Jedi mind tricks

My 2 year old went into the pantry and grabbed a box of cake mix.  He then came over, handed the box to me,  and said:

JACK:  Mommy, you want to make me a cake.

ME:  Ummm, no, I actually don't want to make you a cake.

JACK: You WANT to make me a cake!

ME: No, I don't think I do.

JACK: You. Want. To. Make. Me. A. Cake.


I did not bake him one, but why do I feel like I actually do want to bake a cake out of my new cake book?  I can't get the thought out of my head.  Damn his jedi mind tricks!  We are having a neighborhood potluck on Monday, so I'll probably bake one then.

Last Day of Preschool

Today is Robert's last day of preschool.    I can't believe Robert will be in kindergarten in the fall and riding the school bus by himself!   Of course, I took some photos today:

These are thank you cards that Robert and I made for his teachers. 

I also made monogrammed hand sanitizers.

Here is a close-up.  The hardest part was removing the label from the bottle, but Goo-Gone helped a lot.  I am not crafty at all; I got the idea from this blog:   http://www.theidearoom.net/

After we dropped Robert off at preschool, we headed to their chapel and waited for all the students to arrive with the teachers.  Jack likes to hang out with Drew and Keira before chapel starts.

The kids arrive.  Robert always walks into chapel waving to EVERYONE, not just me.

The theme of the last chapel was Rainbows.

Here are the kids leaving...

And finally, a picture of Robert on his last day of preschool for our photo album:  

California!

This past weekend, Robert and I flew to Hermosa Beach, CA to visit Aunt Christine, Uncle Jeff, Ryan and Ellie. 

Alex and Jack stayed home.  There is no way I'm going to fly 5+ hours on a crowded airplane with a 2 year old!

We started our day off in California by buying fresh strawberries at the farmers market.  Here is a picture of cousins Ryan and Robert enjoying the fruit:

Then, we headed to the beach...

Ryan & Robert

My adorable niece, Ellie Grace.

Robert.  The water was a freezing 57 degrees, or something like that.  We had fun letting the waves hit our feet.  But then, Robert fell all the way in the water:

Robert was soaking wet, but that didn't stop him from having fun.

Cousins flying a kite

Robert flying his Transformers kite.

I love this picture.  He is watching the surfers wipe out in the waves.

Robert couldn't stop telling Ellie how beautiful and cute she was.  He even kissed her feet!

Robert and Ellie playing with the train.

On Sunday, we went to the aquarium in Long Beach.

Ryan, Robert, Uncle Jeff and Ellie are looking for stingrays.

Robert

Ellie watching a huge stingray swim past the window.

Then we headed outside to pet the stingrays and watch the sea lions play.

Of course, the sharks are always fun to watch.

Cute photo of the two boys with their balloons:



We had a great time visiting my sister and her family.  Robert told me each night before bed that he loved California and wanted to stay here until August.  We can't wait to go back!

The boys' first camping trip

On Saturday, we drove down to cousin Whit's house for some strawberry picking and camping.  But first, Robert took his two girl friends out to Subway for lunch.  They were so excited to be sitting at the table with the tall chairs.




It was sprinkling at the strawberry patch, but we managed to pick all our strawberries before the rain started to pour.

Jack running around, looking for red strawberries

Robert wanted to show off his "perfect" pick

Cousin Whit had to show that he knew how to pick the perfect red strawberry, too

Whit and Jack, picking strawberries

Aunt Michelle and Uncle John

Guilty!  The boys couldn't resist the juicy strawberries and ate while they were supposed to be picking.

Whit, Robert and Jack

Later that night, we had s'mores for dessert.

Whit and Robert, once again trying to make a silly picture by putting crayons in their ears

After s'mores, it was time to get ready for camping in the backyard.  Robert loves his new sleeping bag.

Storytime in the tent.  Jack decided to sleep inside the house with me because it was "too dark!".  The boys had fun camping, until a big thunderstorm arrived around 2am. 

Preschool picnic

On Friday, Robert's preschool had a class picnic.  Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate and we had to have it indoors.  I can't believe Robert is almost finished with preschool and will start kindergarten in the fall....so sad!

Here are some pictures from the picnic.  They were taken with my cell phone so they aren't the best quality.

Luke, Ethan and Robert.  Also known as Chicken Knock

(which one must scream from the top of their lungs when saying those words).

Robert with his pals

Robert with his favorite girl, Adelaide.  They are too cute together!

Robert and his teacher, Mrs. Carluccio

Robert and his other teacher, Mrs. Driscoll

Nature Pond

We took a class today at the local nature center and learned all about ponds and the animals we would find in one.  After the classroom show and tell, we headed out to the pond with nets to see what we could find.

Robert and Jack

Jack

We found....nothing.  Just mud.  But the boys had a great time. 

We met up with lots of preschool friends.

Here is a picture of Robert, Jack and friend Luke:

The gang, fishing with their nets

Robert and Jack with their preschool friends and siblings

The toddler bench

We had so much fun that we already signed up for the next class, DIRT! 

What little boy wouldn't love to take that class?