Great friends

Brent, Silas and Lydia, we will miss you a lot! Thank you for a great time, and please come back soon!

Pebble Beach Golf Course

We walked Pebble Beach Golf course as the sun set in the Pacific. The kids took their shoes off to really experience the incredibly soft, almost cotton like grass that covers this beautiful golf course. No, we did not golf, we only used the golf course as a short cut back to the car after a fun filled afternoon exploring the rocky beach with great friends.

Beaach fun

Carmel beach offers a lot of fun - dogs run free and Lucky could not get enough of her new found freedom, running back and forth, back and forth until she dropped down on the sand, rolling in the kelp and catching her breath. Lukas gazed into the distance watching the waves crashing in, and Noah spent most of his time searching for the perfect, most beautiful shell ever seen. That the quest requires long periods of time spent in cold water, shorts and body getting wet and feet stepping on sharp edges did not deter the hunt.
The only reason to abandon the mission was the setting sun.... shells are hard to find in the dark

Walk/Run on the beach

The weather took a turn for the better for a few days this past week and we took advantage of the sun shine and headed to Carmel Beach for a walk, or what would more aptly be described as a run and climb. Lukas, Noah, Lydia, Silas along with Duncan and Lucky took off down the sandy coast heading towards Pebble Beach and uncharted territory for the Severinghaus' - a part of the beach we had yet to explore. Timing this perfectly we were able to walk far into Pebble Beach without getting too wet.

Happy Birthday Bob!

Although Bob is in the final crunch for his qualifying exam, he took some time off to celebrate his birthday with us this week. Somehow in the planning we forgot to get new birthday candles, so at the last minute Noah improvised with the ones left in an old pack.. pink and green - no wonder they were left behind...
Our dear friends Brent, Silas and Lydia helped celebrate his special day with a steak dinner and cheese cake along with left over Cherry pie from Presidents' Birthday celebration on Monday - February gets busy ...
Bob got help from the boys opening gifts and the new juicer was in service before the last package was unwrapped - although it was quickly discerned that the orange peel adds a bit of an off taste to the juice...
Happy Birthday to a great Dad and a fabulous Husband!

Orange Art??

Noah and Lukas decided that the orange peels would make great art... Cave art to be exact....

Nice brother

Noah has attended the Grammy School of Hospitality.... This morning he volunteered to make his brother breakfast in bed, and "not on the small tray, Mamma, he wants a big one." So out came a large tray, small bowls with fruit cut into bite size pieces and a bowl of vanilla yogurt, and cherry pie! Yes, there was left over cherry pie in the fridge and Noah thought Lukas would like some for breakfast.

Noah loves to make breakfast platters and was a bit annoyed with the delay in delivery - having to stop and pose for a photo... "Lukas wants his breakfast...."

A Carmel Sunset

A gorgeous display of color courtesy of the Original Artist Himself. God of Wonders beyond our galaxy..... You are holy, holy.

Fire on the beach

Lukas and Bob worked hard to get wet, damp wood and kindling to work, without any lighter fluid, but they did not give up and once the fire began it burned brightly until we had to leave.
We ate Sunday dinner on the beach, cleanup is a breeze until one gets home with sand, sand, sand and smokey everything.... but it is well worth it. It was so much fun, eating and visiting with friends, while the children dug holes, climbed the rock walls and watched the fire acrobat practicing in the shallow surf. Lukas and Noah are getting to be so good at helping us pack and prepare - shovels - check!, flip flops - check!, fire wood - check! flash lights - check! Lukas loved wearing his new camouflage pants, that zipped off to shorts - perfect for beach fire nights.
A fantastic evening!

Lego Town

Noah and Lukas spend almost all their free time creating with Lego - this is the most recent battle scene complete with a Lego man dropping down from a wire.... They can spend hours creating, enhancing, re-creating and acting out all kinds of events - and Mamma is not popular when I ask for the floor back so that it can be swept and cleaned... Such minor and insignificant detail while saving the good guys from the bad intruders....

Here are Noah's comments on this large creation:
This town took five weeks to make. My brother and some of my friends helped me build it. Recently I moved it off the floor and onto a table so that Mamma could clean the floor.
The picture above this last picture features a shark carrier - it is a ship that carries sharks.
There is a large jail in the town for bad guys. There is a back wall and front wall for the town. As you can see in this last picture, the wall is heavily protected and the Lego men are fully capable of fending off the enemy on the ground.
This was fun to build.

Butter churner or blender

Lukas and Noah are joining me in the quest to save money and most recently thought that we could save some money if we churn our own butter. They happily brought me their Lego Mindstorm invention that spins a glass jar at various speeds. The only thing dampening their enthusiasm was my lack of whip cream... not a typical staple in our home. Not letting such a small detail stop their quest, and being boys highly capable of multi tasking, the butter churner quickly turned into a personal blender. Noah happily whipped up Crystal Light treats for the three of us, using the new machine with stunning results.