Snips & Snails & Puppy Dog Tails...

Braden has lots of friends nearby that he gets to enjoy being rowdy with. They all love being adventurous and active.

 

Landin, Keegan and Braden had some good, old-fashioned fun climbing trees.

Climbing trees leads to snack breaks on rocks.

 Braden wanted me to climb with him, but I got to use the pregnancy excuse this time.

Finally a picture without their helmets on!

Keegan is one of Braden's best buddies.

Keegan, Braden, Cornell and Landin raced down the driveway.

Hmmm, that didn't quite go as planned.



Boys will be boys...everything is a race or competition of some sort!

Cornell and Braden played with some of Uncle CJ's and Matt's old Star Wars toys. Oldies, but goodies!

These boys loved the classic Star Wars stuff!

Gatorade mustaches and big guns! These boys are growing up way too fast for my liking!

Chillaxin' in a hammock...guessing Quinn, Braden and Cornell won't be just laying there for long though!

Never a dull moment with these boys!

It's going to be a war! We will find Nerf bullets everywhere for weeks.

Pepper's crate doubles as jail for when the boys get out of line. 

Season Finale

All good things must come to an end seems like a fitting saying when considering the fact that summer is coming to a close.  Traditionally, we spend some time camping at the beach, so we squeezed in a trip right before school started.  We had gorgeous weather and a relaxing time. 

Braden loves everything about the beach.  One of his favorite activities is collecting sand crabs in a bucket and begging to take some home.

Gotta love grandparents and their adorable ideas...take corndogging for example.  Gramma encouraged Braden to get all wet and then roll all over in the sand.  That's what corndogging is apparently.  Cute. 

Wow, that corndogging game was fun for a while, especially since Gramma kept encouraging him to do it.  Should've had her clean the sand out of Braden's every crease and crevice.

Gramma is still a total surfer girl at heart. She had fun splashing around with Braden, but then decided to grab her board.

She suggested a race.  Looks like Braden won by just a tad.

Braden decided he was ready to try surfing.  He made himself a surfer necklace out of shells and was ready to hit the waves.

Braden got to take a lesson from the best...his dad!  They rented a board in fear that Braden may ride Matt's surfboard onto shore. 

He's practically ready to hang ten.

Tongue always hangs out when in full concentration mode. Trying to juggle the video camera and still camera, while avoiding the leopard sharks and sting rays we spotted, proved to be a challenge. 

Papa is the original surfer in the family.  He figured he could teach Braden a thing or two.

We love the beach!

Hard to conceive this crazy kid is old enough to learn how to surf!

Braden has always wanted to fly a kite at the beach. Papa must have known that because he brought an awesome one along and let Braden handle it. 

Braden and Bentley enjoyed cruising up the coast.

It's always nice to make a quick stop to enjoy the early morning breeze and view of all the hard core surfers. Braden isn't too keen on the sleeping-in-because-we-are-on-vacation concept.

Bentley insisted on sitting in the basket for our ride.

Even Gramma wanted to tote Toto along.

Braden loves this dog....much more than I'd like him too. Guess a little dog slobber never hurt anyone.

Did we mention there's a pool at the campground?  Yep, pretty much a full array of activities from morning til night.  Somehow we managed to squeeze in some relaxation.

We thought a nice bike ride right before sunset sounded like a lovely idea.  Matt decided Bentley could ride in my basket.  Bentley decided to leap out while I was going downhill quickly.  This dog survived roaming the streets half dead before getting rescued, so of course she survived the fall.  Matt then carried her just like this for the remainder of the bike ride.  

What's more embarrassing than Matt carrying this purse dog around is the fact that Papa decided to treat us to a nice dinner at a restaurant on the water and the restaurant allowed us to bring Bentley with us. They seated us on the patio overlooking the water....we are not THOSE people who do that kind of stuff typically.  Bring a dog to a fine dining establishment?!  We did actually enjoy a lovely meal and survived dinner without too many stares.

This is the pose I got when I asked them to put their heads together....guess that's exactly what they're doing.

Gramma and Braden have the capability of being slightly more serious.

One final stop before heading home....the tattoo shop.  This boy is growing up way too fast!  As long as it read 'MOM' with a heart, I didn't mind.



School's Out....Well, Sorta

Braden's summer has been full of variety.  He participated in some of the summer program at Montessori at the Park while also going to summer school with some of his friends a couple days a week. He also enjoyed a few different day camps that offered everything from archery to kayaking.

Looks like a table full of studious scholars!  Parker, Keegan, Landin and Braden had fun in summer school together.

Lunch box? Check.  Back pack filled with swim team gear?  Check.  Enormous back pack filled with who-knows-what?  Check.

My philosophy was it is better to not even ask what was inside....the unfortunate side of that is the fact that I found all kinds of parent notices and school work in there after he had completed the program. 

No time for pictures.  He was ready for a busy day.

Guess the bricks finally weighed him down. This back pack weighed as much as Braden does. 

This is the one and only photo I got from Braden's adventures at camp. Camp James in Newport Beach was awesome....that's evident by the amount of dirt on Braden's shirt.  Cornell went for a day, so naturally the boys hung out.  Miniature golf was one of many of their favorite activities.

Australian Marmasute

After losing Pepper, we noticed that Enzo went into a great depression.  He got even lazier and started eating much less.  We looked into getting another Bernese Mountain Dog, until we stumbled across this Australian Marmasute.....We rescued this sweet dog that looks like a cross between a raccoon and a bear.  We often get questioned about the breed, so Matt started telling people she is an Australian Marmasute....a name he completely fabricated, naturally.  We have had a hard time naming her.  We've thrown a bunch of options, but have finally settled on Bentley.

This is the day we signed her adoption paperwork.  It is hardly believable she was moments from being euthanized.  She is so loving and playful.  Braden and Bentley adore each other.  Even Enzo has gotten used to having an energetic fur ball around!

Surf's Up

Beautiful weather summoned us to spend the day in Seal Beach with a few of Braden's cousins, aunts and uncles.

Braden absolutely adores his baby cousin, Journee.  He happily played along with whatever toys she chose.

The day was young...there was still a chance at getting a photo of these crazy boys all smiling, right?!

Two can play at the sticking-out-your-tongue game!  Way to be a good example, Miles!

Going to his cousins' house is like visiting a toy store.  Braden likes to sample them all.

Sweet little Tucker just rolls with the punches.

   Journee is looking more and more like Daddy these days.

Braden was ready to do some serious boogie boarding, or surfing, as he calls it.

It's baaaccckkkkk.....Zinka, that is.  With his nose coated in red, and his cheeks a combo of red, orange and yellow, Miles was prepared to catch some huge waves too.

No time for photos....Charley headed straight for the waves instead.

Braden is convinced he's ready to surf...not a bad start!

Wish I was this serious about sun protection at this age.

Hated the sand, unsure about the water, but definitely loved digging into the beach bags and looking cute on the beach towel!

Uncle John-Paul taught his little surfer a thing or two.

Like mother, like daughter...color-coordinated and all, these girls sure know how to look good on the beach!

Such a girly girl, Journee discovered that this sandy bucket can double as a purse.

Easy Uncle Billy...looks like Braden caught it fair and square.

The only thing that is color-coordinated here is the football and Braden's trunks....the beauty of having a boy!

Braden is quite fascinated with his baby cousins.  He was urging Tucker to step it up a notch and actually take the boogie board out in the water.

Back to that idea of getting a cute picture of the boys smiling....

As good as it gets...the majority of the group looks happy!

Looking like a fierce warrior, Braden was ready to catch a few more waves.

Who ever thought Zinka was a good idea?!  By the way, it stains clothing and furniture...found out the hard way.

That Zinka made him extra tough!

Grooving and singing along to Justin Bieber on top of the coffee table...just another day in the Nelson home.

Braden refused to acknowledge any interest in hearing any Bieber songs....we hear him singing along though when the Biebs plays on the car stereo.  He preferred to give Uncle John-Paul a hernia by continually asking him to lift him up toward the ceiling.