BYU v. Notre Dame

My Dad took me to the BYU-Notre Dame game last Saturday in South Bend.  It was a ton of fun, but what I liked most was just being in some cold weather.  It was 89 degrees when I left San Antonio, and 43 when I landed in Chicago.  It was so nice!  As for the game itself, I really enjoyed the first half and the carved turkey sandwich I got at halftime (those midwesterners sure know their food!).  The rest, well, not as fun.

In front of Touchdown Jesus (officially known as "The Word of Life")

On Notre Dame campus in what must be my official pose (hands in pockets, body slightly angled from camera)

I took this picture just to prove we were tied at one point

I took this picture to prove we were winning at one point.  I didn't take any more pictures.

Summer in San Antonio

People told us the weather in San Antonio was nice. After living here for two years, we have come to the conclusion that all those people were either from Greenland or northern Sweden.  The weather here is decidedly not nice.  The weather here is hot.  Really hot.  And the days it's not blistering hot, it's still humid.  So literally every day this summer (summer being March through still ongoing) my family went to the pool.  Every day.  In fact, just last week, my wife was yelling at our neighbor because she told Lorein the pool was closed, so Lorein didn't go even though it was hot.  It turns out the pool is not yet closed.  The summer did give our boys a chance to get a good tan and try out some sunglasses poses though.

       

It was pretty much a shirtless summer

Carter took swimming lessons, while Caleb learned on his own

             

                                  

Summers are for being cool

And for laying out with a nice snack.

A couple videos

This kid can move!

In my opinion, Carter was definitely the star of the primary program.

Triumphant Return!

Just so you know, our year-long hiatus from the blogosphere had nothing to do with laziness.  It was an elaborate plot to leave you aching for more so that we could come back most triumphantly.  All in all, though, it's not like we had a very exciting year.  I mean, so we moved at Thanksgiving for the third time in three years?  So I was promoted from "Trial Counsel" to "Chief of Military Justice"?  So Caleb turned one?  So Carter turned four?  So Lorein told me I can't do the dishes anymore because I'm too slow and made me take over giving the boys baths instead?  So what.  If we had blogged about any of that, you all would have stopped reading.  Hence the need for a getaway and a chance to regenerate some creative juices.  In order to come back with a bang, here are some pics and videos of Carter and Caleb, since I know that's all you care about.

 With the peacocks at The Quadrangle

Caleb quickly learned to love Costco

And is getting good at relaxing

All this attention on Caleb made Carter jealous though.  He realized he was going to have to do something drastic to make us take pictures of him too.  Fortunately, Carter is a very intelligent, creative child, and so quickly came up with a solution . . . he cut his hair.

Caleb was less than thrilled

In fact, he thought it was downright weird

But Carter looked so dang good . . .

 That Caleb decided it was time to accessorize too.

The Pumpkin Patch

It's down to 87 degrees now, which means, of course, that it's finally fall!  The leaves are changing from dead (thanks to the 6 month long drought) to green; the morning air is brisk; Lorein's making roast for dinner tomorrow; and the pumpkin patch is stocked and ready to delight.  As you can see, Caleb was excited for his first Halloween.  I'm sure he's looking forward to sticking his hand into that Jack-o-lantern's guts and immediately putting whatever he scoops out into his mouth.

Carter found a pumpkin just his size.  He's also at this fantastic stage where he's constantly making faces.  Lorein thinks it's annoying, but it makes me laugh.  Lorein says he's learning it all at preschool.  She says he's a total ham, that he's always trying to get the other kids to look at him.  Last class, one of the girls told him his face wasn't funny and Carter replied, "Yes it is."  Then they got into a fight.

 
Welcome Fall!  And Carter displaying his go-to funny face, which he learned from "The New Baby" by Mercer Mayer.

 
Now that's a picture for a fall catalog.


 They had a great little train pulled by a riding lawnmower.  And it was free!  If there's one good thing about leaving California, it's that we're always pleasantly surprised when things end up being free.

 
 We bought two small pumpkins for Carter and Caleb and then a bigger one to carve.  It ended up being $8 even.  Like I said, there are a few advantages to leaving California.

 
They also had a great (free!) hayride.  Caleb really liked the hay part.
 

 
 It was a fun day.  Maybe in a month or so we'll actually have to be in pants and a sweatshirt.

Natural Bridge Safari

My mom and dad came to visit last weekend. As you can see from their t-shirts and general glumness, Carter and Caleb were going through some heavy "papa" withdrawals.

I had to go to Charlottesville all week for some JAG training, but that didn't stop the rest of my family from having a ton of fun. On Monday, they went to the Natural Bridge Safari Park. I guess if there's one good thing about Texas, they don't stop you from getting up close and personal with the animals. Take that San Diego Wild Animal Park! (Note to Wild Animal Park: that was a joke. I have nothing against your conservationist, environmentally-friendly bent. Please don't take away my membership!)

Now that's a family!

On a related note, I came home to find three big scratches down the side of the truck. My mom says it's from the Dairy Queen Drive-Thru though, not from enraged animals.

First day of school! (sort of)

Carter started preschool last week. There's a group of five women or so that are doing it. Each month, they trade of teaching. Right now, it's our next door neighbor. My favorite part is that Carter calls her "Miss Melanie." He even saw her today playing the organ during church, and he shouted "Daddy, there's Miss Melanie!"

Showing off his sweet backpack (it's Thomas the Train).

As you can see, he's learning a lot. Well, at least all the important letters :)