No Fear

Isn't it annoying when parents brag about their spawn and act as if their kid is some kind of child prodigy?

I know. I totally think so too.

My offspring jumped off the big rocks at the Caruso's house over the summer. Those would be the tallest rocks behind him in this photo...

He must have done this 20 times while we were swimming. He's 3.

If there were a bumper sticker that said, "My 3 year old can swim laps around your honor student," I would totally have it on my car. I just thought you should know.

Our Little Band of 3

Disneyland (40 Inches Tall!)

Last month we enjoyed a very wet day at the Mouse House! Mother Nature poured on us sporadically and, although we spent much of the day drenched to the bone, we had a great time! There were a few very special things about this trip...
...Cousin Ashlea skipped school and rounded out our little crew...

...Daddy had the day off work (Hallelujah!) and spent the whole day with us!!...

...Grandma and Grandpa were in town! They hadn't been to Disneyland in nearly 15 years...

...and...

...MadMan finally made the 40" mark and was able to go on Thunder Railroad, Splash Mountain, and Soarin' Over California!! And he loved them all!!!

Halloween 2010

Happy halloween from the Kreil's and the Batman!

Maddox Says...

When Jeff comes home from work, Maddox runs to him with understandable squealing and excitement. Jeff always scoops him up and says, "Let me go greet my wife."

Tonight Jeff came home and Maddox squealed, "Daddy! Mommy's in the kitchen; go greet her."

Last Trip to Buellton

Dan and Carmen are getting ready to pick up and move to Arizona, so we made one last trip to Buellton to visit them before they go. They will be spending the month of October here in Orange County before moving on to Arizona.
Of course, we had to pick some blueberries because it's a Buellton tradition.

We've enjoyed visiting Grandma and Grandpa in Buellton, and we can't wait to see what adventures await us in Arizona.

Seth David Hoggard

Seth David Hoggard made his grand entrance into this world on July 7th! He weighed in at 7lbs. 10oz, practically preemie size compared to Mandy's other kids.

Mandy was going for the distinction of having all three of her boys born on the same date. Nolan and Evan were both born on July 6th, 9 years apart. Two years later, Seth almost made it into the club, but he took his sweet time and arrived on July 7th.

Before leaving for the hospital, a very pregnant Mandy threw a little birthday party for Nolan and Evan.

The cousins, minus Seth who was only a few days old. I guess you're not allowed to ride on a tractor until you're at least a week old.

Instead, Seth snuggled me and took a nap. It's a rough life.

Summertime ... And The Livin' Is Easy

Last month while Maddox and I were in Oregon for the birth of my newest nephew, Seth (photos to follow), Jeff had surgery to reconstruct the ACL he tore playing football. His recovery is going well; he's even walking without a brace most of the time now. He's almost ready to get out there and play football again!

Meg Brooks Changes Her Name

I was so blessed to get to serve as Meg's Matron of Honor when she officially became Meghan Huffman! She looked absolutely beautiful on her big day and I was proud to be a part of it.

The Way to San Jose

In early June the Kerchies and the Kreils drove up to San Jose to attend the lovely wedding of Steven McGee and Stephanie Nichols. The wedding was awesome and the best part was that it was in a beautiful park so Super Maddox got to run around in his cape and play with sticks!
Erin came from KY for a visit!

For the trip back down to So Cal, we decided to take Pacific Coast Highway...

...and stop for some hiking in Big Sur.

Hiking in Pasadena

Part Kid / Part Fish

Iron Man Doesn't Need a Pacifier

Well, the day finally came a couple of months ago when Jeff decided that there would be no more pacifier. I was perfectly happy to let Maddox keep his pacifier until high school graduation, but I think that's called bad parenting.

There was a certain Iron Man helmet that Maddox had his eye on for quite some time. In actuality, he begged for it every time we went to Target, but once I saw the $39.99 price tag, I stated unequivocally that he would not be getting that helmet, and that we would make him an Iron Man helmet from a cardboard box and some red and gold paint. I went on to remind him that his life would be so much different if he had been born to rich parents, but he was born to poor parents so he would suffer along with the rest of the world. I may have thrown in something about poor kids in Uganda not getting Iron Man helmets.

Anyway, seeing a prime opportunity, Jeff told Maddox that the coveted Iron Man helmet cost money and pacifiers, and Maddox was willing to pony up the "sa-sa".

Off they went to Target, where Jeff paid the cashier money and Maddox paid the cashier a Ziploc baggie containing his last 4 pacifiers, which equated his entire life savings. And he happily strode out of Target with a giant talking helmet on his head.

It wasn't until bedtime that night that Maddox experienced a major case of buyer's remorse. I'm sure you've heard parents tell you that they had more anxiety about giving up the pacifier than their kids did, and that the kid asked for it once or twice, and then moved on with their life.

That did not happen here.

But, it's been a couple of months and the emotional damage has healed enough for us to have survived. And we're still pacifier free.

A Visit With The Fam

It's always very difficult to find a day and time that works for the Kreil family to get together. Between the 5 adults on this side of the family, there are 2 that work nights, 2 that work days, and 1 that sits around and files her nails all day.

But the stars aligned one day back in May, and we were able to get together with Uncle Andre, Aunt Tanu and Grandma Tina. We enjoyed dinner at King Harbor and played at the boardwalk arcade.