Highlights from the trip.

We packed in so many fun adventures amongst all our suitcases and kid gear for this 6-hour road trip to San Diego. Here are a few of the other trip highlights.

Next on the agenda...We kept the family hoppin' with some stops all around the city including the paragliders at Torrey Pines, the Birch Aquarium in La Jolla, and some park time on Coronado Island. We also joined some friends for dinner in Little Italy one evening. Since we've been to San Diego several times before, it was so special to be able to share these favorite hangouts with the boys!

Did Scott and Luke find Jaws at the aquarium?

The main event ... the wedding festivities! A whole crew of Scott's Rockhurst High School friends flew in for this wedding of their friend Joe Park. What a great reunion for all! The festivities began on Thursday night with a bachelor party on Pacific Beach. The wedding on Saturday was the most beautiful outdoor wedding with a beach theme tied throughout.

The happy couple ... Joe & Mary Fran!

All dressed up with somewhere to go!

This wedding was quite the Rockhurst reunion!

Medical drama. Within 30 minutes of arriving at our hotel, Luke fell off the bed and bonked his eye ... giving him quite a shiner. He was fine, thank goodness ... but he looked like quite a "bruiser" for the rest of our trip. Reid didn't want Luke to get all the medical attention from mom and dad so he decided to get a little stomach bug halfway through the trip. Luke then topped that one by getting the worst nosebleed ever on the way home from the reception. Traveling with kids is quite an adventure in itself!

Beach bums.

We just returned from spending 4 fabulous days in sunny San Diego. We kicked around the coast on Thursday and Friday, attended the wedding of our friends Joe & Mary Fran on Saturday, and then celebrated Father's Day there today. This trip was filled with so many highlights, but one of our favorite memories was taking the boys to the beach. Here are the beach bums in action...

Baby's got a new pair of shoes.

Reid has joined the Crocs Club! Mom found this itty bitty pair of mock Crocs today, so he is sporting his new shoes proudly. Amazingly, they stay on his feet as he's crawling around and trying to keep up with Luke.

Swimming lesson saga.

Teaching a child to swim is an interesting process. At the end of last summer, Luke was very comfortable around the water. He was pretty self-sufficient -- jumping in the water by himself, coming up for a breath, swimming back to the side, and pulling himself out of the pool ... all on his own. He just needed Mom/Dad there for moral support.

New year, new plan. We decided to put him in some formal swimming lessons with other kids his age at the YMCA. Social & swimming ... a great idea! Or so we thought. However, we discovered that the winter break brought his comfort level down a few notches. Perhaps it was re-learning his old tricks ... or maybe it was the monsters in the pool (or so he claimed).

At the first swimming lesson, he was screaming and clinging the entire time to one of his swim teachers (high school kid with surfer hair named Randall). Class 2 ... the same scenario prompted us to have a discussion about the panic attacks this was inflicting on our 3-year-old who normally is the ultimate risk taker. We decided the action plan was to spend some time over the weekend working with Luke in the pool to get him more comfortable ... and really putting a positive spin on the ol' swim school.

Class 3 was tonight. Dad took Luke. Mom stayed home and hoped that Luke wouldn't be 'that kid' crying on the side of the pool while all the other kids flutter kicked and blew bubbles as they were supposed to. The verdict -- Dad reported a dramatic change over the previous classes and Luke was totally into it! He was participating just like his pool phobia never existed ... putting his face in the water, splashing around, going underwater, etc. FINALLY! He bid that crazy childhood phase goodbye and rounded the bend to love the pool again.

Now, if we can just figure out why he won't eat green beans ... ah, the trials of parenthood.

On Cloud 9...

We have often joked that the easiest job to have would be a meteorologist in Arizona in the summer because the forecast is always the same ... sunny and hot. Well, today was a different story in the routine weather forecast. It was actually a bit cooler and cloudy!! We were loving our change in the weather, so we took advantage of the break in the heat. Jami and the boys hit the park at Tempe Town Lake for a little bike-n-blade adventure, followed by some fun at the splash park afterward. What a way to spend a cloudy day! Ha!

Hats off to this mom.

Jami spent Saturday afternoon lunching with the ladies at a baby shower for her friend Meghan (polka dot dress in the center) who is expecting her 2nd little girl soon. It was fun to sport the big hats and celebrate Kentucky Derby style!

Stand up!

Now that Reid is pulling up, he's found a whole new level to explore. Here are some recent pictures of the little man standing.

Check out this play area ... it resembles the Alamo! Just standing around admiring the fountain near our neighborhood entrance.

The one that got away.

Tonight we ventured over to do a little fishing. Eric & Charity joined us, too. There were tons of big fish circling by the dock and eating the leftover bread we threw to the ducks. We cast out the line and sure enough, Scott caught a fish. He started to reel it in, and we quickly realized the $15 fishing pole from Target was no match for the fish. He eventually was able to reel the fish in to the dock where we were standing. Okay, this is no lie ... it was probably 18 inches long. Half-joking/half-serious Scott said to Jami, "Well, are you going to get it?" As she stepped forward to attempt to wrangle this flopping carp, the fish was flailing around so much it broke the line and off it swam with a hook and a bright green gummy fishing worm in its mouth. While we were all a little devastated that the Big One got away, we were a bit relieved too that no one had to deal with wrestling the hook out of its mouth ... though it's too bad the fish is now swimming around with a new piercing thanks to us. So after many fishing excursions, we succeeded in catching our first fish (well, sort of)!

Happy campers.

Scott and Luke embarked on a camping adventure this weekend with the playgroup dads and kids. They drove up to Lynx Lake near Prescott for a s'more-roasting, trail-hiking good time.

The camping crew: Tom, Owen, Alec, Dave, Brian, Skye, Will, Lucy, Scott & Luke.

The campsite was bustling with activity!

Boys will be boys ... especially when water and mud are involved!

Bunco baby shower.

Back: Kim, Brooke, Amy, Jami, Emily, Jenni
Front: Luke, Jenny, Julie, Terri

The Leahy house was hoppin' last night as the Bunco girls gathered together for a baby shower for our friend Julie!

Little man's best friend.

Reid found a new friend yesterday when we were at the Glanvilles ... their dog Sam. Since we don't have any pets, it's always interesting to see how our boys respond to animals. Luke is a dog-lover, and it looks like Reid is, too. He kept smiling and laughing at Sam and was crawling over to pet him and catch his wagging tail. How funny that such a small little guy would like such a big dog!

First chomper.

Better grill up a steak ... Reid's first tooth is coming in! Mom discovered it today!

Oh, what a beautiful morning ... at the park!

Now that it's heating up outside, our park time has moved up to the earlier morning time slot. We ventured out to Tumbleweed Park in Chandler to hit the newly constructed Playtopia. The kids loved all the fun play equipment and the sand pit with "dinosaur bones" to uncover.

Luke, Robby & Emma take a whirl on the tire swing! Whee!

Kickin' it.

This week marked the start of another soccer league. Scott, Charity, and Eric are all playing on the co-ed team this time around. The fan club (Jami & the boys) joined them to watch the first game. Here's to a fun season ahead!

Ready to roll.

Jami has swapped her running shoes for rollerblades these days. The bike trailer detaches to make a double jogger, so she loads up the boys and off they roll! Luke and Reid love to zip along as Mom blades around the neighborhood.

Memorial Weekend.

It was a nice long relaxing weekend for the Leahy family. We joined our friends for dinner (see previous pics), hit the pool at LifeTime Fitness with our friend Terese, rearranged some furniture at home, spent some time on the Slip N Slide in the backyard, and hung out with Uncle E a bit last night. There was no rest for the wee one though. Reid is crawling everywhere and is a man on a mission!

A picture is worth a thousand words.

There are times when the camera is able to capture a photograph that so perfectly illustrates life at its finest moments. This is one of those. A nice family picture gone awry...

Theta / DU Reunion.

Tonight we enjoyed seeing some old Theta and DU friends from our college days. While we wish the circumstances gathering us together were better (our friends were in town visiting their father who had major surgery this week), it is always good to spend time reminiscing and catching up on life.

DU Reunion Tour: Eric, Scott, future DU Luke, and Josh Jones.

Future Theta Sweetheart Luke, Jami, Melissa Lamer Dunn, and Melissa Jones Neff.

Double dare.

"Hey Reid, I double dare you to walk across Dad's back like he's a bridge."

Crawling!

It's official ... Reid is crawling! He started on Monday, and within a few days, he's gained some speed and distance. He is enjoying being able to motor over to a toy across the room or to check out what Luke is doing. He hasn't discovered the stairs ... yet!

An ounce of bounce.

The boys' pal Geovanee loaned us this jumperoo. Check out Reid in full bounce action.

Summer Camp at Rolly Pollies.

Luke is going to hit some summer camp sessions at Rolly Pollies in the next few months. At this 3-hour drop-off program, he gets to play in the gym, exercise his artistic skills, and do a little singing. He came home today with a multitude of art projects including this portrait of himself and a very funny puppet crafted out of a brown paper bag.

Weekend Update.

This weekend we switched gears a bit. Jami traveled for her Theta volunteer position and made a chapter visit in San Luis Obispo, CA, at Cal Poly. It was similar to K-State with its agricultural influence, but just on the coast! So while Mom was away, Scott stepped in as SuperDad to take on double duty with the boys. While Jami was busy advising the sorority women, Scott was busy advising the boys to stay out of trouble! The Leahy men had fun swimming, eating pizza, and hitting the park. Reid practiced his crawling and pulling up skills, too. A busy weekend for all!

Born to be wild.

Reid has been riding Harleys lately with our neighbor John. (Just kidding ... the bike is parked, but we couldn't resist this fun photo opp!)

Triple trouble.

Our playgroup hit the mall today to escape the 100-degree temps. Luke enjoyed fun times with his friends Thomas and Alec.

7 Months & Swimming.

It's fun to look back at photos to see Reid at the stages now that Luke once went through. This is a photo of the boys both at 7 months swimming. Reid took his first official swim in the big pool this weekend. He's quite a little fish already!

Happy Mom's Day!

What a wonderful Mother's Day it has been! The flu bug hit our family hard this week, so it was nice to be back on the go again! The boys treated Jami to the traditional breakfast out at the Wildhorse Pass Resort for Mom's Day.

"Mom, can you make my chocolate milk at home like this? It's fancy!"


"I'm serious about showing Mom a fun time today!"

Water, water everywhere.

Once upon a time there was a father left to take care of two young lads while their mother got her hair cut. The father was making an earnest attempt to get the boys dressed, cleaned up, and out the door for their dinner plans with their mother. The older boy -- a spirited 3-year-old -- was taking his final restroom stop before heading out the door. Since it was taking longer than usual, the father checked on the son, only to discover that an entire roll of toilet paper had mysteriously worked its way into the toilet. The father, also an expert plumber, got the plunger to assist with the situation. Thinking the issue was resolved, Plumber Pops flushed the toilet ... only to have the water spewing over the toilet bowl onto the bathroom floor. Water, water everywhere.

The father (along with the son's feeble attempts to help) began sopping up the water with multiple towels as quickly as possible. In the midst of the clean-up efforts, the smoke alarm began to resonate a shrill piercing sound throughout the house. This then activated the shrill piercing cry of the younger 6-month-old son. Upon further investigation, there was no smoke causing the alarm to sound, so the father placed Priority 1 on cleaning up the overflow and Priority 2 on turning off the smoke alarm. (The father also figured that Priority 3 of calming the baby would be accomplished when Priority 2 was resolved.) With Step 1 complete, the father moved on to taking down the smoke alarm from the vaulted ceiling with a ladder (a rake was another tool used but it proved to be unsuccessful). A few peaceful seconds passed, but then a 2nd smoke alarm started its all too familiar sound downstairs! The father raced downstairs to find water dripping through the AC vents from the toilet incident. The smoke detector was hooked to the main wiring in the house that had gotten wet and set both of them off. Water, water everywhere.

The father then proceeded to call the mother starting off the conversation with, "Someday this is something we will laugh about..."

Facelift to the front yard.

The front yard at 337 S. Ocean Drive is looking a little better these days. There were a few freezing winter nights that got the best of our bushes and trees, so out with the old and in with the new! We put some rock in our side yard by our driveway, planted 2 new Chinese elm trees, and replaced some of the sidewalk leading up to our front door. Now, if we can just keep the new trees thriving through the ultra hot summer...

Campout.

Scott and Luke went on a father/son camping trip with our friends the Wellings, including dad Kenn and sons Christian, Truman, and Nate. They journeyed out to the Superstition Mountains east of the city. One highlight of the trip was taking a nature walk this morning with the park ranger. Luke even received an honorary park ranger badge!

The clean-up crew tidies up the tent. From left: Luke sweeps, Truman & Kenn supervise, and Christian rolls up a sleeping bag.

A little water will make you sprout.

Luke must have thought that Reid needed a little water to make him grow ... or else that it was fun to spray baby brother with the hose. Probably the latter! Luke is sporting his new swimwear for the season. Reid got stuck with some Luke hand-me-down trunks. Surf's up!

"No, I don't want to..."

Ah ... we are finally understanding what those wiser parents who have gone before us now mean when they say that "three's" are much more difficult than the "terrible two's." Luke is exercising full rights on using the word "no" and on telling us when he does not want to do something. There's absolutely no reasoning with a 3-year-old who is simply saying no because he wants to do the exact opposite of what's being asked of him ... even when it comes to his favorite activities. If it's not his idea, then tough luck! So he's been spending a lot of time-outs in his room lately. We know it's just a phase, but one we'd like to not be stuck in too terribly long.

Say cheese!

Fishing with Lexi.

Luke and his gal pal Lexi met for a playdate at Islands Park today. We spent a little time fishing, feeding the ducks, and playing at the park. It was nice to be outside, but it got a little toasty in the hot sun!

Say a prayer for monster trucks.

Tonight Luke learned a little bit about bedtime prayers from Mom. We practiced kneeling beside the bed and making "prayer hands." Then we talked a bit about what to say when praying. Mom explained to Luke that he should be thankful for the good things that happened that day. Here's the conversation that followed...

Mom: "Luke, what was the favorite part of your day that you'd like to say thanks for?"
Luke: "Hmmmm, I liked those monster trucks at the park. They zoomed around and had big tires and that man made them drive fast! And me and Thomas we ran after them and it was fun!"
By this point, Mom realized she left that question very open to interpretation so really any answer should be fair game. Side note: Luke didn't go to a monster truck rally ... some guy had a remote control truck at the park today.
Mom: "Okay, Luke that sounds like a great thing to pray about. So let's start...
Lord, thank you for the monster trucks at the park today and all my family and friends. Amen."

Luke repeated it and off to bed he went.

So before you go to bed tonight, say a prayer for all the little things in life that make you happy ... even remote-control monster trucks!

The Screech.

As the boys begin to play more together, it is entertaining to see the dynamics develop between the two of them. Reid is a very mellow baby, but if something sets him off, he can go from 0-60 in no time flat and is steaming mad!! (Perhaps he inherited a little Swedish temper!) Reid is pretty patient with some of Luke's well-meaning antics, but he reaches a point where he loses his cool and just blows his top! As Luke gets a little overenthusiastic in his playtime with his brother, Reid sounds his warning signal -- we've fondly nicknamed it "the screech" -- to let Luke know he's crossed over the line. The piercing sound can be heard throughout the house. We can't help but laugh at how the brotherly bond is forming already...

On Cloud 9.

We have been on Cloud 9 this week with the great weather. We know the hot, hot, hot weather is on its way so we are frequenting the park often now! Here are the boys taking a silly photo.

Tree hugger.

We met Eric & Charity at the Farm today for lunch ... their first time, our bzillionth time to go! It was the most perfect of days to spend outside. Luke even braved the heights by climbing the pecan trees (with a little assistance). He talked Charity into helping him pull a chair over so he could climb up this tree! "Charity, can you tell me how to get down from here?"

Mr. Bubble.

Small boy, big bubbles. Who says you can't wear bubbles as a hat?!

The many perks of being 6 months old.

Reid just celebrated his half birthday, and with that milestone occasion, many new doors have opened for the young lad.

- Sitting up and taking notice. Reid can sit up for long periods of time without toppling over which means he has a whole new perspective on playing with his toys. It also means Luke is excited to play "with" him more.

- Goodbye baby bathtub. Hello bathing in the big tub!

- New flavors to savor. The rice cereal diet has now expanded into sweet potatoes, carrots, and more.

Spring wedding.

We attended the wedding of our friends Mike & Emily last night. It was a beautiful spring wedding and a super fun reception downtown.

The bunco girls with the bride! Jami, Emily, and Jenny sneak a pic.
Celebrating at the reception at the Wyndham ... what a fun night out for us! Luke and Reid enjoyed time at home with Theta babysitter Sara.

The boys of summer.

Luke and Reid paid a visit to Mom's Barber Shop today for some haircuts. After the cuts, we took some photos in our backyard. Here's a favorite.

Batter up.

Scott's first day back at work after a weeklong vacation was a challenging one ... he played in a company softball tournament at Tempe Diablo Stadium (one of the spring training facilities). He was all too happy to enjoy the warm weather and sunshine after spending 7 days back in the freezing temps and rain in KS. Perhaps the scouts were checking out his skills.

The Family Tree.

Our KS trip has been filled with many fabulous family memories. Luke and Reid have been able to spend time with Great-Grandma Eleanor, both sets of grandparents, all their aunts and uncles, and their cousins, too. Here are a few pics from our climb in the family tree.


Cousins Sawyer, Reid, and Luke take time out from playing trains for a photo.

Look what the Easter bunny brought ... everyone together on Easter Sunday: Sawyer, Paul, Juli, Ted, Margie, Scott, Luke, Reid, Jami, Charity, and Eric.

Cousins Dalton and Reid will party till the cows come home in these hats!

Four generations of the Nelson family pose for this picture. Luke, Papa Jim, Reid, Great-Grandma Eleanor, and Jami.

Proud Aunt Jami.

One of the first stops on the Kansas Whirlwind Tour was for Aunt Jami to visit her new nephew Dalton, who was born in February. Jami dropped off Scott, Luke, and Reid in Kansas City and jetted for a quick overnight trip to Wamego for some one-on-one spoil time with the newest addition. Dalton and Reid will be quite the pair - both strong, active little guys!

Two in tow.

We are off on our first major trek with two in tow and spending a week in Kansas visiting friends and family over the Easter holiday. Luke is a seasoned traveler, but this was Reid's first time flying the friendly skies. Both boys were amazing on the flight here. The tough part was the amount of "stuff" we had to haul with us. You do the math ...

5 checked bags + 2 car seats + 1 stroller + 3 carry-on bags + 2 small boys = 2 tired parents

Joe's Farm Grill.

Today the family enjoyed some lunch at Joe's Farm Grill. Amazing food (the fontina burger rocks!) and great outdoor atmosphere! The buildings on site were contemporary in design with beautiful green gardens on the property, too. This urban farm was a fun find!

Who let this little cow roam around the farm?!

Luke shows of the green gardens and beautiful blooms.

Goal.

Scott has been playing in a soccer league for the past few months with a buddy from Motorola. We went out to watch our soccer star, but the fan club got a little chilly on this blustery night.

Zip-a-dee-doo-dah.

Luke has mastered the zip line at the park. Check it out! Hold on for a fun ride.

Something to say.

He may be little, but Reid sure has something to say.

Ruby Slipper Designs in print.

Ruby Slipper Designs has had a great start in 2007. Recently, one of Jami's clients called to say her wedding was featured in a local wedding planning publication called "The Wedding Chronicle," and that Ruby Slipper Designs was mentioned, too! Here's one page of the spread. The yellow arrow highlights where RSD is mentioned. Free advertising is the best!