Its all down hill from here!

I cant believe that the holidays are over and we are half way through March! Where does the time go you ask? Well , we have been busy just trying to stay ahead of the boys. They are quickly gaining on me these days, in every area. John Jr is just one growth spurt from looking me in the eyes, Ben can have me second guessing any and every parenting decision I have ever made with just one quick smart remark and together I can see the day where I will be often using the phrase " You may be bigger, stronger and faster, but I will always be meaner."


Here are a few pics from the past few months....




My niece Jennifer just returned home from a deployment in Afghanistan and Ben's class wrote to her while she was there. Jenny got to surprise him in class and accept the letters in person. It was priceless. Ben even got a little teary. I knew he had some emotions in there somewhere.

John Jr. being in the 4Th grade is studying California history so when we had a few hours to burn while John Sr. was taking his water distribution 3 test we toured the Santa Inez Mission. It was a beautiful day and we all learned a bunch.

I got a surfboard for my birthday! It is a lot of fun, but it seems to hurt a lot more when you fall off that I remember! It is an 8ft long board so it is pretty easy to catch a wave and get up but very scary to have hurling toward you after you fall or dragging you behind it when it catches the wave without me! Both of the boys gave it a shot and did great! They will soon be leaving me on shore where I belong and going it alone.

Merry Christmas From the Mielke Family

It is hard to believe that it is already the close of another year. As many people do at this time of year I spend a lot of time reminiscing of Christmases past.

1996

Our first Christmas Picture

1997

1998

1999

this is the day that we came home from the hospital with John Jr. I marched my brand new baby out into a cow pasture so that I could get our Christmas cards out. This shot was a accident. I set the timer and he started to cry. I liked it even though you could not really see him.

2000

2001

I am pregnant with Ben in this one...a long distance silhouette was my best angle. You should have seen me running back and forth to set the timmer!

2002
this is one of my favorites

2003

And so it begins...are they hugging or choking?

2004

2005

Note the cast on Ben's leg.

2006

2007

2008

2009

Lulu is sooooo lovely!

Maybe John and I will be in next years.....

I'm Not Afraid of No Ghost!

The boys were quite a hit at the Halloween Party this year and held on to the best costume title for the fifth year in a row.

Sequoia Trip

We took a trip to the Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park and had so much fun! We drove completely through the park stopping to explore several times. We went on the Crystal Cave tour. It was amazing! Truly one of the most bizarre and beautiful things that I have ever seen. But if you ask the boys what what we saw their memories have been completely erased of the anything before we saw the BEAR! We brought a pick nick lunch. When we arrives at the visitors center we were advised to remove all things with any smell and put them into a bear box each time we got out of the car. It was a pain but worth it once we saw the bear. Next time we will be more prepared.

Cooling off

No, we did not take a tropical vacation, that is Morro Bay waters my boys are out in without wetsuits! They have not lost their minds nor are doing an experiment on hypothermia. It was 90 degrees out! The frigid water was a much needed relief from the disgusting temperatures. Lulu was even diving in.

Wizards and Frampas!

I finally was able to get this edited. I can't believe he was so little!

Time Flies When Your Having Fun

Could it really be almost over? (can you see the glimmer in my eyes?) Summer vacations has come to a close and I am finally taking a moment to post some pictures of what we have been up to.

Bumper boats at Boomers. WET FUN!

Our 4th of July tradition.......Mohawks!

a sleepy summer morning.... I wonder how long this will last?

Our new kitten Sylvia. I had a moment of psychosis at the farmers market. In incendences like this I can not be held accountable for my actions.

Butterflies Alive an the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum.

We had a great time with Grandma and Uncle Craig checking out all the beautiful butterflies but all John could talk about was the owl vomit that we found at the gift shop!

Bull Riding at the Mid State Fair! Fun but HOT!

I have to say that the one thing that I did not think that I would enjoy that much was my favorite adventure of the summer. The boys and I went out for a fishing trip on our friend charter boat. We had a blast, the boys caught 14 Rock Cod and 2 Sand Dabs. We even saw a whale. That's the rock you can see in the background as we were leaving the harbor.

Santa Maria Raceway

We met Becca and family down there. It was so much fun watching the boys enjoy it as much as I do. Blake (Becca's 1 year old) was in heaven until he lost his race car under the bleachers just before the National Anthem! Let's just say that he is very patriotic. He could be heard by all singing his own rendition. All the boys had a great time messing with their earplugs and waiting for the next crash. It brought back lots of fun memories when by brother Rick brought us as kids.