In the garden....

Today we spent a good deal of time outdoors in the garden. We have so many things growing out there that we needed to tend to them. Our giant zucchini has struck again and again! We can't keep up with it all. We have corn and basil, tomatoes (that taste SOoo good), sunflowers that are drooping their heads down low... Hannah and I decided to start some new plants too. We found that we ran out of the little sticks to ID our seedlings so I used a sharpie pen on the end of a fork and stuck it in. This works great, I'll never buy another pack of those tags.

While we tended to our seeds, Noah decided to get nekky and take a seat in some buckets of water! And Corey and Benjamin worked hard on finishing the patio posts so we can get to painting them.

Noah in water, and notice the post all tied up with electrical tape? That's Bens handiwork.

Wolves...

Today we went to the California Wolf Center for a field trip that I organized. It was awesome. I highly recommend the field trip, or just a Saturday trip out there. You have to plan it as you need to be escorted in from the road, but it is well worth it. It took us about an hour to get there and find the road. We met up with everyone and our escort and headed in. Kim was the docent and she gave us a very educational discussion about wolves. Very kid-appropriate. She had a pelt for us to touch and see the different kinds of fur on wolves. We learned all about wolves and then she handed out binoculars to all the kids and we headed out in the 100 degree heat to see some! They had 2 enclosures that we were going to see wolves in. We walked for 3 minutes to the first where we didn't see any wolves. The next enclosure was right next door and had about 14 wolves inside. One of the names of the wolves that we saw was Nanuk (I'm totally messing that spelling up) and there was another female that we saw hanging out. It was fascinating, as we were in a giant bunch and she said that they could smell each one of us. Here are some pictures.

Hannah touching the fur

Ben's turn

One of the wolves (female)

Another wolf (male)

The kids with the binoculars...they were more fascinated with them than the wolves!

Wings (last ones)...

This morning, as we were rushing to get out of the house to go play with our friends at the park, when I remembered that we had to check the chrysallis to see if the butterfly had emerged. I thought it was time the 2nd butterfly was out. One quick check in and I saw the wings. Beautiful! The kids ran to see. Hannah was to take this one out and let her go because Ben go to do it last time. So we opened the box top very carefully. This butterfly was really ready to leave and a bit more jumpy than the other. Hannah was a bit hesitant so I ended up putting my hand inside and bringing it out. As soon as I pulled my hand out of the box, it flew away. Not much of a chance for pictures but I did catch a few. This butterfly is a male. With the wings opened up you can see the black spot on the lower wing...the females don't have the spot!

Hannah trying to let it climb on her finger

Hannah still trying

My hand

See the butterfly? (just above the branches)

more pics of the 4th....

Ben and Arrielle hiding out

Noah loves the kitties!
Delaney 'reading' Hannah a story
Ben 'sleeping' with Arrielle

Happy 4th of July!

Today we went to Coronado to enjoy the parade, the company of family and some fun! Benjamin was up at 6:45 this morning, in anticipation of the parade and all the fun we were to have today. Hannah and Noah woke up at their normal times between 7:45-8:30. We weren't in a big rush as we had already packed the car full of bikes, bike trailer and helmets. We just packed a snack/lunch and were on our way. We got on the island just when the parade was starting and quickly found a parking spot, then rode to the parade. It was full of the usual suspects: the clowns, the geriatric longboard club, Coronado High School class of 1977 reunion-goers, Al-Bahr Shriners, Navy, bands, dogs, classic cars, and the list goes on forever. It was a fun time, as always.


After the parade we headed to the park for a few minutes to play and then we went to my aunt Jeanne's house for a BBQ afternoon. It was great, the kids played with my cousins and built a fort in their living room, hid from each other and others and had a wonderful time. After a few hours we decided to go to my other aunt's house to make a visit and found that their house was full of people but we were catching the end of it. After a nice visit with them we came home. We had tired kids and they were hungry so we made some dinner for them, stuck them in the bath and into bed. They were so tired! Ben woke up so early and didn't take a rest/nap, Hannah didn't nap... so we MISSED THE FIREWORKS!! They had been looking forward to them so much but everyone [read: the kids] was so tired and crabby that we had to stay home. We won't be missing them next year...that's what the kids said.

The kid crew Us
Noah ... not sure about what is going on...
Hannah taking a break on Daddy
Ben, Hannah & Noah in the reflection

Wings...

While Hannah and Noah were napping, Ben was exploring. He was outside for a time when he came to me with his eyes bright with excitement telling me to "come on". So I followed him outside because I was excited to see what he wanted to show me. He took me to our mock butterfly cage where I could see a butterfly fluttering around inside. We had just checked it, not an hour before, and the chrysallis was not doing anything. It did look like it was getting ready, because the colors of the monarch butterfly inside were getting darker and looked more like the designs on butterfly wings. This was thrilling to see.

He wanted to keep the butterfly until Hannah and Noah woke up but that could've ended up being hours. I persuaded him to open the box and let the butterfly out. He did and the butterfly climbed onto his hand for a minute or two before trying his wings out and flying up to hang out in a tree. Later on this afternoon, I saw the monarch butterfly again just flying over the house to the back yard. It was very cool... Now we wait for Hannah's chrysallis to open up...

Gas...

This morning Ben came to me and asked about the sun. I told him that it was too hot to go near the sun, that we feel the sun's heat when we're outside etc.... and that it is a big ball of gasses that is on fire. Hannah was right next to us and started to laugh. "Hahaha gas" And so I started to giggle (knowing exaclty what she was thinking) and said that it wasn't the type of gas that comes from your butt, but different types of gasses. Everyone is howling with laughter, even Noah catches the giggles.

The fair....

Today we went to the San Diego County Fair. What a great day!! We are all exhausted from everything that we did. It was Noah's first time at the fair and Ben and Hannah's second trip. They remembered the last time we went and couldn't wait for today. We got there right when the gates opened and headed right for the animals, we found some big equipment that Noah was enthralled with, checked out the new Chevy Suburban (I like our 'old' one the best) and got a free Caprisun drink. We saw the goats, sheep, steers, calves, pigs and piglets, turkeys, chickens and roosters. We toured the farming arena for a while and then headed to the rides. Boy was that fun! Ben and Hannah went on the ferris wheel and loved it! They went on the carousel, down the giant twirly slide and fought the fires in the fire engines.

All that before lunch.

We watched Marissa do her folk dancing during lunch and then we went to play again and this time with Marissa! We enjoyed ourselves, indulging a bit in the fair foods and lots of fun. Ben and Hannah each got a bag of cotton candy, and ate it all by themselves! We didn't worry about naps, Noah slept in the stroller and Hannah went without one. We came home very tired and got to bed early.

Noah trying to touch the goat

Hannah and Ben in the ferris wheel with Daddy (on the left)
Noah wanted to be on the 'lello' horse...so we switched!
Marissa dancing
This roller coaster was perfect for little kids (& big ones!)!

Hummingbird...

Update:
The baby hummingbird has been hanging out in the front yard waiting for it's Mommy every day since we saw it the first time. It waits and chirps and gets all jittery and excited when Mommy comes near for a feeding. It is really cool to watch. Yesterday I was by the window watching from indoors and they didn't know I was so close.

Garden visitor...

I was watering the front garden with Noah when a little hummingbird flew in the stream of water, stumbled while flying and landed on a little branch of one of the tea trees. I was able to get real close. It was so small (about the size of my thumb from tail to tip of beak). I called to Ben to grab my camera and bring it to me. I was afraid that it would get scared if I moved since I was so close. Armed with my camera in hand I started to snap some pictures, then decided to do some video. As soon as I started to shoot to clip I realized something about my little garden visitor... watch and find out!

And here are two clips! The first took me by surprise and the next I waited for...

Our Caterpillars....

We brought two caterpillars home the other day with a butterfly bush from the monarch program we attended. One of the caterpillars was active and found his spot on the roof of the box I put together for him (just like the man told me to). He stayed on the roof for a long time and finally dropped his body to hang and quickly (within 30 minutes) changed his outfit into a chrysallis. It's bright green with a bit of gold on the top with a few golden spots. The other caterpillar spent that day and the next eating, escaping three times and finally settling on the roof of the box next to his partner and did the same (hang from the roof). Now we have two chrysallises and we wait patiently. At least now we don't have to worry about them escaping from the box and squashing them with our feet!
I'll post pics later...

Hannah sings...

I found it. This was (obviously) when she was younger... She was almost 2yo (taken in April '05) and I snuck the camera in the headrest hole to take the video because she wouldn't have continued to sing. She does notice me but continues her singing. I can't believe how verbal she is!! And here's Hannah singing "Down by the bay..."

Old pics...

I'm going through some old pictures and thought I'd post these two cute ones...funny kids eating peanut butter for lunch...and making silly faces...

Zucchini...

Check out this zucchini that we grew in our garden! It is so big! I'm going to make something with it tonight for dinner...just have to figure out what. But in the meantime we have it on the kitchen counter...taking up the entire counter!

Monarchs...

Today we went to Encinitas to learn about caterpillars and butterflies. We met up with a bunch of other homeschooling families and learned all about the four stages of life, butterfly body parts, watched a video and some slides. We learned about how to tell the females from the males by identifying the little black spot on their lower wings. The tour guide even did a magic trick where he had some stickers (of butterflies) in the back room and came out with one and put it on his arm. Then he peeled it off and a real butterfly flew away. No one knows how he did it. It was very cool.

By the end of the lesson, Ben and Hannah were very interested in the information but they weren't interested when we got there. Then we went into the vivarium to see the butterflies, chrysallises and caterpillars. There were slices of watermelons for the butterflies, and some of the kids started to eat them... oops! Ben caught a butterfly on a slice of watermelon (see below)!



OH and we brought some caterpillars and a butterfly bush home with us. We have it all together in a Cheerios box, and they are hanging...the beginnings of chrysallis-making...more to come!

Bath time...

We were talking to some adult friends of ours over the weekend and somehow we started talking about the kids (we don't know how that happens) and the funny and strange things that they do. So here's a story from Corey about bath-time.
The kids love to take a bath and with all three in the bath together is super fun. Noah will get in and pee in the water (it must be the warm water), then Hannah and Ben get in-sometimes they all get in at the same time. They immediately get their toys out to play with which includes boats, squirt animals, sponges, cups and bowls... As a precaution Corey always starts out the bath-time by saying "Don't drink the water because Noah pee'd in the water!" They laugh with giggles, partly because they are in the water and partly because of the word 'pee' and that Noah did it in the bath. Then they grab their cups, dunk in the bath water and start drinking. Corey says it again and again but they still just giggle and drink.
No one knows why they keep drinking but they do. Urine is sterile, and the amount that they are ingesting is so little mixed with the bath water, so we're not worried.

Caterpillars...

They're back! We have spotted our first caterpillar and it headed up the wall of the house to rest on the eave. Noah was a bit excited and tried many times to pick it up (the big fingers). More to come! (our adventures with them last year start here)

Happy Father's Day!

Ben, Hannah and Noah have a wonderful Daddy. He can't wait to spend time with them during the week and on the weekend, they get him around all day! He plays, teaches, wrestles, chases, colors, guides, watches, reads to, sings with, carries, digs with, swims with, builds, and does so much more with them and for them. They love him dearly. Here are a few pics from the day.

A little swim

Feast for the Dads

A cruise on the jeep

iPod girl....

Tooth Fairy visits again...

Last night while we were gone to a wedding, Ben's 2nd tooth came out. It is the one right next to the first one, on the bottom. I knew he was working it, he has been with his fingers in his mouth for the last week. Now he has a nice big gap on the bottom of his mouth. He can stick his tongue out and a straw in. He did tell me that he needed one more tooth out so that the straw 'wouldn't hurt' (be more comfortable??). I told him that the other teeth weren't loose yet and to leave them alone, they will come out on their own time.

But I just know that he is dying to wiggle another free....