Surfin' USA

 

Last summer the kids learned how to surf at Broad Beach. I figured we live in Southern California - they might as well get on a board! I have to admit I was pretty impressed.  Both kids were naturals! I'm hoping this summer we do a lot more of it! 

Antelope Valley Poppies

 

When I was pregnant with Buster - we planned a full day in Antelope Valley to see the poppies. I'm not sure if anyone besides me remembers.....but it was the biggest bust. There were maybe 10 poppies in total. We drove for hours trying to search for a field filled with the gorgeous orange flowers but we had no luck. Andrew and I still laugh about it. We ended up going to some "poppie" festival where Olive rode a camel or alpaca or some sort of animal. We swore we would never go back. Well....this year we decided to try again. We figured even though we were in lockdown we could socially distance and still hopefully see some poppies. Thankfully we were in luck.

If I'm being completely honest though - the flowers are much more impressive in photographs. 

Buster Learns to Ride a Bike

 

Guess who learned how to ride his bike over the summer? I was secretly hoping that Buster would just "pick it up" since Andrew is such a skilled cyclist....but sadly he didn't. Buster has no problems showing his emotions so it was a bit of a battle to teach him. He would get frustrated. Andrew would get frustrated. Finally - I said enough. I'm going to teach you.

The first night was a little rough. We met friends in the market parking lot near the kids school. Everything was closed so there was a big empty space for him to try and get it. There were a few tears but I was determined to teach him. The next day - HE GOT IT. He was zipping around and was so proud of himself.

Olive already knew how to ride a bike so she was a little jealous of all the attention Buster was getting. I'm so happy that both these kids know how to ride a bike! Now we have to get them new ones because they are getting way to big for their old ones!

Spring Break 2020

 

I realize that Spring Break is right around the corner and I should have posted last years awhile ago....but to be honest the last 11 months have been a bit of a blur.

For Spring Break 2020 I wanted to do something fun for the kids. We couldn't travel and had been housebound for a month.  I decided to make a jar filled with fun things the kids wanted to do. We all filled out little pieces of paper and the kids picked a few out each day.

There were a lot of nerf gun fights and game nights. Sometimes both ended in tears and sometimes they didn't

There were lots and lots of movies nights.

One day we planted flowers in little pots. I got the kids little gardening sets and we put a bunch of wildflowers in multicolored pots. The kids were so good about watering them every day. And then it got super hot....and a lot of the flowers died. Let's just say the pots are no longer outside.

And one of my personal favorites was making paper airplanes, decorating them, and then seeing whose flew the farthest. Newsflash - Andrew was the winner.

We also wrote letters to family and friends.

We also did science experiments and water balloon fights. I'll just say this - one of these activities lead to a meltdown by a certain person. I'm not naming any names though....

All in all it was a really fun way to celebrate Spring Break when we couldn't go anywhere. We all took part and everyone was able to write at least one thing down they wanted to do. Andrew's favorite was when the kids made us breakfast in bed.....

Malibu Chili Cook-Off (2019)

When Andrew was sick - our neighbor Joanne whisked us away to Malibu for their annual Chili Cookoff. Its always a fun time with rides, sweets, games, and more! I'm sad we missed it this year since it was canceled due to Covid.  But here are pics from 2019 to tide us over until the next time we can go......God knows when that will be.

Pajama Day

On the Friday of Christmas Break - the kids had Pajama Day at school.  Of course Andrew and I also donned our matching PJ's and spent the ENTIRE DAY there.  Granted, it was only a half day....but still.  Andrew made chocolate chip cookies and banana bread for all the teachers, office staff, principal, etc. We also made hot chocolate for both Buster and Olive's classes.

Hawaii

Back in July, Buster and I went to Hawaii.  I think its important to do special things with each kid individually and it was Buster's turn this year!! Sadly what I discovered is - is that I don't LOVE Hawaii. I prefer Mexico far more.  It just seems more exotic, less expensive, and more fun!

On one of the 5 days we were there we took a little roadtrip (I mean...lets be honest all we wanted to do was hang out by the pool) and went to Akaka Falls and Hapuna Beach.  Thankfully it wasn't a crazy hike to get to the waterfall and it was absolutely gorgeous.

Hapuna Beach is one of my favorites on the Big Island.  Andrew and I stayed there before we were married and I definitely wanted to take Buster. One thing about both of my kids - THEY LOVE THE BEACH.

Peter Pan

In early May the kids performed in a production of Peter Pan at their school. Buster was a Lost Boy and Olive was Chief Tiger Bamboo. There were definitely some tears over the parts (Olive) but in the end it all worked out. They were both fantastic! 

Spring Break - Day 4

While planning our spring break trip Andrew told me that we should also explore the slot canyons since we would be in Arizona.  I had never heard of them - but once I saw pictures I knew that we had to go.  I attempted to buy tickets to Antelope Valley canyons but all the good times were sold out so I decided to do a private tour in a jeep! I'm so glad we did - IT WAS AMAZING. The pictures don't do it justice.