art party

Alissa had a fantastic art party a few weeks ago. The kids had a ball and the crafts were so great. Good job Jane! Jane is crafty and creative and you could tell during this party. Who else would brave a huge paper mache bowl to make pencil holders involving balloons and felt? My kids just wore their tie dye t-shirts to bed last night. We’ve done tie dye in the past, but these shirts are so bright and vibrant, you would’ve thought we bought them.

And because I have THREE kids, I was lucky enough to get to do this paper mache project THREE different times. It was messy. But messy means fun.

The party girl picked out her own outfit and I couldn’t love it any more.

oh the eyes

last shots of del mar- holga & diana

It’s kind of like the never ending vacation. Maybe because I didn’t want it to end. Maybe because I LOVED it so dearly. Maybe because this weekend Greta told me she would like to go back. Ummmm, me too.

Holga had a little bit of an issue, but I still love her for who she is. She took the ones with the bright lights around the edges. Diana came through for us in a big way.

And this next one I HEART big time!

Is she a poser or what? And Greta definitely gets the award for best beach hair. It’s ridiculous how cute her curls look in saltwater.

a whole day

I got these two for a whole day while their parents celebrated their anniversary in Santa Barbara. They were perfect angels, as long as no one messed with Mallory’s Woody/Jessie figurine collection. And as long as we passed a ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs’ billboard every few blocks.

Sawyer and Maddie happen to be big ‘Annie’ fans and sang ‘It’s a Hard Knock Life’ at the top of their lungs several times in a row.

And there was a lot of singing in front of mirrors. Swimming. Playing. Eating.

beach in del mar, california

Jane finally sent me some beach photos from her camera from when we were in Del Mar. They met us for the day and the kids had such a blast. They brought the life saving beach umbrella for poor Aaron, my white husband. And Gunnar boogie boarded for the first time. The beach in Del Mar is awesome because it’s only about 30 yards from the street to the shore. There is no long trek from your car to the water. Jane also brought a kite and the kids absolutely loved it. Perfect kite flying weather.

last beach day of the summer

Hey Everyone! Posting may be a bit sporadic over the next few weeks. I can feel my anxiety level heightening each day that next Monday gets closer. Greta officially begins preschool that day and I seriously am dreading it. The boys are doing absolutely great though. They love school, love their teachers and friends. It’s Greta beginning school that has me all freaked out. I just really really really hope she’s okay and doesn’t cry hysterically. We talked about it this morning and she’s convinced that school doesn’t exist for her. See what I’m up against? But she just started the most adorable tap/ballet class and I will share photos soon. Seriously, the cute factor doesn’t get much bigger than her in her tap shoes.

Here are some shots of our last beach day of the summer. We met two other friends and their kids that day and we tried out Annenberg Beach, which was great. Thanks Rachel for the recommendation, the kids had a blast, and we can’t wait to go back and use the pool.

To be honest, I am not a fan of the beach. I hate the sand. It never leaves my car, the kids clothes, it clogs up the dryer, you step on sand for days when you walk through the house. You get the point. However, my kids could bathe in sand for days. Greta actually piles sand down into her bikini bottoms. Yes. She. Does. Then she likes to tell me that she “has sand in her pachina!” Lovely. She usually follows it up with “but mama, it’s okay, the bath will clean all the sand out of my pachina, don’t worry”. Great.

The great thing about this particular beach in Santa Monica is the boardwalk that goes all the way to the shore. Do you know what it’s like walking to the beach from the car with towels, sand toys, cooler, water, camera, sunscreen, beach umbrella, and hats? If you don’t know what it’s like you should come with us to the beach next time! It’ll be so fun! promise.

lemonade stand

The boys had great first days at school. Although on the walk home from school yesterday Sawyer told me that he informed a little boy that Santa Clause is not real and that his parents are not being honest with him. Honesty, we got it. Tact, not so much. I am waiting for the angry call from this 5 yo’s mom where she yells at me for my son dashing her son’s hopes and dreams. Oops. I thought I covered all my bases. But mythical creatures where kids actually believe in them, I forgot about that one.

I am going to take a tiny blog break. Just not feeling the blog love at the moment. Maybe it’s because I’ve been so busy getting the boys started with school, and Greta will be starting in a few weeks. I am trying to figure out scheduling for volunteering in 3 classes instead of 2. Work has been insane. Whatever the reasons, I will leave you with this next post and hope to be back soon, but not sure when.

Oh, I love this post. I love it because I can remember the pure bliss my kids were in. Yes it was 90 degrees outside, but they couldn’t have been happier. We started a few days earlier by painting the signs, which in itself was very fun, and messy.

And then the night before we began the marathon cookie baking. We decided on oatmeal chocolate chip and plain chocolate chip. The kids helped with the first 2 batches, but then they lost interest and I was left to finish. Saturday, the day of the stand, we put our signs up and waited. They were so excited. Aaron decided to put up a sign that said, 25 cents to throw a water balloon at Gunnar. By the middle of the 2 hour slot all the neighborhood kids came out of the woodwork with water balloons and super soakers. Thank you to everyone who came! It was so special that you drove over to support my kids little venture. For about an hour we had at least 20 people in the front yard talking and drinking and snacking.

I was surprised by how well our signs worked, people actually saw our signs and turned down our street! We even had repeat customers who were on bike rides. Everyone was very generous with the kids and never would take their change. The kids raked in $37! Half of that they will save, and the other half they can spend.

holga, how i love thee. or wait, maybe it was diana.

Little side note-I am sitting here writing little love notes to my boys to tuck into their lunch bags and snack bags for their first day of school tomorrow. Sawyer is officially a kindergartner and Gunnar a second grader. There are no tears yet. I am holding it together pretty well. And maybe that has to do with my funny little boy who insisted that I label everything in and on his backpack with both his first and last name. Because foolish mama doesn’t think of the likely possibility that another boy named Sawyer is in his class. I can tell he is just as excited as he is nervous. And my little pro Gunnar, just stands there shaking his head at little brother with a slight roll of the eyes. I guess he easily forgot that that was him only 2 years before. Cross your fingers everyone that tomorrow goes well and everyone remember where their Orange Juice money is!

I get confused when I get my photos back from the lab. I get mixed up which roll was in which camera. Nevertheless I love them. I love that they are what they are, no tweaking, no cropping, no editing. Just pure love.

I think this next one is in my top 10 photos of all time. I L O O O V E it.

del mar night swimming

On to things much funner (more fun, i know, i know) to blog about than speeding tickets. vacation. . .

The trip down to Del Mar took much longer than we anticipated. Seriously Camp Pendleton? With all that land you can’t make that highway just a teensy bit wider. And there’s no way around the base either, you have no choice but to drive through it. Back to my point, by the time we arrived it was dinner time so we went swimming after dinner. Night swimming is taboo for my kids since they know it’s past their bedtime. Thus their excitement is HUGE to do it.

Del Mar Food post

Yep. Another post of what we eat on vacation.

But first have to say what an exciting weekend we have planned. I’m taking the kids (minus Gunnar, he chose to golf with my dad instead) to the beach tomorrow for our last summer beach day. Then on Saturday we are celebrating my sister and brother in law’s 10 year wedding anniversary. 10 years. Happy Anniversary you guys! And most exciting, Aaron and I both have the day off on Monday and he’s not even on call. Hope everyone enjoys a great 3 day weekend.

The second night there was a huge New England feast. We already knew lobster was a favorite with Gunnar, but Soso and Greta had their tastings of it.

This is what we feel like after a meal.

The kids love calamari. Check out the next two photos of Greta and this octopus. The second one kind of grosses me out with the tentacles hanging out of her mouth!