the mandel 5

We've had Max almost a year. Soon we will add at least one more bunny to our yard. Max has the greatest life. He roams around the yard and plays with the neighbor's cat (who catches and kills wild rabbits but has befriended Max for some reason)l. He likes to look through the sliding glass door and see what we're up to.

I love to look at Megan's people drawings. She always nails the hair and eye color. I wonder if it means anything that she draws herself so much taller than her brothers and just as tall as me - !

This machine is at Chuck E Cheese. For a mere 25 cent token, it takes your picture and sketches it! That's one heck of a deal. Megan's school had a fund raiser there last week so I took her and her friend Grace there for lunch. You can see Grace trying to sneak into our mother daughter picture!! :)

Almost everyone from salespeople to clients to friends who walks to our front door asks what type of plant lines the walkway. It's Mexican sage, suggested by Rob's mom. The funny thing is, the sprinklers along the walkway have never worked so they get virtually no water. Plus, Rob and I planted them. Neither one of us has ever planted anything that has lived for this long (we put them in 5 years ago). In fact, when I was planting a particular one, I forgot to wiggle the roots first and we joked that it wouldn't survive. I named that one - Sage - and she has grown the tallest (much taller than me). Our sage attracts humming birds and my photo friends joke that they will be camping out on my porch to capture them on "film." I tried tonight and laughed out loud at what I got - almost a total blur. I have new respect for all those humming bird pictures I've seen!

The evening started out fine...playing with our adorable neighbor, Alex, and drawing with chalk on the driveway. Colleen and I fetched balls from the street and kept the little ones from running after them. Then two big dogs without leashes or owners ran over to see what we were doing. My kids are terrified of most dogs (don't know why). Colleen picked up both boys and instead of helping her, I took pictures! You can see the black dog in the background of one picture. Really, they were just friendly labs who wanted to play but big and scary beasts to the kids. We were safe though, because Cheeto (Alex's cat) was protecting us. Oh, Nathan and ROb were at the LA Avengers game so that's why they aren't in these pics.

Well, today's session cancelled so we had a free day to spend together. We headed to one of our favorite places - Santa Barbara. We played on the playground and rented a big bike for all of us to ride on (but for me and Rob to pedal!). I won't mention that Logan cried for 15 minutes because he wanted a blue bike instead of green because then it would seem like someone is always crying! We also had lunch on the pier, visited the candy store (big surprise), and rode the carousel. The kids were really good and had a great time. We remembered doing this same little day trip when Megan was one and I was preggo with Nathan. I tried to get a picture of Megan in the same pose from four years ago. Time sure flies!

photo by Megan Mandel who has even mastered back-button focus! :) Jennifer should be proud - next Nathan will practice beam on the "field!"

cups from the restaurant.....notice Logan has the blue one. And is wearing blue. It's really been an issue lately. And if you've heard him say "blue," you know how stinkin' funny it is. He says the "B" sound like a motorboat!

Doesn't Nathan have the BEST hair?

That's what Nathan and Logan call them. I just typed out this whole post and when I tried to upload the image, the computer froze. Ugh. So much for Macs not freezing. I have to remember to save the text before uploading the picture. Anyhoo, Megan missed her Daisy group's trip to the firehouse because of a meltdown at Target (and on the car ride home, and for most of the day) earlier in the day. But her troop leader suggested we take the thank you cards over so Meg could earn her fire station patch. The whole family went and we got a better tour than the troop did. The kids got to sit in the truck and wear the gear!

Rob showed me how to title each post. How cool. Our favorite day around here is Monday - trash day. Logan used to wake up each morning and ask me, "Trash Guy?" And I'd say, "No, only on Mondays." When he hears the truck, he screams for one of us to take him outside to watch. If we can't, he watches from the playroom window. He points trash guys out all over town and yells out their color..."Blue Trash Guy! Green Trash Guy!" He's obsessed. Here we are today, stalking our sanitation specialist.

We went to the "snow" this weekend - drove 45 minutes to sled in ice and mud. There is snow on all the hills all around us in the valley - that happens like once every 4 or 5 years. I thought there would've been more in Frazier Park. Logan cried all the way there because I didn't have the Faith Hill Fireflies cd in the car (he knows all the words). Megan cried while we were there because her ponytail hurt and she missed the first sled ride down the hill. Nathan cried all the way home because his feet were cold. Logan at first loved the snow but then went down the hill on his own and said "too scary" the rest of the time. Oh well. At least I got a funny picture of his face on the sled. That was his first and last solo ride.

And rare pictures of me and Rob.... ;-)

This happens often...I was waiting for a client today so I was all set up. Megan loves to help me "check the light." It almost always turns into a fashion show which is okay...if she doesn't ruin these clothes, I have my eBay pictures all ready!

I've edited this post to show the three I am going to enter. They still need titles. I am so bad at that. I am sure that Logan's "Chick Magnet" image last Spring took the blue ribbon only because of Josanne's clever title. All help is appreciated. Comments or email... Thanks! :-)

Happy Valentine's Day! :-)

Today we went to the beach. February, yes, but hot here. We went to the candy store in Carpinteria where we like to stop on the way home from Santa Barbara - Robitaille's. Apparently, they are second cousins or something of Luc Robitaille. I just went for photos and cinnamon bears. These aren't what I pictured but I'm glad I got these because some family members were a little embarrassed that I had my camera! Nathan gets candy hearts - all year long!

Today we went to the park with our friends. Megan and Nathan are getting so good at the monkey bars. Megan can now hang upside down and has those soars on the palms of her hands like we used to get when we were little. Logan is Mr. Daredevil, climbing up and down everything that is high. Mommy chose not to take pictures...she couldn't even watch! Nathan thought his football helmet was the perfect protection on his scooter. He doesn't go far without something "football."

And Mr. Nathan is very into Toy Story right now. He has had the Woody doll for a while but the other night, we were at the Disney Store and Nathan found Buzz, Jessie, and Bullseye. He gathered them all up in his arms and said, "Mommy, can we get these?" I had just spent WAY too much at Naartjie and Gap kids so I was about to say no when he asked, "Yes? Yes? Yes?" I caved. He holds them when he watches the movie.

Logan has to have five things when he goes to bed: Bo Cha Cha Big (the Bear in the Big Blue House stuffed animal), Bo Cha Cha Baby (whom he calls "baby" - the most important of the five), Dora, Nemo, and Barney. The Bo Cha Chas are very matted and raggedy. When Logan gets up in the morning, he takes them out one by one, says each name, and hands them to me. Then he halls them all downstairs and holds them while he watches Dora. He is very attached to his group of plush friends. He calls them "My Guys." I wanted to take a picture of him with all of them before he outgrows them! Logan loved being in his crib with the promise of no nap. He jumped all over the place. Oh, he also has to have Dora sheets. *sigh*

Our kids love candy! So, all you dentists, cover your ears. Today I bought the boys giant "lollies" for pictures. Megan was still fast asleep when we did these (long night, long story!). Logan hated the overalls I put him in but soon forgot about them when he saw the lollie. Nathan cried most of the time because he was sticky. I didn't get many of Nathan by himself but I love these of the boys together. They are such good friends.

I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon here and create a blog to keep family and friends up to date with the five crazy Mandels. Remember that I have a degree in MATH so please read between the typos! I will use this space to let you know what we (mainly the kids) are up to and post photos. 2006 is off to a great start here. Megan is in kindergarten and loves it! Nathan is doing six hours of preschool a week, focussing on speech. We already see (well, HEAR) great improvements. Logan is too smart for his own good - he knows all of his colors and can count to thirteen. He definitely speaks clearer than his brother or sister did at his age. This week Megan was inducted into Girl Scouts, becoming an official Daisy. Here is a picture of her at her ceremony on Monday.