surviving the heat: jumping puddles + dancing in the sprinklers

it is hot in so. cal. the kind of hot that makes you just want to do nothing. that is how i pretty much felt yesterday and today for that matter. but, those of you with kiddo's know that when you sit around and do nothing it's almost worse than if you go out and do something. isn't it weird how your kiddo's can find something to whine or complain about even when they are doing nothing? i have to admit, even though my kiddo's have their moments, for the most part they are pretty good at entertaining themselves. okay, anyway back to doing nothing turned into watering the front yard, which meant sprinkler play for the kiddo's. they had such a good time and besides taking pictures of them having a good time, i got to do nothing. it was fun just to watch how different the two of them are. this is how it went...

the little fella found this sprinkler and stepped on it.

then he stepped off and got sprayed with water.

so, he stepped on it again, and off again and on again for a long time. until...

he found this puddle and thought it would be fun to splash around in.

he did this for awhile and thought it was so entertaining.

meanwhile, the little miss was choreographing a dance that went something like this...

she danced pretty much the whole time. i've come to this conclusion, the little fella is totally cause and effect minded. my girl is all about creating and dancing. i don't know, that's just what i think for now. it may change later. hope you are staying cool in this hot so. cal weather.

backyard talent show

this past weekend we held a talent show in our backyard with our home school friends. it was so much fun i think we will make it an annual event. our group consist of kiddo's in the age range of brand new - 7 years old and i will have to say they are a pretty talented bunch. we had singing, baseball catching, knock-knock jokes, poems recited, MAGIC, piano playing and much, much more. as a parent i was concerned that maybe the kiddo's would be nervous to come up and share their talent, and of course their was a few. but, the majority of our group came right up. some of them even shared a few of their talents. basically we couldn't get them off of the stage (the mister rigged up a tiny stage for them to use). like i said before it was such a fun day and i am so thankful to be a part of such an awesome, talented home school group. here's what we did to set the "stage"...

microphones for each kiddo

hand clappers to applaud our friends

popcorn the ultimate entertainment food

the little miss played ring around the rosie using spoons

all of our talented kiddo's were awarded a super star ribbon

our awesome audience

we got popsicles and a had a...

dance party after the show

can't wait for next years show!

a look back

i came across these photos this morning. my little fella's curls and then his first haircut. i remember how hard it was for me to cut off those curls. i held out longer than i ever thought i would. looking back i can see why i waited so long. they are so cute. i kind of miss them, but he sure his handsome with a big boy haircut...

to the snow avery

my girl avery has been asking to go to the snow since 2009. she has only been to the snow once and that was when she was one. she doesn't remember it either. as you know life goes on and for some reason or another we haven't been able to make it up the mountain until this past week. of course, we picked the hottest day of the season to go, but it actually was really nice up there. there wasn't much snow, but enough for the kiddo's to play and get a feel for it. and we didn't have to get all bundled up in snow gear, which was nice. so, after many "are we there yet" from the little miss and thankfully a nap from the little fella we arrived.

take a look...

first things first: a snowball fight (me not included, have i told you i don't really like the snow either?)

my little fella was not afraid to get in on the action

i think this is my favorite photo from the day

my girl makes the biggest snowball

hopefully none of that snow was yellow (that fire hydrant makes me think it's possible)

second: we built a snowman or tried at least

these two photo's (above + below) might just be my favorites from the day too

third: off to find a hill with more snow

for sledding of course

we all took a few turns ( even me the one who doesn't like the snow)

we had lots of laughs and lots of fun, but as the old saying goes laughing leads to crying, which in our case usually comes true

my girl was stuck in the snow not able to go any further (not really - she was just being dramatic)

and this one, well it's just what he does!

that's our day in the snow. we didn't miss it this year. in fact i heard it's supposed to snow again this weekend. so, for those of you who haven't made it up there and are wanting to, it's not too late. to the snow friends!

what they looked like a year ago today

yesterday when i was perusing through my pictures on our laptop, i came across photos from last easter, which just so happened to be on 4/4 last year. i can't believe how much my kiddo's have grown. their hair is longer or shorter, baby teeth have come in or been replaced by permanent teeth, they both are a little taller, and two shoe sizes bigger, one talks more than he did last year, and one can and is still learning to read. needless to say a lot can happen in a year. when you have little ones it seems that time goes by too fast. they're growing right before our eyes and sometimes we don't even realize it until your flipping through old photos on your computer. take a look...

avery

last year

this year

garrett

last year

this year

the pics from this year are from our visit to the snow, i'll post more about that tomorrow. until then friends, hope you enjoy your monday.

tuesday nature day = gum grove

we are always looking forward to our tuesday's around here because it's the day we meet with our home school group. it's our nature day. we love meeting with our friends and exploring nature, so it usually turns out to be a really neat and fun day. because it has been such a rainy season we have had to make some changes in our adventure locations. one of our favorite "go to" spots is gum grove. the kiddo's never tire of this spot. they always find a way to entertain themselves. take a look...

heading up the hill to take the "high road"

running to me

or away from me

making shelter with some branches and a fallen tree

skinning our knees

collecting a lot of little balls

discovering a dead rabbit on the path

walking through the nasturtiums

and then collecting a bouquet

and finally a nap at the end of the day

my girl ice skates

last week my girl was invited to an ice skating party.she was super excited. she had never been ice skating before, but she considered herself experienced because of all the ice skating she had done in her socks on the kitchen floor. so we suited her up in her snow overalls and jacket, got real ice skates on her and she was off. i was a total nervous wreck because i hate ice skating. when i was my girls age i went ice skating and had a bad experience and decided i hated it. so these were my fears: first, i couldn't be out there with her because i had my little fella with me. (like i would've done her any good out there anyway). second, i kept thinking she was going to fall and knock out her new two front teeth. third, i thought she was going to fall and someone would skate over her fingers. last, i thought she would end up out in the middle, flat on her back with the little walker thing they give beginners, caging her in because it was too slippery she couldn't get back up. (yes, the last thing is my bad experience and the reason i have never been ice skating again). but, you know what my girl is not me. she doesn't have all the same fears i do. she actually doesn't know what she can't do because the mister and i have always encouraged her to do things. we've never told her not to do something because it's hard, or she probably won't

like something because we think she won't. we let her try. we let her have her own experiences, and then she decides if it's too hard or whether or not she likes it.

and guess what folks, she likes it!

here's how it went...

first time on the ice

holding on, getting use to it

one of the mama's helping her out

and she's off! in the middle! not flat on her back!

way to go my girl, you make mama so proud!