Saturday, August 30, 2008

The beach and other stuff

Last weekend we took a trip to Pacific Beach with 11 other families. The weather was great (for the coast) and we all had a great time. Caeden thought this girl needed a hat like his: The guys playing bocce ball:
Trey and Becks making a sand pit with Eli:
It's never a boring trip with Jeff Allen. Some kind of hawk was trying to snatch our snacks so he held up a Cheeto (is that really how you spell it?) to see if he would come close enough to bite it out of his hand:
The hawk circled around for a few minutes but never worked up the courage, so Rick decided to sneak up on him:

A few weeks ago Beckham, Caeden and I went to visit my grandparents in Shelton while Carson and Trey were at scout camp. My grandpa has Alzheimer's and is in a nursing home, so my grandma took us to see him and then took us out to Denny's for dinner. When we got to the nursing home, Caeden took one look at my grandpa and burst into tears. I was mortified but there was nothing I could do - I was holding him and telling him it was okay in a happy voice but he kept peeking around my shoulder at my grandpa and screaming again. Beckham saved the day by being totally comfortable and making everyone feel better, including me. I wanted to take pictures with him but of course Caeden would have nothing to do with it. Grandpa kept shading his face since he was looking into the sun, and Beckham copied him:
Here's my grandma with Caeden, notice the wary look in my grandpa's direction:
Speaking of Caeden, he has been exquisitely adorable and unbearably frustrating at the same time lately. He is just at that age. I almost forgot that Trey and Becks figured out how to get out of their cribs at 19 months until Caeden did the same thing right on cue. At least he didn't launch himself out onto his head like Beckham did, but then again, Caeden is not the average height and weight for a 3-year old at 1 1/2. But he can climb out now and will not stay in that thing for one minute. So we did what all good parents do (right?) and put a doorhandle on his room that locks from the outside to keep him in, just like we did for the other two. He is such an impossible little stinker. He throws fits and says "NO!" and hits his brothers at the slightest provocation. He hates being in time out but it doesn't seem to be improving his behavior. And he has ruined so many surfaces in our new home from his constant banging with whatever he can get his hands on, I don't even want to think about it. The flip side is that he can be irresistable, playing peek-a-boo, speaking in his high little voice, always wanting to ride bikes and play outside. He has sparkly eyes and an impish grin and is as mischevious as he is short-tempered. We love him to pieces.
And last, I finally read the Twilight series, all 4 books in 10 days (yes, my house is dirty) and I loved it. What a great story!

8 comments:

Ronda said...

Very cute. I do remember those days. Someday you will miss them. I just love taking my boys to the beach. That is our very favorite thing to do. That's what we do for all of our vacations. The boys love playing in the waves, the bigger the better. They love surfing too. And it's so relaxing to not have to be anywhere at any certain time, and fighting crowds. Of course we like the warmer oceans in Hawaii, and Mexico much better than ours.

lucy said...

I was deathly afraid of my grandpa (mother's side) when I was younger, did everything I could to avoid him. So this experience brings back funny/scary memories. When he misbehaves next time, threaten him that you'll take him back to great grandpas ;0).

Bennett Family said...

great post! i feel your pain. i have an adorable but often impossible toddler at my house too. :)

the Kargis Family said...

Sounds like a fun time at the beach. We'd love to join you all some time. I can't believe your baby is so old now. Where does the time go?

Jodee said...

Wow Risa, way to go! those books are looong too, but I agree, a fun story! I always love reading about your boys, it makes me feel a little better about my crazy 2 year old! You are such a great mom, sometimes I am not sure how you do it but I think you were meant to have all those boys, not many moms could.

Jolley Family said...

What a sweet story! It does get better, only their fits turn into teenagitis, that's what we call it around here. Some days they are the most wonderful boys who want to have a real conversation and the next, they act like they can't stand to be around you or want to talk to you. Boys are funny! I feel for you on the destruction of the house! When we moved into our house, I was the "floor" nazi! I freaked out if I even thought anyone was scratching the floors! I've calmed down a lot I think and I guess some day I'll refinish them! I just finished 2 of the twilight books and I'm dying to start the others but I loaned them out and Julie is still on the 3rd book so I have to wait to read it which is a good thing since we are moving Craig's office the next couple weeks and I really shouldn't be reading when he needs me! They are addicting huh! The beach looked like great fun. We need to go along next year, it would be a great excuse to see everyone in the old ward too! We are so busy it seems that we don't get to do the fun stuff with everyone like we used to! Glad you got to go and have fun!!

galbraith's said...

ohh i miss the beach! cute pics of your boys, i only wish i was close enough to a beach to take some pics of my kids. they will just have to make do with nearby pools!

Shelley said...

I agree - that age is just incredibly cute and really challenging at the same time. So, that's why our door handles are on with the locks on the outside, huh? :) We like it that way too!