Sacramento Gold Rush Days

This was our first time attending Sacramento's Gold Rush Days and we had the best time! This kids painted with Tom Sawyer.

We rode in a REAL stage coach pulled by horses.

All of Old Town Sacramento was turned into the Gold Rush Days. There were gun fights in the streets, cannons being shot off, soldiers in suit, etc. It was awesome!

Brad sharing his candy.


Bryce making a rope.
We met up with our old friends the Marcheschi's who just moved to Sacramento and we are so excited they are close. They have three of the cutest girls! These are all the kids panning for gold. Then they took their nuggets and it was weighed and they were given a certificate.Isn't she so cute! It was fun to watch a little girl during the day.
This nice gentleman entertained all our kids for about an hour with his balloon making expertise.

And we finished off our awesome day with a ride on a REAL steam engine! This was the highlight for Brad for sure. I think the Marcheschi kids enjoyed it too. They had big smiles. And us parents were glad to sit down for 30 min.Thanks for the fun day! We will remember this one for a long time.

Third missing tooth...

Look at those brave eyes...just as we were leaving for Church this morning, Bryce's top tooth came out. He didn't even shed a tear, but had a hard time choking down the blood during the beginning of sacrament meeting. He seems so grown up. I feel like two weeks ago I took my little guy to school and when I picked him up he had changed. He was all grown up. He explained his homework to me on the way home from school and helped his brother get a snack and then encouraged his hesitant brother gain a little bit of confidence before his first swimming lesson. And it has continued over the past two weeks. I keep waiting for him to go back, but he hasn't. I am so impressed. He is such a great kid! I am so grateful he is in our family.

Our handsome Knight

Brad found a Halloween costume! I think I like it more than him. He still wants to be a ghost...

Joy School

Our house was the first place for Joy School to be held and initially Bradley was not too excited to have preschool at his house. He wanted a "School Building". I felt so bad. As a parent you always want a new experience to be just right. The first day was a little rocky, but the second day we met the kids had a great time. They loved singing the songs, reading stories, doing art projects, playing with Brad's homemade playdough (which he was very proud of) and of course, free play. It is fun to see the kids interact and get excited to share a special story with you (as the teacher). We will see how Brad does this week when it is at someone else's home.

Bradley's first swimming lesson

After a summer in the water, I decided I would sign Bradley (3 years old) up for swimming lessons. Shortly before going to lessons, Bradley drew "Zebra Stripes" on his arms and legs. Zebra's are currently his favorite animals. Here are some pictures of the first day.

After his lesson, I asked him why he didn't want to stay in the water. Brad said "Because I didn't want my Zebra stripes to wash away!" What can you say to that?

First Grade!

Bryce is a first grader now! I can't believe it. He is really growing up. I was so sad the first day of school to leave him knowing he would be gone the whole day! "What if he..." thoughts ran through my head the whole day, but when I picked him up he was just as happy as when I had left him that morning. What a strange feeling to not be needed by my child. Of course that is an exaggeration, but really, he can do just fine without me most of the time now.

Our Summer - Part 3 - August

We were lucky enough to head back down to LA for one more week with our Canadian cousins where we spent most of our days in the pool or at the beach.

We had a great time and miss our lazy summer days!