Ben vs. golf club

I got the dreaded phone call from Ben's teacher. "Hi Shawna, you know how we took the class out to the golf course today..."

Well, it seems that Ben walked behind someone just as they brought the club back to swing and it hit him in the face. When I got to the school to pick him up, I was shocked at how he looked. I immediately took him to our family doctor, and they were so nice to fit us right in. Dr. Farr examined him and sent us to the hospital for a CT scan. The results are in...orbital blowout fracture. In plain English that means he has several broken bones around his eye. His cheekbone was severely impacted as well. He will be needing surgery after the swelling subsides. Keep him in your prayers.

Carve away!!!!

Haley had no problem digging in to clean out her pumpkin.
Grandpa and Grandma had fun with their pumpkin.
Hannah does a good impersonation!
Haley's pumpkin was SO thick Russ had to get out the power tools!
The finished product.
Hannah, Haley and Ben proudly display their pumpkins.....

You gotta love a good pumpkin patch!

The cow thought it could get some milk from Haley's finger.
Enter the corn maze at your own risk!
Ben and Hannah got hungry wandering through the maze.
Hannah cheated a little to find her way out.
The children posed with their specially picked pumpkins.

It's soccer time!!

Ben loves to play soccer, and he takes it very seriously. He is very competitive! He has played AYSO soccer on their VIP league for 5 years. He loves to score goals, and when he does, he performs some rather unique victory dances out on the field.

Go Ben!!

Emily turns 16!!!

Happy Birthday to Emily! A beautiful young woman, both inside and out!

Emily went to Shafter to take her driving test. Rumor has it that it is easier to pass out there. Well, Emily passed with flying colors, and that's all that matters. She came home very excited, and ready to wash the Excursion. Her "cool" set of wheels. What more could she ask for? A cute little convertible VW Bug, perhaps? No way. The Excursion is the coolest car around, just ask Allison. She got to drive it while she was in high school too. This whole experience has given mom a few new gray hairs, but she'll survive, and eventually it will get to the point where she is rather thankful to have another driver in the house.

Drive safe!!

Beach trip

You figure it out!!!!

Haley and Hannah couldn't get enough of the waves.

Here's proof that even old people enjoy boogie boarding!!!

Ben enjoyed digging holes with the shovel.
The girls at Moro rock in Moro Bay.
We had a great time exploring caves, hunting little crabs and playing in the water.  It was pretty cold...good thing we found a wet suit rental place.  That really saved the day.  The hotel was awesome. Lighthouse suites in Pismo.  We played alot of ping pong, badminton, and life sized checkers.

Camping in the Sequoias

If you look very carefully at the top of the rock you can see people.  This is Morro Rock, and yes, we climbed to the very top.  The path was narrow and steep.  451 stairs to the top.
The view from the top....AWESOME!!!
Now that is a big tree.  The car seems so small in comparison.
We had a great time climbing all around Grizzly Falls.
Emily found a snake and decided to have a snack.
This is an awesome fallen hollow tree that we climbed through inside and out.
Grandpa and Grandma Judd joined us for part of our trip.  The sequoias are so tall and beautiful.


There were great climbing rocks all around the campground
Haley and Hannah spent much of their time burning sticks in the campfire.
So what did you notice first, the dirt or the marshmallows?!

Ben chopped all of our wood for the campfire...Not!!! But he did have fun swinging the hatchet.

We have decided that camping in the sequoias needs to be an annual event.  We had a fabulous weekend in the mountains amongst the tall trees.  What made the weekend even better was the running water and the flush-able toilets!!!