, what happened?" in a really whiny voice. It always reminds us of the girl who cried when she dropped her frankfurter on Seinfeld. I thought I would be able to find a clip of that but I can't so you'll just have to imagine it.

Other stuff about Wesley:

He loves hockey. He can name some of the players from the Kings, and his favorite is Bernier (the back-up goalie).

He plays hockey in the backyard every day for hours and now likes to put on Charlie's roller blades. He'll usually wear the goalie helmet and glove and sit in front of the net most of the time. Whenever someone scores he runs up and hugs whoever else is playing to celebrate. He constantly hums some of the organ music that plays at hockey games.

He says, "right?" after most of his statements. "I woke up, right? We ate strawberries, right? I rode in the truck, right?"

His favorite book right now is The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear.

we had an accident

One of our planned activities during spring break was to visit Legoland again. We headed out one morning and only about a half an hour into our drive we had a little accident on the freeway. Luckily there were no injuries, but the other driver refused to give us her insurance information and insisted on waiting until the Police came. After sitting on the freeway for an hour Ryan finally called the police to ask them to call the lady so we could get the information and get off the freeway to somewhere safer. She finally cooperated, we pulled off the freeway (and by that time another accident had happened right in front of us), and got word that the police were not going to take a report since there were no injuries.

Needless to say, we didn't make it to Legoland. The kids were surprisingly upbeat about it all, or maybe unfazed is a better word. Wesley was the only one who was upset, but only because he spilled his water when we hit. None of the boys complained about not being able to go to Legoland, and Benjamin even said, "At least we got to play the DS!", since the boys are only allowed to play it on car trips.

While we wait for the van to be fixed, I get to drive Ryan's huge truck around town. I'll be surprised if I don't get in an accident with that thing.

Santa Barbara Mission

The time has come for Alex to do his fourth grade project on one of the Missions in California. He chose to make a model of the Santa Barbara mission, so we drove out to check out the real thing one day during our two-week spring break.

Fountain built in 1807

My favorite tidbit from the tour was that the architecture of the Mission signifies the fact that it is named after a female Saint.

Alex found this plaque in the cemetery paying tribute to the woman who inspired the book The Island of the Blue Dolphins. Alex's class read the book and watched the movie this year.

A canal for washing the laundry.