Riders on the Storm

Greetings friends and family,

Our front yard was maliciously vandalized by either really good friends of our, enemies, or possibly a mistaken address identity meant for the late-night party next door.  Either way, it was quite a surprise when I opened the garage door this morning.  The intent was to go for a bike ride around the neighborhood with the twins.  However, as we walked out into the driveway a neighbor jogging by laughed and said, "We've all been there..."  I had yet to see the disaster so her comment was very perplexing.  Then I looked surveyed the damage.  After my initial reaction of, "Oh my GOODNESS!  What in the world?" I started laughing.

Easton and Layla were completely baffled by the whole situation.  In between chuckling I did my best to explain what happened and why.  I must admit I had very few answers for them, but half of the fun in this situation was seeing their expressions as their brains attempt to comprehend what happened.  

Once they realized how I didn't think it was a big deal they were able to join in the fun of the moment.

They were both happy-hearted about helping with the cleanup effort and now the house is back to normal except for a couple of shreds of paper stuck high up on the Saguaro.

I boycotted the entire NBA season this year because of the selfish, greedy lockout which canned the first half of the season.  Tonight I turned on the game for the first time because my favorite team, the Lakers made it to game 7 of the first round.  GG, I know how much you dislike the Lakers, so feel free to skip this next part.  :)

Each year since Easton was born I suit him up in my extra long Lakers jersey.  Here we go through 5 play-off seasons.  During the first season Easton was just weeks old.

By the second season he was able to watch a few minutes of the game before losing interest.

By the third season he was able to stand on his own, but the shirt still dragged the floor.

By the fourth season he had the mental capacity to ask to take it off because it's obviously the wrong size.  You can see Layla in the background observing.

This being the 5th season, his toes are starting to show due to continued growth and his big-boy stature.  I had to make funny noises to get him to smile because he wasn't happy about wearing this at all.

Layla decided she wanted to give it a try because any time the camera is out she expects to be a part of it.

Luckily the Lakers won tonight to advance to the second round playoffs.  I don't give them much hope to win against the OKC Thunder though.  Maybe Aunt Mary should go see a game since she is so close to the OKC areana.  She can cheer for the Lakers in my place...

We experienced a tremendous storm a few days ago, which is big, big news here in AZ.  Since we have no natural disasters this is the most interesting weather we get.  The yellow-flowering tree in the green belt behind my house must die.  This is why...

My pool was an absolute mess after the high winds blanketed it with debris.  All I need to do is find a friend who has a chainsaw.  muahhahahahaha.

We sat on the back patio and discussed every sight and sound of the storm as it rumbled and flashed.  I told Easton and Layla to pretend to be scared for the picture.  Layla wasn't pretending and Easton was so thrilled to witness the storm that he couldn't even fake being afraid.  The perma-grin smile lasted several hours after the storm was gone.  

Layla went to school, but Easton stayed home since his temperature was still a little too high to expose him to the preschool population.  Kendra had the great idea of joining me for lunch.  The three of us ate together in the cafeteria at my work.  I really enjoyed breaking up my day like that because if they hadn't shown up I would have ate at my desk and kept working away.

Afterwards Easton wanted to see my office again so we stopped by for a few quiet minutes so he could look around.  I have his coloring pages of fighter jets pinned to my wall.  He was excited to see that I have them up!

All 4 Webbs are healthy once again, thank God.  Life is so much more enjoyable.  Another recent advancement I am excited about is self-buckling and managing the car doors. For 4 years I've had to load, buckle, and manage doors for Easton and Layla.  During the past month they became fully certified to open the door, close the door, clip in, and clip out when we arrive.  The twins are not getting easier per se, but there is more parenting going on and less dependence on us with each passing day.

See you soon!