Newport Part 2

A few weeks before school started back up again - we went to Newport for a few days. We wanted to go to the Orange County Fair, spend time with some friends, and had to do a boat ride on the harbor for the winner of the school Auction. It was one of the best times we've had in Newport.

Merry Christmas

Christmas is, without a doubt, my favorite day of the entire year. I love watching the kids open their presents and spending time with family. This year we stayed in Los Angeles. The kids were so excited that they woke up at 6am and wanted to make sure Santa came. Somehow I was able to talk them into resting for another 30-45minutes and then we all stumbled downstairs to open presents. In the afternoon we drove to see grandma and grandpa in Camarillo to open more presents! After that we ate a delicious meal (that I'm still recovering from) and headed home. Christmas - I love you so much. I can't wait until next year.

P.S. The dog in the picture is Ozzy. Sadly, he doesn't belong to us. We are dog sitting for Shawn and Austin for a week or so. Guess what.....WE LOVE HIM.

Newport

Newport, July 2018

Busters First Concert

Over the summer we got tickets to see Kidzbop at the Greek Theater. Side note - the kids listen to them every morning on the way to school. They are a bunch of kids that sing current songs. Needless to say - they LOVED it. Well...Buster maybe just LIKED it. 

The Lights Fest

A couple of years ago a friend sent me information about the Lights Festival because she knew I would love it. For the last two years I've tried to get tickets but was never quick enough. This year I bought tickets the day they were released! So Saturday we packed up the kids and drove to Barstow. There were food trucks and live music. The kids loved writing their wishes on the lanterns. I loved the Buster wants to be a better chess player. At least he has his priorities straight! Once the sun went down there were instructions on how to light the lanterns and then on the count of three everyone released them. It was truly magical to look up into the air and see thousands of lanterns flying high into the sky. I swore to Olive that I wouldn't cry....but I couldn't help it. It was seriously so beautiful. 

School Pics 2018-2019

Just got the kids school pics back. This is Buster in kindergarten. His smile....I just can't. I wish I had been there to fix his hair. Instead I was helping some other kid in his class. Oops.

This is Olive in second grade. I can remember when she first started school. Crazy to think it was 4 years ago. I'm really not sure where the time has gone.

Happy Halloween

Every year I get pretty excited for Halloween. I love dressing up as a family and this year was no exception! I really wanted to do these costumes last year....but I couldn't get it together to make them. As you can see - they took a little while to make. Each costume had battery operated wire that lit up. My costume was the most difficult because I had 6 different remotes for all the colors! Of course - Olive did not want to be the rain cloud trick or treating. So it was just Andrew and I....but I have to say...the costumes were sooooo cool at night. So many kids stopped us to tell us they loved our costumes. I just wish our kids would have worn theirs. 

Oh hi - Ojai

Right after the fourth of July I took the kids to Caravan Outpost in Ojai. We stayed in a vintage airstream that had a queen bed in the front and bunk beds in the back. Our first stop when we arrived was the Ojai Farmers Market. Then we headed to the Ojai Valley Inn for snacks and a glass of wine. Then we went on a tour of the Ojai Olive Oil company to see how olive oil is made.

After our busy day we decided to ride scooters to a nice Italian restaurant on the main strip. We found a park on our way that the kids LOVED. After dinner it was back to the hotel for S'mores and bed.

The next morning we had breakfast and then headed to an equestrian center so the kids could ride some ponies. It was so so so hot that we only did 2 loops around the grounds. 

We decided to go to Lake Casitas Water Park to cool off since it was about 110 degrees! It was so fun going down the lazy river with the kids - they loved it.

After the water park we rested for a little bit and then got ready for dinner at a place near our airstream. The food was delicious but it was still sooooo hot outside - so we decided to go swimming until the sun went down.

4th of July

I'll admit it - I'm WAY behind on blog entries. It's been a bit crazy with Buster in school now. I'll try and update the blog with all of our summer activities as well as my trip to London!  For now here are pictures from our 4th of July in Bay Island.

The first day was just us on the beach. Then the following day a few of our friends drove down to celebrate.

We watched fireworks from the beach and the kids stayed up waaaaaaay too late. All in all - a great 4th of July!