Summer So Far

We've enjoyed the last two weeks. Bedtime is later, we sleep in a {little} later, the kids play outside more, I've done a lot of yard work. Austin and Lauren have come up with all sorts of stories to play out. They had a "war" where his Lego guys fought her Littlest Pet Shop pets. It was pretty funny. They drew and cut out paper light sabers to fight. Then they started making Dinosaur Train stories. He built a huge, long track, and they had dinosaurs all over it. And his plastic cowboys and Indian. They play like this for hours! The family room turns into a disaster!


Julia reads a lot. She dresses her American Girl dolls. She helps me out. She made Brian's birthday cake, banana bread, and Monster Cookies, all in one week!


She lets the other kids help add ingredients! Little mother... ;) This was Monster Cookie day.

We brought some of the cookies with us to the drive-in in San Luis Obispo. The kids and I walked to Subway last Friday to pick up sandwiches that we brought to the drive-in, too. I made a ton of popcorn. We got there about 6:30.

We went to see:

It was really good! We all enjoyed it! Caroline got a little antsy and tired near the end, but it was a lot of fun. We all hung out in the back of the van, bundled in blankets to watch, except Brian, who sat outside under a blanket.

Slim Pickin'

Monday I took the kids to the Avila Valley Barn to pick Olallieberries. First they wanted to feed the animals. Austin climbed on the fence and pet this cow for a few minutes. Friendly cow...


It was not busy at all at the barn. I am convinced weekdays are when we should go! When we go there or pass it on weekends, it is SO busy! They were giving tractor/wagon rides out to the berry patch and peach orchard, but we decided to walk the path instead. For the longest time we were the only ones in the berry patch! At least on this day. They were pretty picked over. And what berries we did find were tiiiii-ny! It must be about the end of their season. Julia and Austin were serious pickers! Look how much they picked!

Caroline ate everything she picked. I didn't even give her a basket. She picked black berries. And red ones. And ate them all! She said, after the first several berries, "Mmmm...smells good!" That's what she says when she likes how something tastes. :) She chattered away in the patch, happy to be "picking bebbwies" and saying how good they "smelled". LOL

Lauren was pretty funny. She ate her share of berries too. Then found more for Caroline to eat: "Here Caroline, do you want a berry?" "Is it a good one, Caroline?"

Caroline would eat it, then reply, "Yeah..."

And Lauren periodically showed me her basket, "Look at how many berries I picked! I picked a lot!" There were about 10 berries rattling around in the bottom of the basket... Eventually a few more, and I could tell her, "Oh, you do have a lot--look, the bottom of your basket is almost covered!" Meanwhile Julia and Austin's baskets were at least half full... Finally Lauren decided to not eat so many and feed her sister so many, and she ended up with a fair amount! Caroline had enough berries after awhile and found these black sprinkler (?) strips to play with.

Lauren also chattered away while she picked. She asked, "Where's the magic berry?"

Me: "I don't know. Is it in this patch?"

L: "Yes. Tinkerbell told me! She lives here!" Then chatter chatter about the magic berry.

I put our full box of berries on the ground, and Caroline nicely sat down and started eating them, one by one. Sure, why not?

We walked back to the store and paid for the berries. We also bought some fresh peaches and treats. We were starving! Berries only fill you up so much. ;)

After our snack, we went to McDonald's for a late lunch--we were still hungry after the treats. They only fill you up so much, too. Ha! It was after 2:00 by this time. The kids were tired, but happy to play on the playground for awhile. Caroline fell asleep on the drive home. I made a berry crisp we've enjoyed the last couple nights. Yum!

Father's Day

Daddy with his kids, after church. He told them taking this picture was not his idea. Hmmmph. I'm pretty sure he's glad we did it, though.


After naps (including one for Father), he played Dutch Blitz with Julia and Austin. Lauren and Caroline ate Monster Cookies and watched. Lauren said she was Brian's helper.


Father BBQed his own hamburgers for dinner. That's what he requested, and he's the one who does the grilling, so there you go. ;) He didn't mind.

Lauren was outside with Brian, and blew bubbles the whole time. Austin kept popping them with the racket, and she giggled and giggled. Of course that made him want to pop more.

So cute blowing her bubbles...

The mischief maker and the bubble popper

Look what the mischief maker did to our door! And the screen! It's just chalk, but goodness. Silly girl. None of the other kids have ever drawn on the house with chalk!

Our hydrangeas are beautiful this year! I had Julia pose by this one because it's so pretty!

Julia has been busy working on this craft kit the last week or so. She got it for Christmas, and I told her she needed to do it! She was busy with school, but has plenty of free time during summer vacation. If you can't tell, she's sewing two owls. It's an American Girl kit, and says to make one for yourself and one for your doll. Well, ever-practical Julia said, "I don't know why my doll needs an owl. She's not going to care about it. I'm going to keep both for myself!" Ha! I'm sure her dolls are glad to share. :)

Apples and Pears

I bought this fabric last summer, to make Caroline a dress. Well, I just never got to it, and saved the fabric. I decided to sew a skirt for Lauren. Then, I had extra fabric, so I thought, why not make Caroline one too? Except when I got to cutting I didn't have quite enough fabric. I didn't consider the design height when I got the great idea to make Caroline one. Ha ha. It ended up being just fine, as I was still able to buy an extra half yard. Yay!


Here they are in their little skirts. It's hard to see, but there are pink and green narrow ribbon ruffles between the tiers. I had the ribbon on hand, so just added that too, for some contrast.


While we were outside, Brian was taking down the pools. He had Austin and Lauren stand on the pools to help get the air out. Lauren tipped over. LOL Austin decided it was a good time to practice baseball...with a golf ball... Notice the balloon in the window? We have four of those hanging around the house! They were from a new grocery store's grand opening. Lauren put a couple by the door on Monday to decorate for Brian's birthday--so he would see them when he got home from work.

More baseball practice. This time Lauren pitched. Forget the teeny tiny golf ball...

It's easier to hit the big purple one!

Brian's Birthday

Yesterday was the first day of summer vacation! None of us slept in much. I got up at 7:30 instead of 6:30, which was nice. Austin read to his little sisters...


After supper, Brian opened his presents. We had nine gifts for him. Because birthdays and Christmas are pretty much the only times he gets new clothes--unless Farm Credit is giving out polo shirts with their logo. ;) With his birthday and Christmas about 6 mos. apart, it always seems he needs a new pair of jeans when one of those days is near. Anyway. I had each of the three big kids choose 3 presents, and how they wanted to wrap those gifts. They picked the paper or gift bag and bows, and then I helped wrap them. They liked that! Each of them gave Daddy "their" presents. Brian did ask at one point, "These are all from you? Nothing from Mommy or Caroline?" Ha ha. One of Lauren's gifts was The Blind Side movie.


Julia made Brian's birthday cake. She let Austin and Lauren help add ingredients. Brian chose a chocolate cake with white frosting and strawberry filling and strawberries on the outside. I made the strawberry cream frilling and frosted it, then Austin and Lauren put strawberries around it. The whole thing is kind of leaning and cracking in my fridge now. The strawberries were just too full of moisture. I even let them dry on a towel for a couple hours! I told Brian I think the it all needs to go in a trifle dish! At least it tastes good!


When we sang Happy Birthday, Austin and Lauren started out with, "Happy Birthday to you, you live in a zoo..." Goodness! Those silly kids! You would think they'd treat their Daddy nicer on his birthday! ;)

Twenty-Three Months

Caroline is 23 months! She comes up to me and tells me, "Baby...", and wants me to pick her up and snuggle her like a baby. Then she says, "Mama's baby." Like that's just the way it is. And I tell her, "You're the baby. You're Mama's baby..." Except, look at her, she's hardly a baby anymore! She is a busy little girl! Most of the pictures were like the second--she has places to go! ;)


Caroline at 23 months:

*Talks and talks and talks all day long! We have conversations with her now. So funny to carry on conversations with such a little person! Which, I've said it before, reminds me so much of Julia at that age.

*Conversations go like this: C: "I got slwippers!"
Me: "You have slippers?"
C: "Yeah...feet cold!"
Me: "Yes, your feet were cold, so we put on your slippers."

Or, she'll come in the kitchen and ask, "Where Daddy, Mommy?"
Me: "I don't know, where is Daddy?"
C: "I nuh know eitter...Where is Daddy?"
Me: "Is Daddy outside?"
C, thinking: "I nuh know eitter..."
Me: "Is Daddy on the computer?"
C: "Daddy! 'Puter!", then scampers off to check if he's there.

Other things she tells us:
*"Wooka me, Mommy!" When she's doing something silly, or dressed up in dress-up clothes...

*"Bad Baby, Yauren!" or "Bad Baby, Autin!", and even, "Bad Baby, Mommy!" Caroline learned that lovely talk from Lauren. Lauren would tell Caroline, "Bad Baby!", when Caroline got into Lauren's toys. And now Caroline tells the rest of us, "Bad Baby!" when she's mad about something we've done! Or if we tell her "no" to something. Yikes!

*"I yuh you!" or, "I yuh you too!"

*Tantk too, Mommy (Daddy, Duyia, Autin, Yauren).", when we give her things--particularly snacks or treats!!

*Counts to 20 with help. I help her with the "teen" numbers.

*"Go Yakers!" or "Go Dodgers!"--copying Brian. He likes to hear that, when the other kids are teasing him and cheering for the opposing teams!

*C: "Pecious..."
Me: "Who's precious?"
C: "Cawrowine pecious!" (She's heard that a time or two. ;) )

Caroline and Lauren are little playmates. They play so nicely together {most of the time}. I think Little Sister Lauren likes that she can be Big Sister Lauren to Caroline. And of course Caroline likes being included in what Lauren is up to. Thankfully Caroline is not purposely destructive, and Lauren knows that--allowing her to play Barbies, Pet Shop, etc. Caroline doesn't really hurt anything.

Caroline likes to:

*Color with crayons and discuss the color names.

*Practice writing her own name together.

*Play outside, digging, climbing, exploring, watering flowers, playing in the pool.

*Watch Dora, Diego, Oomi Zoomi, and Max and Ruby with Lauren.

*Play toy instruments.

*Scatter random objects and toys about the house.

*Read stories.

*Snuggle for long, long periods of time.

*Look at pictures in magazines and ask, "Who dat, Mommy?" Then I make up a name or tell her the person's name if it's listed.

*Try shoes on herself and put doll shoes on the dollies.

*Sing songs together.

*Dance with Lauren.

*Show things she's discovered to the rest of us.

*Suck her thumb, especially when she's tired, hungry, or feeling shy.

*Ask/answer names of people in our family, starting with herself: "What's your name?"

"Cawrowine!" On it goes with everyone else, including the kitties. :)

Caroline is a fun-loving and happy little girl. We all enjoy her so much!

Paper Storage

For months I've been wanting to make my scrapbook paper storage prettier. I had my 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock stacked in these file folders. That system really worked ok, but I think this is better. Much easier to slide out one box than pull out a stuffed folder from a stack--hoping the rest of the folders don't get bent or fall... I don't by this size paper anymore, except in white, which I use up more often. When I first started SBing there wasn't much available for 12x12 cardstock! Anyway. I decided to cut down Priority Mail boxes for my storage. Before:


The boxes sat just plain for awhile, until I decided how I wanted to cover them. I covered the side of the end box only, to save paper. Since you can't see the other box sides anyway. I can always cover them someday if I need to. I think it looks much prettier in my desk!


More Priority Mail boxes. These hold my page kits. You just have to assemble the kits and add pictures. Easy! But, again, the boxes are not pretty storage. Soooo...Before:


And after! Again, I covered the side of just the end box. I'm happy how they turned out too. Pretty paper storage for pennies. I'd rather spend $$ on supplies than storage to hold the supplies. ;)

El Rascapetate

June 3 Julia performed in the Hispanic Heritage Assembly at school. Not every class participates. This was Julia's second time--the first was in first grade. Austin sang a song with his class last year for the program. The kids in her class could choose which dance they wanted to be in: Los Machetes or El Rascapetate, both traditional Mexican dances. At the end of the program her class sang De Colores together.

Here she is, all dolled up. ;) In the second picture, with her partner, Jerald, and her friend, Katie. Once again Julia wanted her hair in a bun. They have Cal Poly students who help in their class sometimes, and this day, they helped the girls put on blush and lip stick (if they wanted), and put flowers in their hair.


Just before starting the dance

I thought the kids did a really good job. Julia said they messed up, but I didn't think it wasn't too noticeable. In her dance, the partners used long scarf/shawl fabric things (that the girls are wearing, above), as part of the routine. They kind of swirled the scarves and wrapped and unwrapped the girls up in them. Ha ha--hard to explain! Maybe I should have posted the video!

In the other dance, the boys used swords (not real!!) for their props. Julia would come home and tell us stories about dance practice and the silly things the boys were doing with the swords! I could just imagine. And Austin was very interested in the sword stories too! He said that's the dance he would have wanted to do. Ha! Anyway. At the performance, the Los Machetes boys cooperated nicely, and their routine was cute too. There were also girls in that dance, but they didn't get to hold the swords. ;)

Super Speller

Yesterday, Julia was in a spelling bee. Last week her class had a spelling bee, and the last four kids standing went on to compete in the one yesterday. There were about 20 kids, all 3rd and 4th graders. I decided not to go, because I thought Lauren and Caroline would be bored and make noise! Especially Caroline! Lauren can be quiet for awhile if she has to. Anyway, Brian was able to go, so that was good.

Julia is an excellent speller, as it is, but she did study and practice quite a bit before the big day. Even Austin read words to her from her list! And she ended up having to spell some that he gave her: dawdle and dinosaur...maybe more. Some other words she spelled: pulley, embarrassing, rhythmic, focused, isle, and patiently. She said patiently was the hardest one.

At the end, it was just her and a boy left, and they finished off the 3rd/4th grade list. The teachers had to get out the 5th/6th grade word list, which neither of them had seen. Those two spelled 10-20 words, just going round and round, until he missed reassured. Julia had to spell it correctly, then one more word, capable, to win. Well, she did it! She won the spelling bee!

She was so pleased, and we are very proud of her! Here she is with her ribbon and classroom finalist certificate.


Brian was a proud Daddy, and had to tell his coworkers about his little daughter when he went back to work. :) He said Julia was very calm during the whole thing, which is interesting to me, as I usually wasn't, myself, during those types of things! I asked Julia later if she was nervous, and she said she wasn't. She said she said a little prayer before it started that she wouldn't be nervous, and it helped. Sweet girl.