School Photo

Here's Silas's First Grade photo!

Happy Birthday Kids!

My adorable boys were born 4 days short of 3 years apart, which makes September a month of celebration! Since Keilah's birthday is just 5 days after Christmas AND she's too young to understand why BOTH of her brothers are getting gifts and she isn't - we celebrated her birthday this September too. I think I'm going to make that a regular thing.

This year they got triple the special treatment. First there were cake and presents at the Rauch grandparents' house.

Then there was a fun gift for all three and...

a big birthday party at the Dugan grandparents' house for all the cousins born in August and September (+ Keilah) which made 6!

And finally, the boys got a cupcake and a gift from us on their actual birthday.

We gave Zeke 2 Lego motorcycles and Silas a skateboard.

Happy Birthday kids!! I'm so glad to have you in our family!!!

Labor Day Weekend

We had a fun labor day weekend with a visit to Chris's parents house, a trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and mini-golf on the Boardwalk. Chris, his dad, and Silas also got some shots off at the gun range and Chris had a nice bike ride with his dad. Below are the kids enjoying the touch pond where they held sea stars and decorator crabs.

Most of the exhibits had viewing windows that didn't require lifting Keilah.
I couldn't use flash or it would scare the octopus, but you can still see how cool it was.

When I unpacked I set a bag of chocolates that were in my suitcase on the bed and forgot about them. When I went to find out why Keilah was so quiet (a quiet Keilah is usually not a good thing), this is what I found.

Hair Cut!

After having the same hair cut for years, Silas asked to have a shorter hair cut. So here he is

Yolo County Fair

We went to our local county fair and had such a good time. There were cows, pigs, chickens, sheep and goats to see. Ice cream was licked and rides were ridden. I checked out the quilting and baked goods winners and decided that I should enter my chocolate chip cookies in next year's Fair. Wouldn't it be fun to say, "Yes, my cookies are prize winners!"

The kids had fun on the rides. Chris and I went on a couple of rides with them too.

The kids loved the pony ride. It was Zeke and Keilah's first time on a real pony.

New Kittens

To the great excitement of the kids, we got two new kittens. They're both female and about 4 months old. The tan one is named "Nahla" and the muted calico is named "Sheba". Nahla is shy and Sheba is outgoing, and they are so much fun to have around!

Rauch Reunion Fun Photos

Here is a sampling of our reunion activities.

The kids had fun with their cousins. Keilah and Lily hit it off.

The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk was fun for all.

Keilah got her first ever solo carnival ride.

The men tested their skills in the pinewood derby race. Our family's car got 3rd place (out of 6)!

Chris and Silas went to the gun range with a big group to fire many weapons.