Growth spurt?

I was trying to capture HOW tall and long his legs are looking but it just doesn't come across the same in the pics as he looks in person. So you'll just have to trust me that he's very long and lanky looking right now!

He also looks like he's in a pretty decent mood - which was a fluke of a capture since we were headed to the Drs when I took this, where the Dr confirmed he has a nasty double ear infection (and therefore fighting a pretty crappy virus), poor guy. 😢

Luckily we now have some antibiotics to start kicking this bug in the butt! 👊🏼

Sick kiddos

I'm laying here, getting slobbered on and sweated on, while my feverish congested kiddo takes a nap.

He has been fine these last few days (while Logan has been down for the count), but then spiked a(nother, he had one last week) fever late last night around midnight. And has been fighting congestion and fevers since, poor guy. :(

So, both boys stayed home today (luckily, Logan has been feeling MUCH better) and even nicer for me, Jon stayed home too to help out (especially nice since I had a few appointments to get to today!).

The sad news is we are missing the Bay Area's Make-A-Wish 8,000th Wish Celebration (movie and dinner) tonight, which we had plans to go see! Bummer. :(

Out with the old, in with the new

I created this "reading corner" for the boys, in their bedroom, when we first moved in (with little sofa chairs to relax in), but they haven't used it much at all.

Callum will start receiving homework next year and Logan will continue to have more and more. A neighbor was getting rid of these "schoolhouse" hinged lid desks, which I was totally into (brings back memories!). So, I snatched them up today and swapped out the corner, while the kids were at camp! :)

Home sick

Yesterday Callum stayed home sick when he woke with a fever in the middle of the night. Today, Logan seems to have caught whatever Callum has been fighting, since he woke up nauseous in the middle of the night, and has been feeling crummy all morning. :(

The boys were upset to miss the last day of camp this week, since they've been working hard on programming their own "Pokémon" games. So, we went to camp to pick up copies of their work, and stopped by Starbucks for a bite to eat as well. Here's poor Logan feeling sorry for himself at the coffee shop. :(

When we got back home, I suggested we watch a movie and relax on the couches. I put Matilda on, since we haven't seen the movie yet and they had enjoyed the musical in London. :)

The narrator begins talking, and Logan says to me:

Mom, do you know who's voice that is?

Yeah, it's Danny DeVito.

Nope, you're wrong. It's the Lorax.

:)

Cooking class is already paying off!

Logan helped me (and often times instructed me!! LOL) make homemade frozen yogurt and strawberry sauce tonight. Quite yummy and it was fun having him in the kitchen with me. 

I could get used to having a helper around more often. 😉

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Despicable Me 3

We went out to a yummy breakfast this morning and then grabbed a movie with the kids. Callum's face just cracks me up. 😜

Saturday Party Day

Yesterday was a big party day for us! We headed to our local Rec center where one of Logan's friends was having his 9th Birthday party - complete with huge water balloon fights, snow cones, delicious food and tons of swimming! The weather was crazy hot (yesterday *and* today) so between running around for 3 hours at the party and the unbearable heat, we were pretty tired.

But! We had another party to head to later in the afternoon! So we went home to chill for an hour or so and then headed back out, this time to a town in the East Bay (about an hour drive away! So the boys snoozed most of the way), where a fellow cancer family held their end of treatment party for their son Armaan, who just finished up his long haul about a month ago. We met them a few years ago thru Camp Okizu, and Armaan's mom and I have kept in touch through the years - and whenever possible, we schedule our Camp Okizu trips on the same weekends. Armaan is in between Logan and Callum, age wise, so the three get along great (Armaan has two younger siblings as well).

Anyway, we had a really nice time celebrating such a special milestone with their family and friends. The boys got their arms painted by the face painting lady, and took a ton of pictures in the picture booth. The photos themselves didn't come out very well, but I had captured a few "behind the scenes" ones that I thought were pretty fun. :)

We didn't get home until super late because the party went late and there was still a long drive home, but I'm glad we went and supported such a wonderful family!! What an amazing and fun filled day it was!! :)

Cooking classes were so fun!

The boys had a blast in cooking class this last week! They talked more about the two hour daily class when I picked them up each day, than they have talked about any other camp or school class to date! And it's been so fun tasting their little creations each day at pickup! I think this could be the start of some really fun stuff down the road. :)

Master Chefs in training

The boys went to their first cooking class (of a week long camp) today! Callum moaned this morning, insisting he only wanted to learn how to bake but did NOT want to learn how to cook.

A few friends in the neighborhood are taking the class alongside the boys, so I'm sharing carpool duties with the other moms. I didn't drop them off in the morning, but the other mom still got a sweet pic of the kids before class, and sent me a snapshot of the menu planned this week! I'd like to go to cooking classes too, dang it!! :)

When I came to pick them up in the afternoon, they were sooooo excited to see me and share with me what they had made for the day, making me try bites of everything. Logan is now excited to cook for us at home, which is fun to see.

We had Callum's monthly visit to his oncology team after the cooking class, so we grabbed a quick slice of pizza next door to the cooking class store (Sur La Table), where the boys gave me 4 thumbs up for their cooking camp rating. Callum admitted he was wrong earlier and declared he now loves cooking class. ;-)

In other news, Callum continues to do well from a health standpoint. His ANC is exactly where they'd like to see it (3816 today) and he continues to do well (following his same trajectory) on the growth chart. Yay! :)

Is 7am too early to have a burrito? 🌯

Asking for a friend. 🤔

Jet lag

We managed to stay up until about 8pm last night, which I thought was pretty good. The boys complained like hell about going to bed, claiming they weren't tired and wanted to keep playing on their iPads. But I couldn't keep my eyes open and Jon was already napping on and off, so we made them turn in.

5 minutes later, total silence from their room. 😉

Jon and I both woke up around 2:30am, so I let the dogs out, opened our windows (it was pretty stuffy inside the house by then), etc. We both fell back to sleep on and off for a couple of hours, but the boys woke up around 4-4:30am, wide eyed and bushy tailed 😩 so we left the house about 5:30am to check out a (new to us) donut shop. Quite tasty!!

And now we're back home.... It's 7am. 😂😂😴😴😬

Home Sweet Home

There were a couple of super tired (and quiet - yesssss!) boys sitting next to me on the drive home. Had a great time but glad to be back in the good ol' U-S-of-A. 😊

Ceremony of the Keys

I had asked Gary (in advance) to try and get us spots to witness the 700+ year old Ceremony of the Keys, if possible. Because he knows everyone (seriously!) he scored 4 spots for us to sneak in!! (Most people have to join a waiting list that is currently booked out a year)

So before that (the ceremony starts about 9:45pm), he took us to a fabulous locals pub where a famous pirate used to frequent, called The Prospect of Whitby. We had a lovely meal before then heading over to the Tower of London, where we got to meet and chat with one of the Beefeaters, and then join the rest of the group for the Keys Ceremony.

No pics were allowed during the ceremony of course, but I did grab a couple nice ones (I think!) of the castle and tower bridge, just as the sun was setting. :) It felt like such a grand ending to a spectacular trip!!

Imperial War Museum

After we toured the Abbey, we headed over to the Imperial War Museum, which was quite fascinating! The boys were beat so we didn't stay long but did a quick run through of the place. Had it not been our last day of the trip and/or a million degrees outside (which took the energy out of all of us after a lot of walking), I think we would have stayed and explored the museum much longer....

Instead we said goodbye to Gary for now (we'd meet him again in the evening), and headed out to find some yummy gelato before going back to the flat to rest for a little bit.

Westminster Abbey

After the Guards Museum, we walked over to check out Westminster Abbey. Lucky for us, Gary knows practically everyone in London it seems, and got us in via a back door entrance, where we skipped the many people waiting in the long lines to get in.

No pics allowed inside, but I did get to snap one of Gary telling the boys one of his many fascinating stories before we walked inside the church. :)

The Guards Museum

After the Changing of the Guards ceremony, we stepped into a little museum next door, the Guards Museum, to learn all about the five regiments of guards and their different types of uniforms, how to tell them apart, what famous wars they fought over the years, etc.

At the end, before leaving, my three guys tried on a real bearskin. Don't they look proper now?? ;-)