The Graduates

Greetings friends and family,

Our first summer in the new house is starting off well.  The near-record high temperatures are quickly warming the pool to the ideal temperature.  The back patio is heavily used.  Eating messy bomb pops on the rocking sofa after swimming really hits the spot. Layla is turning into a mermaid with her swimming abilities. Easton is turning into a water gun warrior with his soaking accuracy. 

Easton and Layla are still grasping the concept of just hanging out and talking.  They are both so active and playful that these resting times are still very rare.  If I have to bribe them with a bomb pop to have this time, then so be it. 

The big news story of the week is Easton and Layla's graduation from preschool!  I took some time off work to be with Kendra as we watch the first of many graduation ceremonies. 

The graduation was very different than I expected.  Usually the kid walks up to the front, is handed a certificate, and shakes a few hands.  Their school was impressively better.  Each kid sat on the teacher's lap as she showered them with accolades and memories.  She described the unique qualities of their personality, pointed out a few memorable moments from their photo album, and prayed for them.  Each one. 

Then the obligatory certificate and picture with the teachers.  Easton received the compliments well.  His confidence is starting to show.



Layla described her group of friends as "girl friends", which is appropriate.  However, Easton refers to his rough and rowdy crew of classmates as "boy friends", which doesn't go over so well.  Took me all year to change his description of them.  I'm not even going to bother explaining to him why though.   



Layla is without a doubt the happiest social butterfly in the class.  Smiling, encouraging, leading...  and waving at us the whole time non-verbally saying, "Hooray for me!"

After watching each child interact with the teachers and receive their certificate there is a noticeable difference in Layla's excitement compared to the other students.  Vivacious is still the best word to describe her.

Layla sure knows how to give and receive love from peers and adults.  Kendra and I were proud to cheer for her accomplishment and growth.

Next year is pre-school again, but with a new teacher and class.  The continuous education cycle is spinning already.  I went back to work, but Kendra was able to stay and watch Layla's dance class.  We paid the extra fee for Layla to participate in the dance class this year.  Money well spent in my opinion. 

She's teaching me these moves at home occasionally when we dance together.  I'm learning all the ballet lingo and techniques.  Quite a stretch for a nerd like me, but she is a great teacher already.

For the graduation gift I took them on a shopping trip.  Layla chose the 48 piece Dora princess puzzle as her gift. 

Easton found an F14 fighter jet with wings that move.  His cardboard box airport is still seeing occasional flight patterns.  Especially after adding a new plane to his fleet.

Layla and I took a special trip to the local drug store to get a new nail polish.  It's amazing how much mileage we got from $2 and taking time to paint her nails.  She sat on my lap so I could paint her fingers and then I sat her on the couch with legs over my shoulders so I could paint her toes too. 

After two coats of glittery polish Kendra finished the job with a clear coat of hardening stuff.  She is grateful for our time together and our efforts to make her feel special.  That makes me want to do it even more! 

See you soon.

Loving Layla

Greetings friends and family,

The record high temperatures make daily swims a requirement.  Today the twins waited until I arrived home from work so I could join them.  Both of them quickly regained their progress from last season.  After dinner we sat outside and celebrated their achievements with a Bomb Pop.  Layla and I were discussing which of the three flavors is the best!

I've been searching for a special song for a long, long time.  There are songs about daughters, but most of them deal with following her through life and milestones.  One great example of this is Darius Rucker's song:



This is yet another song I must take out of my playlist because it chokes me up every time I hear it.  Just like Butterfly Kisses and Clark Richard's, "Red Robin". 

None of these songs have what I am looking for.  I want a song that expresses how much I love Layla right now just the way she is.  Not one which looks forward to special occasions in the future and also not living in the past of shared experiences.  The song must show how beautiful and special and perfect she is right now.  I want to sing to her in the moment and show her unconditional love with no expectations of what I think her life will be like in the future.  She has plenty of time to worry about weddings and college.  Right now I want her just to enjoy being my beautiful princess and all that childhood is supposed to be.

Since my search for a relevant song yielded no results I've decided to write my own song especially for Layla.  I sing to her every nigh.  However, Amazing Grace and Jesus Loves Me don't convey the expression of love I'm trying to get across to her.  The tune is already bouncing around in my head, but the lyrics are harder to write than I imagined.  My expectations of the final product are really low and luckily Layla is my biggest fan and the only one I hope likes it. Here's a part of what I have so far:

I have always loved you and I always will
Doesn't matter what you did
I will always find you anywhere you go
Doesn't matter where you hid

You are my beautiful princess
Peacock eyelashes surround your eyes
Fire glows in them, there is no disguise

All of this emotion and thought is a result of looking through this blog site:  http://lifetoheryears.com/.  It provides "Dad's tips for adding life to a daughter's years".  I'm plagiarizing shamelessly and probably won't bother giving credit to who quoted what so please forgive me.

Anyway, here are two lists...  One showing what I do successfully now and one that is setting the bar even higher for myself.

Tips which I already live out daily: 

1. There is no such thing as the perfect dad, but if you’re present in her life, apologize when you screw up, and shower her with affection, you'll get pretty close.
2. Protect her childhood. It’s the only one she’s got.
3. There is a direct correlation between a girl’s self-esteem and the physical affection she receives from her father. In case you’re wondering, now would be a good time to drop everything you’re doing and go give your daughter a big hug and kiss.
4. Be patient with her. In doing so, you will teach her that she’s worth waiting for.
5. There’s no better perch for observing the world than the lap of her father.
6. Sing to her. Every day. Even when you don’t feel like it. Do it often enough and the sound of your voice will become a permanent source of steadiness in her life.
7. She needs to learn how to accept a compliment. Give her lots of practice.
8. Bring her a cup of cold water every night before bed. If you ever wonder what she thinks about this nightly routine of yours, try skipping a night.
9.Never turn down an offer to dance.
10. Of all the ways to bond with your daughter, cuddling in bed might be the easiest. It’s not always the early bird who gets the worm.
11. Children become readers on the laps of their parents.
12. When a daughter puts her arms over her father’s shoulder and says, ‘Daddy, I need to ask you something,’ he is a pat of butter in a hot frying pan.

And here is my personal list of "in progress" or "needs improvement" tips:

1. The greatest thing a father can do for his daughter is love her mother. 

2. Never be the first one to break a hug.
3. Girls are complicated. The instruction manual that comes with girls is 800 pages, with chapters 14, 19, 26 and 32 missing, and it’s badly translated, hard to figure out.
4. Include her in major family decisions. She should always have a voice even if she doesn’t have a vote.
5. A little girl can, at times, seem a lot like a cake that came out of the oven too soon. Beautiful on the outside… gooey and messy on the inside. Your job is to help her finish baking.
6. Pick one song and sing it to her every night at bedtime.
7. Being a great father is like shaving. No matter how good you shaved today, you have to do it again tomorrow.
8. Be careful not to dismiss misbehavior when she’s a toddler just because it seems cute. What’s cute at two is not always so cute at twelve, sixteen, or twenty-one.
9. If you want to be her friend in adulthood, you have to be her parent today. This rarely works in reverse.
10. She will climb as high as you let her. Never impose artificial limits.

Seems simple enough, right?  Many of these apply to raising boys and girls, but this post and the blog I linked is about daughters...  Although I can't wait to see her as she blooms into a young lady, I'm completely content with her just the way she is today.  4-years-old and wonderful.

See you soon!

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!

Man Down

Hello friends and family,

Kendra is on the mend!  Scott and Marisue brought dinner over for us.  What an extremely thoughtful thing to do.  We were so grateful to see him at the door with food in hand.  Not dealing with meal time was a big stress relief.  I'm crediting that (and not the antibiotics) for Kendra turning the corner.  Just a cough and some sluggishness are all that remain of the beastly cold.  Besides...  It was 95 degrees today so it was impossible for the "cold" to stay around.  

Easton and Layla took a trip to the pediatrician for a "well visit" where the doctor lady proceeded to inject them with three shots each.  Kendra and I took a couple of tries to explain what is a well visit to the doctor and why they have to get poked and deal with sore arms if they are not sick.   No big deal though.  Nothing a sparkly band-aid for Layla and a Bugs Bunny band-aid for Easton won't cure.  They cried, but bravery is starting to shine through more each time they visit the doctor's office. 

The title of this post should have been Little Man Down because Easton caught the sickness and is fighting the fever along with Kendra.  He took two naps today.  Something he hasn't done in about 2 years?  Poor guy is a little moody, but hanging in there like a good soldier.

I had the privilege to take Layla to school and pick her up today since Easton was down for the count.  As I waited outside her classroom for nap time to be over I noticed each child had their picture on the window.  Seems odd to see a picture of the twins which was not taken by me.  :)

School pictures are intriguing, but since I take 5,000 of my own per year I doubt these will hold much value for Easton and Layla as they get older.

The door opened and I expected my typically energetic girl to jump into my arms with a big hug.  instead I found her drooling on her bean-bag pillow like this.

She takes naps about twice per year.  I thought maybe this was a sign she was feeling ill, but as it turns out her dance class and school day was just extra fun.

Layla is making great progress on filling her fuzzy jar through exceptional obedience and good choices.  Occasionally she will respond to Kendra's request with a firm, "YES, mommy I will."  That earns a fuzzy more often than not.  Layla requested a Daddy date for us to pick out her good consequence (reward) for filling her fuzzy jar.  She chose Claire's as the place to find the hidden treasure.  We scoured the entire store looking for the one item she desired more than anything.  Turned out to be a jewel encrusted cell phone shaped lip gloss and eye shadow case.  That'll do.

As we were perusing the isles Layla found the sunglasses and pulled this peculiar pair off the stand.  She tried them on and the mustache hung below her mouth.  No bueno.  So she asked me to try them on and being the most shameless father in history I agreed.  We laughed so hard looking at ourselves in the mirror I thought we were going to get kicked out.

Somehow she came up with the gibberish name of "Mooperton" for me.  I retaliated by calling her Meeperton.  We addressed each other cordially as such for the rest of the evening.  People in the stores must have thought we were insane as we belly-laughed our way down the isles saying, "Meeeeeep....   Mooooop" in varying tones.  Being silly is getting easier by the day because of spending time playing with the twins.

Not everything has to make sense and that's an old concept I'm rejuvenating from my childhood.  My imagination is coming back slowly but surely.

I already wrote about Kendra's Mommy day at Easton and Layla's school in a previous post, but she took a short video clip of them singing that is too cute to pass up.  



It's nice to see the fruits of their labor from practicing songs at school.  Speaking of songs...  Each time we pass the American flag on our Daddy dates Layla notices and requests my a Capella rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner.  Tonight she started singing along and I can't wait until we are able to do a duet.  The words are a little awkward for a four-year-old to comprehend, but she's sounding very good none the less.  Makes my patriotic smile hugely wider to hear her singing it...

See you soon!

Got My New Shoes On

Howdy friends and family,

We are now on day 5 of Kendra's sickness.  Normally I despise boring talk about health and who's sick and what's wrong.  Talk to anyone over 70 (except GG) and the conversation will inevitably swerve into "what's wrong with me today" conversations.  Anyway, Kendra being sick is VERY significant because she is the engine that powers the 4 Webbs through the week.  With her idle in bed coughing and aching we are also at idle speed as a family.

I couldn't wait to get home from San Diego because I missed the other three Webbs so much.  This is the moment in the story where the writer would say, "little did he know...".  dum da dum dum!  I planned to jump back in as Daddy and Husband and then catch up on work, get back in the gym, read some books, see my friends.  Not so much.  This has been just one of those weeks when I hearken back to our wedding vows when I said, "in sickness and in health".  Almost 10 years ago I was referring to right now.

I've had enough patience and love and strength to take care of the home front as well as Kendra (to the best of my ability) while sleeping not so well along side my love.  She insisted I sleep in the guest bedroom, but I would rather be by her side and miss my REM sleep completely than alone in a bed on the other side of the house.  That's not just pride or chivalry, that is truly how much I love Kendra and want to be with her.

Anyway, Easton is still a big fan of Cars 2 and still pointing out that Rip Clutchgoneski is the only one he is missing from his complete set of racers.  I've gone to extremes to find the 1:55 scale Mattel version (not the 1:43 scale Disney mega size) and I'm convinced Disney DIDN'T produce this car just to make anal-retentive fathers like me scour the Earth in search of it.  I'd be better off digging for a real dinosaur fossil.

I'm glad he still enjoys playing with the ones he has.  In this picture below Layla is singing a song she made up about Mater.  She's a performer, for sure.

We were in line at the grocery store today and Layla was belting out a church song for all 8 people in our line including the checkout girl.  I just let her sing away because the last thing I ever want to do is dim her flame even one lux.

One of the dangers of Daddy going shopping is that I tend to impulse buy for Easton and Layla.  I am 100% sure Easton didn't have a good pair of sneakers at home.  They are either hand-me-downs which are too big or broken.  I'm tired of him wearing crocs everywhere so we went to find some new shoes.

Did you know Sports Authority carries only size 11 shoes and bigger?  guess what size Easton is...  10.  DSW carries NO children's shoes at all so I after measuring at Sports Authority we went to Carter's for our third attempt to find a store with his size.

Lucky for us they carry up to size 10!  I found a pair that lights up and has two velcro straps.  I'm not a big fan of tying shoe laces and the twins are not old enough to tie their own.  I'll stick with velcro for another year or so.

For some reason Easton and Layla have turned a corner in the growth of their mental capacity.  They used to test our boundaries occasionally or even accidentally.  Now they have taken it upon themselves to make it a continuous daily mantra of boundary testing.  Layla stands up in her chair and I say, "Layla, please don't stand in your chair.  We don't do that."  5 seconds later Easton stands up in his chair.  Almost as if to say, "I heard you say that to Layla, but do the same rules apply to me?"

Yes, they absolutely do.  We end up setting rules and boundaries twice for each one because they can't make the connection that what we say applies to both of them equally.  I know some day they'll get it though.  for now it is our job as parents to be consistent and compassionate.  After watching the movie, Buck, I am applying what he said about horses to Easton and Layla.  No, I'm not putting a saddle on them...  I'm starting from the position that they don't know any better because they haven't been shown what are the rules and boundaries of life. Once they know, then that's a different story, but it's unfair as parents to expect children to know what is acceptable and what is not.  What is right and what is wrong.  what is safe and what is dangerous.  That's my privilege to define that for them.  One day at a time.


Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.


Until Easton and Layla start to define love on their own I am their definition of love.  They only  know what I share with them.  They only see what I do (and the commercials on TV, God help me).  They only hear what I say.  That is an awesome responsibility, which I take very seriously.

Today Easton had a break through of epic proportions.  We were out to lunch and just sat down.  Easton and Layla each had their own cup of water.  I asked both of them not to touch their water while I go get utensils so they knew what is expected.  Three forks later and I look over to see Layla's water soaking the table and her dress.  I walked over and Layla was pointing at Easton with pursed lips, a stiff arm, and a bony finger.  Easton stepped down from the booth to meet me and then the most incredible thing happened.

He said, "I disobeyed and touched Layla's cup.  Do you forgive me?"  To which I calmly replied, "I forgive you" as I gave him a big hug.  Then he said, "I will not touch Layla's cup again".

Finally!  After countless times of going through these situations he finally got it.  I know this because he willingly thought through what to do and walked through it step by step.  He knows forgiveness, good and bad consequences, obedience, and unconditional love.  This is by far the greatest accomplishment in parenting I've experienced in the past 4 years.  Kendra is a huge part of this since we co-parent, but I'm the lucky one that got to see the fruit of our efforts first.  By co-parent I mean we are constant through time and we are consistent with each other.  There is no, "just wait until your father gets home..." or "When Mom finds out what you did...".  We are on the same page and take care of business the same way no matter which one of us is with the twins.  That makes all the difference in the world.

See you soon!

Kendra's Mommy Day

Hello friends and family,

I arrived safely at home, but frazzled from the San Diego conference.  All 4 Webbs were extremely happy to be back together again.  Seeing their smiles as they pulled up at the airport terminal to pick me up was such a welcoming event.

The only disappointment was to see Kendra sniffling and coughing.  There is no such thing as a timely sickness, but we have so much going on with work and social and church life that this was by far the worst possible timing.  This is one of those weeks where we feel so alone without family close by to help shoulder some of the load.  Only a few more weeks before we get to spend time with Kendra's extended family, but that doesn't make the current situation any more tolerable.  Even so, we'll certainly survive and I'm grateful we have each other.

I've been working on my own theories and key learnings about love.  One of those things every human being experienced on some level at some point in their lives.

My contrarian view is this:  It is impossible to fall in love.  It is easy to fall out of love.

I think people get this backwards all the time.  Most seem to think you stumble on someone and then just jump off a cliff and "fall" into love.  That isn't true.  Loving someone takes time, effort, and resources.  In short, it is a pursuance of a person that leads to love, which is a participant role not a spectator.  More importantly it takes those same components to stay in love;  Not perfection (thank God), but a persistent, intense focus on the most important person in your life.  Sometimes the "effort" component is simply accepting the other person just the way they are with all of their imperfections and failures as well as their talents and character.

The opposite is also true.  People say, "We just grew apart" as if some movement or growth took place in one or both, which resulted in the loss of love.  Bologna!  All one has to do to lose love is nothing.  Just jump off the cliff and do absolutely nothing but spectate.  Watch it happen, talk about it happening, complain about it.   That is spectating at its finest.  If love is a mountain and all relationships are dynamic, then climbing the mountain INTO love is a joy and a skill and a journey.  Falling off the mountain just takes one simple act of letting go and losing hope.

Please keep in mind this is all a work in progress as I make my own mistakes and cherish the successes.

OK, enough philosophy for one day.  On to the fun of twins.  Just like I experienced Dad's day at Easton and Layla's school a few months ago it was Kendra's turn to have a Mom's day.   The kids worked for weeks on the songs they sang.  Kendra said it was humorous and heart-warming.

Kendra captured one of my favorite pictures of the year so far.  I can't believe how old they are getting as they bloom right before my eyes every day.  They are best friends for sure.

 One of the special gifts they gave Kendra was a laminated craft with a poem and a hand print.  I'm sure we'll keep these forever.

Kendra looks so beautiful.  It took me several years to really figure it out, but each day I realize more and more how blessed I am to have her.  I'm the lucky one.  She is the love of my life and a great mother for kids.

Mother's Day is just around the corner.  This wasn't intended to be such a Mommy-focused post, but my gratitude for her doesn't need to wait for a specific day to be expressed.

Talk to you soon!

Ultimate Boy's Time - Day 2

Greetings friends and family,

After the sun went down Easton's camping dreams were finally fulfilled.  Not sure where he saw camping = s'more, but that's what he expected.  He asked about s'mores all day long 

we cooked a bunch over the open fire.  The boys were a sticky, chocolaty mess.  The camping experience felt like a contest to see how dirty the boys could get.  The s'mores helped every kid up their game in the contest.

As the night continued, the heat was sucked right out of the desert leaving us with a chill much colder than I expected.  We were mostly prepared, but I felt sorry for some of the older boys who were running around in shorts and T-shirts.  Comfort while camping is a lofty goal, but mostly achievable with enough planning.

The next morning Easton woke up at 5:45.  Unbelievable.  After a long, long day of excitement and late sleepy time his eyes popped open at the crack of dawn.  I hear him loudly exclaim, "Is it time to get up, Dad?"  In an attempt to catch a few more quiet minutes I told him to come cuddle with me in my sleeping bag.  He climbed in and we talked for a minute about the noises he heard during the night.  Then, without warning he puked a little on my sleeping bag and blanket.  He said, "I feel good now, Dad.  It's time to get up and go play!"  Maybe the late-night S'mores wasn't such a good idea?

The boys ran around camp like a flock of birds following each other around.  Easton eventually grew tired of the pace and asked if he could help.  I gave him the shovel and told him to dig a race track for the ants.

He and Daniel raced some ants and then got side-tracked by water gun wars.  Nothing like teaching gun safety, then letting them loose with these toys.

We drove down the road to an open cattle area.  The pond was gross, but Easton got to see all kinds of cattle related scenery including salt blocks.  

The boys gathered around a cow head from a young one that got stuck in a tree.  They still don't get the idea behind death so this was just cool and exciting.  Not one "awe... poor cow" was uttered.  Pun intended.

It was quite a site to see the sad outcome.  We joked with Brendon teasing him about how he must have planted the cow there as a hidden treasure for us to find.  One of the most enjoyable adventures of the trip was wandering through the desert and observing the surroundings.

More guns and more boys.  This time they were shooting BBs at bottles and other desert riffraff.  Easton gained some confidence by running straight down the side of the dam.  His feet barely kept up with the momentum, but he walked away unscathed because his balance is starting to catch up with his body.

Here he is with Daniel.  Both of them with their hands on the lever to open and close the shoot where cattle walk through.  I tried to explain the purpose and process, but without a real cow making its way through the enclosure I lost them after only a few seconds.

 A huge pile of boulders near our camp site provided a good vantage point to show the boys the vastness of the desert.

Me and my Glock.  Shooting was thrilling to say the least.  The highlight of my trip was burning through 3 boxes of shells.

One of the hazards of desert camping is that unsuspecting cacti are everywhere.   All it takes is a few steps without paying attention to your surroundings and BAM, the jumping cholla cactus defends itself the only way possible... Daniel was on the receiving end of that unfortunate incident.

The nutritional value of the camping experience was almost non-existent.  We celebrated Ben's birthday with a round of homemade cupcakes.  The wind was blowing so much that the candle on Ben's cupcake remained unlit, but the singing of the birthday song and consuming the cupcakes went very well.

We packed up camp without incident and headed home.  Easton made it about 15 minutes before running out of batteries.  He slept and I succeeded in staying awake... barely.  Now that the twins moved into the big boy and big girl seats there is no ability to recline.  Easton didn't seem to mind because he was so worn out that he would have fallen asleep hanging by his foot from a building.

Easton did so well in the unfamiliar environment.  His risk-taking and confidence were both boosted to never-before-seen levels.  Today when we were talking about some detail of the camping trip Easton said, "When we were camping I really missed Layla."  So true...

I look forward to our vacation to Sacramento this summer because the 4 Webbs will all go camping with Ouma and Oupa.  That'll be a whole new adventure with the girls.


Talk to you soon!