July Wrap Up

I should split this into multiple posts, but instead I am dumping it all here - this is what I want to remember from our July (in no particular order since it shuffled it when uploading)!

Elise thinks she is a big girl and when Hadley has friends to play she thinks she has every right to be included. Hadley is actually pretty good about it and they all end up having fun.

 I made Hadley and her friends help me plan for my Food Science Camp, they were willing subjects

We keep it classy while we work around here

Hadley's little preschool did reading times throughout the summer. Sitting that long is a bit hard but she had a great time and is SO excited for preschool. I am also SO excited for preschool to start.

We spent at least one afternoon every week at the park. I take home filthy but happy kids, it is what summer is all about.

Elise got into my stash for the candy day for camp. I found raisinettes everywhere and her shoving them in her mouth as fast as she could. I thought keeping it in my room would be safe, thankfully my room is much cleaner now that it is over.

We hit up 7-11 for free slurpee day

Our friends showed us around Great America, our passes work there and Gilroy Gardens. The front is a little trashy and crowded but if you get to the kid section is is pretty empty. It is just a fifteen minute drive and I can get the kids home in time for naps. I think we have used our passes almost once a week while we are in town.

Hadley continues to love roller coaster - or as she calls them really coasters (not sure why)

The kids ran around nudey in the back, as they should.

I always feel I am a little behind on age appropriate toys for my oldest, we branched out and tried board games. I cant tell if she liked the game or liked the one on one attention!

We also had the barfs, and once again proved that I really, really hate them.

And we got some more teeth. Apparently if you dont start getting teeth until you are 13/14 months they just keep coming one right after another.

We had a great harvest. I always have visions of a huge crop of tomatoes but this is what we produce. I think it had something to do with leaving for a month and then I am not the best at watering and only one plant got enough sun. Maybe next year?

There is an indoor play area that the girls love, we had a friend move that needed to use up her passes so we went a few times in a few weeks. Elise is just now old enough to do most of the activities, she still needs my help going down the big slide but I dont think it will be long before she figures it out!

The girls love to hide behind my front room curtains, they think it makes them invisible. I kinda love it. One afternoon I would see Elise run out of the curtain, go grab candy from my stash that I didnt put away and then go give Hadley the roll of smarties to unwrap and share. I could here them talking and laughing as they didnt it about four times thinking I had no idea.

I am always shocked at how quick this one is, I had my makeup on a counter I didnt think she could reach and I went to put a few dishes in the dishwasher and when I came back she was covered in mascara and so proud of herself!!

We have discovered, for better or worse, that our favorite donut shop is about a 4 mile walk round trip. On Saturdays we dont have any plans we load up the kids in the morning and walk together. It is fun to just talk in the sunshine and the girls are always up for a trip. My dad used to take me to get donuts when I was young on Saturdays and I did remember how excited I was.

We see a lot of this, they are just the right age to be friends. They love to play with each other and they love to torment each other. They offset the fighting with just enough sweet to make me not go too crazy.

This is the saddest picture. Elise dislocated her shoulder. I was holding her hand and went one way while she went another. She started crying but could still move it and it was late in the evening - plus I thought dislocated shoulders required a lot of force or football or something. She was up all night and would only sleep upright in my arms. It was obvious something was wrong and it was heartbreaking. I called the dr in tears the next morning and she got me in right away. She told me that it is really easy at this age and just the angle could have been why it happened. Within 10 seconds she had it fixed and in 5 minutes it was as if it never happened. I am grateful it was fixed so easily and we really do have the best pediatrician.

We got a new bbq and the box made the perfect train, they have been obsessed with markers all month.

And obsessed with bubbles.

Somehow feeding my kids McDonalds as a "picnic" doesnt feel so bad...

Jamie heard I was exploding coke as part of my class and wanted in on the action, he actually ordered this contraption that shoots the coke straight up in the air about 20 feet.

 It lived up to the hype!

Hope you and yours had a great July!

Daddy Daughter Date

The title is misleading since I dont actually have any photos of Hadley and Jamie's date. We decided one Saturday that it would be good for Hadley to get out with just her daddy and he decided to take her to her first movie. Hadley was so upset to leave Elise but had a great time although wasnt a fan of sitting that long (she did but it took some convincing). She saw Despicable Me 2 and came home chattering about Minions. I stayed home with Elise and after seeing her sad reaction below, we decided to spend the time doing everything that Hadley had done in the last 24 hours while she had just watched.

Seriously so sad. This girl has the best expressions - she is super happy or super sad.

She had to watch while Hadley stirred the cupcakes the day before, now she got as long as she wanted to try and stir!

She was a determined little thing

While they baked we read books, she helped me clean her room and had my full attention. I love watching them as sisters but it was nice to just be together the two of us.

She started by setting out her sprinkles (we only decorate and do messy crafts outside, we have a patio and an overhang that is perfect for it)

She was very focused.

And so excited!

Getting it just right

This face says it all!!!

The more the merrier!

It was a tasty morning.

Hopefully we will be able to do things like this more often, it was fun for all of us. Jamie and I had a great time just focusing on each girl and letting them know that we were completely devoted to them. The girls seemed to have a great time too!

Food Science Camp

A few months ago I asked around to see if anyone would be interested in sending their kids to a Food Science Camp. I have missed my job and thought this might be a fun way to teach what I love. People were pretty positive so a few weeks ago I offered my first camp to three darling girls! It was Mon-Thurs from 10-12 and each day had a theme and I sent home a little experiment so they could show their families. My girls were watched by friends so I could focus on the class - I had a blast!! Here are a few fun things we did!

First Day - Our Tastebuds

Jelly bean experiment, they could take it home to their families (if you want to do it yourself - hold your nose while putting a jellybean in your mouth and chew. Notice what you taste, then release your nose and breath in while chewing, notice the difference!! Our tastebuds primarily taste sweet/salty/sour/bitter while our olfactory system brings flavors to life!)

We tried juice dyed the "wrong" color

And finished by decorating cupcakes with bright colors. 

Each girl took home a "lab book" filled with drawings and notes from the experiments. We alternated coloring, experiments and just food fun. Five years old is such a fun age.

Day 2 - Candy 101

Elise made sure my stash stayed in good condition

We tried a bite of different candies and talked about them and then watched short videos I found that took you into the factories. They were pretty mesmerized:)

We also made some of our own candy - marshmallows and chocolate dipped strawberries

Day 3 - Temperatures and Textures

We spent the first part of class squishing a bunch of different textures - jello, frosting (this was a favorite and soooo messy!), pudding, bananas, rice krispies and a bunch more. We talked a little bit about why things have different textures and which ones we prefer.

We also talked about cold and hot. We made monster toast (we did this all the time as a kid, paint toast with colored milk then toast it) and made home made ice cream.

We also played with cornstarch and water - my favorite!

Day 4 - Bubbles

We had to move day 4 since Hadley woke up sick that morning, I was lucky that my friends were so understanding! We made up the day just last week.

We started off with fizzy painting, colored vinegar on baking soda, it was also an excellent excuse to purchase a case of pipettes!

The bottle is filled with yeast and the balloon filled almost all the way, the girls were fascinated!

We even ate some bubbly yeast

We finished off the class by setting off bottles of coke. The girls LOVED it!!! Each girl got her own bottle and mentos and took turns. 

I had so much fun and hopefully will do it again next year!

July 4th

We usually have a tradition of heading down to San Diego to spend July 4th with Jamie's family. We love hanging out, swimming and making/eating homemade ice cream, it is one of my favorite trips, but since we had just seen everyone the week before and my kids had spent the last 5 weeks traveling we decided to stay home this year. I invited us up to my cousins in Foster City and we had a great time seeing some of my cousins, eating yummy bbq, swimming and watching fireworks from her backyard. Cousin Jessica is a fantastic host!!

I volunteered to bring desserts (shocking, I know) and this little one was just taste testing (stealing) the cookies.

I didnt realize how fun it would be to dress them for holidays

When did they get so big?

Patiently waiting for nightfall. My cousin just moved into a new house on the water, it is gorgeous and so perfect for her (she is a rower). We sat on her deck and had a wonderful view of the city's fireworks!

Almost time! Both girls LOVED them! I wasnt sure what to expect, Elise was a little startled at first but they loved the colors and sparkles. We left just minutes before the end and missed all the traffic heading home. It was a perfect, relaxing 4th!