Happy Birthday Brandon

Brandon had a great birthday. He was a little disappointed to hear that it fell on a Sunday. Other than that, he thought the day was great. He has been asking for a Rip Stick for about six months now. He kept telling everyone to just give him money so he could buy the Rip Stik. When he saw all the presents wrapped up, none of them were big enough to be it. So Austin and Brandon began searching the garage and the backyard for the hidden present. They never found it. After Brandon opened his presents, we told him there was one more in the living room. It was in a huge Amazon.com box. He hadn't even noticed it sitting there for five days!

Brandon's getting to the age where he just wants money. It's hard to think of things to buy him that he doesn't know about. He got a mario olympics game, another wii remote, and Mexican Train! He loved playing that game at the Hunsaker Reunion.


I got a kick out of this video. Brandon just took the Rip Stik out of the package and expected to be a pro. He keeps talking about the cracks messing him up. If you look closely, there was only one crack. Twenty minutes later, he had improved greatly. Austin was just hounding him to get it right. It looks easier than it is!!!

Halloween Night

Payton was a wolf ninja. He borrowed Austin's costume from two years ago. Brandon was Scream, Austin was the grim reaper? and mom was a witch. We tried to get dad to dress up but it didn't happen.


Austin got a ton of candy. To be exact, he weighed his candy this morning. It weighed 12 pounds! He hoards his candy and doesn't like to share. It might last for six months.


Brandon was the monster from Scream. We've never seen the movie, but the costume was great. The mask had a pump that pushed blood through the mask. It was pretty creepy. Brandon was sad he couldn't wear it at the church party. No masks please. The little ones would have freaked out.
When we were trick or treating around the neighborhood, one house had some scary monsters making noises. Payton refused to get his candy from them. Dad saved the day and got it for him.



Connor, Austin, Brandon, and Payton went trick or treating together. This year they got smart and took the scooters along. The houses that were giving out candy were few and far between. Where's the Halloween spirit? After about an hour, we went back to the house. Then Connor and Austin went out for round two with his dad. Is there such a thing as too much candy?

Trunk or Treat

We went to our annual church trunk or treat. We love it because the trick or treating is so quick and easy. We combined with the other half of our old ward. The kids had fun seeing their friends that are no longer in our ward boundaries.

Aunt Cynthia and Uncle Gene came to our party too! Their bishop doesn't believe in doing Halloween parties! Are you kidding me?
Lucas was Dumbo. His ears were so big. He was in a great mood and smiled everytime we looked at him. He's so adorable.

Keilani, Payton, and Julie enjoying the candy.

Brandon and his cousing McKenna.

Brandon, Jordan, Austin, and Connor

Skater Dudes

In October we were off track. The kids became addicted to the skate park again. We hadn't been in about six months. Payton and Brandon wanted to go every morning to practice and get better. They are definitely doing a lot better than last year. They have bruises all up and down their legs and arms.

Mexican Riviera

We loved our cruise. There was so much to do, and not enough time. The kids had lots of entertainment and food. We went to Mexico and saw many beautiful sights.

This is our cruise ship behind us. It had 3500 people on it. There were people everywhere. Austin kept asking what would happen if the boat sank. We told him that we would be eaten by sharks. He even had to watch the life boat demonstration. I guess he was worried that we would definitely sink like the Titanic.

We played miniature golf pretty much every day. Dad won every game. (Even when the winds were 45 mph.)

BonVoyage! We are off to Mexico! Dad, when are we going to start moving fast? It took about half an hour to get out of the harbor. The first night everyone said they were sea sick. They really just wanted to wear mine and Grammi's wristbands.

Cabo San Lucas

Cabo was our favorite port. It was so beautiful. The ocean was very blue and the beaches were breathtaking against the huge rocks. We took a taxi ride around the beaches and rocks. We saw hundreds of seals, fish, and birds. The boat driver was a little crazy, but he was tying to get us a close up look. Close enough to hit the rocks? We tried to do a little snorkeling there. The waves were really strong, so we just swam instead.

Mazatlan

When we got to Mazatlan, there were crazy people everywhere trying to get our business. We finally decided to take a tour in an air conditioned van. Wise choice because it was hotter than Hades. The kids were complaining the whole time. How many more stops are there??? When can we go to the beach. I enjoyed the tour. That's the only way you're going to get to know the city. It was our least favorite port.

At one of the stops of the tour, a sky diver performed for us. It looked like he was going to dive right into the rocks. The kids really liked it. Afterwards, the diver puts his hand out for some tips. Hmmm...Can you go anywhere without having vendors hounding you? I should have worn a black wig.


At the end of the tour, we stopped at a resort and took a dip in the ocean. The water was pretty dirty. So we felt right at home (Huntington Beach). It was fun watching the people parasailing. I was waiting for someone to get hurt. The boat they used didn't look too dependable.

More Food Please

The family's favorite place to eat was the buffet. We ate there everyday for breakfast and lunch. It was fast and had a great view of the surroundings. This picture was at Mazatlan port.


Payton on the rock wall.


There was an unlimited frozen yogurt machine right by the pool. Dangerous. We were there every day chowing down on ice cream. Austin made it his goal to make the tallest one possible. I think he succeeded. He ended up throwing half of it away because it became the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Mariner of the Seas

We had excellent service while on the cruise. Our waiters never got impatient with the kids. Every night he would say "Cheese pizza again? Cheeseburger again?" Our kids ate the same thing every night.


Every night the maid would come in our room and turn the sheets down. He would leave a little animal made out of a towel. Each night was a different animal. My favorite was the bunny. It only lasted minutes before the kids destroyed it. Make it an animal again Mom!

Puerto Vallarta

Today was our only rainy day. Before we left on the cruise the forecast said thunderstorms every day. I guess we got lucky. It actually felt good to feel a little sprinkles. It was sooooo hot.


The kids found a ton of baby crabs climbing on the rocks. That was enough for Payton to steer clear. No concussions today.



This city was the only place we didn't spend money. We refused to pay for a taxi. So we just started walking, walking, walking. Where the heck is the beach? Oh, the other direction. We found a nice resort that was basically empty because it's off season. The pool and the ocean were like a bathtub.
When we pulled into the port, we could see a huge shopping mall and...Walmart! We were all excited to go to Walmart and buy some chips, candy, soda, etc. Yes, we would rather eat junk food than lobster, filet mignon, or fish! I know, we are weird. Well, Walmart was a let down because it's a Mexican Walmart. They didn't have all our favorite things. Deal with it Cavanagh's!

L.A. County Fair

We love the county fair. We got unlimited wristbands so we could go on everything. Mom stayed away from the rickety rollercoasters. It seems like half the rides were spinning. The best part of the fair is the yummy smell in the air. There are barbeques all over the place. Our favorite snacks are funnel cakes and shaved ice. What a well-rounded meal!



The boys got to go on the trampolines for the first time. It was really hard to jump because the bands were so tight. They launched Payton really high into the sky. The older boys were too heavy to do it. They even did a couple flips.



Ok, now we have official proof that Brandon won the slide race. I think the heavier the person, the better.

Happy Birthday Sawyer!

Payton and Austin are constantly hovering around Keilani. She is the center of attention. They were excited to go to Sawyers birthday party.


Sawyer got to eat his own Elmo cake. He was so hesitant to touch it. He must have been intimidated by Elmo's big eyes looking at him. The funniest part was watching him open his presents. Just like all one year olds, they aren't too interested. He kept biting each present when he opened it. Is he teething Melinda???



Hi birthday boy. You are so adorable. We saw him walk a LITTLE bit. I didn't believe Melinda when she said he could walk. He definitely has the scratch to prove it.

Camping at SanClemente Beach

We went camping overnight at the beach! We were so excited about it. Some friends from church got a bunch of families together for the group site. It was really fun. There were tons of kids running around. The boys tried to gang up on the girls. No success. They must be arch enemies? Girls have cooties.


Austin, Carson, and Brandon... don't you need some water to use those boogie boards?


Carson, Tanner, and Payton catching some waves. The waves were really crazy, so the boys decided to stick with the white wash.


Take a look at our big piece of crap tent behind Tom. It took us 1 1/2 hours to put it up. Hence, the reason why we never tent camp!


The boys loved climbing this mangled pine tree. It had lots of branches to climb up to the very top.

Scarecrows

Wow! Look at our huge crop of corn in the backyard. Not! Actually, this is a corn field right around the corner from our house. It looks so pretty all the rows and rows of corn. I can't wait to buy fresh corn. Yummy! Maybe they'll make a maze after harvest???

Happy Fourth of July

We spent Fourth of July at our house with Tom's family. We had a BBQ and swim party. We planned on going to the local fireworks show but didn't get around to it. For a good two hours the men were racking their brain about how to put the ping pong table together. It was a big task. Uncle Dave was the champion player for the ping pong tournament. Next time Tommy is going to whoop you!

Daniel, Austin, and Payton taking a dip in the pool.


Aunt Barbara and Tommy. (We missed you Shiv!)


How many chips can we consume in one day?

Laughlin, Nevada

It's been two years since we've been to Laughlin! That's scary! We used to go two or three times a year. Last year we went to Lake Mead instead. The thing we like about Laughlin is that our hotel is 5 minutes from the dock. We also like the fact that there is sand to play in on the shoreline. (especially when you don't sink in up to your knees!) Laughlin has a charm of its own. It's small and less crowded than Vegas. The best part of all is that there's an In N Out there! We can't survive without it.



The boys love playing in the sand. Dad doesn't let them have too many chances to do it. Wouldn't you rather be riding the Sea Doo's? They found it very entertaining to float down the river a little ways with their life vests on. Then they would get out and walk upstream to repeat the whole process.