Last Friday, the Dunnihoos spent their last day at Disneyland, and the Cases spent the day with us. They wanted to spend the day at the beach, and we decided to tag along with them.
We got going kind of late. It was a late night for all of us because of Disneyland, so we just wanted to sleep in and not stress about it. We made a HUGE picnic lunch for ourselves (we may have overdone it, but it sure was delish!) and headed out just before noon. I took them to our favorite beach in Ventura, Marina Park, I think it's called. It has a fun playground a little ways up from the beach, and this awesome play ship with a zipline. It was unusually busy that day, but we found a good spot that wasn't too crowded. We spent the afternoon eating and snacking, making some awesome sand castles together and chasing the waves. Millie didn't love the water and cried every time I put her down into it. But Brooke had fun running around in the shallow water. We also had fun trying to chase the seagulls away from our food. They were extremely bold and daring, so it proved to be difficult.
Around 4 or 5 pm, we were about done. I think we could've spent a little more time there, but Aunt Liz had invited us over to their house for a BBQ. We drove out to their house and had a great time with Aunt Liz, Uncle Bob, Steve and Inga and their kids. I'm glad that Diane and Hou could see them while they were out here. I always love seeing the Bowens, too. It turned out to be a really nice day.
Thursday, June 30, 2016
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
Disneyland June 2016
The week after my half marathon, the girls and I had a bit of relaxing fun (swimming, Hurricane Harbor, etc.) and also spent some time shopping, cleaning house, and generally getting ready to have company. Julie's family and Diane's family all drove down to Disneyland on Tuesday, June 21st. They stayed in a hotel right across the street from Disneyland, and spent a few days there playing.
The girls and I joined them for one day of Disneyland on Thursday, June 23rd. We woke up early to get ready and drove down as fast as we could (but, of course, there was awful traffic for more than half the drive ... even after you'd expect it to die down. You really can't predict LA traffic). We met them in Fantasyland and spent the day with them. It was way too much fun! Brooke and Makai were the absolute cutest! They love each other so much and are such good buddies that they had to spend every moment together. But not just together; they had to be holding hands, or walking with their arms around each other, or touching in some other way. Julie and I were cracking up all day watching them, and we couldn't get over how cute it was.
It was SO crowded at Disneyland that day, and fairly warm. So it was a little difficult to maneuver 3 strollers and upwards of 10 people (counting the littles). But, fortunately the lines for the rides we were going on weren't all that long. When you're doing Disneyland with little kids, and a couple of pregnant women, all you can really do are the little kid rides, and there usually aren't long lines for those ones. Camille loved Small World and the Carousel (we did each of those at least a couple of times); but that's about it. She didn't really love any of the other rides; but she also didn't hate them; she was just sort of like, "whatever" about everything else. Pirates of the Caribbean scared both her and Brooke a bit (although Brooke kept saying she loved it). Brooke loved almost every single ride (but we did really love the Winnie the Pooh ride. I think she went on that one 3 times). But I think she was just enjoying being with all the cousins.
I was sort of waiting for Camille to drop off to sleep; she seemed to be taking a really long time to do it. Then, we all went on the Haunted Mansion ride. Drew rode with me and Millie, and I just held Camille on my lap. I was a little bit nervous that it might be a little scary for Millie, even though she still doesn't have any concept of that spooky kind of scary. But I needn't have been worried. When we were at the end of the ride, getting ready to get off, I realized that she was fast asleep! It was a bit tricky transferring her to my shoulder, out into the sunshine, and then into her stroller, all the while keeping her asleep. But I managed it successfully, and she got, maybe, a 45 minute nap. I just couldn't get over her falling asleep in the Haunted Mansions, with me being all nervous for her!! Apparently it wasn't scary enough for her. :)
At the end of the day, after we'd done dinner at IHOP with the whole family, we all split up. Diane and I took Owen and the girls back to Disneyland, and the Dunnihoo family went to CA Adventure (I think Hou went to hang out with his sister at this point...). It was really a lot of fun just hanging out with Diane. The Dunnihoos are quite intense about their Disneyland trips. And there's nothing wrong with that, but it does sort of put the pressure on; and when there were times when we were standing around or waiting to make a decision, Diane and I felt a little anxious, feeling like Julie was unhappy about the time we were all wasting. So. While it is so fun to go with Julie and her family, it was kind of nice to be a little more relaxed at the end of the day. In addition to this, everyone was waiting and saving seating for the night parade, so there were almost no lines for rides! We hopped in line for the teacups, because that's Owen's favorite ride. Brooke was excited about trying out the teacups ... until we actually got inside one of the teacups, and then she started crying and saying she didn't want to do it. Diane and I were mean. We made her do it. I think we both knew that she'd love it if she tried it. And, of course, she did! We went on the teacups a couple of times after that!
We did a couple more rides with short lines in Fantasyland before the parade got going, and then tried to find a spot to watch it, which proved difficult, especially with little kids. I had Brooke on my shoulders and Millie in my arms for much of the time, which wasn't easy, and ended up leaving me sore for a couple of days.
It was a nightmare trying to get out of the park after the parade!! A full-on nightmare. People were cutting us off as we're pushing the strollers, not letting us through; Diane finally just cut her way through people, not even caring that she was cutting a bunch of people off, and I eventually had to follow her lead. It was awful.
We bought Dadda a little Goofy pen before saying goodbye and heading out. It took a really long time getting to the car, as well. And Brooke, poor thing, pooped her pants before we could get to a bathroom. Ah, well. Such is life. It was quite the adventure tackling Disneyland with the two girls by myself. And we did have a wonderful day there with our family.
The girls and I joined them for one day of Disneyland on Thursday, June 23rd. We woke up early to get ready and drove down as fast as we could (but, of course, there was awful traffic for more than half the drive ... even after you'd expect it to die down. You really can't predict LA traffic). We met them in Fantasyland and spent the day with them. It was way too much fun! Brooke and Makai were the absolute cutest! They love each other so much and are such good buddies that they had to spend every moment together. But not just together; they had to be holding hands, or walking with their arms around each other, or touching in some other way. Julie and I were cracking up all day watching them, and we couldn't get over how cute it was.
It was SO crowded at Disneyland that day, and fairly warm. So it was a little difficult to maneuver 3 strollers and upwards of 10 people (counting the littles). But, fortunately the lines for the rides we were going on weren't all that long. When you're doing Disneyland with little kids, and a couple of pregnant women, all you can really do are the little kid rides, and there usually aren't long lines for those ones. Camille loved Small World and the Carousel (we did each of those at least a couple of times); but that's about it. She didn't really love any of the other rides; but she also didn't hate them; she was just sort of like, "whatever" about everything else. Pirates of the Caribbean scared both her and Brooke a bit (although Brooke kept saying she loved it). Brooke loved almost every single ride (but we did really love the Winnie the Pooh ride. I think she went on that one 3 times). But I think she was just enjoying being with all the cousins.
I was sort of waiting for Camille to drop off to sleep; she seemed to be taking a really long time to do it. Then, we all went on the Haunted Mansion ride. Drew rode with me and Millie, and I just held Camille on my lap. I was a little bit nervous that it might be a little scary for Millie, even though she still doesn't have any concept of that spooky kind of scary. But I needn't have been worried. When we were at the end of the ride, getting ready to get off, I realized that she was fast asleep! It was a bit tricky transferring her to my shoulder, out into the sunshine, and then into her stroller, all the while keeping her asleep. But I managed it successfully, and she got, maybe, a 45 minute nap. I just couldn't get over her falling asleep in the Haunted Mansions, with me being all nervous for her!! Apparently it wasn't scary enough for her. :)
At the end of the day, after we'd done dinner at IHOP with the whole family, we all split up. Diane and I took Owen and the girls back to Disneyland, and the Dunnihoo family went to CA Adventure (I think Hou went to hang out with his sister at this point...). It was really a lot of fun just hanging out with Diane. The Dunnihoos are quite intense about their Disneyland trips. And there's nothing wrong with that, but it does sort of put the pressure on; and when there were times when we were standing around or waiting to make a decision, Diane and I felt a little anxious, feeling like Julie was unhappy about the time we were all wasting. So. While it is so fun to go with Julie and her family, it was kind of nice to be a little more relaxed at the end of the day. In addition to this, everyone was waiting and saving seating for the night parade, so there were almost no lines for rides! We hopped in line for the teacups, because that's Owen's favorite ride. Brooke was excited about trying out the teacups ... until we actually got inside one of the teacups, and then she started crying and saying she didn't want to do it. Diane and I were mean. We made her do it. I think we both knew that she'd love it if she tried it. And, of course, she did! We went on the teacups a couple of times after that!
We did a couple more rides with short lines in Fantasyland before the parade got going, and then tried to find a spot to watch it, which proved difficult, especially with little kids. I had Brooke on my shoulders and Millie in my arms for much of the time, which wasn't easy, and ended up leaving me sore for a couple of days.
It was a nightmare trying to get out of the park after the parade!! A full-on nightmare. People were cutting us off as we're pushing the strollers, not letting us through; Diane finally just cut her way through people, not even caring that she was cutting a bunch of people off, and I eventually had to follow her lead. It was awful.
We bought Dadda a little Goofy pen before saying goodbye and heading out. It took a really long time getting to the car, as well. And Brooke, poor thing, pooped her pants before we could get to a bathroom. Ah, well. Such is life. It was quite the adventure tackling Disneyland with the two girls by myself. And we did have a wonderful day there with our family.
Monday, June 20, 2016
Brooke's Half Marathon
On Saturday, I ran the Sugar Daddy Half Marathon! I've been training for about 2 months, with a couple of weeks where I didn't run at all (YIKES!). And last weekend, I ran it! I was worried, because I didn't train for nearly as long as I did the first one. But it went really well, and I even ran it in about the same time as that first one.
It was a local race, right here in Santa Clarita. And much of the route followed trails and streets that I've run, before, so I was pretty familiar. That helped a lot, I think. It was nice to run a local race. I woke up at about 5:20, got dressed, ate, relaxed and tried (unsuccessfully) not to be so anxious, went to the bathroom, and drove over to the starting point at around 6. I walked around, did a little pre-race warm-up that the race provided, watched the kids fun run, went potty one more time, totally missed the starting time, and started my race about half a minute behind everyone else.
The first couple of miles are kind of hard, and very interesting. It sort of weeds out the people who are more serious about the race, and those that are walking/running at their leisure. I was passing a bunch of people those first few miles. It was a pretty cool morning, at first, and the sun wasn't too high yet, so I had plenty of shade. I had a pretty good playlist of music going, and I stopped at every aid station for water (I didn't bring any of my own, though, I think I should have).
After those first few miles, my body was completely loosened up and warm, the adrenaline and endorphins were rushing and things felt really good for the next several miles. The race followed a "there and back" route, so all the way out was pretty good. There were some tougher hills towards the end, before turning around. But they were little, and I just told myself that I have run harder hills than that. Which is entirely true. At about this point, I was passing a bunch of racers that had already turned about, and it was pretty fun saying hi and yelling words of encouragement to each other.
I turned and ran down all of those lovely hills, and still felt really good. At about the 9 mile point, I could see some familiar faces in the distance. Daniel and the girls were waiting for me just off of the trail, and they were certainly a welcome sight! Daniel got Brooke all geared up with her bike, and Brooke jumped on and rode with me for a little while. And then Daniel pushed Camille in the stroller and ran a few minutes with me to the next aid station. At the same point, Heather jumped on the trail with me to run the last few miles to the end. I was so glad to have her running with me, because after we parted with my family, I was tired, and my body was getting sore and tired. She helped me get those last few miles without walking.
It was rough, especially the last 2 miles. My knees and hips were really hurting, but I was determined to keep running. I finished 62nd (of 138, haha!) in the race at 2 hours 18 minutes 2 and a half seconds.
The girls and Daniel were waiting for me at the finish, and once I was done, I chatted with them, grabbed some food and water, got some ice cream, and then we went home, and I took Heather home. It was so leisurely, just sleeping in before the race and then, when it was done, driving the 10 minutes home to shower and rest. Local races are just the thing!
*Millie, eating my cookie after the race. :) *
After showering and stretching and hanging out with my family all the rest of the morning, Heather and I went to Happy Foot for some massages. It was both heavenly and very painful. The guy working on me did some things that felt SOO good, especially when working on my feet and legs. But there were other parts that he was fairly rough on. And I'm pretty sure he bruised me substantially. I do bruise like a peach, however, so it's not entirely his fault. But my body did feel a lot better after this race because of the massage.
It was a great day, and I'm really glad I ran this race. Now, my next marathon will be pushing a baby out of me! ... Hopefully...
It was a local race, right here in Santa Clarita. And much of the route followed trails and streets that I've run, before, so I was pretty familiar. That helped a lot, I think. It was nice to run a local race. I woke up at about 5:20, got dressed, ate, relaxed and tried (unsuccessfully) not to be so anxious, went to the bathroom, and drove over to the starting point at around 6. I walked around, did a little pre-race warm-up that the race provided, watched the kids fun run, went potty one more time, totally missed the starting time, and started my race about half a minute behind everyone else.
The first couple of miles are kind of hard, and very interesting. It sort of weeds out the people who are more serious about the race, and those that are walking/running at their leisure. I was passing a bunch of people those first few miles. It was a pretty cool morning, at first, and the sun wasn't too high yet, so I had plenty of shade. I had a pretty good playlist of music going, and I stopped at every aid station for water (I didn't bring any of my own, though, I think I should have).
After those first few miles, my body was completely loosened up and warm, the adrenaline and endorphins were rushing and things felt really good for the next several miles. The race followed a "there and back" route, so all the way out was pretty good. There were some tougher hills towards the end, before turning around. But they were little, and I just told myself that I have run harder hills than that. Which is entirely true. At about this point, I was passing a bunch of racers that had already turned about, and it was pretty fun saying hi and yelling words of encouragement to each other.
I turned and ran down all of those lovely hills, and still felt really good. At about the 9 mile point, I could see some familiar faces in the distance. Daniel and the girls were waiting for me just off of the trail, and they were certainly a welcome sight! Daniel got Brooke all geared up with her bike, and Brooke jumped on and rode with me for a little while. And then Daniel pushed Camille in the stroller and ran a few minutes with me to the next aid station. At the same point, Heather jumped on the trail with me to run the last few miles to the end. I was so glad to have her running with me, because after we parted with my family, I was tired, and my body was getting sore and tired. She helped me get those last few miles without walking.
It was rough, especially the last 2 miles. My knees and hips were really hurting, but I was determined to keep running. I finished 62nd (of 138, haha!) in the race at 2 hours 18 minutes 2 and a half seconds.
The girls and Daniel were waiting for me at the finish, and once I was done, I chatted with them, grabbed some food and water, got some ice cream, and then we went home, and I took Heather home. It was so leisurely, just sleeping in before the race and then, when it was done, driving the 10 minutes home to shower and rest. Local races are just the thing!
*Millie, eating my cookie after the race. :) *
After showering and stretching and hanging out with my family all the rest of the morning, Heather and I went to Happy Foot for some massages. It was both heavenly and very painful. The guy working on me did some things that felt SOO good, especially when working on my feet and legs. But there were other parts that he was fairly rough on. And I'm pretty sure he bruised me substantially. I do bruise like a peach, however, so it's not entirely his fault. But my body did feel a lot better after this race because of the massage.
It was a great day, and I'm really glad I ran this race. Now, my next marathon will be pushing a baby out of me! ... Hopefully...
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
My Girls
- The other day, Brooke was talking about birthday parties, about her Elsa birthday we had last year (it was apparently epic... she talks about it all the time), and she said that this year, after her Elsa birthday, she wants a "ghostbuster party". WHA? Where on earth did she hear about ghostbusters???
- Sometimes, we like to be crazy. And sometimes when music is playing, I like to dance all crazy and make the girls giggle. The other day, when music was playing and I was dancing crazy, Brooke yelled, "Mom, dance!! Dance hard!"
- One day last week, when we were driving home, Camille started screaming in the back seat, as she was trying to get her shoes off. Brooke asks, "Can I help you?" I look back to see Camille throwing her leg over the side of her seat towards Brooke, and Brooke trying to take Camille's shoes off.
- Me - to the girls: Guys, I always, always, always want to make treats. It's really hard. Brooke: It's not really hard, because I help you! .... so helpful....
- While we were out on a walk, Brooke was talking about all of her friends that live close by: Turner, Xander, Blake, Elliot.... She said, "I wish Lucy lived next to us. Maybe they can build a tree house next to us!"
- Some things I hope I never forget, though it's quite likely that I will. One thing I never want to forget is how cute Camille's little voice is. It's just so little and cute, so sweet. Another thing I never want to forget is how she comes to me, clings to my legs and fusses when she wants me to pick her up. And how she clings to me when she doesn't want me to put her down. When I actually do need to put her down, because I'm busy with something, I just explain to her that I need to put her down, and she lets me do it. I don't want to forget how polite my tiny Camille is. She always says 'Thank you' when someone does something for her. She also uses 'Thank you' as a response when someone thanks her. She's also really friendly. She says hi and bye to everyone, giving them the hugest smile and it's the cutest! People are always commenting on how cute she is.
- Brooke calls the sample people at Costco "bakers". "Mom, let's go see that Baker!" "Look, there's another baker over there! Let's see what they have!"
- Camille is talking A TON lately. She tries to repeat almost everything we say, and her list of words is growing bigger every day: truck, please, milk (or drink, I can't tell yet), water, doggie, kitty, waffle, banana, ... etc. I love watching her little personality come out. She is the sweetest, cutest, spunkiest little things. And she's so considerate, even for being such a young little person. Whenever Brooke is crying or upset, she goes up to her and starts shushing her to help her feel better. I love it when Brooke and Camille hug, too. It just melts my poor mother heart. Can you tell I have a bit of a love affair with my little? I might be obsessed.
- Brooke is in a hard stage. Not super hard, but she throws some fits almost daily. But. Brooke is such a sweet girl. Just today, I said to her randomly, "Brooke, I love you." and she says right away, "I love you, too, mom." She loves cuddling with me in her bed at bedtime. She's always asking for a few more minutes of cuddle time. She also is always asking me to play with her, which I sometimes do and sometimes don't. But she always asks. It breaks my heart and brings such joy to know that she wants to be with me. She's getting really good at her little strider bike, and much more adventurous, going faster down bigger hills and such. The other day, we were walking back home from the park with Hillary and Elliot Erdmann, and she got to the light way before the rest of us, pushed the walk signal button, waited for it to turn and rode across all by herself, even before either of us noticed. On the one hand, it was terrifying. California drivers are crazy, even if pedestrians have the right of way. But on the other hand, it's so cute watching her be all independent and want to do things on her own. That's kind of her big thing, right now, her discovering her independence. She's started buckling herself, brushing her own teeth, getting food by herself. She wants to do everything by herself. It's great, awesome really. But it does get hard, sometimes, when she can't do something and gets frustrated. I love my sweet little girl. She's pretty fun.
- I love how Camille does an owl. She says, "Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! Owey!" ("owl"). She loves owls. Every time we are reading a book with an owl in it, she points to it, says, "Owey" and makes owl sounds. It's the cutest thing ever. The other day at church, she kept saying it over and over again to the people behind us. :)
- One Sunday, Brooke kept thanking me for dinner and thanking Daniel for working so hard. And then Camille kept saying, "Thank you, Mamma!" over and over again. My heart just melted. Since then, she says, "Thank you, Mamma!" all the time. She says thank you at all the right times, when people help her or give her something she wants. It's terribly cute.
- Camille has started letting me hold her hand, which is just about the best thing in the entire world. I love the feel of her tiny hand in mine, and knowing how much she depends on me for so much. It's like I can feel her love and appreciation every time she holds my hand. Usually, I'm the one to take her hand, either to cross a street or parking lot, or to help her step down a curb or stair. But today, while we were walking to the pool, we were walking in the street, and she held out her hand and asked for my hand. That little girl has my whole heart.
*Chocolate milk mustache!*
*One day while we were playing, Camille kept bring me pairs of her pajamas, saying, "Jammies!" I kept putting them on her, the sleeves over her arms, but keeping the bottoms free, like a cape. I put one pair on after another. Then she grabbed a hat, and put it on herself. She played for a while like that, and she was just so cute.*
*While Brooke was playing at Blake's house one day, I took Camille on my run. I think she had more fun than this picture indicates. Complete with snack, milk, and a stuffed owl. I was pretty slow, having to push her, though.*
*LOOK AT THAT SMILE!!*
Wednesday, June 8, 2016
Bowman and Stephanie's Visit
Memorial Day weekend, Bowman and Stephanie flew out here with their kids for a visit. It wasn't a very long visit, but we sure had fun with them. We told Brooke a few days before they came that they were coming, and she couldn't stop talking about it. She was so excited to have her cousins come to visit and to have a "sleepover" with her.
They flew in Friday morning, fairly early, and drove up to our house. I did my long run that morning, 9 miles, but I didn't beat them here. They were all hanging out and getting settled when I got back. All of the kids were a little wary of everyone, all the new people (except Brooke, that is. She's always friendly with strangers and new people. She had no problems taking the little cousins and showing them around). Camille seemed pretty shy with Bowman, especially. Funny little baby.
We all got ready and drove out to the beach for the rest of the afternoon. We went to Ventura Beach. It was a pretty sunny day, but still quite cool. Daniel, Stephanie and I didn't even change into our swimsuits. It was definitely not warm enough for us to be playing in the water. Rayna, on the other hand, loved running into the waves and running back. And Bowman rented a surf board and surfed for a couple of hours. The rest of us played in the sand, ate snacks, and visited. By the end of our time at the beach, I think Rayna, Danny and Maya had all warmed up to us. We had fun burying the kids, building sand castles and playing in the sand. And we all got a little burnt. The kids had little spots of burns where we didn't get them with sunscreen. The rest of us were a little pink everywhere.
While Daniel got the car packed up to go and while Bowman finished surfing, Stephanie and I took the kids to the little playground that was right up the beach. And on our drive home, we stopped at a fruit stand and a McDonald's for fruit and snacks (I had run 9 miles, after all, and was feeling rather low on energy).
*Brooke chasing after her cousin. :) She loves them!*
That night, we roasted hot dogs and marshmallows over the fire in the fire pit for dinner, and after the kids went to bed, we adults played games together, a few rounds of Canasta.
Bowman and Daniel went mountain biking in the morning on Saturday, and Stephanie and I stayed and got the kids ready and cleaned up the house a little. Then we prepared a picnic lunch to take to the park before naps. The boys made it home just in time to walk to the park. We had lunch and let the kids play a while before we came back to put the babies down for a nap and put a movie on for the other kids. Bowman and Stephanie took a little nap, too. :)
We went to the pool that afternoon for a while, which felt so nice. And for dinner we hit a local Korean restaurant, just for Bowman. The food was delicious, and we had fun.
Sunday morning, I made waffles and blueberry sauce for a good breakfast before church, and they all came with us to church. After church, we scrounged together some food for lunch to feed them before they left.
It was nice of them to come and see us. We had lots of fun. And Brooke absolutely LOVED having other kids to play with. She was thrilled to have her cousins staying with us. (Camille was slightly less thrilled, since Maya is a bit of an aggressive little creature. Makes sense, seeing as how she has 2 older siblings. She's had to learn to take care of herself.)
They flew in Friday morning, fairly early, and drove up to our house. I did my long run that morning, 9 miles, but I didn't beat them here. They were all hanging out and getting settled when I got back. All of the kids were a little wary of everyone, all the new people (except Brooke, that is. She's always friendly with strangers and new people. She had no problems taking the little cousins and showing them around). Camille seemed pretty shy with Bowman, especially. Funny little baby.
We all got ready and drove out to the beach for the rest of the afternoon. We went to Ventura Beach. It was a pretty sunny day, but still quite cool. Daniel, Stephanie and I didn't even change into our swimsuits. It was definitely not warm enough for us to be playing in the water. Rayna, on the other hand, loved running into the waves and running back. And Bowman rented a surf board and surfed for a couple of hours. The rest of us played in the sand, ate snacks, and visited. By the end of our time at the beach, I think Rayna, Danny and Maya had all warmed up to us. We had fun burying the kids, building sand castles and playing in the sand. And we all got a little burnt. The kids had little spots of burns where we didn't get them with sunscreen. The rest of us were a little pink everywhere.
While Daniel got the car packed up to go and while Bowman finished surfing, Stephanie and I took the kids to the little playground that was right up the beach. And on our drive home, we stopped at a fruit stand and a McDonald's for fruit and snacks (I had run 9 miles, after all, and was feeling rather low on energy).
*Brooke chasing after her cousin. :) She loves them!*
That night, we roasted hot dogs and marshmallows over the fire in the fire pit for dinner, and after the kids went to bed, we adults played games together, a few rounds of Canasta.
Bowman and Daniel went mountain biking in the morning on Saturday, and Stephanie and I stayed and got the kids ready and cleaned up the house a little. Then we prepared a picnic lunch to take to the park before naps. The boys made it home just in time to walk to the park. We had lunch and let the kids play a while before we came back to put the babies down for a nap and put a movie on for the other kids. Bowman and Stephanie took a little nap, too. :)
We went to the pool that afternoon for a while, which felt so nice. And for dinner we hit a local Korean restaurant, just for Bowman. The food was delicious, and we had fun.
Sunday morning, I made waffles and blueberry sauce for a good breakfast before church, and they all came with us to church. After church, we scrounged together some food for lunch to feed them before they left.
It was nice of them to come and see us. We had lots of fun. And Brooke absolutely LOVED having other kids to play with. She was thrilled to have her cousins staying with us. (Camille was slightly less thrilled, since Maya is a bit of an aggressive little creature. Makes sense, seeing as how she has 2 older siblings. She's had to learn to take care of herself.)
Monday, June 6, 2016
Daily Walks
We enjoyed such beautiful weather in May. Usually, we would expect it to start getting hot at the beginning of May, and then it all goes downhill until after October. But, for some reason, it stayed nice and cool until this last week. So, for a few months, the girls and I have enjoyed the nice weather by going to the park often and by taking walks at least a few times a week. We loved our little walks together, usually in the mornings, but sometimes in the afternoons. Brooke loves riding her little strider bike, so that's what she chooses to do on our walks, and ever since Camille could walk, I let her walk. I think she has enjoyed that little freedom.
Our walks are very slow. Brooke rides around, back and forth, while I hang back with Camille. She likes to walk, and run sometimes, and then stop to pick up a rock or pine cone, or pick a flower, or examine some other interesting ... something. I mostly let her do what she wants, and she stops to look at everything. And she likes to bring me some of the things she's collected. After a while, I do prompt her a little saying, "Come on, Camille!" and start walking a little quicker. I always end up with a little collection in my hands of things the girls have gathered. Brooke's favorite thing is to pick the flowers we come across. She asks me to tuck them into the little pad on her handlebars, which I find very cute and endearing. But, after a while, usually when we get home, she and Camille enjoy tearing the flowers to bits.
I love watching them play and discover while we're out. We almost always enjoy our walks in our own little gated community, hardly ever venturing out unless we're heading to the park. It's the most perfect place to walk with the little girls, though. We walk in a little circle around the community, there isn't a lot of traffic, it's close to home so we can rush home if we really need to, and we can take our time. Sometimes, we would only make it to the mailboxes before I just sit down on the curb and let them play. Camille always loves to stop at the mailboxes. She likes to test out the little locks on the boxes, and sometimes there'll be a key with a huge card attached to it, hanging out of one of the lock boxes. She likes to play around with those. So, when she and Brooke stop to play with that, and I take a seat on the curb, we sometimes just hang out around there for a long time. Brooke rides her bike back and forth, stopping to pick flowers or look at something, and Camille wanders around.
Our walks are the perfect way to get out of the house to enjoy some sunshine and fresh air, and sometimes it's just what we need.
It's also been nice going to the park and meeting our friends there. Now that it's started getting hot, however, we might not be doing many park days or walks. We have other fun things lined up for summer, though!
Matching strawberry shirts and big ol' smiles! I can't even stand it!
Friday, June 3, 2016
Muddle Jumping
Today, we had Lucy come play at our house. Lucy Leishman is one of Brooke's best friends. Brooke loves all of her friends, and they seem to really love her, too. She is quite the social butterfly. She loves being with people, and she makes friends so easily and plays with kids of all ages so well. I really love that about her. She's not shy, either, and she's very friendly with people, which isn't such a bad thing, in my opinion.
Aaaaanyway, we have Lucy come over sometimes, and Lucy is quite a spit-fire little girl, with quite the attitude sometimes. We love her! She can be a handful sometimes, and she often teaches things to Brooke that I don't appreciate her knowing. Well, today, they went outside to play, which was fine by me, since I was getting chores and other things done. But Lucy comes to the back door, and yells something at me. I turn to look at her, and I see her legs covered in muddy water, and I see Brooke in the background jumping in a huge little muddy pond in our backyard. "Oh for the love." "Well," thought I, "since they've already gotten themselves all muddy, and since they are having such a lovely time, I suppose I'll just let them play it out for a while."
They really did have the time of their lives, jumping in that muddle (mud-puddle, of course), running through the muddy grass in the backyard. It did look like fun! I'm lucky that Camille decided not to join them in that activity.
When they were done playing, I stripped them down, hosed them down, wrapped them up in a couple of big towels, and went inside to play a couple of games of Candyland before Lucy's mom came to pick her up. I think they had a fun play date. And I told Daniel to stop watering so much. :)
Aaaaanyway, we have Lucy come over sometimes, and Lucy is quite a spit-fire little girl, with quite the attitude sometimes. We love her! She can be a handful sometimes, and she often teaches things to Brooke that I don't appreciate her knowing. Well, today, they went outside to play, which was fine by me, since I was getting chores and other things done. But Lucy comes to the back door, and yells something at me. I turn to look at her, and I see her legs covered in muddy water, and I see Brooke in the background jumping in a huge little muddy pond in our backyard. "Oh for the love." "Well," thought I, "since they've already gotten themselves all muddy, and since they are having such a lovely time, I suppose I'll just let them play it out for a while."
They really did have the time of their lives, jumping in that muddle (mud-puddle, of course), running through the muddy grass in the backyard. It did look like fun! I'm lucky that Camille decided not to join them in that activity.
When they were done playing, I stripped them down, hosed them down, wrapped them up in a couple of big towels, and went inside to play a couple of games of Candyland before Lucy's mom came to pick her up. I think they had a fun play date. And I told Daniel to stop watering so much. :)
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