The Humbugs are testing my Christmas spirit

3rd Grade Ohlone Day

On Friday the 3rd grade classes rode in Ohlone style tule boats in the school's outdoor classroom. Mollie made a small version of the boat to keep here at home. Have I said lately how much I love this school?!

Today's Adventure

Welcome Back Monarch Butterflies!

 We spent today in Santa Cruz at the Natural Bridges State Park. Back in February the girls entered a drawing contest, and Mollie was one of the winners in her age group!

Allie didn't want her picture taken, but here is her picture on display.

The pictures were to be what was the most memorable part of the park or beach. And in case you're wondering, no, there was no 30+ age category. Although next time the park is going to start an adult photo contest, and we like to think that Scott had a hand in that decision.

 We saw lots of butterflies flying around after lunch when the sun warmed things up.

Ate hand-cranked pumpkin ice cream.

 Made lots of crafts.

And both girls had butterflies (Monarchs, of course) painted on their arms.

Good, long day. I learned that Monarchs generally live around 6 weeks while they migrate from Mexico to winter here. Once they land here and go into "hibernation" mode, they live around 5-6 months! The girls are very anxious to grow milkweed for them because after the hibernation ends, they move to San Jose and milkweed is the only plant they eat. I think we might be growing some of this in the alley behind our house - especially if it will grow like a weed!

If you're the nervous type, don't watch...

Taken on June 18, 2011

Just because the picture isn't enough

Allison lost her first tooth today!

It's raining this afternoon

     That might not be uncommon to some of you, but for me, it's a bit unusual. We will have 1-2 rains during the summer and today is one of them. I'm glad to have it warm enough outside to have the windows open. If it's going to pour, at least we can listen to it. 

     What to do on a rainy summer afternoon? Clean the playroom! I pulled all the toys that were on the floor out into the hallway. Stuff on the closet floor is in our entryway. Right now the girls have all the toys from a drawer spread out on the floor, making "Stay" and "Leave" piles.

Scott said my next car can be a Sherman Tank

I was alone in the van when someone crashed into my door last Thurs. We are just starting all the insurance stuff. I will be fine; bruises, aches; cuts etc. We are counting all the blessings in this, big and small.

Up in Yosemite in April

In April we took the girls up to visit my sister-in-law's dad just outside of Yosemite. It is such a pretty area and we had fun doing so much. There was swimming, panning for gold, nature walking and (drum roll) SNOW! We have taken the girls to play in snow in downtown Campbell but this was their first experience in real snow. So fun!

Here is Allison's first time doing down a hill:

Here's is Mollie's first ride:

Patti's turn:

And Mollie hits Scott with a snowball on his way down:

First Camping Trip

Last October Mollie's school had a week of furlough so we took advantage of the off season vacation time and headed to the beach for our first camping trip. Thinking that here on the west coast the beach weather is perfect in the fall Sunset State Beach would be a great place. Well, it was clean, quiet and we had the perfect spot for tent camping. (Our tent was in a shelter area from the wind.) But it was cold. Really cold. And damp. The second day we were there we spent the afternoon getting a couple games at Target and playing them in our tent while we waited out the rain. We also spent time on the beach playing in sand and flying our kite. Girls had lots of fun. Us grown-ups had fun too, but we were happy to get back home into a warm house and comfortable beds. Next time we will pick a warmer place. Or Grandma's backyard!

Allison Learns To Ride A Bike

Here is Allison learning to ride a bike a couple weeks after Mollie was up and rolling.

Mollie Learning To Ride A Bike

Looking back through old videos and I came across this one from last summer.

2011 Spring Fling

If you like having MUSIC, ART and SCIENCE in elementary schools, here's your chance to support them: Mollie is looking for sponsors for her school Walk-A-Thon, April 30. Her walking goal is bouncing between 17-20 miles! She hopes to raise $100 for Hacienda.

New Glasses!

This might not be the best picture of Mollie, but it's the cutest one from minutes after she got her new glasses. One of these days I'll take a picture straight on, but for now, you can all see the frames she decided to get. The sides are striped, and there are a few polka dots along the tops of the arms. All smiles!

Mollie Meets Dr. Lum

The school suggested we have Mollie's eyes checked. Last week when I took her in for an ear infection they had her read the eye chart. Wow - really not good. So I worked with my new insurance company and had her added onto my vision plan. This morning she was so excited to go get her eyes checked. Really, she's been talking to us for a week about what kind of glasses we think would look good on her.

First stop was to look in the big machine to measure her prescription. Turns out her vision is really not that bad.

Next, in the exam room, Dr. Lum got to know Mollie and measured her on a poster. He likes to measure the kids each time they go in to visit to watch them grow.

Dr. Lum did a fantastic job keeping things relaxed and fun for both girls throughout the appointment. Mollie was very talkative (if you can imagine that).

We had Mollie try on several pairs of glasses; blue, pink, purple, wire rim and plastic frames. She preferred the plastic frames because the bridge across the nose was more comfortable. It's a little hard to see here, but the frames she loved the most are berry color. We'll get better pictures next week when her glasses come in.

April Fools' Day!

I enjoy reading the different tricks parents play on their kids. This year one article I read had some for kids to play on Dad which I will try to remember for next year.

Last night I put some water in cereal bowls and let it freeze overnight.

This morning I covered the ice with cereal so that the girls would have a hard time digging their spoons in. They both thought it was pretty funny.

Birthday Celebrating

Allie's teacher made her feel special for the morning at preschool.

For dinner we headed out to Round Table.

Enjoying some pizza with friends and family.

Allie making her wish on her 5th birthday.

Table all set for the Pajama Teddy Bear Tea Party

Each guest had their own teddy bear cake.

5 Years... Then and Now

Happy Birthday Allison!

Beach Day in February

We have been blessed with such beautiful weather recently today we decided to pack a lunch and head to Natural Bridges State Park in Santa Cruz to visit the Monarch butterflies before they leave for Mexico. This is the end of their stay there (several have already started migrating) and the park celebrated with their annual Farewell Butterflies Party. Considering the free activities and warm, sunny weather it really wasn't very crowded.

Here is the last remaining natural bridge. Since we went at low tide we were able to scoot around some rock and take pictures from the other side.

Finding teachable moments.

Picnicking under the trees.

If you look closely you can see two large black spots on the hind wings which marks this as a male.

One activity station was an art contest. Kids were to draw about their favorite thing about Natural Bridges. Both girls drew a butterfly. Scott... well, it's Scott. :) Yes, that's a hot dog. And no, there was no 30-something category for him to enter.

Counting Sheep

A couple nights ago the girls had a hard time falling asleep. I suggested they count sheep. The next morning I asked them how it worked out for them. Allie said she got to about 14 or 15 then fell asleep. Mollie told me she got to 19 Sheep and thought" Oh, who cares!"

They both fell asleep at a normal time and slept all night long. :)