Joshua turned three on Saturday.

He was happy to get a motorcycle. When we drove to California he noticed many motorcycles. He is planning on buying one when he is older (and a 4 wheeler and a blue backhoe).
Joshua enjoyed opening a new scooter. Now the boys all have their own.

Joshua likes his scooter so much his tongue is sticking out. What a cute boy!

California!!
We left for California the day after school got out. The drive down went well and we made good time, arriving at Michael and Candy's house in Glendora at dinner time. It was great to have a nice place to stay with generous hosts.

We went to Huntington Beach the next day. Here is Allison, Eli and Ethan playing in the ocean. It was the first time the two little boys have been to the ocean. The other kids haven't been in almost seven years. Cherilyn and Allison spent hours out deep getting hit by waves. Erica enjoyed standing in the waves and letting the water push against her. Ethan and Eli liked running from the waves and standing in them to get wet. Joshua liked to run into the water then back up to our chairs and towels then into the water and back up to our seats. The boys also "surfed" on the sand. We built small sand castles and dug pools. We like the ocean! We took a break from the beach on Sunday. It gave us time to heal our sunburns. (We did use sunscreen, but Cherilyn and I still burnt.)

We also took a break on Thursday. We went to a local movie theater and saw Kung Fu Panda 2, which everyone enjoyed. We also went out to dinner. Chile's is now the kid's new favorite restaurant. Here we are finishing dinner.

This picture is taken at Crystal Cove State Park. Charles is jumping with a seaweed jumprope swung by Allison and Ethan. We went to this beach three days. It was not very busy, a little less windy and very pretty. Crystal Cove also had some tidepools and cool rocks to climb on. One day we saw a seal sunning on the rocks.

On our last day, Friday, we spent 7 1/2 hours at the beach. Joshua took a nap on the beach. We read, walked on the beach, climbed on rocks, threw the frisbee and got wet. We lost two shoes, a frisbee and Erica's glasses in the ocean. We were worn out and ready to be home by Sunday evening when we got there. It was a good trip.

Summer Activities

Even before school got out we got started on our summer plans.

Ethan started baseball (coach pitch) and loves playing for the Athletics. He was disappointed that his two first games were rained out. We have had a wet, cool spring.

Eli started T-ball a few weeks later.

Joshua decided to be potty-trained. Yes, he is a very independent boy and he made the decision. He came to me one day a few weeks ago and said "I'm about to pee." I asked if he wanted to go on the toilet. He said yes and he did it. He was rewarded with candy. We have only had a few minor clean-ups. When Joshua decides what he wants, he sticks to it, especially if he gets candy.

The girls were all very glad for school to be out. They have set some goals for the summer. Cherilyn earned a 4.0 through the whole year, which was her goal at the beginning of the school year.

We started our garden in early May after the last frost. Some things have started growing (onions, strawberries and raspberries), others are slower and some we have replanted. I read Square Foot Gardening in early spring and was inspired to put more effort into the garden this year. I hope our work turns out productive.