Not Sure If Our Pups Are Beachy

But the girls and I had fun.  We lost our flip flops in the tide, but it was an anventure driving home barefoot. 

2 Little Dairy Queen Lovers

There is not a lot in their little lives that makes them happier eating Dairy Queen Blizzards and knowing how proud their Grandparents are of them! Thanks Gram and Gramp! Love, Munch and Em.

Thank God They Don't Like Miniature Golf

Of couse it probably would have been cheaper for all four of us (we had kidnapped Monster for 3 days) to play a round of golf and then go inside to the arcade, but oh Well.  I HATE mini golf.  Almost as much as the dentist.  Yeah, really that much.  Praise Jesus; these girls were fine with bumper boats, bumper cars (or as Emmers put it "bumper walls") and 100 coins to share in the arcade.  Plus a little popcorn, sodas, and pretzel (because I needed cash back for the Coins!! NOT because I have to sample the food everywhere I go).

Exhaustion and Excitment

We've been busy around here. 

Garage Sale, Beach (alot), Walks to the park, Drives to the City to visit friends, Drives to outer Ethiopia to meet newborn family members, Playdates, Back to school shopping, and of course the regular errands: market, dentist, doctor, pharmacy, gas, post office, petsmart, dog groomers, haircuts, etc.etc.etc....

And I have been WORN out.  Seriously I could nap twice during the day and then go to sleep at 8pm like a toddler.  But it's go, go, go around this place.  And here's some proof:

They LOVE Mail and So Do I

Thanks MOM and DAD!!! Thanks Gram and Gramp!

Isn't she lovely...

Our "new" Faith.  My 6 week old Neice.

Report cards coming...

I'm totally going to brag and insert a scan of both my girls' report cards here:

--------->  PERFECT REPORT CARDS  <--------

But I have to fix my scanner/printer first.  Munchie knocked if off the desk and it's a tad bit broken un-use-able... at the moment.  As soon as I put back the 6 plastic peices that crumbled and flew out of it, I think that puppy will be back and up to running just fiiiiinnne.  At least that's what I told the Munch!

Ojai, CA

Ok, so I know my daughter has great taste, but does her taste have to be THIS expensive????

So Munchie sees THIS place on our trip to this CUTE little town and decides that she wants to come back and stay here for the night of her 10th birthday.  I said, I would look into it.  Well I did look into it, and I figured out that I will not be taking out a loan for my daughter's 10th birthday, so no...  We will NOT be staying here for almost $700 PER NIGHT.  What is so great about this place, anyway???

The Teepee was cute.  Inside it had little benches made from tree stumps and a fire pit in the middle.  I didn't let the girls go in.  I was afraid someone would come running toward us demanding $100 a minute to go inside or something. 

The leaves on the trees behind the main drag were super soft and HUGE.  They had bronze leaves on the ground, in the tile.  Very interesting and cool, we thought. 

Of course Emmers had to put on some Music and dance at the Ojai Pizza.  It's a fun (if not a bit noisy) place with something called a pizzadillo.  Try it if you are ever in Ojai! 

Best part of the trip for me was driving the back roads and exploring.  I think Mr. liked the scenic views from the tops of the amazing mountains.  I didn't see much, my eyes were on the road!  What a perfect day.  What a great life!

Signs...by M Night Shyamalan

Mr. decided we needed a little help while we watched the movie...from these hats that would protect our minds from the Aliens who might try to read them.

A little something for the littlest member of our family: the New Faith...this amazing headband from THIS SHOP on Etsy.







And aren't the photos beautiful?  LOOK at all her other beautiful work.... 

#2 Nephew is ONE!

I sent a little something for him, the girls helped me choose THIS, it's one of their favorite CDs. Sandra Boynton is great!


I couldn't resist getting something for R, so I ordered her this from THIS SHOP on Etsy:



I hope they like their little treats from their Auntie, Uncle and cousins on the West Coast.

Carseat Winner:

AND the winning carseat is:




You don't think I'd give away a $10 gift card, did you??

Carseats

Wow.  They actually make girly carseats now.  WHY did it take them so long?  Darn "them"!  Why couldn't Munch or Emmers have a pink carseat????  Well, at least the newest member of our family can have one...now I just have to decide which one...this is gonna be hard!  I've already narrowed it down to ones with really good ratings, now here are the choices in our price range:

Here is the one I really love:

Here is one that's really affordable and cute but not as girlie as I'd like (no pink):

Here is another affordable cute one, but I don't like this color of pink as much. (See, now I'm getting greedy with my pink!)

And lastly, the one that is ~pink~ and comes with a $10 gift card:

Pretty Awesome...

http://www.swap-bot.com/

I cannot believe I jumped!

I've come to realize about myself that I really really have this fear of stirring things up, of change, of rearranging.  Duh, if you are reading this blog, my revelation is probably not news to you!  Anyway, I took the plunge and enrolled the girls in a school that I think they will really do well at.  Acedemically they are doing perfectly.  They couldn't BE doing better in fact.  But I have felt that there is something missing.  I have always felt like Much was not being challenged or even celebrated for her strengths.  So this school will hopefully give her an avenue to explore her capabilities and interest without a harness.  Ahh, it's just so uncomfortable for me to "move" and "change".

"[The girls new school] utilizes a progressive approach to education. Students are encouraged to think, question, challenge, take an active role in the search for meaning, and ownership of their learning. Traditional activities such as reading from textbooks, filling out worksheets, and memorizing facts are replaced with active collaborative inquiry, critical thinking, problem solving, intrinsic motivation, and authentic assessment.

In our multi-age classrooms, we nourish curiosity, creativity, compassion, independence, and respect for diversity. "

Today was the last day of school...

They both had parties and Mr. and I got to thank their teachers for the awesome year they both had.  Their report cards show what I have known all along:they are perfect geniuses. 

Munchie's room is almost ready to reveal...

but here is a very small taste...

The Peonies were from Costco.

It's all about the little things in life...

There were some beautiful yellow roses in the garden today. 

The Mexican Circus

What a trip!!! SO glad my girlfriend Cookie invited us.  Emmers got called up on stage for an experience of a lifetime.  I am going to have to post the video here at some point, words will not do the experience justice.  I will never forget it.  The whole thing was really just so funny.  We were the only ones there who didn't speak Spanish.  We were sorta getting the jokes, but not really. 

Happy Mother's Day!!!

I woke up to so much love. 

Yes, Happy Mother's Day to me too, but lets face it, my family owes everything to this little can.

Introducing Yoda!

MY Car! 

There has never been a feeling like this:

Buying my first car!!!!!  I'm still pinching myself!

THE SEARCH IS OVER!

WE FOUND OUR NEW CAR!