I really love Korinne's eyes in this second photo. They look so soulful. Korinne has the prettiest eyes!
Here's Korinne and her mom. I just love Tandy's new hair cut - and that she's finally embracing her gorgeous natural curls after years of trying to straighten them out.
The party itself was also kind of a family reunion, with folks flying in from all over. Here's a photo of Grandpa with his three kids: Steve, Joe and Lynn (Matt's mom). Steve came up from the San Francisco Bay area, Joe came from Georgia, and Lynn from Seattle!
And here's the whole family (well, the whole group of us that were there, anyway!)
During the party, Simon discovered that if he was careful and tried hard enough, he could climb up onto the lawn chairs by himself. He was quite excited about this new feat of dexterity, and would give himself a hand whenever he turned around and sat down.
Here is Joey with his Grandma Lynn, taking a break for a "Kodak moment" during the party.
Here's a photo of Kristin playing with her cousin Alyssa. Alyssa is the daughter of Matt's cousin Missy, which technically makes Alyssa and Kristin second cousins. But who keeps track of that stuff? 
At the end of the day, Kristin climbed up on Grandpa's lap and fell asleep. It was so sweet! It reminded me of when the kids used to take naps on my dad's lap. 
Joey's game came next. He's on the lime green team this year, and their team name is The Hulks. Last year, I posted here on the blog about how Joey wasn't always that attentive to the game. He'd often miss the ball because he was watching dragonflies or kicking at the dirt. But yesterday was a tough year for Joey, dealing with losing his Grandpa (not to mention moving to a new house and getting a new brother!). This year, Joey is an entirely different player. He was really into the game. And boy, did he run his butt off!
He also really stuck with the player he was supposed to cover, while still staying open so teammates could pass the ball to him if needed.
It was one of the best soccer games he's ever played. Maybe he never scored a goal, and I don't even know if the team won the game or not. But he certainly did his best, and we can't ask for much more than that!
Thanks to Wendy for taking all the photos! (And for helping me wrangle Simon along with all the other equipment we had to lug around to the games!)
While we were in Idaho, Simon loved helping in the garden. Well...what he really loved was playing in the water. Here he is, watching his Grandma water the plants. He was anxious to help!
He was so excited when Great Uncle Joe or Grandma let him play with the sprayer.
He was soaked to the skin when he was done - not that he particularly minded, since it was almost 90 degrees outside. (And muggy because of a bit of rain!) I'm sure the cool water felt great! And can you believe how much blonder his hair has gotten lately? I guess the brown hair he was born with was just a fake out.
For our family vacation this year, we rented an RV and drove to Idaho to celebrate Matt's grandpa's 90th birthday with a big family party. Despite my initial misgivings about a road trip, I have to say that being in a motor home made it all quite enjoyable. Well...maybe it wasn't entirely enjoyable. But close enough. The kids were super excited to be in the RV. Here they are on the day we left, all strapped in and ready to hit the road:
Initially when we rented the RV, I wasn't sure about how it would work in terms of seat belts. But there were actually a few different places where the kids could sit and be strapped in safely. Like they even had seat belts at the table, so the kids could sit and draw while we were driving. They LOVED being in the RV. Of course we made a stop or two on the way so we could have meals and stuff. During those times, Simon liked playing in the "bedroom" area the best:
Finally, after lots of driving through the night (which included some of the worst traffic I've ever seen!), we made it to Idaho. We were greeted by Grandma Lynn, who was bursting at the seams to see her grand babies!
From there, we were busy visiting with family and preparing for Great Grandpa Joe's 90th birthday party. It was a little crazy getting the house ready. Of course, we had lots of help in the kitchen:
I know they don't look all that thrilled, but don't let those grimaces fool you! They were both happy to see their friends and start out on their new school adventure. The first thing Joey wanted to do was to find his best friend Jack:
Joey and Jack have been best friends since kindergarten. They don't have the same teacher this year, but I'm sure they'll still be attached at the hip when they aren't in class. After dropping Joey off at his classroom, I took Kristin to her room. I can't believe she's a Kindergartner already!
Kristin went into her classroom without hesitation and started playing with a few other kids. She was excited to explore, and check out all the new toys and activities around the room. Of course she took time for a quick photo with her teacher, Señor Dawson:
I think it will be a great year for both of them.
