a little break July 9, 2009

i will be back in a few days with more exciting posts. i had 2 really fun photo shoots in the last 2 weeks but i can only share one of them, for now. the other is a surprise til mid august. but the one i can share with you is adorable. a beautiful mama and her ADORABLE boy. and you throw in a wonderful sis and niece, and that makes for a perfect photo shoot for me. perfectly my style.

nothing too crazy going on other than i had way too much time on my hands this week. Greta went to her first week of preschool camp, she’ll have 2 weeks in August and then start preschool officially mid september. i had to work monday, but the other 3 days, i had 9 hours and i really didn’t know what to do. i got a ton done, little house projects i will also share with you soon. but i was sad. she’s getting so big. but it’s bittersweet because she is so excited to go, she’s doing fabulous, with no anxiety or crying, it’s me who is driving home from Target in tears. but that’s another post too.

we have been ridiculously busy which to me is what summertime is about. i love having so much fun for the kids every day. although i am looking forward to our scheduled weeks of nothing. i spaced them throughout the summer to give us some calm and help us get into some really good books. for now we are at daily swim lessons, photos to come soon. the boys are at the local park from 10-3 having a blast with field games, cooking activities, art and tomorrow soso is extra excited for superhero dress up day.

i love having the lazy mornings though. the kids are finally waking up a teeny bit later. they usually roam into my room anywhere from 7:15-8:00am. We lazily have breakfast and play until 10 when they get to go to camp. Then it’s pickup with a little bit of veg time and a huge truckload of food to refuel them for their swim lessons. it’s the first year that aaron or i don’t have to go in the water with greta. she’s in her own class. and she’s loving it. gunnar is doing fantastic. he’s swimming beautifully. and soso is a fish. that boy will dive in anywhere. he’s particularly proud that his teacher took the class and taught them in the 6 ft deep part today. i love that my kids get to have the summers i remember. swim lessons everyday all summer long. prune-y fingers and a confidence that is immeasurable.

we finished The BFG and are about to start another Roald Dahl book tonight. Not sure which one they’ll pick, it’s between James and the Giant Beach or Danny Champion of the World.

that’s about it for now. i am signing off for a few days and will be back next week sometime.

just reading on a picnic blanket one afternoon July 8, 2009

swimwear July 7, 2009

that time of year. i think these suits are adorable.

this first one is  from Target.

and these next two are from of course, Anthropologie.

RIP Slurpie July 6, 2009

Yes, our beloved Slurpie, Greta’s fish died. Sad. Sad. Sad. We had a little funeral service for him and we let Greta do the honors.

party time July 5, 2009

If you live in Los Angeles you MUST have a party at this place. I found it a few years ago when Gunnar went to summer camp there. It’s uber expensive but almost worth every penny. They have swim lessons daily, horseback riding, rock climb, archery, I can go on. Poor kid, his little sister unexpectedly arrived and our summer camp budget went down a bit. It is kind of hard to go from Tumbleweed to the local park, but honestly he doesn’t complain. In fact, I think he loves it just as much.

But back to my story. I found out about 6 months ago that they do parties here on the weekend during summer. I quickly researched and it was decided that Sawyer’s joint graduation party with his 4 other little friends would be held here. So the Fab 5, Sawyer, Ethan, Maddie, Julia, and Mason celebrated their triumphant graduation from preschool at this fabulous place. We had numerous activities to choose from, and the ratio was one counselor for every 10 kids. The counselors were fantastic.

For the kids we chose to make Instant Mini Volcanoes, Archery, Petting Zoo, Treasure Hunt, and at the last second we chose to add the Tumblewheel for the bigger kids. But I actually think the adults liked it even better than the kids. The Tumblewheel is this ride type thing that they strap you down to, 4 kids at a time, or 2 adults at a time, and you can go back and forth or they swing you all the way around. Once you are upside down, they stopped it and made you sing a song until you were brought back down. No doubt, the parents and aunties lined up for that one.

You can kind of see in the photos that it’s an old school type of camp. Extremely outdoorsy with the most beautiful land. You wouldn’t know it’s smack dab in the heart of L.A. with all the hills and trees.

And everyone knows I love me a good kids’ party, and fortunately for us, Uncle Dave and Auntie Rachel were still in town to participate in the festivities. They were all over this party, okay, maybe only Auntie Rachel. But Uncle Dave did come to support it.

Here are some highlights.

It was my turn to try, and Auntie Rachel’s too.

Gunnar on the Tumblewheel.

And Tati’s.

Cupcakes for all, and then all the parents brought a wrapped present for their own child(ren) to open. Fun indeed!

photo booth fun July 2, 2009

greta is quite the little poser. we were goofing around with photo booth the other day, notice my new very red lips, purchased in vegas, not the lips, but the color.

greta’s signature Anaconda Squeeeze !!!

and these girls crack me up together

the race July 1, 2009

Auntie Rachel and I indulged the kids in some racing the other day. What started off to my advantage quickly changed when I had to pick up a kid mid race. Costing me the win. But I prevailed later on even though Auntie Rachel cheated and tried to hold me back. Gunnar was the photographer.

In sad news, I turned 29 and am pretty bummed. I am not ready to be done with my 20s. Strange, because most of the time I feel like I am 45. But 30 is just too big a number when in my head I think I’m only 18.

My Nephew Part 2 June 30, 2009

Here’s some more photos from my nephew’s visit out here. I absolutely love the one of Leyla and Silas in the pool grinning. And the one of Nate and him swimming too. Miss you Silas!

more houseguests June 28, 2009

June has been the month of houseguests. Last weekend our good friends from New York, James and Edith, came to town and stayed with us for a few days. The kids immediately became very comfortable with them, and we all wished we had more time together.

And of course they participated in Family Drawing Time.

Edith took these next ones, I just edited them.

L O V E the eyes on this one.

few random updates June 25, 2009

Today has been a day of deaths around here. First Michael Jackson, then Farrah Fawcett, and last but certainly not least, Chonie. Chonie was a guppy. Aaron brought home 3 additional fish a few days after we welcomed Orange Bubbles, Slurpie and Catwiser.

The 3 new fish were Chonie and Chovie, and Casten. Chonie and Chovie were married. Chonie was the girl and Chovie was the boy. And Greta told us that they got married. Chonie was a good fish. Chonie was a loyal fish. And now Chovie hasn’t even waited a few hours before he has moved on to younger and apparently hotter fish. We don’t know how Chonie died but the kids are all claiming that their fish are way too nice or shy or good to have eaten him. I don’t know how long he’s been dead, but we found him on the bottom of the tank today, and we only found half of him. Not sure if he disintegrated after he died or someone tried to take a bite out of Chonie. Either way we are mourning poor poor Chonie.

Other news around here. Auntie Rachel and Uncle Dave are here for a visit. The kids are having a ball. This week they have been out of school, no camp, nothing scheduled and they are basking in the attention of our good friends from New York. Many don’t know this, but Auntie Rachel is partly responsible for Gunnar’s life. Long story. Dave is a sports nut and so he and Gunnar are pretty thrilled just playing catch with their baseball mitts. I took the kids to Disneyland on Tuesday because our passes are blocked out for summertime. Crazy I know. 3 kids, one adult. But we met Jane and Alissa and it’s always so much better to share my chaos with other unsuspecting friends.

Saw The Proposal Sunday night. LOVED it! Haven’t laughed that hard at a movie in a long time. Also saw the preview for FAME! Couldn’t be more excited for this dance movie!! Looks DIVINE! In fact, I kind of wanted to stand up in the aisle right then and dance. But I don’t think my neighbor would’ve been too happy bout that. So I restrained myself.

Also, in book news. I started reading The BFG to the kids.

The beginning is a bit on the scary side so I didn’t know how the kids were going to like it. They were literally on the edge of their bunk beds. And when we finished chapter 2 the first night they both cried because they wanted to read more. We are flying through that book and the kids are giggling up a storm. I love reading to the kids and I am so happy that they love it just as much. We spent this afternoon riding bikes and lounging on a picnic blanket in the yard with snacks while Auntie Rachel and I took turns reading from it. I think we read for an hour straight and finally when my voice was about to give out Gunnar said he’d do the next chapter because they were dying to know what happened next.

Also, along other reading news, on Gunnar’s last day of school last week he was awarded with the Most Avid Reader Award in class. His teachers gave each child an award that completely fit who they are in class. They said that Gunnar is a closet reader who keeps his book under his desk and as soon as he finishes the assignment given he slides the book out and thinks that his teachers don’t know what he’s doing. Couldn’t have chosen a better award for him myself! I’m so proud of that little man.

Next week starts camp for the boys, they are looking forward to it a ton. In fact today we went to the park in the morning and Gunnar saw his counselors and friends that started camp this week. After an hour or so he couldn’t take it anymore and joined them in flag football. My little sports guy.

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!