Tide Pools at Newport Beach

We spend the day visiting with Elizabeth, Matthew and Sarah. We went to the beach and explored the tide pools. What fun!
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Hannah's First Day of School

And so begins Hannah's First Grade year. We also decided to join a homeschooling group called Classical Conversations. Hannah will be learning the history timeline, human body, Latin, art, music, scientific method, US History and the geography of the US on Wednesday mornings. And that's only what she's learning on Wednesday mornings!

Brown Widow Egg Sacs

And then there were three! We discovered these egg sacs and then were informed by our neighbor that they were brown widow eggs sacs. Kaleen also told us that there was a group who was collecting them for scientific research. So we went online, found that UC Riverside Department of Entomology was doing the research and explained how to collect the eggs and spider. Daddy was put in charge of the actual collection. Hannah and Alyssa sent a letter to Rick Vetter explaining where we lived and where on our property we found the spider and eggs sacs. It was fun to receive an email reply back too!

Picnic Table

As of June 28, 2011, new federal rules took effect banning the manufacture and sale of baby cribs with drop-down side rails. The cribs have been linked to at least 32 infant deaths since 2000, according to the National Institutes of Health. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, drop-side cribs are dangerous.

So what does one do with the once accepted and now rejected cribs?

Ryan made Alyssa's crib into a table! He based his design from the Crate and Barrel, Table in the Bag (http://www.crateandbarrel.com/furniture/outdoor-dining/table-in-a-bag/s175016).

I must say that my husband is one clever man!

End of Summer Party

Thank you to Emma, Georgia and Mack who invited their summer play friends
over for a summer finale day of water play!
We had a fun summer with you and a fun day with your friends!

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Hannah's Artsy Food creations

Above is a tasty dish made especially for her daddy who graciously ate/drank.

It consisted of crushed Joe's Oh's and leftover microwave popcorn, regular and buttermilk, peanut and sunflower butters, topped with fresh peaches and a straw.

A week later, Hannah insisted on creating "Fruit Stew". Daddy offered yogurt instead of milk for mixing in the finger jello and fruit Hannah chopped into tiny bits!

Another favorite past time is to create pictures with her food.

Hannah Plays Soccer

Hannah was super excited about playing soccer.  She jumped right in with the other girls and did all the drills.  She was also a little possessive of her soccer ball.

Preparing for Soccer

Sadly, Alyssa missed the age cut off for AYSO by a few months, so she will have to watch from the sidelines this year.  The girls wore their skating knee pads in lieu of shin guards and I just love the fluffy skirts!  Take a close look at Alyssa's rock star pose... she's got that snarl down pat!

Norton Simon Museum

I believe that these pictures say more than a thousand words...

Ooh, La la!

Hannah and Alyssa treated mommy to a spa day... as true to Fancy Nancy as possible! Though not quite relaxing for mommy with their bickering about who was going to do what and how it should be done and because of their methods, it was a pleasure for them to produce something that they've admired.

Glorious Day!

When my girls don't clean up their things I try not to sweat it and quietly clean up for them. These items get collected in or bedroom. And things are piling up! Just the other night Ryan commented that we need a bigger bedroom.

Yesterday the girls had a wonderful camp set up using the orange tree and parachute among other things. They were allowed to keep it up all day and agreed that when it was time or dinner everything that went inside would be brought inside. Unfortunately, they didn't bring things inside.

Today, they realized that they had very little of their original camp they decided to earn the following items back: two umbrellas, play tent, three pillows, and two blankets.

How do they earn them back you ask? By doing extra chores. I had the stove top wiped down, along with the inside of the microwave, the kitchen cabinet doors and dining room walls. Hannah also swept the front porch.

A Bowling Birthday Party

Hannah and Alyssa decided to take Uncle Eric bowling for his birthday. They had a blast today, staying cool indoors and bowling a close game... the July birthday bearers tied! We ended our outing with a warm cookie pizza and ice cream. Happy Birthday Uncle Eric!

Zucchini Ice Cream

Unlike her mommy and younger sister, and more like her daddy, Hannah doesn't often remember her dreams. Today was different. Hannah told me that she dreamed that she was at an ice cream parlor, however, it was "not like an ordinary ice cream parlor... it was much bigger." And they served an unusual flavor of ice cream: Zookini (or is it Zookene?). Hannah rattled off the recipe, so I suggested that she write it out.

If you have trouble reading it, this is what it says:

ZOOKINI ICE CREAM (the o's are little zucchini's throughout the recipe)

4 Eggs
1 Masd Zokene
Put 2 cup sugar
Ster unt it Dasalvs
Put 1/2 cups of cream in it
Put 1 cup milc
put in Ice Cream Maker or Freser until Redy to use

Alyssa's Point of View

Can you tell what this picture is about?

The girls were having fun using stencils to create pictures one day. When I asked Alyssa to tell me about this picture, I was very impressed with her perspective and creativity. It's a child looking at his toy car and truck. I especially love the three spikes of hair on the top of the head!