Tanner Family Reunion 2010

At the beginning of June we hopped in the car and traveled to Newport, OR for Casey's family reunion. We celebrated Casey's birthday, went to the beach a lot and played, watched Nate run his marathon (the reason we had it in Newport), ate a lot of good food, and enjoyed hanging out with the family. A big thanks to Casey's mom for organizing it all so we can see each other once a year!

The beautiful beach. The only thing that would make it better is warm water :)

Casey and the boys. Weston threw his glasses out the window when we were driving and I was only able to salvage the frames, but he still wears them.
Grandma juggling and reading to the little ones

Weston playing the fountain. It was raining and freezing, but he didn't seem to mind.

Nate running his marathon. He did great.

Benson just did a lot of this.

These two are best friends already

Casey and Jason were trying to play catch, but Weston wanted to play keep away :)

Playing in the sand

We went to Mo's and they put these sharks on the kid's drinks. Weston was trying to feed his straw to one.

And he's off! This was near the restaurant

Weston had fun with the sharks later in the tub too.
A family picture on the last day. Until next year...

3 Months

Benson turned 3 months on June 5. He is the best baby. I'm pretty sure he knows that Weston requires a lot of attention right now, so he is just content hanging around. I don't think I mentioned this before, but he has the cutest little dimple on one cheek and I just love it. Anyways, on to some updates and pictures since that is what everyone wants to see :)

>Doesn't mind tummy time and is working on those neck/back muscles.
>Has pretty powerful legs and can scoot himself forward a little (as he digs his face into the ground).
>Laughs and is starting to think Weston is funny.
>Went swimming for the first time, but it was still a little chilly for him.
>Went on his first road trip and did great!
>Found his feet
>Can grasp his toys now
>Loves dancing to music
>Already enjoys being thrown around by Casey

Working on those muscles

Taking a dip in the pool for the first time
His first sink bath.

Casey's Birthday

Casey's birthday was on June 3rd and we were lucky enough to celebrate with his whole family since it was during his family reunion in Newport, OR. We did all things Casey that day and ate some of his favorite foods. It started off with french toast, strawberries and whipped cream, and fruit salad. Then we headed out to go to the Sea Lion Caves we had heard about. The Sea Lion Caves were a big disappointment and not worth the $12 to get in. Word of advice, if you want to see a bunch of seals or sea lions go to San Francisco or San Diego and see them for free. I actually liked both of those places better. After seeing the sea lions, we stopped by a beach to see some tide pools and walk around then it was home for lunch. For dinner we had a BBQ with hamburgers, brats, strawberry jello salad, and Baked Lays. If you know Casey, you know he loves a good BBQ. To top of the day we played Band Hero. Casey loves to play the drums, but his favorite is singing. "It's all about stage prescence." : ) Happy Birthday again Casey! I love you!

The Sea Lion Caves. Two thumbs down.

Our family picture at the beach.
Getting ready to blow out the candles. I made a "Heaven and Hell" cake. It was Devil's Food and Angel Food cake layers with a peanut butter mousse and ganache frosting. It was pretty good.

Opening presents. He got a lot of new tools which he was excited about.

We got everyone to play Band Hero that night. It was pretty fun.

Memorial Weekend

The Saturday before Memorial Day, we decided to go hiking. Northern California has a lot of hiking/camping, so we're slowly but surely trying to take advantage of it all. There are trails under the Forresthill bridge that run next to the American River, so we gave one of them a try. It was a great day for hiking. Not too hot or cold. We were trying to find this watering hole that is ideal for swimming, but the trail was overgrown, so we went as far as we could then stopped for lunch and headed back. On actual Memorial Day we headed to a new park in Rocklin with a huge playground and water area, went swimming with our friends the Nartkers, then headed to their house for a BBQ that night. Unfortunately the weather was overcast all day, but we still had a great time.

Great weather + great scenery = perfect day for a hike.

Weston was a trooper and would have walked the whole way, but we were trying to pick up the pace a little :)
Benson hanging out during lunch

We stopped by this pretty little spring for lunch and Casey caught a frog that he saw.

After we finished the hike, we took Weston down to the water to throw rocks. He had a blast and didn't want to leave. Throwing rocks is one of his favorite things to do.

The park in Rocklin that Casey discovered. Weston is becoming quite the climber.

Weston loved watching the tee ball games. I can't wait until he is old enough to play.

Benson chillaxin' by the pool. It was a little chilly for him.

Weston having fun with Casey.

Mother's Day

I'm the luckiest mom alive. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father decided to bless me with the cutest little boys. I love being a mom and they brighten my day every time I look into their handsome faces. I'm also the luckiest wife and Casey got me a new car for Mother's Day. It is a 2003 Honda Accord EX, so it has all the fancy features like seat warmers, moon roof, 6-CD changer, etc. The best part is it has an A/C. Now the boys and I drive around in style and comfort :) I had a great Mother's Day this year. It started out with Casey making me breakfast in bed (he looked up recipes and everything), then we had dinner (prepared by Casey and Jason) at Jason and Ashley's. They did a great job!

Me and my new car. I just love it!

My present from Weston. He made it in nursery.

2 Months

Our handsome baby turned 2 months on May 5. Wow, time goes by a lot quicker with the second child. Weston going a 100 miles a minute probably helps, but I seriously don't know where the time goes.

Benson is a cutie and is already very alert. This is what he was up to:

-Smiles and laughs a lot.
-Kicks his feet constantly. He can't wait until his body catches up with his energy. He is always kicking his blankets off.
-Sucks on his hands like crazy and makes funny noises while doing it. If he sucked any harder, he might swallow his hand.
-Drools a lot.
-Is a big talker
-Went on his first plane ride.
-Loves to stand up
-Is already quite the observer and likes to be turned forward so that he can see
-Stats: 12 lbs and 23 1/2 in

Is he not the cutest?

We see a lot of this...

...and do a lot of this :)

New York - Day 3

Casey and I ventured out on our own the third day. We visited this really old church in downtown manhattan, hit up Wall Street (saw the New York Stock Exchange building), the brass bull from Hitch (at least that is what I know it from. It has a real name/story, but I don't remember), saw Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, Canal Street, SoHo, and a lot more of Central Park (made us miss Weston because he would have loved it there). We also figured out the subway system and Casey was addressed by a disgruntled New Yorker with a mouth like a sailor. I think the guy was having a bad day or something and just wanted to cause trouble. For dessert before dinner we went to Serendipity! I don't know what girl doesn't want to go there after watching One Fine Day or Serendipity. My frozen hot chocolate was delicious. It was a little pricey and probably a one time thing, but I loved it! After dinner we haggled a scalper for $10 tickets to the Knicks game. The crowd was really loud and the Knicks won, so that made for a good game. We were actually in New York one more day, but we were tired and just hung out with Rebecca and the kids until our afternoon flight. Thanks to the Kings for letting us visit and to Jason and Ashley for watching Weston!

The Old Church

The Brass Bull

Do you smell something?

Interesting sights on Canal Street

In front of Serendipity with Rebecca

My frozen hot chocolate. Yum!

All you need is love :)

The New York Knicks game. We were at the very top.

Benson the next day. This is what we wanted to do too :)

New York - Day 2

The next day we woke up super early to catch a ferry to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. Then it was home for some much needed nap time. We finished off the day visiting the World Trade Center Memorial site and museum, then walked over the Brooklyn Bridge to visit New York's #1 rated pizza place, Grimaldi's. Fun times.

We didn't get to check out everything that we wanted to here, but it was fun to learn more about the immigrants that came to America.Our Lady Liberty. She is smaller than I thought she would be.

Taking a funny picture with a replica of the face in the museum below.

On the ferry home.

That nap time I mentioned.

World Trade Center Memorial building site. The plans for the memorial look pretty cool. There were about 10 cranes working at the site.

The King Family making their way across the Brooklyn Bridge

The Brooklyn Bridge

Grimaldi's. We even folded our pizza like a true New Yorker.

Everyone enjoying our delicious pizza.