Cheers!

Ben loves toasting with his milk!

Like Mother, Like Son...

It's no surprise that I love birds... there are birds in nearly every bit of decoration in our house, Ben's room has a mural of birds on the wall, I took bird study in high school instead of physics (which had almost nothing to do with my inability towards science and math... kinda), the list goes on and on... so the fact that Ben loves birds isn't a shocker to say the least.

So, for the bird lover, what is the first thing you do to a new house? Of course, you set up the bird houses and bird baths! Jeff and Ben set up the bird feeders and within an hour, every bird in the neighborhood was in our backyard and within an hour and 5 minutes, Ben was chasing each one of said birds!

Very proud of their accomplishment, the boys sit back and marvel at their handy work.

 Sophie, on the other hand, doesn't get the whole bird fascination. So... while the 2 legged Bolgers were busy getting the birds welcomed to the new house, our 4 legged terrier extraordinaire bathed in the sun wanting nothing to do with the loud feathered creatures that she finds oh so annoying.

 Here, the boys have gone to hide on the other side of the yard to patiently await the bird's arrival.

Lions and Tigers and... Turkey Vultures?

On our hike this past Sunday, we came across 6 turkey vultures sitting on a fence just a few feet from our trail. We've seen them flying over the hills for the past month but they've been pretty far away so we thought they were condors or hawks. Nope... turkey vultures. Not quite as exotic or blog-worthy as condors but, oh well. Side note... these turkey vultures are really big with flappy red gobblers.

Where the Wild Things Are

This past week, Ben & I went to Wild Things with Gommie and Papa. Wild Things is this amazing animal rescue organization a few miles from our house that rescues exotic animals that people have tried to keep as pets, former circus acts etc etc. Ben had never been here and got a huge kick out of it. He even got to feed Butch, the elephant! But... out of seeing the alligators, lions, tigers, kangaroos, monkeys etc, he most enjoyed 'talking with the donkey' and wouldn't stop saying 'E-Ah, E-Ah.'

Watermelon Sunday

Ben ADORES watermelon in a MAJOR way. So, on Sunday, the sun was out, it was snack time and we had a ripe watermelon just waiting to be eaten so Ben basically had Christmas come early in August. Hasn't quite mastered eating watermelon without getting it all over himself hence the topless-ness. Needless to say, as soon as the watermelon was demolished (and you better believe it was), it was bath time.

Ben Taking on the Pinata

This is Ben's second attempt at taking down Buzz Lightyear, the pinata that just wouldn't go down! Not bad, big guy!

Emerson's Birthday Party

Ben's friend, Emerson, had his 3rd birthday party this weekend at the park next to our house. Ben had so much fun playing with the big kids, eating treats and most of all, hitting his first pinata. Now... there were some serious sluggers in the bunch and we've seen enough of America's Funniest Home Videos to know that those sluggars should go first and get their aggression out on the poor pinata. Ben didn't break open the Buzz Lightyear pinata but he gave it a really good try (twice!) and loved hunting for the candy once Buzz was finally cracked open.

Ben (in the red hat) and Emerson (in the light blue t-shirt) are patiently waiting for the birthday singing to start so they can get to the sweet treats. Notice how Ben has squeezed his way into the seat next to the birthday boy... no doubt he was planning how to get first pick on the birthday cake...

Here Ben is warming up his arm for the pinata...

Having a go at Buzz...

And very happily counting his stash of candy!

Stay tuned to the blog tomorrow for a video of Ben taking on the pinata...

Fun in the Sun!

Monterey summers are never warm and sunny but typically, come mid August, that's when our summer starts. But... not so much this mid August. It has felt more like winter then summer or even spring. So... Ben and I decided to go find the sun and found it in Gilroy at Gilroy Gardens! We met Jody, Lauren and Max Pulford for some rides, some sun and some ice cream. If we're lucky, the sun will come out in Monterey before Thanksgiving!

Back at it!

Well, we've been in the new house almost 3 weeks and this was the first weekend where it felt like a 'normal' weekend. Still tons of unpacking to do, at this point, I doubt unpacking will ever end but little by little, we're making headway. Sure we did some organizing and unpacking this weekend but we also took somt time out for a hike in the hills behind our new house. We saw all sorts of animals... lizards, rabbits, spiders... but Ben's most favorite were the horses... or as he called them, 'BIIIIIG Horsey, Naaay!'

Is this what boys do?!?

You may be asking what Jeff and Ben are doing in these pictures... if you are even the slightest bit familiar with boys (which, I sadly admit I am not or was not until about 2 years ago), you will have probably guessed chasing lizards. Yep... this is what they are doing... they are on a lizard hunt. As you can see from the progression of pictures below, they are 1) looking for lizards, 2) have found and are patiently awaiting the lizard and 3) chasing the lizard. All I can say, other than "Gross!" is... boys will be boys ?!?

New House

We're baaaack!

It has been a long few weeks, that is for sure! We have moved into the new house as of July 25, work has been a bit cuckoo for both of us, Jeff went to Hilton Head on a boy's golf weekend and in between those things, we've been trying to unpack. I guess the name of the game is enjoy the process because it sure isn't going by quickly!

Here is a pic of Ben on his tricycle for the first time tonight in front of our new house. As for the tricycle, Ben didn't quite get it, he had more fun pushing it from the hand held rod that Jeff is holding onto in this picture. I guess baby steps for Ben biking AND for unpacking. Is the universe trying to teach us Bolgers a lesson?

We have quite a bit to do to the house and the landscaping. We'll post more pics as we get some projects completed but here is a pic of the new place. 3 of our neighbors brought us cakes and cookies to welcome us to the neighborhood and they all seem very nice (Ben especially likes 4 year old Sam next door)... welcome to the burbs, Bolger family! Looks like I better start brushing up on my Betty Crocker skills!