Ice Cream Cones

We had wonderful ice cream cones recently and Owen decided to make his face as messy as possible by digging his chin into the ice cream.  These photos are the result of that endeavor.

Chase couldn't be left out, but his chin wasn't quite as messy as Owen.

Chase had more fun digging his fingers into the cone to get the icecream out.  He doesn't like the cone, just like Mommy.

My Favorite

These little shoes, although not pretty, and abused, are my favorites. I love the way they look on my little boys' feet and how they run in them.  I'm going to miss seeing them as they no longer fit.

My favorite look is without socks.  Owen's feet look so little and compact. 

Dancing at the Zoo

A few weeks back we went to the zoo and Chase and Owen put on quite the performance at the kids' concert.  Jeff found the video on his phone recently and here it is!  Adorable!

Color Swap

We had popsicles last weekend.  The boys each picked the color they wanted and when I looked down I saw their popsicle colors were opposite their shirt colors, which makes for very cute pictures!  Here are pictures of the boys enjoying end of the summer popsicles with each other.  Owen's in orange, Chase in green-shirts that is!

Loving each other to pieces.

So funny!  So serious about this picture. 

Best of Friends

I'm constantly amazed at how close Chase and Owen are and how they truly are best friends.  They know each other, inside and out and know how to make each other happy, as well as push each others' buttons!  My favorite is when they have been apart for about 5 minutes. They start looking for each other, yelling, "Owey" or "Da".  When they find each other (even if they were just in another part of the house) they scream each others names and embrace.  It's the sweetest thing ever.

Lately Owen has not wanted to be without Chase.  If Chase goes in the house, Owen has to yell for him and find him.

Wrestling must come innately to boys because C & O can't get enough of it.  They act like sumo wrestlers and "attack" each other with their arms and then fall to the ground.  Typically Owen falls first and Chase falls on top of him.  It's not that Owen is not as strong, it's just that he chooses to fall down.

It's interesting to watch them with other children.  Prior to this summer they would really only play with each other when other kids were over.  We have a lot of neighbors who visit frequently.  They have several children who are many ages.  Their children love to play and run off together.  When I watch I see Chase and Owen off on their own playing and the other kids have paired off too.  Lately they've been more interested in playing with other kids, other than their brother.  When I say playing with others, I mean they include another kid or two in their play.  Chase and Owen still do not leave each other's side typically.  They totally take care of each other and feel most comfortable with each other.  Wouldn't you if you had been with 1 person since you were created?!  I have a friend in the neighborhood with twin girls who are 5.  She said her girls were/are the same.

The boys are also very helpful to each other.  If one of them drops a car, the other will pick it up for them (sometimes).  They will also steal each other cars stating they just want to "look".  This infuriates the brother and they chase each other around the house screaming and crying.

Best Friends, that's what they are.

These pictures are of Chase and Owen in their new Cars 2 jammies right before bedtime.  I don't know about you, but bedtime at our house is anything but calm and relaxing.  It's nuts!  This night was especially nuts as the boys pretended to be cars and raced around the room, giving high fives to Daddy, tackling each other and wrestling.

Owen is on the bottom of the pile, which is tpyically where he is.

Owen gets ready to engage in the wrestling.

I thought this was Owen, but on second glance, it's actually Chase- running by Daddy doing a high five.  Actually it is Owen.  (I think) Wow, it's hard to tell!

This is for sure Chase running by Daddy giving a high five.

Showing off the new jammies with Lightening, Max Schnell and Francesco Bernoulli on them.

Loving each other.

More love-or getting ready for a take down.  (Chase on left, Owen on right)

What We Do at Lunch

 I'm not sure if your husband is as goofy as mine, but mine has been entertaining the children for the past 30 minutes.  He built towers (ironically it's 9-11) and it was the funniest thing to our 3 year olds.

 

The boys had to try to knock them down with their heads.

First Day of School

I went back to work on August 29th. We had to document this day, as it was C & Os first day back too. 

All By Myself

I bet you thought this would be a post about the boys doing something by themselves.  Nope.

They had cute umbrellas for us to use to shade ourselves from the sun.

I took a trip.  All.  By.  My.  Self.  It was great!  :)  My cousin Philip got married in Sonoma, CA, Healdsburg, CA, to be exact.  Philip and his brother James are the same ages as my sister and I.  We grew up on the farm.  They grew up in Japan.  A difference?  Nah.  James and Philip came "home" to the farm each summer and we got to spend time as kids together.  We would drive my grandparents and parents nuts making messes, exploring, fighting and having good old kid fun. It was great.  Now we are all grown up.  Philip met a wonderful woman named Amanda and they had a beautiful wedding.  In fact it was probably the most beautiful wedding I've ever been to.  I'd never been to an outdoor wedding before and this was just perfect!

I have to comment on how great Jeff was in taking care of the boys.  All.  By.  Him.  Self.  He did have some help from my wonderful parents-in-law.  Jeff never complained and always sounded completely under control.  I missed them terribly and cried when I saw them at the airport.  It was great to have some free time, but I missed my family! I felt like something was missing.

The night before the wedding there was a dinner for everyone who was in town.  I saw my cousins, my dad's cousins, my aunt and uncle and lots of others.  It was a beautiful night, although it got chilly.

Cousin Janet, Aunt Mary, Cousin Jeanie and Glenda.

My cousin Paula, myself, and cousin Kathryn.

After the dinner we went to a little bar in downtown Healdsburg, which was the cutest town ever.  We had some fun.  This picture is myself, brother-in-law Lane and Kathryn.

Sister Kate and I.  I stayed with Kate and Lane in their hotel.  The 3 of us.  In 1 king bed.  :)

The next night the wedding was at the Arista Winery, which was splendidly beautiful!  This picture of Kate and I reminds me of our 4-H days of dress review. :)

 

Cousin Kristen, Kate and I.

The reception

Lane, Kate and cousin James' girlfriend, Marthe.

Cousin Philip awaiting his bride.

Beautiful Amanda and Phil.

The Anderson side of the family.  We are all related to my grandparents, Oliver Anderson and Wava Anderson. 

The beautiful couple.  They are just so sweet together.

 

Cousin Janet, myself, Kristen, Morgan and Christine.

This is the view of the valley from the vineyard.

Dinner time.

The first dance, which was choreographed. 

 

My cousin James, giving his brother a toast.  

My cousin Morgan and I at dinner.  Morgan lives near us and we've gotten to know each other since the boys were born.  Morgan babysits sometimes, which is great!.

After dark the lights came on and it was a beautiful sight and so peaceful.  They had heaters which made the temperature tolerable.

Lane taking a "cool" pic.

Phil and Cousin Kate dancing away.

Thank you Philip and Amanda for the wonderful weekend and for allowing us all to share in your joy.