Preschool at Home

Ella and Kate love doing little school activites at home.  It's great, because at home pre-school, they don't have to comb their hair, they can wear princess attire if they want to, and they can even sit on the table if needed.    =)

Happy Birthday Kate!

 My little Kate is now 3 years old!  And she is such a sweetie too!  She requested a Winnie the Pooh cake... because Winnie the Pooh is on her special blanket that Grandma Seever made for her.  I didn't have a shaped pan, so I just cut out pieces from a sheet cake and formed them to make Winnie the Pooh!  Happy birthday little Kate!

Family Night at theTemple

The girls loved going through the old neighborhood on the way to the temple, and love visiting the temple grounds too.  We came, this time, specifically to view an are exhibit in the visitor's center.  Beautiful artwork!  Jeff took more pictures... my camera didn't work well with the lighting (the sun was going down).

First Day of School

I can't believe summer is already over!  I have loved having all my girls home for the past few months... and wish it wasn't quite time yet to send them back.  They are a joy to have around. This year, Aubree is entering 4th grade and her teacher is Ms. Vomero.  Maya is entering 1st grade, and this will be her first year in all-day school.  Her teacher is Ms. Zaviska.

It is also Talen's first year school!  He's a Kindergartener!   Aubree and Maya always watch out for him and take good care of him at school.

One Last Camping Trip before School Starts....

We went to Ponderosa Campground for one last family camping trip before sending the kids off to school.    The next day we took a short hike to a swimming hole on Christopher Creek Canyon.  When we arrived at the swimming gorge there were two problems:  1) the swimming holes didn't have any easy kid-friendly access and 2) chocolate milk....  the water was the color of chocolate milk because of a recent torrential rain fall.  Our solution:  after getting a good view of the canyon, we hiked up the creek a bit to a nice shady spot.  Here we had snacks, played games, and Jeff made boats for the girls to race down the chocolate creek.  No swimming... but good times none the less!

Maya was trying to match the character on her shirt.  Can she be as grumpy as Grumpy the Carebear?  I don't think so, not today anyway.

There were some horses grazing on the grass and meandering through the forest around us. They were not tied up or fenced in or anything.  Who's loose horses?  I don't know... but the girls loved seeing them and hearing their horse noises! 

On the way out we stopped at the lake & park in Payson for a picnic.

San Diego

We drove to San Diego on the 4th of July for a little gettaway with just us and the kids. On our drive, every time the girls saw an American flag raised in the air they shouted out "FREEDOM!"... their way of showing their patriotism!  It took us about 6 hours to get there and before we even checked into our place... we made a quick stop at the beach.  We just couldn't wait to see it!  The girls ran out to the water... but didn't quite know what to do yet  (especially with out a suit on).   We then checked into our room, change and head back down there.  We played until dinner time, then headed straight to the fireworks near Legoland for the show.

They were all really excited to be at the beach!  They ran around and felt the sand and water on their feet, it was a lot for them to take in!  You can see it on their faces. 

Kates first reaction to the waves!

They were a little timid of the big waves.  Aubree was brave and went a little deeper while gripping daddy's hand.  When a big wave came, she just jumped up into his arms!

Yay!  Firworks!  We love the 4th of July!  We barily were able to catch a good close-up view of the fireworks.  They were shot off from Lego Land.  They were beautiful...  but the show was on the short side.... only a few minutes long!  Even so, we were satisfied.  It was a great way to bring our first day in San Diego to a close!

Sea World

We spent two days at Sea World while we were in San Diego.  It's a huge park with lots to do and see.

Oh, they loved the Sky Ride!  They loved it so much that we went on it both days!

Maya was a little scared at first... "Don't rock it mom!  Promise you won't rock it?"

Kate's a free spirit and wasn't worried at all!

Maya warmed up and ended up loving it.

Aubree, Ella, and Daddy were in a separated cart.  They loved it too.  In fact, some of them said it was the best thing at Sea World!  I remember enjoying the sky ride in Santa Cruz when I was a kid.  It was so neat to be so high up in the sky!  I didn't particularly like riding with my brother's though!  I'm sure you can imagine why!

There was also a number of rides in a Sesame Street zone.  Good times!

We almost touched the dolphin!  Just couldn't quite reach it!

Balluga whales!  A momma and her baby.  The girls always love to see momma and baby pairs!

This was a helicopter ride simulator.  Ella sat down in a seat that wasn't next to mom, and then the belts automatically locked.  She was stuck and didn't want to be away from me.  The oporator was kind enough to unlock her seat so that she could switch spots with her sister and sit next to me.  It was a little scary for her.

Beach Days

Jeff and I did some boogie boarding.  Gotta love it!

This beach quilt was hand made by my great grandmother Elizabeth Carpenter.  It's a tough quilt!

So glad we brought a couple of beach umbrellas.

Ella got a case of the giggles while daddy burried her legs in the sand.

Ok, so my camera doesn't take good sunset pictures.... but I love them anyway.  It's even fun to be on the beach at dark!

It's finally Thursday and time to check out.  We spent the morning on the beach, and had lunch, then hopped in the car for the ride back home.