Charge!!

David had his first flag football scrimmage today on the Poway Chargers team. (That is of course if you don't count all the games he played back in early '04 on the ficitious team, The StinkBugs)
This kid is so passionate! See the fire in his eyes?

 

Here's a good snap from the center-

 

David seizes any opportunity to pose for the camera. He later asked me why I didn't bring the video camera. I guess I really should of. It would have been great to catch his raw excitement and also his big knockdown. Not his knocking someone down, but his getting knocked down and mowed over. He's now learned his lesson about keeping his eye on the line. (Ouch!!)

 

This is my favorite shot, too bad it's blurry! I love this part of football, where all the hands go together and a cheer is let out. I can't wait for this season to get going, it's going to be so much fun watching these kids play!

 

Meanwhile, on the James front...He acquired another injury buying himself 6 days freedom from football participation and the first official scrimmage.
(Deja vu ) This time he banged the back of his head on the faucet while bathing. He's got one little staple on his head to hold the skin together. Dare I wonder what he'll come up with next?
Broken bone- Check
Stomach bug- Check
Scalp laceration-Check
You vote, what's next???

 

We snapped this picture for James' benefit, it's the only way he could get a good view of the cut. There is a staple there right in the middle, barely visible. I assured the doctor I would take care of removing the staple in 6 days. He looked at me like I was crazy, commented that he didn't want to know about it, and left the room. (Apparently he doesn't know that I'm a real fake doctor.)

1st Day

 

 

 

Major Rockstar

We've had a major rockstar come to San Diego and he choose to stay with us! Well, at least it sure seems that way since Ryan came to town. Mark's sister Kim son came to visit us and it has been wonderful having him here. The kids think he is truly the most awesome guy ever! (Which makes him a star in my book too!) He's truly the nicest kid and I hope some of him rubs off on my boys. Here's the gang before the Saturday morning surf trip.

 

They spent most of the morning at the beach, stopped by Roberto's for lunch and then came home and rested a bit before we all headed back out to La Jolla for the evening.

 

 

 

Just like old times with the Tylers. Why did we let this tradition fall by the wayside?? Oh yeah, we both had a bunch of kids...

 

Speaking of kids, isn't this the cutest little Fox you've ever seen? I just wanted to cuddle with him all night. (He sure helped keep me warm when the sun went down and it got chilly.)

 

 

 

"Dude, I'm standing right next to the Star-take a picture!"

 

Beware: Scary stories after sundown.

 

Cuddle up!

 

We dusted off Papa's old wingtips for Ryan to wear to church. Even though he's two inches taller than Uncle Mark, he's two shoe sizes smaller, a perfect fit for Papa's shoes. They looked fabulous on him, of course!

 

This isn't cheating, right? David is enjoying this slam dunk on his big brother.

And the Oscar goes to...James

This summer we had a first in our little Mendenhall family. James was our first child to break a bone and get a cast. Yippee!! It's really amazing we have made it through nine and a half years of parenting without any bone breaks. Shall I tell the story?
One July morning, James was riding our stationary spin bicycle while watching cartoons. He finished riding and hopped off the bike. He noticed the wheel was continuing to spin and wondered how it would feel if he touched the spinning wheel. (Did he not learn anything from watching Sleeping Beauty countless times with his sister??) Subsequently, the wheel flipped his thumb down and into the wheel wall and broke it. I guess it could have been worse, but it did necessitate a cast. Luckily we were able to get a waterproof cast so he could still swim to his heart's content for the four weeks he had the cast on. Which brings us to the cast removal part. It was quite the production. I'm not sure why he was so nervous, but he could not stop probing us for details on the removal process. I guess the thoughts of a saw near his arm made him squeamish.

We brought the whole clan along for moral support.

 

Between "the hat" and the entourge he brought, I'm pretty sure he had the whole doctor's office staff intrigued (and entertained).

 

Here's the part where I went crazy with the camera. I couldn't resist because he pulled so many different funny faces, I had to catch them all!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(The Cast-Taker-Offer Lady looks seriously mean in this shot, but she was totally nice and cracking up the whole time)

 

 

 

His arm looked (and smelled, by the way-thanks to all the chlorine water "rinses") pretty nice. I do like his tan line, it's a nice touch. He was very happy to have it off and to get his old arm back. (I know, what's the story with the hat? He's very attached to it. I'm hoping it's just a phase.)

Reunited and It Feels So Good

 

1st Annual Mendenhall Family Reunion in Park City, Utah

 

David loves his silly aunties!

 

James always finds a way to be the big brother, this time he's got Hunter.

 

One highlight of the reunion was the family talent show. Here James got Nana to participate in his game show, "You're Not an Adult!".

 

Nana loved twinkling the ivories with the little girls

 

My favorite shot of Regan and Abby

 

Abby finally gets the umbrella she's been asking for. We found this one at the Park City "Silly" Market. (Very fun!)

 

This is what happens when you hesitate on the slide....

We all had so much fun, relaxing with the kids and just hanging out enjoying each other's company.

 

Mark made this giant pancake as a food challenge. These two boys had big eyes, but weren't quite up for the challenge. Just wait till they're teenagers.....

 

 

 

On the way home, we got to visit the Oquirrh Mountain temple open house. It was so beautiful and we were so glad we got to take the children inside.

Wonderful times, awesome memories, we couldn't have asked for any better. Can't wait till next year!!