Day 2 - Camp

We found a site in the campground that we wanted. I think we'll try to move to the site right next to us in the morning though (it seems a bit better and the people are leaving) it has a little creek running near it.
The kids are so excited about being here. Noah loves the dirt and keeps combing his hands in it - yum, black, sooty mess! After the tent & kitchen were all set up we made dinner and the highlight was roasting marshmellows. What would a camping trip be without those puffy white sugary treats... We're lucky that our kids don't like them too much!
I also bought a bunch of glow bracelets for the kids. I decided to give them each one a night. It helped us to see them at night and besides that they had a bunch of fun with them.

Day 1

We left at 2:15pm after a full day of packing yesterday and a morning of crazy running around trying to finish things up. The kids were a little better today because we were actually packing things into the car today. They saw progress. At about 1:30 this afternoon, they (all 3) got into their carseats, buckled up and decided that it was time to go. So we hurried the last little bit of stuff in and hit the road.

Noah fell asleep pretty quickly (he usually naps around 12:30, so he was tuckered out), Hannah fell asleep leaving Ben and I to knit while keeping Daddy awake. And the questions started...

2:45pm - Ben: Are we almost there yet?

Us: No, not yet.
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3:24pm - Ben: Are we closer?

Us: No, not yet. We'll be driving for a very long time...probably until after it gets dark.
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4:03pm - Hannah: Daddy, Ben smells.

Daddy: He smells?

Hannah: Yes.

Daddy: What does he smell like?

Hannah: He smells like.......... Ben.
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4:20 - Ben: Are we there yet?

Us: No, not yet.
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And so the same question kept getting asked at 5:30, 6:22, 6:57, 7:45 and finally around 8:05 they stopped because we had reached our first stop. The hotel.

I'm going to put some slideshows of pics for each day...so please come back to check them out as I get them posted :-)

Day 0 - Packing up!

Today we spent the day packing for our (almost) 2 week trip to the Sierra's. The kids are so excited about the trip that they can't seem to sit still. We have spent most of the day going one step forward and three steps back. We are almost all ready but we will need to finish in the morning and try to get an early start. We were also trying to get ready to go to Mom's birthday party so it was doubly exciting....

Going camping...

We are leaving for our yearly camping trip. I won't get online (I might try) but we will definitely be back with lots of blogs of fun from while we were gone. I write them down the old fashioned way while we are away ;-)

Happy Birthday!

Today is my Mom's birthday. We went over there for her birthday dinner. The kids worked on a birthday present for her all week. We had various stages of building her a little window box with paper, glitter glue, buttons and plaster of paris. It was so much fun for them, especially since we just had everything laying out on the table all week. Dinner was nice but the most special part of the evening was when the 3 older grandkids got together in the kitchen and made up some desserts with what they found in the kitchen. They came out with some neat banana cakes with candles on them, fruit cups with Christmas sprinkles on them, some were topped with yogurt and others were just plain fruit. They were all in little muffin cups. Granny loved it!

Karate!

Ben started taking a karate class a few months ago. He absolutely loves it. He is doing very well in it too. Today he had his pre-test/test to move to a 1st section black belt. There are 7 tests before they reach black belt. Ben has been practicing very hard for this. One of his friends in class tested into 1st section about a month ago and that made him more driven, because if he gets to 1st section then maybe he'll be with his friend again. So today he had his pre-test to see if he was ready to be tested and they determined that he was ready. He tested with 3 other boys and they all passed!!!!! He is a proud 1st section-er. And we are quite proud of him. He did an awesome roll and the instructors had the other 3 boys watch him demonstrate it. I flaked on pictures during the test (I was nervous for him!!) but here is a shot of all 4 new 1st section-ers with one of the instructors while he is telling them what to learn for the next test.

Now he waits to get his 1/7th dyed black belt and he cannot wait! Way to go Ben!!

Butterfly....

I was working in the garden this morning while the kids and Corey played around in the pool. After everyone was done, my mess cleaned up we sat and relaxed while the sun started to beat down, the backyard getting hotter and hotter. Noah hung near me and we watched a monarch butterfly float into the yard and land on our butterfly bush (milkweed plant) that we bought with our caterpillars last month. It looked like it was laying some eggs on the underside of the leaves. The butterfly kept flying away and returning to the milkweed plant. Noah kept trying to get it to land on his hand, he followed it all around the back yard, down the side of the house and back to the milkweed plant. I thought that a slice of watermelon might help him, but by the time we got back outside to attract the butterfly, it was gone. We sat by the plant and ate watermelon until we forgot the purpose of our being out there. The butterfly never returned but I did catch some pics while he (she?) was out there.

Fishing by the lake...

Tonight we went to Lake Murray for a quick fishing session after dinner. The kids are so excited about going fishing and camping next week that we had to succumb to their needs and took them out to the lake. It was a beautiful evening for it. The sun was going down and the moon was on the rise. We found a little spot with reeds all around but enough room for the kids to cast their poles. The ducks would float past wondering if we had any handouts for them, but sadly we didn't...not this time. Noah didn't fish tonight, he was more interested in throwing rocks into the lake. Hannah and Ben did very well with their casting, I think they are ready for the Sierras! Here are some shots of the evening.

Hannah casting her line out

Ben helping untangle Hannah

Noah drinking water

Corey untangling Ben's line

A view of the sunset sky, the moon and ducks floating by

Pretzels & swimming...

Today we made pretzels...I mean, I made pretzels while the kids went wild in the pool in the back yard. It was hot and we had no where to go today! We all had fun doing our own thing relaxing at home. And the snack after all that running around, jumping and swimming, was delicious!

Pretzels

A quick break from going wild in the pool

Movies...

Today we went to the movies!!! There are free kids movies on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during the summer and only a few of them are for younger kids (in my humble opinion). So we went. It was very exciting, the unknown of the movies and not knowing what to expect. I did my best in telling them about it but they were still full of unknowns. Yes, their first time to the movies was quite a treat. We saw Cliffords Really Big Movie on the big screen.

We walked right in (because it was free) and that was nice because I had all three kids by myself and they were all going in different directions. If I had to deal with tickets...well, that would've been so much harder. So, we walk right up to the snack counter and the kids want popcorn. I have not been to the movies and bought popcorn in a LONG time because the bucket of popcorn cost $7!! I could buy sooo much bulk popcorn (that's how we buy it for home popping) for $7 at the local store. So since I didn't pay for the tickets I splurged and bought the bucket. They fought for who was going to carry it. I carried it, at $7 a bucket I wasn't going to have it all land on the floor in the lobby!! We found our seats and waited for the movie to begin, muching on popcorn.

Ben and Hannah giggled and laughed throughout the movie and Noah watched the entire thing without a peep. The bucket of popcorn was almost empty when we left (see pic of Noah below).

As we were leaving, I asked them if they liked their first movie (in the theatre). Hannah said 'yes' and Ben said 'yes' too but then started to complain that he didn't like the bad part (the part where Clifford was taken by the little girl-no violence). He got so torn up about it, he was quite upset about it and started to tear up. He was so emotional. Then Hannah got into it but she was a little more rational and started to evaluate the movie and tell me what they should have done.

In the car they told me what their favorite parts were and everyone was happy. I think we'll try it again in a few weeks to see Curious George, and we'll bring Daddy along with us.

In our seats and popcorn bucket is full....

at the counter (Ben did not want to have his picture taken)
on our way home...bucket almost empty

Children's museum...

Today was such an awesome day for the kids! We got going early this morning and went to the Childrens Museum in Escondido with our preschool homeschooling group. The museum was a bit off the map (read: everyone got lost) but when we finally all made it there, we had a blast. There were so many things for the kids to explore and do. They got to touch everything in the museum. We didn't get to everything (because there was so much to do) but we did get to tie-dye a t-shirt for each of the kids. And there was a playhouse to play in, costumes to dress up in, art to do, a puppet theater, shoes from around the world (Noah had fun with the clogs-see picture below), fun with bubble-making, a giant treehouse to climb up inside, animal track puzzles, a baby area full of toys, a measuring section, shapes, magnets, a spot to feel skunk and rattlesnake skins, a childrens garden, a schoolhouse, an art area with everything you need to create...I could go on and on. I'm sure we'll go again :-)

I'll have to get a picture of the shirts tomorrow (or the next day) because they are still wet but here are just a few pictures of what we did do.

Making shapes on a lit table

Making tie-dye shirts

I did hers...and she gets the glory!

The weather station

The 'infinity' mirror

Hannah made it to the top!

Putting on a play

Fascniated with yellow clogs

Scooter-boy...

We hung out at home today, in all areas of the house actually. The kids were content not going anywhere at all and didn't want to leave the house! (fine by me, we'll save on gas!) So at one point this afternoon we were hanging out in the garage and Noah was racing around on the scooter while Ben drew with chalk on the easel. Noah is very good at riding Hannah's scooter, we may have to buy him one pretty soon. He has a bit of a hard time letting Hannah ride it. So here he is on the scooter, zoom!

Cousins...

Tonight we went to my parents house to swim. It was a warm day and we needed to cool off. We got the cousins together for a photo and it actually came out nicely! It is the first of many tries to get all of them looking and smiling at the camera.

Painters...

My children are quite the artists these days. They LOVE to paint! Today we got the easel out for Noah and taped the older kids papers on the tables on the patio. They had about 7 colors to choose from today. Hannah said "you know what I'm painting" but I didn't have a clue. Ben said the same thing. I still didn't know. They got busy and pretty soon I saw shapes appear and then they told me the story behind their drawings.

Hannah painted the same thing as last time and in todays painting the person was her. Benjamin was painting a baseball player with a ballcap, bat and some balls. And Noah was painting ("peeh") and told me to paint some baseballs on his paper.

I must confess that the whole resaon behind today's painting session was to pull them away from Corey, who was trying to fix the leak in the bathtub....alone.

Screaming...

Over the last few nights Noah has been changing his night-time routine a bit. It was (on Tuesday night and before) this: bath, read book, brush teeth and go to bed with nursing, fall asleep. Now (& I hope this doesn't last too much longer) it is this: bath, read book, brush teeth and scream at the top of his lungs while saying "no, night-night... couch!" over and over. He is plenty tired by the time we head to bed and just. will. not. go. He wants to sit on the couch and read books or watch TV. Tonight he didn't want to nurse at all, he fell asleep laying on Daddy's stomach, without nursing! I about had a fit! I couldn't believe that he did it, and I am not ready for him to stop but if this is what he wants to do, then that's what will happen. Anyway, the screaming at the top of his lungs before bed is not fun for anyone, since we are all exhausted and want to sleep. Ben and Hannah do very well with it, they try to ignore it and go to sleep, as hard as that is for 4 and 5 year olds.

I sure hope this is a quick phase that gets back to normal!!

Rainbow...

When we were driving home tonight we spotted a rainbow in the sky (no it hadn't been raining)

and then a double rainbow! (a little hard to see but it's on the right side of the first one)

The beach party...

Tonight we celebrated my sister's birthday at the beach. It was a great time. We set up and the kids went straight for the water. It appears that Noah doesn't like the sand because last time he stayed with me too. He hung out on the blanket and didn't want the sand touching him. This is especially strange since we go to the park and he plays in the sand all the time. And we had dirt and mud in the back yard that he plays in all the time too.

So the kids got to play in the ocean, we ate dinner and then we headed up to the grassy area for the cake. My Mom decided that she wouldn't waste money on a traditional cake (because my sister doesn't like cakes) and went for a watermelon. We cut it in half, stuck the candles in and sang "Happy Birthday to you". It was great!

The kids ran around until after dark blowing bubbles, racing back and forth and enjoying the evening.

Weights...

Ben weighs 47.5 lbs.
Hannah and Noah both weigh 38 pounds.

Mud...

OK. I went in to the house for about 10 minutes and left the children in the back yard to play. I heard the water running but there was no pool out there for me to be concerned about. I was actually waiting for the screams from Hannah and Noah because I anticipated Ben spraying them with the cold water from the hose...that never happened. I was paying some bills that had to go out today so I really wasn't worried about it. Then it got to the point where it was "quiet outside" where they were not silent because I could still hear them but they were still quietly busy with something.

I went out to peek at them and couldn't believe my eyes.

Noah had the hose with the sprayer attached and was learning how to use it (on water, off water). He was knee-deep in muddy water (seriously it looked like they could have rolled around in it like pigs do, that or like the mud used in mudfights). Hannah was making a cake with the mud on the sidelines and was being very careful not to get dirty. And Ben had gone to get the wheelbarrow and was shoveling mud into it.

I ran for the camera. The pictures are great for showing what I saw. They were having a blast and no one was arguing, no fighting, no hitting....ahhh exploring with mud.

OH... And this is what happened yesterday from the remnants of some bookcase boxes that we bought over the weekend. They are destroyed, shredded and torn to bits and strewn across the grass, the umbrella and all the backyard. So, needless to say, our back yard is a disaster area.

And did I mention that we have our playgroup coming to our house on Thursday?

It's official...

I believe it has been about 6 weeks since the last time I bought night-time pull-ups for Hannah. She has had very few accidents at night so I will say that she is officially out of diapers and pull-ups! Yay for underwear!! We are so happy...one down and 2 to go! (Ben sleeps so soundly at night and Noah is starting his learning)

Daddy's birthday...

Today was Corey's birthday :-) and he wanted to go on a hike and to the beach. The kids were so excited about going to the beach. We do live in a beach city but we rarely get to the beach...go figure. So this afternoon, his Mom came over and we all piled into the car and headed to Torrey Pines State Reserve. We went on a very short hike after we popped into the visitor center for a minute. Noah was not happy in his Ergo carrier, he'd much rather walk himself. He got out at the middle point and practically ran the entire way back to the car. The kids were complaining a lot because they wanted to go to the beach, they said that we could go on a hike for 2 minutes. So we stretched it for as long as we could.

Then we went down to the beach and brought our picnic dinner. The kids didn't care about food, they were all about the water. Noah was so excited about the water, but was less than thrilled about the sand getting all over him and then I couldn't seem to wipe it off very well. He hated his swim diaper on so I took it off. Then he got a sandy butt and really didn't like that. I couldn't win. Hannah and Ben raced to the waves, tried to ride them in, got knocked over by the waves, rolled around in the water, ran up and down and laughed and screamed. They finally came in when there teeth were chattering. They loved it.

All in all it was a good day for Daddy. I think he had fun...at least I hope he did!!