We went to LEGOLAND the first time with Dan's sister's family. It was super fun and definitely geared to little ones. Lilly and Iris got to go on a ride alone together for the first time. Henry missed his nap and managed to lose his shoes, which Dan had to convince a 4 year old that yes, they were too small for Dan, however they did belong to his son. Hilarious! We had a coupon that was only good for park hopper tickets, so we got to visit the aquarium as well. On the way home, the girls got to experience In 'n Out for the first time too, to which Lilly exclaimed, "This is the most amazing cheeseburger ever!" I told her McDonald's is gross, but she I'm pretty sure she thinks I don't know what I'm talking about. Ha!
Swim lessons were a friendly affair this year. We had to stay through two sessions to accommodate the needs of our 3 person crew. Lilly's friend from kindergarten had a class at the same time, so we got to visit with her family. Iris had 3 friends from preschool in her class, which means we basically dominated the tadpoles, and my sweet friend, Ruthi took the "parent and me" class with Henry and me. All three kids really enjoyed their time in the water, although Hendricks was much slower to warm up to it. He screamed with joy and with terror (sometimes it was hard to tell which). Lilly's stroke became much more defined and Iris is a little fish, with no fear at all. I was so proud when I overheard her teacher tell the other kids to "watch Iris." We are lovin' summer!
Our dear friends invited us down to the El Moro campgrounds at Crystal Cove for some s'mores and good old-fashioned fun. We are not quite ready to camp with our kooky crew, so this was a perfect opportunity. We dressed the kids in their pajamas after swim lessons, ate Del Taco in the car on the way down, and were there just in time. We watched the sunset, went for a stroll, sat around the campfire, and of course ate s'mores and drank hot chocolate. All three kids (Lilly may have been faking) fell asleep on the ride home. It was a perfect night!
One of my dreams has been to quilt on a long arm machine, and I got to do it this week. It was such a wonderful experience full of broken threads, bobbins that got stuck, and running out of tread at the wrong time. And I loved every moment of it! )Thank you, Rosemary Nixon). The quilt top, bottom, and batting are attached to giant rollers and a regular sewing machine glides over 6 inches of the width at a time. I controlled the machines by holding on to two handles, and following a laser pointer that was shining its light onto the pattern I was sewing. This is a queen sized quilt, and it is by far the largest quilt I have ever made. I completed the top and bottom last summer, and I still have to square it up, and bind it. With the rate I'm going, that will probably happen next summer. I want to use this quilt as a picnic/park blanket for our giant family. I know a lot of quilters who preserve their work and cringe when a quilt they have given to someone is dragged around or thrown in a toy box, but I never want to feel like something is too special for us to use. Using things up brings me such joy!
Whew! Summer is insane. Lilly has Vacation Bible School this week, so Iris is visiting her preschool for summer school because she was too young for VBS. Iris also has a preschool mommy and me class once a week, and Hendricks has Kindergym once a week. Plus, two weeks of every day swim lessons for all three and visits to the eye doctor for all of us, play dates, Sea World, lunches, BBQs, home projects that never get done during the school year, and just living life... Dan and I are exhausted and the kids are in Heaven. When we are home, I try to stick to a routine of chores, "homework," reading, and quiet time.
Yesterday, the girls and I made homemade ice cream while Henry was taking a nap and Dan was mowing his mother's lawn. It was fun, easy, and very tasty! In a quart sized Ziploc bag, we placed 1 cup milk, 1 cup half and half, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. I put masking tape over the Ziploc just to be sure, and in a gallon sized bag placed ice and rock salt. We took turns shaking it, and even went out in the backyard to toss the bag around. Then we enjoyed the fruits of our labor, and it was wonderful!
Our annual 4th of July BBQ was especially special this year. Not only because of the awesome addition of a decorated bike parade, but because our dear friends are moving to Colorado, and this will most likely be the last one that they attend. Boo hoo. There is nothing better than sitting around laughing, eating and watching the joy (and some tears, let's be honest) on our kid's faces!
My husband is not only handsome, but he is super handy. Meet our new library card catalogue drawer, turned coffee table. I got it from a teacher at my school who was storing tools in it in his garage. (Thanks, Wes!) I bought the midcentury legs at Lowe's. Dan stained them to match and restained the entire drawer. The top was unfinished because another cabinet was housed on top of it when it was in the school library. We decided to cover the top with cork, so it is one giant coaster that shouldn't be too painful when one of the kids bonks his or her head on it! Next step, labels for each drawer and stylizing the top. I can't wait.
Our wonderful family has grown by one, but we don't have any pictures that reflect our new total of 5. So, we did it... the talented Lisa Ibarra took pictures of us, and boy did we work her. It is nearly impossible to get 5 faces looking good at the same time, even looking in the same direction is a stretch! It was so much fun (insert sarcasm here), that we decided to do it again. Poor Lisa. She sure loves us! Here's a few of my favorite shots of the first time around. I'll share more when they come.
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