July and August 2016

We tried out a hike at Mount Diablo to an area called Rock City. It had cool sandstone formations the kids enjoyed climbing on, and we did some geocaching while we were there.

We usually go to Half Moon Bay for the 4th of July parade every year, and recently, Todd and I had been talking about taking the kids to a hotel overnight to swim in the pool and make a fun memory. We decided to combine the two, and stayed a couple of nights in Half Moon Bay over the holiday weekend. We had lots of fun swimming in the pool multiple times over the visit, saw the great parade, and even discovered a great new beach to explore. We traumatized Hazel, though, by stepping out to get some cookies from the lobby when we thought they were all asleep. She got up and looked for us and totally freaked out that we weren't there. There was major drama falling asleep that night! I felt so bad.

Todd's been working a lot this summer, late evenings and a lot of Saturdays. I've had to man up and learn how to use the grill.

We went with our ward's primary group to visit the Oakland temple grounds and visitor's center. I scraped the car next to me as I pulled into my parking spot. It was a sad day for me, and for our van. 

We drove to Utah over Pioneer Day weekend (drove there Thursday and back Monday) to attend my family's first official reunion. We slept the first night at Todd's parents' house in Midway and had a short visit with them. Missy brought some of her girls over and Gramps was there. We stayed until late morning, then drove north.

 We had a couple of days with all my siblings and their spouses and the kids and my parents all together. It was the first time we've had the entire crew gathered since I was pregnant with Hazel.

We visited all my grandparents, made good food, did karaoke, played bocce ball and four-square and ping pong, went swimming, did a little family history, went to church together, and ate some great meals. And Todd put on an epic fireworks show for us/the neighborhood.

Todd and I canned peaches for the first time and they are so delicious! The only problem is we wish we had a ton more! We learned some things that worked well, and some things to try differently the next time. We will definitely continue doing it!

My kids are at a fun stage right now: 3, 5, and 7. They are little enough to cuddle and big enough to play on their own and get dressed and express their ideas. They make me happy.

Hazel and Jack started school on August 22nd. Gemma wants to get going too, but has to wait until after Labor Day for preschool. She still totally wore a backpack when we walked to school. Adorable. 

Jack has the same fabulous teacher Hazel had for kindergarten, Mrs. Allen. He is loving it! He hurries to be near the front of the line, and he sits front and center on the rug, and he has only happy things to report each day so far. I'm really excited for him to be at school. He just loves to learn so much and I know he is in good hands with Mrs. Allen.

Hazel had a solid first week of second grade. I am really excited that she's giving school another chance and has an open mind about her new teacher, Mrs. Bernal. She's already been making her teacher gifts and exchanging phone numbers with new friends. Last year was disappointing. I've been telling Hazel all summer that second grade is going to be better - and the first week of school was a hit! I'm excited and optimistic and think she's going to have a great experience with her teacher this year.

We had our traditional giant cookies after school the first day, and the kids told me all about their day. I wish I could get that much detail out of them on other days without the sugar bribe.

May and June 2016

I missed a month! I didn't even think about blogging for May until a few days ago. End of school, start of summer - the schedules are so different, life is so unusually busy. So you get a two-fer!

Lucky for you, I haven't gotten any better at taking pictures, so it'll still be short and sweet.

I really, really loved the clever card Jack made me for Mother's Day:

Gemma and her BFF Grace have matching "cake shirts" that just so happen to be hand-me-downs from their older sisters. So funny that they match up. They started wearing them on purpose whenever they had a playdate and loved being twins.

Hazel's silkworm emerged at long last from its cocoon. It was very exciting! Hazel carried the carton around with her outside all afternoon, not wanting to miss seeing it fly off. She was pretty upset with me when I made her keep it in the garage at night when it still hadn''t left. She took it to school the next day to show everyone and got pressured into letting it join the silkworm community in the classroom instead of bringing it back home. I should have done some research. Turns out, silkworms do not fly. They do not even eat. They just mate and die. So... it's a good thing she brought it to school after all! But she was pretty mad to find out that she could have slept with him after all.

Somehow a little frog got into our house one night. Todd caught it and put it in a tupperware, and the next day we walked to school and set it free next to the creek along the path.

Hazel had her first piano recital. She usually hates giving presentations and talks and such in front of people, but had no beefs about playing the piano. I think it's because her back was turned to the audience??? Anyway, she buzzed through three songs and then was totally bored out of her mind through the rest of the loooooong recital. It was well over an hour and a half in all. Yay to many more of those in our future!

The last week of May and the first week of June Todd was gone to Army camp. We had a few days alone to ourselves, and then my mom came up to visit and help out for the rest of the time.

She brought her mom (my Grandma Holley) and her sister (Aunt Nancy) with her the first day, as they were finishing a road trip through Yellowstone and Lassen. It was fun to see them and show off our house. 

Hazel was sweet enough to let Nana have her bedroom. She camped out in my room with an air mattress. I had to take this picture to show Todd the nightstand area she make shifted with all her must-have items. She's a cutie.

Gemma taught herself how to pump on the swings! It's been awesome. She pulls herself up and gets going, and is quite vigorous and excited about it. It was all the rage late-May. She was always asking people to come see her pump.

Jack graduated from preschool. Here he is with his teacher from the past two years, Miss Diana. He is so excited for kindergarten! Like, he's been counting down for months. Months! Gemma will start preschool with Miss Diana this fall, and she's pretty stoked about that as well.

When Todd came home, we took my mom to the beach in Pacifica. It was super chilly! But so pretty. And the sand there just brushed right off, no mess. That was pretty cool. (Thanks for the recommendation, Olivia!)

In that time, we also had a primary talent show, of which I took zero pictures, but my mom sent me some of hers. Hazel brought in some artwork, including a really cool 3D scene she whipped up. Jack played Old MacDonald on the piano. Gemma also tickled the ivories a bit. And we headed up to the Naseath's place in Danville for a Memorial Day pool party.

We had a few normal days in early June, and then Todd's parents and sister came to visit for the weekend. We took them down to Santa Cruz to see the beach and to visit Todd's brother KB who's living down there for now.

Then Todd and I took advantage of the free babysitters and took off for a kid-free overnighter. We took a zip lining tour in the Sonoma area - Occidental - and found the perfect wind chimes. We've been on the lookout for some on all our trips the last few years, and finally found some that can legitimately be a souvenir, but aren't chintzy.  We stayed the night in Bodega Bay, at a very nice lodge there. We had a beautiful view from our balcony.

We ate out, played some bocce ball, read our books on the beach and beside the bayside fire pit at the lodge, bought some local gourmet cheese, and watched Chopped on cable. Poor Todd slept in until 11:15 the next morning. Talk about exhaustion! He needed a break from work as much as I needed some time away from the kids. 

One of Hazel's last days of school (she didn't get out until June 16th!!!) we all rode bikes there, even Gemma! She was a trooper going that far on her balance bike. (It's about 0.6 a mile.)  Jack was annoyed that we also had to ride bikes to pick Hazel up in the afternoon, but, oh well! That's life!

Hazel switched best friends this year. She and Mary kind of because frenemies. She ended up super close to Joshua I. (She had THREE Joshuas in her class!) He was always nice to her, made her laugh, never abandoned her on the playground, and even peppered her days with gifts, including a book fair journal and a mine craft bunny. I think there might have been a little bit of a crush going both ways, but who knows - it's hard to say when they're seven.

Goodbye, Mrs. Barry.

This is Miss Ellie, the crossing guard. She's super friendly and always tries her best to greet all the kids by name, even the little ones not in school yet. She always made a big deal out of the fact that my kids always had a book in hand. I guess it was a funny sight to see, Jack and Gemma in the stroller, Hazel walking beside me, all three of them with their noses in a book.

We went to Jamba Juice at the end of the last day of school to celebrate the start of summer. Freedom! Woo hoo! Then we came home and had a massive water fight with brand new water guns!

Todd and I picked up these little birdhouses last time we stopped into Joann's, and when the kids discovered them, I made them wait til summer to paint them. Something to look forward to... something to fill up the long days. Well, we crammed that into the afternoon of the last day of school, as well.

Gemma started thinking a little outside the box when I left to wash brushes or something.

Todd drives this massive work truck, and the kids like to hop in the back and get a ride in the culdesac if they're outside when Todd gets home. He just does a few loops, but they think it's the greatest thing.

We've got three plum trees in the backyard. They gave us just a handful of fruit last summer, or maybe we just let it all fall to the ground??? I don't know. But Todd pruned the branches months ago, and I think that made the difference. We've got a ton of fruit right now! We picked mucho last week, and I tried my hand at canning for the first time and made some plum jam. It is tart and yummy.

The kids started swimming lessons last week - private ones with Carolynn Hoopes from our ward. It was Gemma's very first swimming lesson e-v-e-r. She's been talking about it since last summer, she was so geared up to be big enough to have her very own lessons! She seemed shocked to feel her body in the water without her floatie, and definitely a little scared, but she was a trooper. The best perk about having private lessons? A backyard pool and hot tub all to ourselves, and the other kids can play and swim while they wait for their turn. It's quite the setup! So Gemma and I hung out in the hot tub (warm tub) during Hazel's and Jack's lessons, and by the end of that hour, she was rocking it! Goggles on, face in the water, kicking her legs as she tried to coast from one side of the hot tub to the other. It was fun to watch her progress from wanting me to hold her, to catching her as she came across, to staying where I was while she swam away from me independently, so excited and proud of herself. So cool! Jack and Hazel were little fish, as well. They're working on strokes and doing a great job.

I drove the kids an hour to the Jelly Belly Factory for a tour last Friday. They loved seeing all the jelly beans, crates and crates in every color, and machines bagging them, and robots moving them, and mini cement truck tumblers mixing them.

The jelly belly art is always a hit, as well as the free sample bag at the end of the tour.

Todd spent last week in Alaska, salmon fishing with his business partner, Tom. Not only did they catch 100 pounds of meat, he sent lovely pictures of the island they were on, and he was noticeably more relaxed the very first night he was there. It was so good for him! He came home a renewed man, and was able to keep his chill through the weekend, instead of tensing up about all the work that had been piling up while he and Tom were gone.

Let me know if you have any killer recipes for salmon!

On Saturday, we had our Sunnyvale best friends, Chrissy Dix and Suzanne Hope and their families, up for a visit/reunion of sorts. We barbecued and the kids had a water fight in the backyard, and we all just had a good time with each other. It's a fun group, because not only are Chrissy and Suzanne my BFFs, but Gordon, Dan and Todd all really get along, and Spencer and Nova were Hazel's first best friends, too. It's just a happy group, our California family, and it always feeds my soul when we get together.

We're missing Baby Dash, but this is all the rest of the kids - so far. 

Now that summer's finally here (latest school calendar EVER), we've been swimming a lot, reading a lot, playing Legos and dolls and dress-ups, sleeping in, and just enjoying the laid back feeling that comes from a new schedule each day. We can do whatever we want! We can be as busy or as lazy as we want! Summer is divine.