Self-confidence

The boys do funny things every day and also very naughty things today I want to talk about self-confidence. If you ever need to take a class on this just come to my boys because they are full of it.  Here's a great example of my Nathan self-confidence...

Noah (8) was carrying a square game box in his hands, Nathan (3) went up to him and said "why don't I take that I'm stronger than you"  he proceeded to take the box out of his hands and carried it into the playroom.

Now here's a taste of Brice's self-confidence (again with the muscles.) Darren flexing his muscles said to Brice "this is what muscle looks like." Brice looked at him and said "no let me show you" and then flexed for Darren saying "this is what muscles look like!"

I hope they always have good self-confidence, but also know the importance of being humble and teaching others to know there worth.

Summer Fun In Ca

We decided to do a trip to California for the Fourth of July weekend. We were lucky enough to be able to stay with our friends Steph (Nini) and Brandon. They have a beautiful town home right near the water.  From their roof deck you can see the sunset! We visited Carlabad and met up with the Olsons, Capistrons and Bakers and had full beach day. We took the kids to Belmont Park, Nathan slept through most of it in the wagon which was super cute. Well Brice and I did all sorts of rides together. He even went on an upside down twisting ride with Brandon.  He said  it was a lot scary but also a lot of fun. He went on the roller coaster with me but said it was too fast I thought it was great. It was a good last trip before school had to start!

All Sorts of 2015 Fun

Below is a list of other really fun things we did in 2015.
Santa Ynez half marathon -  we enjoyed a nice trip with the Capistron's and Aunt Lauren in Santa Yenz all of the adults excluding myself ran a half marathon and the kids and I went to cheer them on.

Sports - Karate, Basketball, T-ball

San Fransisco Trip -  I took a girls trip with Marci and Marissa and Jennifer and Bridget up to San Francisco. The weather was nice and cool and it was a beautiful city to visit can't wait for next one! 

Fish's Visit -  we had a great visit from the Fish family. The boys had a lot of fun playing with Laney and we got to show them around Arizona a little. We stayed with them at a resort in Scottsdale. 

Young Trip -  our family took a trip to young Arizona. It was way out in the middle of nowhere it was kind of nice because it was like an old Western town that hasn't been touched. We just relaxed to little horseback riding in a little off routing. 

Emma's born - Emma Murphy Englert was born. Nathan is obsessed with little babies he can't get enough of her.
Steph and Brandon's Wedding -  Darren and  I had a nice little break. We got to go enjoy a wedding in Laguna Nigel  California for a whole weekend  at the Ritz Carlton. It was a beautiful wedding appending  time with great friends we really enjoyed ourselves.

All Sorts of 2015 Fun

Below is a list of other really fun things we did in 2015.
Santa Ynez half marathon -  we enjoyed a nice trip with the Capistron's and Aunt Lauren in Santa Yenz all of the adults excluding myself ran a half marathon and the kids and I went to cheer them on.

Sports - Karate, Basketball, T-ball

San Fransisco Trip -  I took a girls trip with Marci and Marissa and Jennifer and Bridget up to San Francisco. The weather was nice and cool and it was a beautiful city to visit can't wait for next one! 

Fish's Visit -  we had a great visit from the Fish family. The boys had a lot of fun playing with Laney and we got to show them around Arizona a little. We stayed with them at a resort in Scottsdale. 

Young Trip -  our family took a trip to young Arizona. It was way out in the middle of nowhere it was kind of nice because it was like an old Western town that hasn't been touched. We just relaxed to little horseback riding in a little off routing. 

Emma's born - Emma Murphy Englert was born. Nathan is obsessed with little babies he can't get enough of her.
Steph and Brandon's Wedding -  Darren and  I had a nice little break. We got to go enjoy a wedding in Laguna Nigel  California for a whole weekend  at the Ritz Carlton. It was a beautiful wedding appending  time with great friends we really enjoyed ourselves.

Summer's over. Start a New School Year.

My boys started their 2016 school year in July. Brice started first grade with Ms. Newsom and Nathan started preschool for 3 half days with Mrs. C.  The first day of first grade Mrs. Newsom said Brice is very smart and he's going to keep her on her toes. Let's hope he keeps that up! This year Nathan is doing much better and there have been no tears! He seems to enjoy it and is made some new friends.
We got a two week visit from Riley during the rest of her summer break. We  watched the Summer Olympics together in Rio and it was the first time Brice enjoyed watching it. We did a lot of swimming!  Boys are very into American ninja warrior and America's got talent! It is fun to watch something other than cartoons together.  We are looking forward to a little break in California for Labor Day and definitely are looking forward to our beach/Legoland vacation during October break!

Massachusettes 2016

We just came back from a trip to MA (May 2016.) It is so awesome seeing all the cousins together. We went for 10 days and finished it off with Uncle Brett and Auntie Megs wedding! It was such a great time. We got to spend a night/day with the Fish's and went to a farm (the boys loved holding a snake), had family photos taken, had a lobster roll, went to the Star Wars Night Bostons Red Sox game, had junk food all week, toasted marshmallows, went to the park, spent great quality time with family, watched movies, Darren enjoyed a bachelor party and I had a great Mothers Day. Brice kept saying he missed our family and his friends in AZ and wished we all lived near each other and that he wanted to go back to AZ just to warm up :) It was a really great trip and the boys are becoming amazing travelers. Can't wait to plan the next trip!

Cute Sayings and What They Like

Nathan Terms
ca-dults (adults)
ca-vengers (avengers)
You want more? I'll give you more (Hulk)

Nathan Likes
Star Wars (Luke Skywalker and Ezra Bridger)
Avengers
Ninja Turtles
Lightsaber fights

Brice Terms
sprout (sprite)

Brice Likes
Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars
Lightsaber fights
Turns anything into a pumer (gun)

They play well together most the time. Nathan follows Brice and the neighbor Ty around playing and holding his own with the older boys. Its nice that they have such big imaginations. They push each others buttons and tattle, But I love when I catch them laughing together (usually over poop jokes,) or helping each other out. Nathan always gives Brice whatever he wants. He will switch his popsicle color so Brice can have it or switch swings if Brice wants a certain one. Brice will always help him with a level on the iPad or put Nathans legos together if they break. They are sweet boys and I know they will be good friends as the grow up together,

2015 Birthdays

Brice has been very into Star Wars since his buddy Owens 3rd birthday. Which of course means Nathan loves it to. He loves Kanan from Star Wars Rebels and for his 5th birthday he had a Rebels birthday party at Bounce U. 

Nathan wanted a dinosaur birthday for his 3rd birthday. He had his friends and family over for a pool party and a dinosaur pinata and pizza.  He can name a lot of dinosaurs and loves sharks, 

Brilliant Beginnings - Mrs. Jeana

My little man started Preschool in January 2016. He started with Ms. Haley and Ms. Heather until Mrs. Jeana was back from maternity leave. He was excited about school a few months before. He was potty trained and turned three. The week before he told me he didn't want to go. He cried when I left the first couple of weeks. He always calmed down when I left, but it broke my heart hearing him sad. We are down to only two days left of school and he still says "mom one more thing" just so I don't leave, But he doesn't cry and goes off to play. Grandma picks him up On Tue and Th while I go to work. I got to volunteer one day and we both loved it. He is a completely different student then his brother. He traces his name with his left hand. He sits quietly and listens. He is coordinated and a little more introverted with new people. He has a good friend Alana he says "she has pretty dresses" and "she always wants to be my line buddy." I am hoping to volunteer more and that he enjoys his teacher Mrs. Jessica. I enjoyed the days I had with him when he didn't have school. It is fun to see his personality without his brother around and to find out what he likes. He is still a chatter box with the people he knows and speaks very well. He is a smart boy and has a very good memory and quite the imagination!

Kindergraten - Mrs. Oliver

It started on July 27th 2015. Brice did very well the first week, Was excited, would get up and want to get ready, talked about a few friends. Nathan and I walked him to the gate every morning and he would walk in. He looked so big and grown up. I didn't cry, but man was it hard to let me first baby go. The second week started and he had a huge meltdown, That was such a hard day for both of us. That is when I cried. I hated seeing him so sad and making him go into school. He realized this is going to be everyday... all day. But the next day he held a hug a little longer and walked into class.
He took the bus on Thursdays to Karissas house. He loved it, he sat with his friend Max (Karissas son) and thought it was cool. That is until he got a taste of a mean girl. She hit him after he told her that seat was for Max, who was not on the bus yet. After that he cried on Thursday, didn't want to take the bus. I of course took matters into my own hands. Mrs. Oliver helped tremendously and eventually the girl was kicked off the bus for behavior. He again was on a roll and we got into the groove of school. He is a very smart kid, Picked up on things and was meeting all benchmarks. Well almost all. He is a kid with energy. Always swinging his lunch bag or leaning on a friend on the carpet. So after figuring out what makes him tick we started a chart to earn points. This worked like a charm. By the end of third quarter he was reading at a 1st grade level. Getting Gator Greats and on the Superstar board. We started just dropping off in the drop off line and he always talks about his friend Christian and Jax. We had playdates with his friends and I volunteered in class. He loved walking me out of class and telling me about his classmates. We went to Mother Son Game night and the school carnival. It is so great listening to him read and see how far he has come. He received two awards for academics for 3rd quarter! Now there is only 10 days left of kindergarten and we will be staring 1st grade in the face. So we are going to enjoy the summer and I am not going to think about how big he is getting!