We celebrated with the Tauers a few days late because Grandma Laura was under the weather. Later in the week she, Uncle Joe and Lisa came over for dinner and presents!
From Uncle Joe- a Nerf drone! Yikes!
First thing James does is try and shoot his uncle!
And then Uncle Joe decides to play.
And then the boxing.
What you don't see is the rough housing and the crying later. James always thinks he can handle it but then it goes too far :(
Jim and James had a surprise for Grandma Laura. James practiced reading his book and then read it to his Grandma.
It's a favorite of ours! The Sweet Smell of Christmas. What a lovely Christmas!
Grandma Laura loves Charlie Brown and the gang. We knew it would be perfect to go to a holiday play with her. I'm so glad that I found this option and Jim was able to buy the tickets for us to go!
The play was at the Old Log Theatre. It was quite the drive away! We first had brunch in this fancy little cafe attached to the theatre. And then it was time for us to get some Charlie Brown holiday cheer!
I couldn't take pictures during the play, but these are parts of the sets.
Grandma Laura came over for dinner one night in late July. We didn't eat out on the deck but we enjoyed some time outside afterwards. The weather cooled slightly and there was a small breeze. Perfect!
As the grownups talked James looked for nearby friends.
He'd creep up on us on the deck...
And when his buddy Clayton ran by (he was practicing for his triathlon!), James was quick to shoot him with his Nerf gun. Poor Clayton!
This was on a Thursday. The next day was the last day of nature camp. Clayton broke his arm when he fell out of a tree. No triathlon for him! Sad!
We've been through several obsessions in this house. Some have been very fun and memorable, some have been expensive and messy.
Right now we are still in the midst of James' Nerf obsession. The guns were organized at one point but they have returned to my living room floor as clutter. We'll get them cleaned up hopefully this weekend.
Darts everywhere.
The best obsession began when James was not even two years old. I remember that he was miserably sick and Dada came home with an unexpected present. A huge plastic golf club! I think it was love at first sight. James played golf inside all winter long and we had probably fifty light golf balls everywhere in sight.
In the spring we moved outside with REAL metal clubs, oh my! It was a fun next few summers of mini golf courses, driving ranges, San Diego beach golfing, etc. I remember being at my grandfather's 100th birthday fiesta and all James wanted to do was golf. It was the cutest!
Neighbors would pass by in disbelief. His swing was surprisingly accurate. They would say, Wow he's going to be the next Tiger Woods! (before that was a not so nice thing to say...)
Well, enjoy this trip back in time. These are some great memories and I really enjoyed looking back at his old pictures!
After golf his next obsession was Legos. That obsession literally hurt! Our wallets and our feet! Have you ever stepped on a Lego? Ouch!
The beginning of his massive collection. Later on we move to plastic organizing bins, Legos sorted by color.
His 5th birthday party was Lego themed.
Sneaky even made a Lego creation. Christmas 2011.
This was our living room back then. Lego city.
We've also gone through Star Wars, Angry Birds, Mario bros., Minecraft, etc.
I kinda miss Legos. Seems so much safer than running around the neighborhood with a gang of boys!
We still love Legos around here. They don't get much action anymore but they won't be forgotten. We headed to the "Lego museum" in March.
My two boys with their matching coats.
They are standing in front of a Lego BAR! Oh Jim had envy in his eyes. I'm sure he imagined that in his Man Cave.
And even the name of his favorite gin...
So this visit was a bit different because the company had a scavenger hunt for the kids! We couldn't stop until we found all the Lego flags! There were a few difficult ones to find and I don't mind admitting that many of the parents were helping each other out. I mean, we wanted to leave eventually.
I'm not sure if the displays are always this pretty or if it was the way the light was coming in through the windows. I was just in awe of all the little trees and buildings. I imagined again how much time (and geekiness) was put into each Lego creation.
We really liked these little familiar buildings.
They don't make Kentucky Fried Chickens like this anymore!
Not a Friend in sight.
We knew Grandma Laura would like this one.
Happy James.
This hiker is holding a tiny little Mountain Dew.
And Tia ChaCha always appreciates this little guy. #gnomebomb
New murals?
And after our Lego fun we went out to lunch. James holds the door like a gentleman.
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