Camping Trip

This is where I THOUGHT we were going to camp:

Sounds nice, right? Well after we pulled in and saw all of the campsites with many people lounging about, talking, laughing, and generally having a good time—Jamie kept right on driving a decided that it was way to social for camping. So we kept driving to a "little place" Jamie and his buddies have quaded before. (mind you we were in a truck packed with camping equipment hauling a trailer with two quads)

This is the kind of road we drove on for a good 6 miles and the stream that we had to CROSS in order to find the perfect camping spot:

We were definitely “roughing it” when all was said and done. But who could be campfire hot dogs, glimpes of butterflies, tin foil dinners, quad rides, playing the the river, and smores?!?!

On trips like theses, I am VERY grateful for a husband who would be perfectly contend to actually LIVE in the wilderness. He works his tail off to get camp set up, build a fire, cook most the meals,and even take the kids potty at midnight. I am also grateful for a daughter who isn't afraid to squat and "hug a tree". (even though we went through 3 sets of clothes because she insisted on going by herself most times after I gave her the inital lesson)

But in the end, this is what really sent us home:

It started raining about 4:00am, and by 8:00am we obviously weren't sleeping, things were starting to get wet in the tent, and we decided that we should just pack it up and go home. The kids were very disappointed. On the way out it stopped raining and I got a great picture:

As soon as we hit the highway and things smoothed out Emma and Grant took a much needed rest:

Corn Maze

This year I am doing preschool at home with Grant and is buddy Pierce one day a week.  Yesterday we were doing the letter “F”, so I took them to the “farm” , we went in the “field” (corn maze), and got some blueberries at the “fruit” stand.  Everything started off great, the boys were having fun and I thought we were making good progress in the maze.  But after about 20 minutes, the novelty of the whole experience wore off, and I had 2 little boys who just wanted to be OUT of the 2 1/2 acre maze.  So we busted through a wall to be FREE!!  Then they played in the jump houses until  they were red faced and HOT (because its still 90+degrees here!!)  All in all, I would have to say it was a “FANTASTIC” day!

Emma's First Piano Recital

Emma's had her first piano recital at the end of September. She has been taking lessons for less than a year now, and we are really proud of her dedication and engery towards the piano. (she must have it in her genes beause the Cahoon side of the family is pretty musically talented). She played two songs--Playing Tag, Old German Dance:


Here she is with her talented piano teacher:














She even got to play on a beautiful baby grand:










And of course we headed to Leatherby's for some post recital refreshment:














Everyone got to partake in the deliciousness:

Crafty Clutter

I had to stop myself today, when I went upstairs.  This was the first thing I saw and I was so annoyed:

After I counted to 10 and took a deep breath I dove in and started to clean things up.  As I was doing this I realized I needed to CHILL!!  Even though the kids didn’t clean up--they were having a good time while making this mess.  So I got the camera out, snapped a few shots of their “craftiness” and then left the mess to come blog.

I don’t know if I’ll be as understand when the next episode of “crafty clutter” happens, but for now—life is good!!

Heat Wave

I know we live in California………….but should it really be 111 degrees on September 28th? (this was taken on my car dashboard at 2:30pm) YUCK!!  Looks like Grant will get a little bit more bike riding in after all. (refer to previous post)

Grant's First Bike Ride

I think that today is the "official" last day of summer, so isn't it fitting that Grant finally got the hang of riding without training wheels--TODAY!! Maybe we can squeeze a few family bike rides in before the weather turns bad. Way to go Grant!!

Photo Shoot Sneak Peak

Don’t you LOVE it when you get a picture of your kids that makes them look like they actually like eachother?  Well, we had a photo shoot yesterday with Erin Langstraat, and she worked magic.  Check out more of her awsomeness at:  http://erinnoeldesigns.blogspot.com/2010/09/emma-and-grant.html

Thanks Erin!

  

My New Life

Um, WOW!! That's all I can say about this video. I was feeling a little "blah" one day....you know, a little boo hoo for me, and then I happened to come across this video. After I picked my blubering self off the ground, I told my self to "buck up" and raised my chin a little higher and went to kiss my family. ENJOY!!

Kindergarten Readiness (aka Preschool #2)

Today was Grant’s first day of Preschool #2.  The parent participation preschool that both Emma and Grant attended closed down last year due to budget cuts—thank you California!!  Anyway, sad as that was, I think we have found the perfect fit for Grant this year.  Even though Grant is going to be 5 this year, he missed the cut off date to start kindergarten by 28 days.  So he will be doing this Kindergarten Readiness Class 2 days a week, and one day at “home preschool” with me and Mrs. Dana.  (yikes, mommy is a little scared about this part-I have never felt like I could be one of “those” moms who can teach their own kids, so we’ll see how it goes.  The things we do for our kids, right!!?)

Grant-First day of Preschool-2010

He was a little nervous leading up to class, but then jumped right in.  Of course we had to do the customary photo shoot before going into class:

There were so many fun things to do.  I was SHOCKED when he first tried out the tracing station:

Then it was off to circle and time to say goodbye for the day:

Class is only and hour and a half, way on the other side of town.  So the mommies had to fill the time somehow:

But we finished in enough time to catch the last part of a shape memory game:

Then it was time to pack up:

And say goodbye to Mrs. Laurie:

I’m sure it will be a GREAT year Grant!

Last Day of Summer Fun

This week Grant and I went out for ONE MORE adventure of fun before he went back to school.  We called up his best buddy, Pierce (and his mommy too), and we all headed out for the day.  Our first stop was lunch at a yummy burger place:

Then we were off to Funderland:

This is a fun little place that we haven’t been to in a couple of years.

Grant and Pierce got unlimited ride wristbands and literally RAN from ride to ride!!

 

I think they had a pretty good-last day of summer fun!!

Before & After

Do you think it was time for a haircut?

Don’t they look handsome?