Let the games begin

The fun has officially begun, Evan and Shawn are back to school! This is their 2nd year in the same school, we are breaking with our tradition this year of switching schools every year. It is working out well so far! They both love their teachers and have lots of friends in their classes already. The school year is off to a good start!

In other news, Evan has started his first season of football with such enthusiasm. He is thrilled about tackling people. Go figure. In his coach's words, "He hits 'em hard!" Go Evan!! My favorite part is seeing him in that awesome uniform. My other favorite part is that since they're practicing 2.5 hours, 4 nights a week, when he comes home he is wiped out and asleep before he hits the pillow. Awesome.

Shawn has started his first season of soccer, and loves it! At the seeding tournament on Saturday I told him to have fun out on the field, and he told me "I'm in it to win it Mom, not to have fun." Woah there tiger.

Hayden is busy as usual. I have been working on potty training him but sadly he is not easy to convince. I know some of the lesson is sinking in, because now when he has a "poop" he reaches into his diaper, pulls it out and throws it on the floor. Thank God for hardwoods. Last week I thought I'd finally gotten through to him that poop does not belong on the floor, so my sweet little Hayden decided to do me a favor, he pulled the poop out of his diaper, walked promptly over to the trash can and tossed it in. All the while looking at me like "Mommy, look! Aren't you proud of me?" Well, if I could get him to take the garbage out, we might call it progress!

A day in the park

It was one of those Sundays where we needed to get out of the house but didn't know what to do, we just had to get the boys strapped into the car and on the way to somewhere! We packed up a picnic, turned the car stereo up as loud as possible (Jack Johnson of course) and hit the road, no idea where we would end up. We drove and drove and the boys all fell asleep, finally we could relax and have adult conversation! Soon we found our way to Fairytale town, and the boys were thrilled (and rested from a nice long nap, thank God) It was wonderful, Hayden enjoyed it the most of course. We spent hours just running around and playing, then walked over to Land Park for our picnic. The most gorgeous day for a picnic, gentle summer breeze, warm sunshine, lots of shade from the giant trees in the park. Squirrels running all over, Hayden chased them down on his tricycle one by one, screaming "Chipmunk! I go get him!" as they scurried up the trees fearing for their lives. Then the boys all decided to check out the fish and crawdads in the pond next to our picnic spot, Tim and I laid on the blanket together, had a drink and enjoyed the view of our 3 boys playing so well together at the park, doing what boys do best, looking for an adventure. Well, soon our moment of Zen on the blanket in the park was shattered by the sound of a loud splash and the squeals of our darling Hayden. We watched in disbelief as he tried to get a much closer look at the crawdad and slipped butt-first into the lovely green pond. Fortunately it was very shallow and he crawled right out, soaked head to toe, crying, "Oh No! I fall down da ucky fwog-wata!" (translation: "Oh No, I fell down in the yucky frog-water!")

Well we then stripped him down right there in the park and dried him off with the blanket. Our picnic had come to an unfortunate end, but what a beautiful day it was!

Hayden's phrase of the day

Hayden's phrase of the day on Sunday:
Setting: He's riding his trike on the sidewalk around his house and crashes the front wheel into the dirt. He says:
"OH CWAP I STUCK!"

Monday:
Setting: He's laying on the carpet playing with his cars and the cars are talking to one another, he's providing the voice over of course, one car says:
"I fawted! I didn't know I fawted!"
the other car says "I wanna capri sun."
The other car responds: "Stupid Capri Sun!"

More Silly Every Day

These boys are getting sillier by the day. We are astonished at how "old" Evan seems now with his quick wit, and he always has something to add when Tim and I are having a grown-up conversation. We have to be so careful with what we talk about now! Shawn is going through his "goofy" faze. Everything is a joke. He's making up silly jokes that make no sense, and goofing on anything we say to him. It's a little frustrating, but we know he's just trying to discover his own sense of humor. Just yesterday, he called Hayden a "Dork Chop"..... (we were having pork chops for dinner, and the word play was all too tempting for Shawn). Hayden is also contributing a lot to our conversations these days, he is talking in full sentences. A few nights ago as I was tucking them into bed, he saw me give Shawn a kiss and he said "I wanna kiss Mommy too please." My heart melted! Hayden is finally giving more love than violence. He gives me dozens of kisses and hugs every day. He usually grabs me by the hair with both hands and smashes his face against mine while making a kissing sound, it's a little rough but the sentiment is there!

Visiting Uncle Bob

Today we visited the Korean War Memorial. We have been there once before, 2 years ago on Memorial Day. The place was a little crowded, we had arrived just after the service had let out. There was an elderly man standing next to his car parked next to ours. He was wearing his military cap, and sort of staring off into the distance. I had to pass by him to walk into the building, I was holding Evan's hand on one side and Shawn on the other, they were both squirming and needed to use the potty. I had to get these boys to the restroom, I was busy! But still, I couldn't help but say Hello to this old man. He had served our country, I smiled at him and gently asked him if he had fought in the Korean War. He shook his head no, but explained he had fought in World War 2. He told me a little about his duties there, I was just so happy to be hearing his story, even with 2 little boys tugging at my arms. He finished talking after a few minutes, I looked in his eyes and said "It was so nice meeting you. Thank you for fighting for us." After that, he turned and walked away. I took my squirmy little boys to the restroom and returned to the car, where there was a middle aged woman standing there, chatting with my husband. She was the man's daughter, she saw me walk up and approached me, she said "Thank you so much for being so kind to my Dad. He had tears in his eyes when he told me that you had thanked him for his service. He doesn't talk about the war hardly at all."

It was so moving, I'll never forget that.

Today we walked down to the memorial wall and found my Uncle Bob's name. There I was staring at it, "McBride, Bobby G."..... There he was with thousands of other soldiers, a name on a wall. I wish I could have known my Uncle Bob. I know he fought and sacrificed his life in Korea. I know he was a Prisoner of War and I know that my Grandfather fought for decades to find his remains. I know that my Mother was named Bobby, a namesake to Uncle Bob. The Uncle neither of us ever got to meet. I was happy to be there at the beautiful memorial in honor of him.

And there today, more than 50 years after Korea, the family Uncle Bob never knew stood there and honored him, his sacrifice and his legacy.

Last weekend we escaped to our favorite place on earth, Monterey! We visited with family and soaked up some beautiful sunshine and clear blue skies. We ate clam chowder out of bread bowls on the wharf, watched a couple of otters play their own little game of Marco- Polo, and spent hours enjoying Marina Beach. We flew our kite and Hayden really got the hang of it, he would squeal as it took off and belly-laugh when it crashed into the sand. It was such a precious thing to see! Thankfully no beach goers were injured during Hayden's kite experiment, though there were a few close calls.

Evan stayed with Tim's family when we left and has been enjoying his week away. Shawn and Hayden have been home enjoying the extra attention of Mom and Dad. It has been quiet here, by Covello household standards!

Shawn celebrated his favorite girl's birthday last night, we attended Summer's pool party and had a blast visiting with lots of good friends. Shawn even piled on all of his swim gear and took on the diving board!

Dillon Beach Camping Trip

I was wrong. I admit it! I thought camping with Hayden would be a disaster. After all, he is a crazy busy 2 1/2 year old boy who is prone to disappearing on us, eating garbage and throwing really loud and violent tantrums. He isn't exactly mellow!

We camped one night at Dillon Beach and Hayden kept himself very entertained, stayed with us at all times and didn't eat any garbage the whole time! We will definitely make this a favorite family getaway, we hope to go back soon!

Evan found lots of shells and dead crabs, and even got to touch a live one! Shawn took a very chilly dip in the pacific and wrote his name in the sand. Hayden was terrified of the water, he even told us it was "A yiddow bit too scawy."



















My favorite part was running down the dunes, what a blast! (especially after a few drinks)