Camping at Lake Casitas

This past weekend we went with some friends up to Lake Casitas for a little camping get-away. We had a great time with the Rendulic family and made some great memories. Jason bought this hammock at Walmart a few days before we left. The kids had a good time with it for a while and then began fighting over it, so it didn't stay up long.
We were lucky enough to be at a site right next to a little store that the campground has. Jason found this gem and couldn't pass it up. The rest of the day Tom and Jason sported their straw hats together.

Graham has started riding Lucy's old bike. Yes, we know it's purple and it doesn't bother him at all. Ever since Jason got his motorcycle, Graham calls his bike his motorcycle. He wore these goggles for a large portion of the trip. Especially when he was on the bike.

We spent an hour or so looking for the Ojai hot springs on Saturday. We weren't lucky enough to find them, but we did find this little mossy area that we climbed around for a while. Isn't she cute?

After not finding the hot springs, we decided to go for ice cream. Here's Lucy and Logan enjoying their treat.

In the evenings we ate s'mores and Tom showed us how to make banana boats. Food is definitely my favorite part of camping. Snacking all day, roasted treats at night. Good times. Erin did some stargazing with the kids while Tom, Jason and I visited by the campfire.

Here's Lucy and Graham takin' a break from their bike riding. They were trying to stay entertained as we loaded up our gear.

I was a bit nervous about going camping this late in the pregnancy game, but we had a great time. The kids had a fabulous time and we had so much fun just being together with friends. We'll definitely head up to Lake Casitas again soon!

4 Weeks To Go!

4 weeks from today we will be welcoming our new little guy into our family. This will be our first scheduled c-section and I have to say I'm pretty nervous about it. With Lucy I had an emergency c-section and I attempted to deliver Graham the old fashioned way, but he wasn't coming, so his delivery was via c-section as well. You'd think I would be confident being how I've already had 2, but with the others I didn't have so much time to think about what was going to happen and how it would all go down.

We still have yet to decide on a name for the child. We've kind of narrowed it down, but then we say them to often or I think about them to much and I decide that I don't like any of them. Any suggestions? My name list is currently up to about 17, but I'd love to hear some new ones.

My Man Got a Motorcycle

For as long as I have known Jason, he has wanted a motorcycle. He had one in high school and has longed for one ever since he sold it before his mission. Well, he finally got one and he's like a little kid at Christmas.

He waited a few weeks before he gave the kiddos a ride. They were so excited!

One of my new favorite things is to hear Jason coming home from down the street. When I hear the rumbling, I yell to the kids that Dad is home and they run out to greet him as he pulls up to the house.

Potty Trained and Proud of It!

Graham is rockin' it in the potty training department! Today he had his first accident in 10 days! This may not seem like a big deal to some or very blog-worthy, but it's quite the accomplishment here at the Ray house and we are oh so proud. We've been using toy dinosaurs and cars as incentive. He gets pretty ticked off when he only gets to pick one after taking care of business. He wants "lots of 'em!" We had a few horrifying days at the beginning, complete with tears (just from me) and visions of Graham on his wedding day wearing a pull-up. Hopefully he keeps it up and the arrival of a new little brother doesn't traumatize the pee right out of him (before reaching the toilet, of course).

The Underwood Family Farm

We spent Labor Day afternoon at the Underwood Family Farm in Moorpark, CA. Our friends, the Rendulics, invited us to go, so off we went. Here's Gracie, Lucy, Logan and Graham climbing the hay.
Graham stopped for a photo op while playing on the train.

Lucy, caught in a deep thought

The farm had a show they put on for us. The kids loved petting all of the animals.

It was a fun day with the fam!

Tooth Be Gone!

Lucy Goose's other front tooth finally came out last weekend. It was dangling for days before she finally let me tap it out of there (after wrestling her to the ground). She was able to twist it all the way around. I think she looks adorable.

We've had a rough few weeks with this little girl. She is not liking school AT ALL. "It's just too long!" She cries at bedtime and sheds many a tear every morning. Tuesday nights are no problem because Wednesday is early out day and she can handle that. I'm really hoping it gets better. It breaks my heart to leave her there sobbing every morning. I want to just scoop her up and let her come home with me. She's very homesick and I can totally feel her pain. I always was homesick as a kid. I didn't do sleepovers until I was 15 and I remember the start of school being tough, too. I know what she's feeling and that makes it more difficult to leave her. Her teacher assures me that by the middle of October, she'll be over it. Wish us luck!

My Kind of Camping

Jason and I wanted to take the kids camping over Labor Day weekend, but after getting some things done around the house, time seemed too short. So, we decided to just set up the tent and do some camping in our own back yard. Here's the fam roasting some hot dogs for dinner.
Lovin' the card table. It was so nice to just carry things from the fridge to the table and then back to the fridge. Made for easy set up and easy clean up.

Jason said it should be documented that I was a part of the event, so here I am in all my pregnant glory. Chubby face, chubby feet, chubby all. I downed many a s'more. Maybe I should have looked at these pictures BEFORE the marshmallow fest....it may have slowed me down!

Here's the kiddos settling in for the night. It was nice to kiss the fam goodnight and go sleep in my nice comfy bed.

Happy Birthday, Graham!

Newborn Graham
3 year-old Graham enjoying his b-day lunch
My little guy turned 3 yesterday! What would our lives be without him? Boring, very boring. He is hilarious! He seems to get more and more funny every day.

We didn't do anything too exciting for his big day, but I think he had a good one.
We had Happy Meals at the "Pirate Park" with our neighbors. My kids love them some McDonald's.

After dinner, we came home and had cupcakes.

What a handsome kid! He got some new Superman PJ's because he's been wearing his 18 month pair for a while now and they are looking a little snug. He also got a Star Wars ship with a little Luke Skywalker, R2D2 and a dragon that he's been playing with all day. He's never seen Star Wars, but that doesn't seem to matter.

There are so many things I've been wanting to document about my kiddos lately. I'm going through this phase where I'm nervous about forgetting my kids at this age. It makes me so sad to think about. So....in an effort to remember some of the funny things he's doing now, here's my list:

• For a while he was very into talking like a robot or making his toys be robots. Robot snake, robot dog, etc. He used a very funny robot voice.
• He calls birds, "birgs" and I love it. He chases after them anytime he spots one.
• A week or two ago I was talking to Jason as we were all driving in the car and I must of had a stressed or mean sounding voice because out of nowhere, he yelled, "Chill, Mom!" I wonder where he got that??? Hmmm.....
• A few days ago he started saying, "I don't like you." He says it very matter of factly, but it still wasn't nice. It took him a while to understand that he couldn't say that to me. He was just stating the facts.
• We went swimming when we first moved here and a not-so-small lady was climbing in and Graham turned to me and pointed, "Hey, Mom! Is that a giant?" Proud moment....I'm REALLY hoping she didn't understand him. He's very into giants. Being pregnant, I have been called a giant many times. Nice....very nice.
• When Lucy's tooth fell out, Graham looked at her and asked, "You got a hole?"
• At night, after he gets his jammies on, Graham stuffs his blanket into his shirt and marches around saying, "Fee Fy Fo Fum!" He uses a gruff, mad voice. I need to get it on video.
• My personal favorite thing is when he walks in after being gone and says, "I'm here! You missed me?" Imagine a very enthusiastic voice
  
  That's just a few of his latest antics. I'm loving his age right now. He cracks us up several times a day. I'm not loving the potty training phase that we started today.......