Happy Father's Day!

 

I am posting this video for the third year in a row.

I love this song. 

I love the men in my life.

You guys rock :)

The Fire Museum

 This morning I took the kids to the fire museum in Banning.

Zackary was in heaven. He was so thrilled to be able to climb onto all of the trucks.

 I love this picture of Superman and Spiderman ;)

 Our guide was so nice to the kids. Mia and Zack were busy running from engine to engine and Max was asking lots of questions.

 The kids think that because we have a power wheel at home they know how to drive. One day I will have to explain to them that they really have no idea!

At the end of our visit the kids received plastic fire hats and some goody bags. (Check out Mia's backward facing hat!)

Kids under 6 are free so I think this would be a great stop for younger siblings once the school year starts in August.

A Little Help Please :)

Our summer is going great! I am loving the long days, but I do have one complaint.

All of the kids are waking up at different times throughout the morning and everyone is wanting breakfast at a different time. I am feeling kind of overwhelmed by all of this meal prep.

 How is everyone else handling summer breakfast?

Do you have your children serve themselves?

Do you make something that can be served all morning long?

Words I Live By

I have a couple favorite phrases that I love. I am able to apply them to many aspects of my life and I use them daily. 

They are:

"Something is better than nothing."

I think of this when I feel too tired to exercise or think that I have no time to clean. 10 minutes on the treadmill is better than nothing and 10 minutes with some 409 in a bathroom can yield amazing results. I also like this one when it comes to scripture study.

and

"No excuses."

This one is pretty self explanatory. I hate excuses. 

Do you have a mantra? Favorite phrase? etc....

Day 1

 Well...so far so good!

We had our little donut themed morning.

 Max had never been to Choco Donuts before because we always went after dropping him off at school so he was excited to try it out. He got a ginormous cinnamon roll shaped donut. He said it was awesome.

 Mia's donut was blue. She is usually an all pink type of a girl, but today she chose blue!

After donuts we came home and finished the Father's Day projects, watched a movie, and worked on some homework sheets....all before 11 am!

This schedule is going to wear the little miss out!

I made lunch and now I am going to give in and let the kids play on the i-pad or watch television.

Happy Monday!

This week!

This first week of summer vacation has been wonderful. Ty had the whole week off. We enjoyed every moment!

Our trip to Monterey was a blast. The rest of the weekend included a trip to Costo, lots of laundry, and a date night for Ty and I.

Tomorrow Ty goes back to work and summer at home begins for the rest of us. I have been preparing to have all 4 kids at home for quite a while and I am really looking forward to our days of play.

I have this week planned out. Here is a quick peek at our schedule:

Monday

Reading: If You Give a Dog a Donut

followed by a trip to our favorite donut shop (Choco-Donuts) for breakfast.

working on our Father's Day gifts and making treats for FHE

Tuesday

Reading: If You Give a Moose a Muffin

and baking blueberry muffins

trip to the library

writing and mailing letters or writing/drawing in journals

Wednesday

Reading: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (are you sensing a theme?)

Cookie baking for a special occasion

Backyard bike wash

chalk drawings

Thursday

Reading: I Love Monkey

costumes and dance party to music (while in costumes)

making kool-aid slurpees

Friday

field trip to Oak Glen

movie night with pizza

I am really looking forward to a memorable summer full of happy days. I want this to be a special time that the kids will really enjoy.

What are you doing this week? This month? This summer?

Monterey

 We took a little trip up the coast to see Monterey this week!

It was an eventful drive on Monday. We stopped in Santa Barbara for a walk along the beach and a visit with some friends. We had a quick lunch and we were back on the road. Zackary was wearing Zoey's Bumbo on his head while we drove :)

 We took the scenic route and it was amazing!

Ty flipped the car around on the highway so that I could hop out and take some pictures. This is our car on the one side.

 and the ocean on the other side!

 The road was very narrow and full of turns. It made me a little bit nervous, but Ty has no fear behind the wheel :)

 We stayed on the road the whole time!

When we arrived in Monterey that evening we were sad to discover that it was FREEZING! Like really cold!

I had brought jackets for everyone, but I was really planning on summer weather and was very much caught off guard. As usual we tried to make the best of things.

 Our hotel had a nice little fire pit,

 and a heat lamp that we used simultaneously.

 There was also much hot chocolate.

 It was a happy treat!

 Zoey hated the drive and was happy to be settled for a while.

We ordered in a pizza for dinner and went to bed.

 The next morning the kids were up bright and early so we took them to the park to play while we waited for the rest of the world to wake up.

  When it seemed like a reasonable hour we went to the aquarium.

 It was so much fun. It was very kid/family oriented.

 There were lots of activities and learning centers.

 The aquarium is right on the ocean. (or the bay....)

 It was cold, but at least the skies were blue and clear!

 After the aquarium we spent some time on Cannery Row. Max and Mia were having a grand ole time.

 They love posing for pictures.

 Zack, was really grumpy. He was refusing to move here. 

We stopped by the ghiradelli chocolate store for samples, and everyone felt better!

 Ty wanted to have lunch at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. restaurant.

They gave us a free basket of fries to eat while we were waiting.

It was awesome :)

 and any restaurant that gives out coloring books and crayons is fine with me.

After lunch we finished up on Cannery Row and went back to the hotel for a quick clean-up break.

 There was a shopping center nearby with a Whole Foods market and a William-Sonoma kitchen store. I had to visit!

(This picture is of Max and a seal statue, but I think it looks real!)

I bought some fig balsamic vinegar and coconut sugar that I can't wait to try. I found a great bread knife at William-Sonoma, but it was $400 so I passed on that :)

 We found an amazing toy store that the kids loved.

We finished our evening with dinner and movies at the hotel.

 The next morning the kids were up and ready to go again so we headed to Pebble Beach.

 It was cold, again!

 Cold, but beautiful!

 The kids really enjoyed running along the beach and this walking path.

 It was a very happy morning!

Next we went to the Children's Museum in Monterey. We played and crafted and Zackary ran wild. We had lunch at Henry's BBQ. It was so good and made us all miss Nashville.

We made one more trip to the park and then took a quick drive to Carmel to see the mission.

It was historic and beautiful, but (I apologize) I find missions creepy.

We came back to the hotel and spent some time in the pool and hot tub. After dinner we watched American Ninja Warrior and it was amazing!

We woke up this morning, packed up, loaded the car, and headed home!

It was a great trip, but I am glad to be home where it is warm and we all have our own beds!

Friday night

 We had a lot of fun at John's Incredible Pizza on Friday night.

Everyone ate lots of pizza. That always makes for happy little people.

(Also....it was very orange.....please ignore the orangeness of these pictures!)

 Zoey loved the food. She wanted pizza and ice cream and anything she could get her hands on.

 My brother Joel was there.

Don't worry ladies......he's single ;)

Max, Mia, and Zackary rode the frog hopper together and Mia loved it. Zack was in tears and demanding to be let down and Max was yelling for someone to stop the ride. Oh well....

Zackary really enjoyed the race cars and the roller coaster and Max liked everything else he did as well. Next time we will just send Mia on this one!

We got home late and the kids had a sleepover downstairs on the fuzzy rug. Too bad no one slept in. Maybe tomorrow.

Max

Max is no longer a first grader. He is moving on up to second grade and he is very excited about it.

I picked him up from school today and I was going to treat him and the other kiddos to doughnuts for national doughnut day, but he said he had already eaten an ice cream cone, a popsicle, a cookie, chips, and candy at school.

It must have been quite the party!

We are headed out for fun as soon as Ty gets home, but for now all Max wants to do is play a little Angry Birds.

I think Max's hair is really cute BTW!

June!

Today is the first day of June!

I can't believe how quickly it got here.

Today is also Max's last day of school. I put a special note in his lunch that said, "Max's last 1st grade lunch EVER!"

On the way to school Max and Mia were talking about summer vacation and how we would need to eat lots of ice cream and drink lots of lemonade. Sounds like a good plan to me!

This afternoon we are taking the kids to John's Incredible Pizza to celebrate the end of the school year and the start of our summer vacation. We leave on Monday for Monterey. I am really looking forward to getting away for a little while. 

June is going to be an awesome month!