Christmas with Gram & Pops

Before they left for Arizona, Gram and Pops came over for "Pizza, Presents, and Pops."  At least that's how Chase and my mom described the evening :)

We had some dinner and opened presents together.  Chase was super excited.  He made us sing Christmas carols before exchanging gifts.  He loves to sing.  And he knows some of the words to those songs... haha

Chase really wanted an orange Duplo train for Christmas.  He convinced Gram to get it for him months ago, so he knew exactly what was coming.  He even shook boxes so he'd know which box it was in.  He cracks me up.

Marcus was totally caught off guard with Legos - I'm pretty sure he's always wanted that Star Wars Lego set!

Of course we gave Gram a singing Christmas animal - this year the song was Feliz Navidad.  Chase's second favorite Christmas song, right after The Polar Express theme.

Those are all the pictures I have from our presents night, but I do have a video of Chase singing one of the songs from The Polar Express...

And a picture of Pepper and Ty playing with the favorite orange Duplo train while Chase was at school :)

Scheels

For an early Christmas present, the boys were getting some great snow boots.  I decided to take them to Scheels to try on boots a little early and then let Chase ride the ferris wheel.  Gram and Pops met us there because they wanted to get out some work out clothes.

Chase and Pops getting on the ferris wheel

I was nervous Chase would hate it because he didn't like most rides at Disneyland

Luckily this was a win!

And now, every time we pass it on the freeway, Chase points out Scheels and the ferris wheel!

Planter Box Progress

One of the first things I wanted to do was work on the front of the house, which mainly meant that planter box.  I didn't like the wood, the drain pipe, or the current state of the planter box.  A little at a time we've been working on all of those things.

The first step here involved taking out that rose bush.  It was in a weird spot, unless I wanted to have a whole rose garden going on, which I didn't.  So my dad and I (mostly my dad) pulled out the rose bush, grass, weeds, and wood, and then we got the soil ready for some more planting.

Then I started getting some plants for the back half of the planter box, and Marcus installed a drip system.

When it wasn't too hot outside, Marcus and my dad dug a hole under the sidewalk to take that drain you see on the left out to the grass - as opposed to dumping potential rain water in the planter box and on the sidewalk.  That was quite a project!  

 And here's what it looks like now:

Some plants and solar lights

And check that out - the drain pipe goes under the sidewalk and pops up in the grass.  Awesome.

They're tiny little bushes, but they've got potential.  :)
And we did get a screen door too.  Loving that!

Next step, finish planting.  And I did order a bench and a mat to go by the door.  Hopefully it will come together soon!

Oceanside

There were a lot of fun things on the calendar for this summer, and the beach was no exception.  We'd been counting down all year to a fun week in California.  Chase enjoyed jumping in the water and playing in the sand.  Ty liked exploring new things and new places - and new people.

We enjoyed some of our regular traditions, like going to Joe's Crab Shack and trying to get a quick family picture...

We also found out Ty loves pineapple

Apparently Ty drove for a bit too!

We had a minor detour on the way home.  There was a ton of traffic, and GPS gave us another route home.  But obviously someone needs to update this road because there was no way it was going to work out.  This dirt road was after a big drop from a previous dirt road.  Yeah, not a safe plan for us.

Tired boys after a week full of fun in the sun

It was another great year in Oceanside.  We're looking forward to #GardnersInCA2017 :)

Pops' Visit

Pops was able to come visit for a long weekend.  It was really fun to have him come out.

Ty had a great napping buddy

And Chase was happy to have another friend in his music class

We were able to celebrate Pops' birthday too!

The fancy Twinkie cake he bought
(for the record, I got a Junior's Cheesecake later)

Chase was happy to help with the candle

Haircut

Chase has always been difficult on the subject of haircuts.  But for some reason, Pops + Nelson's Barber Shop was the perfect combination.

Heading to Nelson's

Sitting in the chair, like a boss

The fun kid cape

Trying to decide if it's okay to have a haircut

Getting nervous

Enjoying watching Chase's haircut with his own lollipop

Holding a lollipop always helps :)

Chillin' outside supporting his new 'do

Hopefully this is the first of many successful haircuts! :)