The weather cooled down nicely so it is time for some Smores. Nick was excited to do a "fire camping" make some Smores. He didn't quite know what they were but did know about roasting a marshmallows over the fire. Adam got some quiet time with the fire but no marshmallows or Smores sadly. Mostly Nick liked the idea more then practice and we had one and went back inside. Still had fun and that was the point.

Nick roasting the marshmallow.

Remember the blog is for the family, which means occasionally you get reminded that Dad likes himself from Beer. Today is brew day and we are brewing some Caribou Slobber (those in the know: think Moose Drool). This is a medium beer, versus the first Irish Red I brewed (about 2 weeks from drinking) and lighter then the "Wee Heavy" I have on tap for the next brew in a few weeks. It is a pretty fun hobby and heck, something that results in beer is a pretty good idea if you ask me. It is about time to crash cool the wort (don't worry, you aren't expected to understand what that means) in some ice water and then add the yeast to ferment (make the beer). Fun stuff, for Dad at least, Mom is stuck at work due to her previous fun in Taiwan.

Ingredients for Beer, oh Yeah.

A new spot for kids opened (not sure when) in downtown Phoenix. A friend from work told us about it and Jen got some free tickets through the library so last weekend we hit the joint. It is in an old school and definitely still under construction. Overall I thought it was pretty good and will be great when it is all done (though kid volume may kill it in the summer). Lots of stuff for the kids to do, medium size and small, Nick had fun at all the stops. We got to play with balls /air, balls dropped into a path (what are these called?), race cars, shopping store, serving ice cream, and are you kidding me a NOODLE FORREST!!!!!

Serving Dad Ice cream.

Our family "Raise the Climber" bottle caps.

These boys are something special (at least to us...). Everything has been going well lately, no major damage and mostly fun. We visited Herb and Bev and Grandma last weekend and had a good time. Adam is seen below having fun in a box (kids... they love anything). Dad even got a surprise when Herb busted out some Double Bastard, yeah Herb. Adam has a couple new teeth coming in, which hopefully explains the 12:30am wake up last night. Those aren't allowed okay Adam!

Meanwhile we have Nick who is just plain awesome. He is really becoming his own guy. He loves (and I mean loves) to "play." We ask everyday at dinner what he did and he always says, "well I went outside and played, and then came inside and played, How was your day Mom?." I think he has Dad's sense of humor, exemplified by the shoes in the second picture.

Riding the Box.

Dad's shoes fit... sorta.

Last weekend Julie (Jen's cousin) visited from NYC. Her one day tour of Chandler brought us to Tumbleweed park and a visit from Micah (we love her so much). It was the first rainy day in Phoenix for months and we forgot Nick's coat at school. An improvisation resulted in a Toga experiment that worked quite all right. Other then getting wet and cold we all had fun, until Nick fell off the tire swing, that just was not pretty at all.

The little ones.

Little kid hugs are awesome.

Is there anything better then a sleeping baby? As a parent I am not sure there is. Anyway, here is a cute picture of Adam snoozing away (we were very careful to not awaken the beast). He sleeps just like Nick did with his butt in the air.

Adam sleeping.

Adam is doing very well these days. He recovered great from the mouth smashing on the floor incident and carrying on like only he can. He pulls himself up on everything now, not quite standing by himself yet but that is only a matter of time. He loves to get into anything Nick is doing (Nick is not enjoying that At All). We are about done with the home made food and on to eating what we eat. Today was Hamburger Helper and he scarfed it down. He also gets into everything, and I mean everything, definitely not like Nick in that respect. Still a very happy and smily boy though.

Standing at the end table.

First time at the mall play area.

First, lets say thanks to all that serve in the armed forces. Thanks and good luck, let's all get home safe.

To that end the boys were off daycare today so I took them to the zoo (so did everyone else by the way). Once we found a spot we had to stop at the lake and say hi to the ducks. The geese must have known that cuz 3 of them accosted us and scared Nick (thus the standing on the table version of Nick). After that we went in and had lunch, visited the Giraffe and Elephant and played at the tree house. On the way out we hit the carousel, which happens to be the first time for Adam. All in all a good day.

Geese chased Nick to the top of the table.

This past weekend Herb and I headed to San Diego for some cool weather and good beer. We spent time at Stone Brewing Co and Pizza Port Brewery. Stone is extremely nice and the beer was excellent. We went on a tour of the brewery which was my first so I had fun. The main goal was to get some of the archived IRS, we did it and liked it. Pizza Port was more down to earth but food and beer just as good. If you are in Carlsbad or Escondido, hit them up.

Tony enjoying an Imperial Russian Stout at Stone's Garden.

Up close to a fermentor on the tour (four free tasters at the end!).