Welcome Little One!

A huge welcome to our new nephew, Isaac Brodmerkle. He was born on September 29th at 7:46 in the evening. He weighed 7 pounds, 11 ounces, and was 20 inches long. My big sister, Pauline, did an amazing job and as you can see, big sister Olivia is in heaven!
Congratulations to Auntie Pauline, Uncle Howie and cousin Olivia!

Match, Set, Point

We have spent the last three weeks on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons at the local Tennis Center adjoining the Rec Center for Ben's tennis lessons. The first day of class was a little rough as I had to wake both boys from their rests to get to the 3:30 lesson. Sam is usually pretty good about having his sleep cut short but Ben is just the opposite.....a bear to deal with. And of course, after days of resting for no more than an hour and a half, the first day of lessons Ben was still sleeping after two and a half hours! When we arrived at the courts, Ben's buddy Drew was already warming up with their teacher Kim. It took a full fifteen minutes and Sam's attempt to go out on the court with Ben's racquet to kick Ben into gear and get the lesson going.

After just four of the six total lessons, the improvement was drastic! It's true that Ben and Drew are goofy little boys but they also love to be active and play games. They both have pretty mellow personalities and are very comfortable with each other. They had swim lessons together all summer too and it's been nice for me to catch up with Drew's mom, Kelly, during the lessons.

Coach Kim is an incredibly patient person. She somehow manages to keep the boys focused with games and silly phrases. The one downfall is that Sam is too young, yet again, to really enjoy the time. Although he did love watching the big boys, flirting with Kelly, and helping pick up the balls at the end of the lessons.

A happy tennis player.

Ben making contact with the ball.....

...and over the net it goes!

Coach Kim and Ben watching Drew send one over the net too.

Longing....

Drew filling up his "ice cream cone" to clean up the court.

See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil

What else do you do when your three year-old insists on having his picture taken? Well, he is a monkey after all so why not have him depict the Three Wise Monkeys?

Mizaru

Kikazaru

Iwazaru

September Snapshots

September seemed to come and go with lots happening and not nearly enough time to blog it all. We began the month with our part-time neighbors, Steven and Jackie, in town with their dog Ruby. Sam used to be pretty cautious of Ruby but now he loves playing with her as long as she doesn't get too rambunctious. Ben, on the other hand, takes playing to a whole new level. He and Ruby run, chase, play catch, and are attached at the hip. Ben adores Ruby and she seems to have similar sentiments about him. We would love to have a dog of our own but our home just isn't big enough. We consider Steve and Jackie to be the best possible kind of neighbors (despite only being here part-time). They are kind, welcoming, and love our kids. Whenever we go outside the boys always have to check to see if Steve and Jackie's truck is outside and if it is we have to stop by and say hello. And if their truck isn't in the driveway, then the boys call up to the deck to see if Ruby is home.

When they are in town we take walks with Steve and Jackie, play outside, play inside, have dinners together and generally hang out. Ben even helped Steve install some shelves in one of their closets which led to the boys "building" on their own. Despite the rough economy there are several construction sites around town including one just down the road from us. There is always a pile of small pieces of lumber that have been discarded. The boys find them perfect for hammering.


In general, September has been a lot of fun and I have at least three more separate blog posts to sum it all up.

Ben and Ruby

The work crew.

The job foreman.

Jackie loves Sam!

Ben dressed himself up as a fireman - sometimes it's best not to ask.

Me too! (If I take a picture of Ben then I can't forget Sam)

Brian at the Sheriff's Station Open House.

The ladder on the fire department's ladder truck.

Ben was very proud of the strings he cut to tie between the power poles.

Running a railroad is exhausting!

Sam at a recent "Little Twigs" playgroup.

I noticed there are very few photos of me in our blog because I am the one behind the lens. So, here's one of me still the photographer but on the other side of the lens.

Happy 50th birthday, North Lake Tahoe Fire!

Ben ready to go for a spin - check out those boots!

Daddy and Ben admiring one of the wildland crew carriers.

Sam at the wheel of an engine....not a truck.

Ben with Sparky the fire dog.

A couple of weekends ago we helped our local fire department celebrate its 50th birthday. They opened up the main fire station for an open house and held a barbecue for the community. The boys were most enthralled with the trucks/engines....obviously. By the way, not all fire trucks are engines nor are all fire engines fire trucks. It all has to do with water and ladders. Ladders = trucks, and water pumping = engines. I'm sure it's technically more complicated than that but that's the best way to explain it to a three year-old. Ben and Sam are the kids who can hear a siren a millisecond after it first begins and can track the wail until they see the passing truck. Whenever we drive from home to Raley's we MUST go past the fire station to see if any trucks are out and if they are we have to slow down to count them all. Ben continuously wears his fireman's helmet and informed me recently that we need to make him a fire fighter's jacket to go with his new rain boots which just so happen to look like fireman's boots.

We are so lucky to have such a kind group of men and women in our community who are dedicated to protecting the citizens and structures. No matter where we see the firefighters, they always take a moment to say hello to the boys.

Labor Day 2009 Recap

The following four posts will catch you up on our recent Labor Day adventures. Enjoy!

Labor Day Friday - Build-a-Bear

All finished and ready to go!

Ben giving his puppy a bath.

Sam loves Poofy Bear!

On Friday, September 4th, Sam and I picked Ben up at preschool, grabbed a couple of things from home, stopped by Brian's office for hugs and kisses, then headed down the mountain for a weekend in the Bay Area with Auntie Beth and Uncle Pete.

The boys were angelic in the car, both sleeping, and treating each other politely. We made it nearly 3 hours before we stopped in Dixon to use the bathroom and have a snack before continuing on the last 20 minutes to meet Auntie outside Travis Air Force Base when she finished her school day. I had told the boys that Auntie had a surprise for them after we picked her up.

The anticipation was obvious when a co-worker of Auntie's dropped her off with us. She played it up to Ben and Sam as we made our way through Fairfield to the mall and the Build-A-Bear store. The boys were thrilled to pick out their own animals and watch them being filled with stuffing. After each had put a red satin heart into their new friends (a bear for Sam and a puppy for Ben) they continued on to bathe their friends in an air bath then choose clothes. They both dressed their animals in little Oakland A's t-shirts in the spirit of the game we were going to attend on Sunday. Auntie also found little tool belts for each animal. Sam named his Bear "Poofy Bear" and Ben named his puppy "Benny."

With their new animals in special boxes we left the store and made our way to Uncle Pete in Benicia. After dinner we loaded Sam into his stroller and Ben rode his glide bike while we walked down Second Street toward the water of the Carquinas Strait and then back up First Street where we stopped for ice cream before heading home to bed.

Let the weekend begin!!!

Labor Day Saturday - Sonoma Train Town

Welcome to Sonoma Train Town!

Sam, Sarah, and I enjoying the train ride.

Sam loved riding the carousel horses.


Ben and Auntie Beth on the carousel.

Ben with one of the engines.

Our new friends Evan and Jacob.

Potty-training?

Saturday morning turned out to be warm and breezy and the perfect day to head over to Sonoma to check out Train Town. Train Town is "a one and one-quarter mile scale railroad adventure with narrow gauge train replicas." It is a little boy's wonderland complete with train rides, a replica town, petting zoo, and carnival rides including a Ferris wheel, roller coaster, and carousel.

Uncle Pete, Auntie Beth, the boys and I were joined by the George family - Hudson, Sarah, Evan and Jacob. I've known Huddie and Sarah since I was a student at Humboldt State. Pete was roommates with Huddie and I played along with Beth, Sarah and Huddie on an intramural softball game for a couple of semesters. Huddie and Sarah weren't a couple back then but obviously things worked out for the best - they have been married for several years now and their two boys are 5 and 3. They also live in Benicia.

Ben, Sam , Evan and Jacob had a great time making their way around Train Town. And all the boys seemed to get along well too. Evan seemed to like being in the biggest kid position and was a helper to all the littler boys. Ben was even more willing to try out the rides because Evan was doing them.

The outing was not only fun for the kids but also a great chance for me to catch up with Sarah and Huddie whom I literally had not seen since college.

We all had lunch in downtown Sonoma where the kids had fun sharing and trading food with each other. After a gelato to top us off we headed back to Benicia for a much needed nap. Day one complete!

Labor Day Sunday - Let's Go Oakland!

Pure joy!

The view from our seats - Ben's hairstyle is the result of him applying his own sunscreen.



Ichiro Suzuki getting his 2000th career hit!!

Congrats to an amazing athlete.

Sam giving Auntie some love after she gave him a blue ring pop.

Tired boy.

The A's mascot, Stomper.

A happy crew after an A's win!

Ben running the bases with Auntie.

Sam was so worn out he missed his chance to go down on the field.

Mid-morning on Sunday, September 6th, we got ourselves decked out in our Oakland Athletics team gear and piled into the car. Uncle Pete dropped us off at the BART station in Walnut Creek so Auntie Beth, Ben, Sam and I could ride the train to the game in Oakland. Uncle Pete continued on to Oakland in the car so we would have it to get back home. He was accompanied by Ben's new Build-A-Bear puppy who was also decked out in an A's t-shirt and safely buckled into Ben's car seat.

Ben and Sam enjoyed using the tickets to open the gates to the station. We waited just a couple of minutes and our train arrived. I think in both boys' eyes all trains should be steam engines like the ever popular Thomas the Tank Engine but they didn't seem disappointed in the least to be riding an electric train instead. Ben loved looking out the windows at the buildings streaming by and was intrigued with the tunnels. After a handful of stops we had to switch trains to continue in the right direction to Oakland. In no time at all we found ourselves in the masses headed to the Coliseum to take in the ball game between Oakland and the Seattle Mariners.

We met up with Uncle Pete at the gate and were handed blue and white baseball caps that were replicas of the 1920's Philadelphia A's. We continued on and located our seats on the second deck, just to the left of home plate. We were pleased to see that despite being in the sun when we arrived, by game time we were completely shaded and left to enjoy the game without the need for continuous sunscreen application. As the national anthem was sung and Sam took in everything I could see that he was going to enjoy his first ever major league baseball game.

The first batter of the game came to the plate and you could feel the anticipation of the crowd. It was Ichiro Suzuki and he was just one hit away from his 2000th career hit. Let's just say that we saw history in the making as Ichiro took a swing and the ball sailed into left-center field. He was able to make it to second base and was rewarded with a standing ovation from Seattle and Oakland fans alike. Always courteous and humble, Ichiro removed his batting helmet and waved to the crowd in appreciation. It still gives me goosebumps just remembering it. What a memory for the boys!

After a couple of innings and a couple of cheese pizzas devoured by the boys, Auntie Beth, the boys and I headed to Stomper's Fun Zone where Ben and Sam took their fun zone passports from one activity to the next to earn a prize at the end. They got to take some swings in the batting cage, throw some pitches, kick a soccer ball toward a goal, and get temporary tattoos. After all these tasks both boys were rewarded with Oakland A's backpacks.

We returned to our seats after missing a couple more innings and found Oakland and Seattle were tied at one run apiece. Seattle scored another run in the sixth inning but it didn't seem so bad considering that Oakland was able to keep six total base runners stranded on the bases.

The boys enthusiastically sang along to "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh inning stretch and were overjoyed when Oakland was able to get multiple base runners in the bottom of the seventh inning. It was only appropriate that Hairston, 4th in the lineup and the cleanup batter, came up to bat with the bases loaded. He unleashed on the ball and brought in four runs with his grand slam!!!! I know I was excited but it was magical to see the happiness of a true baseball fan written all over Ben's face!

The rest of the game was rather uneventful except for Sam and I bumping into Stomper, the A's team mascot, when returning from the bathroom. I was bummed that Ben wasn't with us and that I didn't have a camera to catch the moment. Luckily, Auntie and Ben returned from their outing to get a bit more to eat and were able to catch up with Stomper right as the game ended. Oakland put it in the books after just 2 hours and 20 minutes with a score of 5 to 2.

Like many other families with kids at the game we made our way down to the field so the boys could join other kids to run the bases. We had to wait long enough in line that Sam fell asleep in his stroller and missed the fun but Ben and Auntie ran together and came back to Uncle Pete, Sam and I full of smiles.

As we made our way to the car loaded down with hats, backpacks, pennants, and shirts for the boys we were all exhausted but content because any day in a ball park is better than a day almost anywhere else.

Labor Day Monday - Kite Flying 101

Pre-kite-flying picnic.

Ben assisting Auntie Beth and Uncle Pete.

Flying it all by himself!


Who needs kites when there's dirt?

Sam wearing a pair of shades originally intended for one of Kayla's stuffed animals.

After spending the entire weekend out and about we decided that our last day in Benicia should be a little more low-key. After a couple of morning errands we put together a picnic lunch and headed down to the water of the Carquinas Strait to fly kites. Amazingly, the boys actually took the time to eat before wanting to jump right into the kite flying.

Ben had a great time helping Uncle Pete and Auntie Beth get the kites airborne then held on by himself. Sam was less enthusiastic about the kites and chose to play in the dirt instead. It wasn't an incredibly windy day but breezy enough to get both a rainbow kite and a sea turtle kite soaring overheard without much difficulty.

We ended the day with a barbecue with Pete's parents, Pete and Dorothy (also known to the kids as Bumma and Papa). I enjoyed catching up with Dorothy and talking about recent books we've read. She insisted that after Papa dropped her off at home that he bring her copy of "World Without End" by Ken Follett back to me. In our discussion we found that both of us loved "Pillars of the Earth" and she assured me that this companion book was equally intriguing.