Drayden's 2nd Birthday

It's hard to believe our baby is already 2. Time goes by so fast and at the same time it seems like Drayden has been in our lives forever. At 2 years old he is such a character and is so animated. He loves to play guys (action figures) with his brother or by himself (especially if he has some of his brothers guys). He is still a mommy's boy and still has his mom wrapped around his little finger. He is talking more and more every day and most of it we can actually understand. He still loves Disney Cars, Spiderman, Ninja Turtles, and Elmo. We love Drayden so much and are blessed to have him in our lives!!! Happy birthday Drayden!

The Birthday Boy

Opening his gifts with mom

Playing with his guys

Oak Glen

Last Saturday we all decided to take a drive up to Oak Glen and look around. Much to the kids' disappointment there wasn't any snow to play in. So instead we walked around and looked in the different shops. My favorite shop is definitely the candy store. I have to go in there every time I am up there and this time was no exception. We probably spent way too much money on candy too. We bought fudge, chocolate covered pretzels, chocolate covered gummie bears, candy corn etc. etc. When we saw Krista eating a block of cheese on a stick everyone wanted one so we all ran back into the store and bought one. Next we walked up and let Kaleb and Austin jump in a bouncer. Drayden was supposed to go in but he chickened out and played in a pile of leaves with my mom instead. Then Selena took him on a train ride that he wasn't too sure about at first but I think he liked it in the end. Austin and Kaleb thought it was cool that the conductor let them ring the bell. After that we went and watched a gun fight that they put on. Drayden didn't like it when they shot their guns so we left to go eat more candy while the rest of the gang watched the show.

Kaleb & Austin

Checking out the shops

Austin was amazed at what he called a tree made out of a pencil

Austin, Drayden, Brad & Kaleb in jail

JR & Selena in jail

Selena & Drayden on the train

Kaleb & Austin in the train

Bam & Drayden playing in the leaves

Dad & Brad waiting for the train

Krista enjoying her cheese

Thanksgiving

This year we had Thanksgiving dinner at our house. Selena, Krista, and my mom spent hours preparing for what turned out to be a wonderful meal. I ate so much I thought I was going to explode. When five minutes passed and I hadn't exploded I decided to eat some home made pie. We had pumpkin and some of the best apple pie I have ever had. The only thing missing was a little scoop of vanilla icecream on top. Yum! After dinner we went over to Selena's dad's house to take some pictures and spend some time with family over there. We always have a good time when we get together. All in all I think it turned out to be great day and having my mom with us added to a long list of things to be thankful for.

Brad initiates prayer at the kids table

The boys enjoying their dinner

Drayden chowing down

The big kids enjoying their turkey

Halloween

This year for Halloween our church held a Hallelujah Harvest. Kids were able to walk around the parking lot to all of the decorated cars and get candy. There was also a lot of fun and games inside that the kids could play and win more candy. Taneal and Fernando brought Tony along so the boys could trick or treat together. After all they were Maverick and Iceman from Top Gun. Kaleb was dressed up as a ninja and I was an IT guy (your IT superhero). We all had a blast and it was also nice to see friends that we haven't seen in a while.

Kaleb & Drayden getting candy

Tony, Drayden & Kaleb

Thinking about his candy

Maverick & Iceman

Ninja candy

Drayden & Kaleb

Drayden showing his smile

Ninja revealed

IT guy & the Ninja

JR & Kaleb

Austin's Birthday Party

To celebrate Austin's 13th birthday this year Krista and Rick threw him a Halloween costume party. Almost everyone that showed up was wearing a costume. There were cupcakes, candy, snacks, and of course Rick's traditional Halloween chili. Which suprisingly didn't engulf my mouth in flames this year. Drayden spent most of his time near the candy dishes eating all of Krista's pumpkin candies.

The birthday boy

Austin

Drayden & Brad

James

Kaleb

Drayden & his candy

James, Austin, & Kaleb

JR

For the Love of Root Beer

For the majority of my life I believed there were only three different kinds of root beer in the world: A&W, Dad's, and Mug. I knew there were other small brands but these were the "big 3" in my life. My favorite of the three being A&W then Dad's. I didn't really care too much for Mug. I found this funny because after all root beer is root beer, right? Wrong. Thanks to my father-in-law my eyes have been opened. He introduced me to a little shop in Idyllwild that sells little known or hard to find sodas. It is a wonderful place. I never knew I could spend so much time browsing different kinds of sodas. Among these bottles you will find many brands of root beer. All claiming their taste is the best. Some are award winners, some aren't brown in color, and some have offensive labels. My goal is to compile a list of the many different brands and give a review of them. I have taken it upon myself to set out and taste them all. I will travel the four corners of the earth (via internet) to find them if I have to. I will put the award winners to the test to see if they live up to the hype. Why do it you ask? Because somewhere out there is a person that wants to know if there really is a difference between A&W and Thomas Kemper. I feel that it is my God given duty to enlighten them. That and I just really love root beer. The list will start off slow because I only plan on listing them as I try them. As the list builds if you don't see one show up that you like or want reviewed feel free to let me know the name and where it is sold or better yet send me a bottle. I am always happy to read your comments and get feedback or hear your favorite root beer stories. Remember your opinions will be held in the highest respect as long as they don't conflict with mine. After all this is my blog and that gives me absolute power.

Faithful Companion

JoeBear

1994-2007

Metal Detecting

Rick and I went metal detecting again the other day. I thought for sure we were going to find something good this time because I had been doing a lot of research and had a few new techniques to try out. Well, the new techniques didn't work that well and all I found was two quarters, two dimes, a nickel, and two spent bullet casings. Not the kind of loot I was expecting. At this rate it will take me sixteen and a half years to make back what my metal detector cost me. Rick didn't fare much better either this time so I think next time we are going to try our luck at the beach.

Student of the Month

Kaleb was named student of the month at his school for the second time. I had a parent/teacher conference with his teacher and he had nothing but pleasant things to say about him. He said Kaleb always spends his time wisely an completes his class work on time (now if we could only get him to do that with his homework). He also said he has only had to correct Kaleb for talking in class one time. That is amazing in itself because that kid talks more than anyone we know. His teacher also gave me his report card and he got straight A's which means he made honor roll again. We are so proud of him and it makes us very happy that he loves school so much.