Aquarium of the Pacific

I think she is saying, "Do you see those seals, mom? They are huge! Can I take one home?"


Today our school group had a little field trip to the aquarium in Long Beach. The price was too good too pass up so we all went. I was a little nervous about taking Audrey because lately she has been very unpredictable with sitting in the stroller. I have had to wheel her out of events while she thrashes about trying to get out of her stroller and other times she sits and enjoys the ride. You can see why I was just a tad nervous, right? Well I am happy to report that she did extremely well. Turns out she loves to watch the fish, or sea lions to be exact. She just ooohhed and ahhhhed her way all over the aquarium. She even dug the sharks. We walked around with some friends of ours and everyone enjoyed themselves. I even go to touch a sting-ray. They feel slimy and rough at the same time. The sea lions were the stars of the show. Everyone loved them the most, they were such hams.
I think we would all agree that our least favorite part was the Lorikeet exhibit. It didn't bother me as much as it did Harrison and especially Charlie but it was a little unnerving to have these birds flying all around you and landing on you if they chose to do so. Charlie made a beeline pretty quickly for the exit there! Audrey just took it all in, such a trooper.

Big Night

I'd like you all to meet Pack 337's newest scout, Charlie. :) He was so excited and has been waiting for this night for a long time. The night where he could finally put on his uniform and go to scouts with Harrison as a fellow scout. He was so cute and so very proud last night. I helped him get dressed and he was silent for a moment almost reverent and he said, "I'm finally a scout." He couldn't wait to show Robert and of course we all made a big deal about his new status.
As if the evening couldn't get any better, at the meeting he even won a contest. He won his very own Tiger pen for winning the Roshambo (rock-paper-scissors) contest! He was so excited that he got up and ran back to where I was to show me. The Cubmaster's wife exchanged a fist bump with him. :)
It was a long evening and one I think he never wanted to end. And Harrison? He was pretty proud to have his little brother by his side.
Happy Saturday.

What a week!

I am tired just thinking about the week that we've had. We started our school year 5 weeks ago, but this week, school officially started with our group and in addition we started another program too. First, on Monday we started Classical Conversations. A little while back I got an email about this from a friend and thought it sounded interesting. The boys and I went to go check it out and while I was impressed, I was not interested in driving to Lakewood every week. I have a friend who was very interested and decided to start her own group and it is literally right down the street from us. So far, I am totally impressed with what the boys have learned and retained. It is going to be tough, I know. Each week they have to memorize a lot of new stuff for the next week. But I already can see how valuable this is going to be. You can read more about it here: CC.
We also started at Friday school yesterday. We have a new location this year and while the parking situation leaves a lot to be desired, I love the smaller campus.
We also started CCD (religious ed. class) on Thursday. This is Charlie's first year and Harrison's third. Charlie wasn't too thrilled to begin with but I am happy to report that when I picked him up he had enjoyed his class. His teacher is a very sweet lady too.
And if that wasn't enough to push me completely over the edge, Harrison had Boy Scouts last night. It is going to be a very busy school year. Charlie is also a scout now, but he hasn't had a meeting yet.
Did I mention that I am also running the 3rd grade book club? Another mom and I are in charge. Honestly, how could I not? We are both so excited, our 1st meeting is the week after next.
Here are the boys on there first day of 1st and 3rd. And just because no one would believe me, here is Audrey in the braids that lasted approximately 5 minutes.

CA fires

images from Yahoo

Fire season has started again although I doubt if it ever really ends here. We are not in any danger where we live, but the air quality is bad. Many people have lost their homes. Two fire fighters were killed yesterday. Please pray for them. One of them was related to a friend of mine. Please pray that our firefighters can get this under control before more lives and structures are lost. And for the person that allegedly set this? I believe there is a special place in hell for them.

summer reading program party and cool art

A couple of weeks ago I took Harrison to a party celebrating the readers for the library's summer reading program. We had fun and it was hotter then hot as usual. The party is in the evening and I always make a point to be there when they open. We walk around for a little, eat and play some games. I totally appreciate how the library has this set up. They give the kids a ticket book that allows them to use tickets for the activities and bounce houses. You must use a ticket for each thing. This results in there not being huge lines for the bounce houses, because let's face it, that's all they want to do. The high light for me is the Schwan's truck which provides the bomb pops. Once a year I have a bomb pop thanks to them. Harrison enjoyed himself and even got his arm painted which surprised me, he usually doesn't go for that type of thing.

Last weekend we went to the Sawdust Festival in Laguna Canyon. It's been probably 15 years since I've been. I love walking around there and Laguna is not a bad place to be. The artwork was really cool and the jewelry was beautiful. It happened to be Beatles weekend so there was a band playing Beatles songs and a few more hippies then usual. I picked up some artwork for the house. You can see the piece I got for Audrey's room here: Sun Dance is the name of the print. You may have to scroll down to see it.

In other news, we started school on Monday. So far so good. I took the boys to the barber today and they got haircuts for picture day which is next Thursday. Fall seems to be in full swing here even though it really isn't. Shhh.....don't tell them!

I've gone private

I finally made the blog private. You know I've been mulling this over for quite some time and I looked at other blogs and decided that I should stay with good old Blogger. I went through my email contacts and added a lot of you. If I forgot anyone please let me know and I'll be more than happy to add them on. Thanks. Happy reading. :)

Corona del Mar

We had so much fun at the beach last week that we went back today. This time we planned for it. We got up early and picked up my sister's family and headed out to Corona del Mar. We arrived around 8:15 and set up our space. Within a couple of hours, the beach was packed. I mean packed. If you look at the picture of the beach in my previous post, that is what it was like today. The waves were out of control too! The Wedge in Newport Beach is to the right of where we were. It is a well known place for body surfers. There usually is an audience of people that stand near the jetty to watch the body surfers. Board surfing is prohibited there because it is so dangerous. On Friday I saw a report on the news that the waves here were spectacular and had turned deadly. Someone was thrown onto the rocks and killed. Did this make me nervous knowing that we were going to be so close and Harrison fancies himself a "surfer"? Yes, I was nervous! The waves today were big and a little out of control, but I was on "mom watch" the entire time. I was right out there with the boys. They took their brand new boogie boards out for the first time. Harrison rode a lot of waves. Charlie was still getting the hang of how it works. They had a blast. Audrey even seemed to like it more than she did last week. Would you believe she didn't take a nap until we got in the car to head home? It was a quick one too because Robert was so loud and was making us all laugh hysterically. So much for that nap. I am happy to report that she is snoozing right now. Better late then never. We are all going to sleep good tonight!