How to stay cool....

OK, so I am way behind on this blog...sorry. It's not due to laziness this time; it's because we have been so darn busy! I thought this summer would be fun and easy -- it has been fun, but not easy...yet!

These are pictures from our day trip to Balboa Island over Memorial Weekend. On this trip, they played a lot in the sand and only looked at the waves! Right before we left, Brittany did actually stand in the waves!

They saw dolphins swimming in the ocean!

New beds...sort of

Yes, we did it; we finally broke down and converted the kids' cribs into "regular" beds. We tried to wait and wait, but with Michael climbing out of the crib (and getting hurt), we decided this was a better option. They were thrilled to say the least! The first several night were rough with the nighttime routine; they just wanted to play and run from one bed to the other. We have adjusted the routine now (they start out in separate rooms), so it's getting better.

Thomas!

On Saturday, we took the kids to see Thomas the Train in Fillmore, CA. I had no idea how rural that area was (it's not far from Magic Mt in Canyon Country); they had tons of orange tree groves, avacado groves, tree farms, bee/honey farms...it was so green! On the way home, we stopped at one of the fruit stands and purchased some oranges and strawberries. OK, the oranges are just amazing...orange candy! I've never had oranges that we sooooo goooood! As for the strawberries, wow!

Here is Michael looking out of the window from the train. Michael thought it was so cool to walk down the aisle.

This is Michael's reaction when the train started to move!

Thomas...Part2

This is Brittany on the Thomas' train ride. She was so excited when the train moved, especially going through the tunnel! OK, the kids were less than thrilled about Sir Topham Hatt...this is as close as they wanted to get to him, but they talked about him all day long.

Thomas, of course!

There were several activities on the grounds and this is the music one. They enjoyed hearing the music (and a little dancing), but didn't know what to do with the bells.

Mud & Kids

We've had a lot of rain this year (a lot more than usual) which is great because we need it. The downside to all of the rain is the mud that is created (we have an area in our backyard that is waiting to be seeded for grass and to plant a garden); this is a perfect area for mud. I thought it was dry enough for the kids to play (the previous two days I had let me go to town in the mud, and I was tired of cleaning them and the house)...well, as you can see...they found it! Also notice Brittany's boots; she took the time to switch shoes before playing in the mud....I guess I should be greatful for that! Michael had Thomas and Percy covered in mud!

Easter

They kids found the Easter baskets behind this chair and were thrilled with the "treats" as Michael put it. Brittany was given new sunglasses and loved them. I just love this picture of her!

Michael was happy with receiving a talking egg and Thomas the train and Percy.

This is Percy...in case you didn't know.

Easter Eggs

This was Brittany's and Michael's first year decorating Easter eggs; they loved it! In this picture, they are watching me "demo" on how to color eggs...notice the concentration. Jamie showed Brittany what an egg looks like after it has been dyed.

Michael was more interested in "mixing" the egg with his spoon.

Brittany was very interested in watching how the egg turned colors.

After all of the eggs were dyed, they both decided to finger paint with the left over paints.