Daisy Investiture...

Hannah was invested into the Daisy Girl Scouts today. The girls helped plan their day and they were all so excited to share it with their families. They got their uniforms with their patches and pins. Now they are official :) 

Such a cute daisy!

Naked day...

We went to the park today, it was such a beautiful day. The park was right next to the bay. When we got there the other kids were running naked on the bay beach and so my kids stripped down and joined them. They played mermaid and frolicked on the beach. They swam in the water and crawled up the beach. Noah loved swimming! They offended some people (by being naked) who had come to the park for lunch so they left, but the kids were having fun...I wasn't going to stop them for anyone!

Little Chef...

We have started to let the kids decide what they want to make for dinner. They choose the menu, I shop for the necessary ingredients and they cook! Hannah is first to do this and tonight she decided to make pizzas for everyone. So we made the dough, divided it up and made everyone their own pizza. Hannah rolled out 5 pizzas and let everyone decide what they wanted to have on their pizza. Everyone gobbled up their dinner tonight :) Thank you Hannah!

Just a plug...

Have you checked out the Shape of A Mother website lately? It looks awesome! Great job Bonnie!

Flubber...

Last night I had to take over the Daisy scout meeting which means that I had to plan the meeting. I found a quick and easy recipe with 3 ingredients (that I had on hand) called flubber. At the meeting we made flubber. The girls absolutely loved it and went wild with it. They got to take a piece home. 

Hannah didn't want to share with her brothers because it was a special thing she had done in her Daisy meeting. So we made some more today for the boys. Luckily we had a nice big donation of glue from some friends before they left so we didn't have to go to the store for anything! We didn't color it because the kids couldn't decide on a color that they all liked. Hannah got some more for her bag too. They loved it and I think they were occupied experimenting with it for about an hour, maybe longer. It reminds me of silly putty the way it breaks apart and copies from newspaper or photocopies. The clean up was easy, and when pieces fell to the ground it was easy to pick up and put back in the glob of flubber. I'm sure it will last a few days. What fun!

Sunday School...

This morning Ben and Hannah started their year of Sunday school. They go for an hour to learn with their teacher and then we join them afterwards to go to Mass. They really look forward to this class. Hannah is following Ben and having his same teachers from his previous year, it helps because sometimes she shuts down when she sees someone new. Ben is OK with going into a new classroom with a new teacher. He doesn't really care. 

This year Ben is in his first year (out of 2 years) of First Communion preparation. He will do First Communion when he is in second grade. He is really looking forward to receiving his First Communion because he sees us and his cousins go up and he wants to be a part of it all. This year he has homework too, yikes! We have to sit him down and do some work for the class! Getting him to do the work shouldn't be a problem, it's his remembering it that might be the problem... I have to get folders for them to keep their stuff in.

Should be a good year!

Party day!

Today we enjoyed the company of our homeschooling friends that we see once a month for terrific field trips. We had a not-back-to-school party for the kids like we did last year. They thought it was great! There was lots to do for the kids, first stop: the craft table! You know how my kids love crafts, well this was heaven for them. Everything was on the table and they just got to create! Another Mom brought capes for the kids to wear, or fly, around the park, and another Mom brought a "musical petting zoo" with different musical instruments for the kids to play with and explore. Noah loved the drum (I've forgotten the real name) and Ben loved the dulcimer (not pictured) and the harp. They played games and painted their faces, there was ice cream and snacks and water balloons. It was fabulous! We can't wait for the next party...or field trip!

Ben making a necklace and bracelets, Hannah making a necklace

Hannah and Athena and Olivet

Noah loves the swing

Crafty girls trying to 'sew' their cape strings on

Super boy (like the face paint?)

Harp

Drum, boom boom

Beach...

We always try to meet up with our unschooling buddies but they are such a late group that we always miss them. We got to the beach at 10 and left around 11:30. Didn't see anyone we knew but the kids had fun anyways. A little boy joined in their fun and ran around with them for a long time. They just love the beach, the sand, the water and running around wild and crazy. They dug holes and played in the water (I thought the water was cold but they don't care about that) I love that they aren't messing up the house or the backyard. 

Today Noah got a little more comfortable with the ocean and kept going out a little farther than he should have. I wasn't too happy about that but he kept coming back in to shallow waters on his own.

Perhaps one of these days we'll stay late and see some of our friends.

Apples...

When I picture apple picking, for some reason I always picture it being a chilly day, one where we have to wear a sweater or something like that. But in reality (in San Diego county) September is nowhere near being chilly! Today it was in the mid-90's while we were picking apples with the sun beating down on us. We found apples, lots of them. Not a big variety of apples like we did 2 years ago. We found lots of red apples and tons of pears but not many green apples. Hannah loves the tartness ("soury") of the green apples and I like to put them in pies. We bought 3 bags for apples (one for Marissa to take home with her) and that was over plenty for us. We wanted a big variety of apple types but there wasn't much so we can home with lots more pears than apples, and more red than green or yellow. Can't win. It was a fun day though. Ben's favorite part was using the apple-picker to get the apples way up high. Hannah's mission was green apples and Noah wanted to pick some and had a hard time because he's so short! We kept having to pick him up and hoist him up to reach one. He loved it.

After we picked apples we went to the Wynola Pizza Express in the big red barn and had lunch, it was the best pizza I've had in a long time. It was hot but fun, afterwards we hit to swimming pool at my parents house. The perfect ending to a great day!

Sleepover...

We invited Marissa to spend the night tonight and everyone was thrilled to death about it. Her first sleepover alone with the kids! Marissa has spent the night but never alone since the kids were born. So Marissa wanted to learn how to knit. Ben grabbed his knitting, Hannah hers and they sat on the couch for a long time knitting together. After a short while Marissa got it and was helping Hannah. I think that was wonderful because she didn't seem frustrated with it like she does when I help her out. Ben was just having fun being with Marissa. Yes they've gone wild and crazy but what else is there to do on a sleepover? They are asleep now...Marissa is in Hannah's bed and Ben is above them on the bunk. All dreaming happy dreams of being together.

Tomorrow our plan is to go apple picking in Julian!

Ballet day...

Well, today was the big day for ballet for Hannah. She was a champ. She was so ready for her class and turned and said bye to me, I'm so proud of her! We got there a little early and found her class and got her settled in. She put her ballet slippers on and went to sit with her teacher. I said "this is Hannah" and the teacher motioned her to sit down. So, about 10 minutes went by and the teacher and Hannah came out and said that she thought that my Hannah was in the wrong class and to check next door. So it was, she was supposed to be next door the whole time (they went us to the wrong classroom). I was afraid with that last minute change that she wouldn't be so brave and OK with going in by herself anymore, but she did fine. She turned and waved and joined the class that had already started. The teacher seems nice and Hannah is surrounded by a bunch of little girls her age so she is in heaven. She can't wait for next time. Finally, we've found a class that she'll go to alone!!!

Hannah...

Hannah is pretty shy when it comes to other adults talking to her and trying to make conversation with her. Because of this she hasn't wanted to go to another friends house to play without my being right there. She also has not wanted to take any sort of classes (even if she really wants to learn about it) without my (or Daddy's) presence in the room. This is fine and we're OK with that. 

Today we had our regular Girl Scouts meeting and we had talked about it before. There was a meeting afterwards just for the leaders and we (leaders) wanted to go. But that would mean that I needed to take Hannah home or we could stay with her friends, eat dinner with them and then the Mommies would go to the meeting and be back later. This would also mean that she would be with her friends Daddy (that she barely saw or meet). She was OK with my going and felt comfortable with me leaving her. I was shocked and surprised but I figured I was going to be an hour and she was with a friend. She had so much fun while I was gone! She did call me but didn't really know what to say on the phone so I told her I'd be a few more minutes and be there to pick her up soon. "OK Mommy, bye!"

So I think this is a growth for her! I'm so proud of her! She will start ballet class on Thursday and I pray that she won't start crying (she can shed tears fast) and not want to go on with it. We (parents) aren't allowed in the room, but we can stay right out front and wait for the class to be over. So, here's to hoping she doesn't freak out!

My little girl is getting big...

Artists...

Hannah and a few of her Daisy Scout sisters painting a community. They are getting ready for their investiture ceremony, where the girls get to become official scouts. They will get their uniforms, their pins and the patches that they've earned so far (which is quite a few already). They have been planning this ceremony themselves and they are so excited to invite their families to it. A couple more weeks until then!

Soccer...

Ben played in his unofficial game today, a scrimmage against another team. They had fun and we loved to see how the team might do this year. Ben really likes it, maybe it's because he knows a little more about it. Last time he tried soccer out, he started out really into it but then the interest faded quickly. He seems to really like to be in the goal, but we (his parents) want him to run with the others and try to make a goal. He isn't very good at goalie so he needs more practice. If that is what he wants to do though, hey he could be a great goalie. Oh and by the way... They won today!

Showing off his uniform

#8

Crafty...

Today felt like a rainy day. However it was too hot to be outside and the kids found a crafty project to do inside. We had gone to Michaels last night and picked these models up and they were dying to put them together. So they put them together with the help of their Daddy. They were all very focused and wanted to finish them today. Hannah built a birdhouse, Ben a tank and Noah got a birdhouse too. They all came out great! And now they have a new toy to play with.