Thursday, June 30, 2011

the perfect day





as soon as we got home from picking cherries we decided that we needed to swim. it was just the day for swimming. the kids all helped me blow up our new swimming pool and quickly changed into their diving suits. we are all excited about our new swimming pool. it has a slide! so fun.

the kids had a blast going down the slide and splashing around. when they were done swimming i brought out bowls of popcorn and cherries so we could enjoy a snack. the thought of going inside was just too sad so i let mason take all the duplo legos and train tracks outside so he could build a big track. it was fun to watch him teach connor how to build. dahlia was content to play by herself in the mud making a delicious mud pie. oh yes. it was the perfect summer day.

cherry picking




we almost missed it this year. june is just flying by and tomorrow is the last day the cherry farm is open for picking. jen and i just had to go so today was the day. i am so glad we decided to make the long drive. the kids were so excited. i was surprised that they remembered cherry picking from last year. they even remembered that we could buy honey there. it is so funny the things that stick in their minds.

jen left baby kira at home with ray so it was just bodhi and her that met us there. we picked cherries for about an hour before we felt we had enough. connor even got to help this year. he was having a blast running around the cherry trees. mason and dahlia picked all the cherries for us. they were so good. we got almost six pounds of cherries. luckily my mom wants us to give her some. i really don't think we could eat six pounds of cherries. they were a little more expensive this year. $3.50 per pound. i think it is worth it though. they are super good and fun to pick. i think i see a cherry cake in our future.

Friday, June 24, 2011

swimming lessons





i signed mason and dahlia up for swimming lessons. yay. we had our first lesson today and they love it. i am so so happy. they are both in the same beginners class. i love that they can be in a class together. i think it made it more fun for them. the lessons are at the rose bowl aquatic center. it is so nice there. the drive there is very lovely and there is plenty of parking. the pools look very nice and clean. there are about six kids in the class and three instructors. i think that is a pretty good ratio. they seemed to get a lot of individual attention. when the lesson was over mason asked when they could do it again. yay.

they had so much fun swimming that we rushed home and set up the blow up pool so everyone got to swim. hurray. it is really summer now.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

fishy, fishy, fishy, fish



we went to the long beach aquarium today and right when we walked in it hit me that summer has started. something about seeing the large tank of fish. i am so crazy about anything to do with water or the ocean. i love all of it. the aquarium is so fun for me because i really love to watch all the fish swimming. i think my kids love it as much as i do.

mason was having fun with my camera while we were there. he wanted to take pictures of all the animals. i think he took some cool photos. it might be time to get him a camera of his own.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

fathers day



we hosted a small get together at our house for fathers day. i wasn't very organized for this one. i kept forgetting important things like putting out glasses and having napkins and plates ready. i was a bit of a mess. ooops. things have been so busy around here that there wasn't much time to prepare.

i had a lemon theme this time. we set up a lemonade stand for the kids to sell lemonade. so cute. they got a big kick out of all the quarters they were earning. mason proclaimed that he was very rich and was going to buy a lego set with all his money. so funny. i decorated the house with bowls of lemons and yellow tablecloths. i hung white and yellow balloons around the light fixtures. so fun and festive.

for lunch we grilled steak and i cooked some salmon inside on the stove. we had baked potatoes, green salad and corn on the cob. yummy. jen made a delicious blackberry trifle for dessert. we were also celebrating my dad's birthday so we all sang to him. it was a very fun day. i hope all the dads enjoyed it.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

starting summer


i had all these ideas of how to celebrate coming home from the last day of school. they were all very summer related. blowing up the swimming pool, having a water balloon fight, making snow cones... you get the idea. but today it rained. it is cold and a little rainy. bummer. so instead of all that dahlia helped me make a huge sign welcoming summer that we taped up across the living room. the kids got to run through and rip it to kick off the summer season. we originally tried to tape it up outside but it was getting wet so it was quickly moved indoors.

mason and dahlia loved the sign. they spent the rest of the day making there own large signs and treasure maps with the paper roll. these silly kids are so cute. i am excited for our summer break.

last day of school



yay. mason had his last day of school today. i actually got a little sad. i cried three times. having school end is such a big moment. his teacher was so sweet. she told me that when mason handed her the card he painted for her he said "i made this for you. i love you mrs. cruce." she said she had to look away because she was starting to tear up. oh my gosh. what a mush head my little boy is. i love it. he is just too sweet.

i love his teacher. i am so happy that he will be in her class again next year. i would have been even more sad today if mason wasn't going to be repeating kindergarten. we have decided to hold him back and i am relieved. i don't think he was quite ready for kindergarten when we started him. i think it would be really hard on him to push ahead to first grade. his teacher said that he is really smart but she feels he is immature and a little young. she thinks he would benefit from another year in kindergarten. i agree. so it is settled. he will be in her kindergarten class again next year. hurray.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

kira at disney


i took the kids and met jen, ray, bodhi and kira at disneyland today. it was kira's first trip to disney. our passes are going to be blocked for the summer so it was one of the last times we could go. it was pretty crowded but we had a great time. mason was very excited to have ray come with us. he got to go on the pirates ride. we don't usually go on that ride because the little kids are afraid of it.

kira seemed to have fun. she was pretty good. it is hard to manage an infant at disney. we didn't stay late. mason was sad to go home. he wanted to go on the nemo ride (i did too). however, it is a school night so i was responsible took us home early. boo.