THE HERMOSA BEACH FESTIVAL. A LABOR DAY WEEKEND TRADITION.

Gavin and his new 'fair friend' sharing the ride because they both wanted in the yellow  helicopter at the same time.  He had such a good time on this little ride.

Off he goes!  This would lift up over our heads and then come back down.  What a big boy.

His very first time riding a ride all by himself.  No adults were allowed--I was so nervous and worried the whole time, but he did great and I could hardly get him off of it.

His second pony ride....almost a year later.  Again, here he is riding all by himself.

Our little guy is growing up so fast.  He's looking much older nowadays. 

Oh, this slide was so fun!  If you click on this image to enlarge it you will see the worried look on Gavin's face.  I don't know if he liked this or not.  He just looked very concerned the whole way down and after we got off.  Well, he does like going down slides at the park more than he use to now so maybe it grew on him.

OUR BUDDING MUSICIAN

We recently bought a new keyboard for the whole family to enjoy.  Gavin immediately learned on his own how to turn the keyboard on, turn the volume up, and select the background music.  He loves to crank the volume all the way up and hit a catchy backbeat while he goes to town playing his latest song.  I find myself yelling 'turn it down, Gavin!' already.  Just wait till he's a teenager.

A happy little pianist.

Some serious practicing going on now.  Maybe some day he will be famous and buy ol' mom and dad a house :-).

FAMILY REUNION IN SALT LAKE CITY. AUGUST 2008.

This summer Gavin and I flew to Salt Lake for a Thurman/Wallwork family reunion.  It was held at 'This Is The Place' Monument on a very hot day in August.  We had a great time seeing all of our extended family and having Gavin meet his cousins, second cousins, and second cousins twice removed for the very first time.  After the formal get-together and lunch we headed out to the historic village there at the monument.  Gavin got to see an old school house and wear a dunce cap, pet lots of farm animals, and see a black smith hard at work.  The highlights of the visit definately were the horseback rides and the miniature train rides though.  It was Gavin's first time on an actual horse, not just a pony, and without being strapped on.  I was very proud of him--he rode like a pro.  We had a wonderful day, despite the 95 degee weather, and can't wait till the next reunion in three years.

Here is the miniature train that Gavin absolutely loved riding on.  Everyone took a turn riding with Gavin on the train, but he still had not had enough.  At one point, Gavin took off after the train and tried to chase it because he wanted to get back on.  He ran at least 100 yards and kept waving and crying for it to come back.  It was very sad, but eventually we headed on and saw the rest of the village.  I knew Curtis would have loved to have been there to ride the train with Gavin too, but he had to stay home to work.

Grandpa Wallwork having his turn riding the train with Gavin.

Grandpa and Grandma Wallwork by 'This Is The Place' Monument.

Gavin at the Thanksgiving Point gardens holding his new cement truck he just got from the gift shop.

Before heading back to the airport we spent a few hours at temple square in Salt Lake City and had lunch at The Lion's House.  Again, it was a hot day, but we had a wonderful time walking in the gardens and spending a few more hours with Grandma and Grandpa Wallwork before we had to go home.

Water features are always a hit with Gavin wherever we go.

Posing with the flowers.  They had such beautiful gardens there.

SURFING 101

Curtis has begun giving Gavin his first real surfing lessons this summer.  At this point all it consists of is Gavin standing on the board and waiting for the white-water to come up and lift the board up a little so it floats.  That way he gets use to the feeling and can practice standing on a moving board.  He's still a little nervous about it, but always insists that Dad take him down to the water with the board when we all go to the beach together.  As you can see in this picture, he prefers to stand at the front of the board where the design is (and where it's the most slippery) instead of at the back on the waxed part.  But oh well, he just likes the time with Dad.

Practicing down at the infamous Surf Rider Beach.  That is the newly renovated Malibu pier in the background.

Waiting for the waves.

Like father, like son.

FOURTH OF JULY WEEKEND AT THE DEL MAR FAIR

We were so excited to take Gavin on a few rides at the fair this year.  We were able to find a few that he was tall enough to go on and boy did he love it.  After the first ride he couldn't wait to do another one and would grab our hands and lead us to another ride and just point and whine.  We couldn't get the tickets out fast enough!  I have to admit though that I got a bit of motion-sickness after one or two of these things.  I'm not as tough as I use to be, Mrs. Rollercoaster herself.  But Gavin loved it and we were so glad he got to experience the fair this year.

The semi-truck ride was a big hit.  You can see Gavin wearing his new orange crocks that he had just gotten at the fair a few minutes earlier.

This is the ride that gave me a stomach-ache.  It would sling-shot you around the corners and after 20 or 30 laps that gets a bit old.  Gavin loved it though.

Gavin got to see and pet lots of farm animals while we were there.  It was one of his first times being this close to all the goats and baby cows and he just seemed so fascinated by them.  Spending the day at the Del Mar fair was the perfect way to celebrate the fourth of July weekend.  With all the hamburger and ice cream eating we did, it seemed like a very American way to celebrate.

WHEN FRIENDS COME TO VISIT

It was so nice having our friends Christy and Brent down from Seattle to visit for a few days and to get to play with Gabriel again.  We were able to have a couple of days with the boys together at our place while Mom and Dad finished up with their work.  They had so much fun together and Gavin learned lots of new words from Gabe, who is quite the talker.  Neither of them were too interested in taking pictures though this day.  I guess their trucks and books are more fun than staring at my camera.

They both got a kick out of playing inside the porta-crib during the day.  If only they wanted to stay in it all day long.

Mr. Gabriel hanging out on our front steps...missing Mom a little I think.

SUMMER 2008. SUNSCREEN, SAND TOYS, AND LOTS OF FUN IN THE SUN AT THE BEACH.

Dad and Gavin playing in the sand...mostly making roads for the cars to drive on and big pits for them to fall into.  Gavin loves it when dad digs the really deep holes so he can crawl inside, especially when the water starts to seep in with him.  Gavin could play for hours at the beach and is so content and happy.  Our only real issue has been Gavin getting upset because he's not allowed to ride on the lifegaurd's four-wheeler.  He thinks he should have access to all things with wheels.

Pointing and saying hello to the helicopters.

Huge flocks of pelicans will often fly by when you're down by the water.  Dad is giving Gavin a little pelican lesson.

Our sweet happy boy.