232 Years Old

We had a blast this July 4th weekend.  It started with the bike parade.  The night before we decorated our wheels with streamers, bead, pom poms, pipe cleaners and stickers. That morning we walked and rode two bikes, a scooter, and a doll stroller over to the community childrens’ parade.

After getting there, Hannah was a bit overwhelmed by it all, and she and Sabrina did not want to take part.

Emma loved every minute.

Hannah sat with Sabrina and observed for a while then she warmed up to the idea and rode her scooter for a while.  Sabrina’s doll stroller stayed in our stroller next to her the whole time.

Hunter was Mr. Cool on his bike.

Emma brought the American Girl on her bike for a ride too.

Hannah was so fun to watch on her little scooter.

Fireworks were banned because of fire danger, so we got party poppers instead.

Pop, Bam, Boom!

That night we went to the church for dinner in the parking lot while some bands of members of the stake played patriotic and popular songs. Then it was off to watch the fireworks show put on by our village association.

The next day, we cleaned out the garage and then decided to try out Hunter’s new kite at the beach.  We tried out a new beach which we heard was fun for families because of the mellow waves and tidepools.  A lot of people had the same idea.  It was packed!  So we weren’t able to fly the kite, but had fun playing around in the sand and tidepools.

Little Corona Beach

Rob and Hannah look for hermit crabs

Emma was great at finding the little guys.

Sabrina was not interested in being near them.

She was excited about finding a little purple shell though.

Sabrina and Hannah made initials on the sand.

Emma, Hunter, and Rob took a walk way out over the tide pools.

Hannah and Sabrina covered Mommy’s legs and feet with sand.

Sabrina made a fun game out of coming right up to the lens for me to take her picture.  I love this one.

Read More

Summer…Summer…Summer

Sabrina in ribbons and a sun dress

Hannah in ribbons and a sun dress

Mormon night at Angels Stadium

Emma with her friends Mikayla and Emma

“Dads are Rad” Mini Golf

 

Our Dad is Rad!

Happy Father’s Day Daddy!

A “new” playhouse I found on Craigslist

Water fights!

Emma gets dumped on by their friend Kate

Kate gets triple teamed

Unfortunately, I never remembered to bring my camera to swim lessons, but we just finished a session of classes for Hunter, Emma, and Hannah. For a bunch more pictures go to the gallery. More fun ahead…

Read More

The Way I Am

My latest favorite song. I had never heard of Ingrid Michaelson when I first heard this on the radio and was trying to figure out who it was. Norah Jones? No, a little too peppy… Luckily I was able to find it, and have been listening to it over and over. I think it is my favorite because one of the things I love most about Rob is that he takes me the way I am. I love you baby.
The Way I Am – Ingrid Michaelson

Read More

The Most Significant Classroom

Now that summer is here and the kids are all home full time, I am really feeling the effects of being a stay-at-home-mom.  I love my kids like crazy, but they can also make me a little crazy, so I really enjoyed reading this quote that reminded me why it is so important that I do this: “Perhaps most significant of all classrooms is the classroom of the home. It is in the home that we form our attitudes, our deeply held beliefs. It is in the home that hope is fostered or destroyed. Our homes are the laboratories of our lives. What we do there determines the course of our lives when we leave home. Dr. Stuart E. Rosenberg wrote in his book The Road to Confidence, ‘Despite all new inventions and modern designs, fads and fetishes, no one has yet invented, or will ever invent, a satisfying substitute for one’s own family.’ ” —President Thomas S. Monson Ensign November 1991

Read More

My Friend Is Sad – Mo Willems

friendissad.jpgWe love the Mo Willems books! We have collected a bunch of his pigeon books, our favorite being The Pigeon Finds A Hotdog.  While working at the book fair a while back I came across an elephant and piggie series I didn’t know about. I bought the book My Friend Is Sad, and it has been very popular too.  The kids really like these because they can relate to the characters and their dramatic emotional responses.  There are few words, and the illustrations are simple, but they work for all ages. Hunter at ten appreciates the subtle humor and Sabrina at two loves the simple story and expressive characters.  Genius!

Read More