Field Trip Fridays!

On the Fridays that we don't meet for Better Together classes, optional field trips are planned for the BT families.  This week we were able to learn more about how wooden toys are made.

 

Gene West, a local retiree, has been making wooden toys in his retirement for over 20 years!  He shared with the kids how he makes them, and also how each toy moves or does something and the how or the why behind the toy's movement.  Going into the field trip, I was wondering how well the kids would do listening to him speak, but all the kids in the group were fascinated!  Even Olivia!! 

 

After the talk was finished, the kids all had the opportunity to play with the toys! 

 

There even were Raggedy Anne and Andy toys there!  The parents enjoyed many of the toys too!

 

In other news, Shane lost another tooth!  The gap is in his mouth is wider, and he was pretty excited to lose a second tooth! 

 

Olivia has a new helmet for riding on her bike and scooter!  The Sesame Street helmet that was originally Faith's needed to be replaced after three kids worth of usage, so Olivia was able to get a new Strawberry Shortcake helmet!

 

Update from the ballet studio...Faith is officially in the Nutcracker later this fall!  She was cast as a midnight mouse, which was a part she wanted!  She will be dancing in seven shows over the course of two weekends right before and after Thanksgiving!  It's a beautiful production each year, and she is excited to a part of it once again.  Olivia is looking forward to the first time she is able to be in the Nutcracker!

 

And finally, a bit a bummer news...Olivia's Puggle class was cancelled!  Apparently there were not enough people able to consistently teach the class, so they cancelled it for the year.  Olivia was sad, so Faith decided she would teach a puggle class for Olivia at our house on Wednesday afternoons!  They had their first class this past week.  I was told that I am in charge of snack each week, and that I really should work on having a different snack so it's not too boring!  Kids! :)

Weekend Update!

Our wild weekend started Friday morning as we had our first Better Together (our homeschool co-op) class day of the year!  The kids were beyond excited to take a few classes, see their friends, and eat lunch there.   

Shane was especially excited about the Lego class he is taking!  He is also in an art class and a physics class!  He loved all three!

Faith is also in the Lego class, but the class she was most looking forward to was American History with Kaya, which is a class based on the books of the American Girl Doll Kaya.  In that class she made a doll out of a corn husk!  She is also in an Intro to Writing class.  While she was not so thrilled I signed her up for that one, she admitted that she enjoyed it!

 

Our Saturday's are busy with the girls' ballet classes and Shane's soccer games.  This week the craziness was magnified by soccer pictures and bringing the team snack for Shane, and Nutcracker tryouts for Faith!  In the picture Faith is with her friend Audrey!  They find out at the end of the week which part they will play this year! 

 

It is still blazing hot in Ventura, so Sunday afternoon we headed to the beach to beat the heat once again!  Olivia could hardly contain her excitement!  She just loves the beach!

 

This week not only did she run in and out of the water on her own, but she also went out a bit deeper with Steve and I!  I just love this picture of the two of them!

 

Here they are playing out in the "deeper" area!  The water still feels relatively warm, making it enjoyable for the parents to go in too!

 

The little time that was spent out of the water they girls played with the and toys!  While I love our family beach days, I'm hoping to go there because we want to not because we need to!

 

For those of you curious as to how Olivia did at Puggles this week...she loved it!!  She stayed all by herself and did really well!

 

Girls Weekend!

This past weekend Steve and Shane went out to Lake Havasu for a boys weekend to get a few things done on the boat before our family trip next month, so us girls had a fun time together at home!  We went out to a "girly" breakfast place Friday morning, and of course we all loved it!

 

With the boys gone, we figured this was the perfect time to go to the American Girl store in LA!  Faith has been asking to go for over a year now!  Never one interested in dolls, her love for the dolls began with reading the books. 

 

Inside the store with Isabelle and in the background the newest doll Mary Ellen.  She is from the 1950's.  It was fun to see all the dolls, clothes, pets, and play sets. Faith was so excited, and she repeatedly thanked me for taking her to the store. 

 

Olivia had fun too seeing all the dolls, accessories, and of course finding a stage on which she could play some music and dance!

 

We had a great afternoon and evening walking around the Grove and just being together!  Olivia especially loved watching the fountain!  We ended our time there with dinner at the Cheesecake Factory!  We are all looking forward to our next visit!

Week in Review

Now that we are passed Labor Day, all fall activities are in full swing, and life is once again busy (or possibly crazy!)  Here are a few highlights from the week...

The kids started Awana this week!  The most exciting part is that Olivia is old enough to join the Puggles class, which is designed for 2-3 year olds!  Faith and Shane were super excited and picked up where they left off last spring.  Olivia, who used to cry every time she was not able to stay at Awana, actually cried when I tried to leave her in the class!  I think it had a lot to do with the other two kids who started screaming when their parents left, but super long story short, I ended up having to stay in the class with her.  No Target shopping alone for me!  Never a dull (or predictable!) moment as a parent!  Hopefully this week will go more smoothly and I can actually leave!

The two girls before ballet on Saturday!  Faith is now in level two, which means two classes at week!  Olivia officially started her class this week, and I am very excited that the two girls' classes overlap on Saturday morning! Tryouts for the Nutcracker are this coming Saturday, so soon I will be spending my Saturday mornings and afternoons at ballet!  Olivia did great going to class here all by herself, as I expected from little miss independent!

 

The biggest news was saved for last - Shane lost his first tooth!  And yes, it's a top tooth, which is not normal!  All four front teeth are loose, and somewhere along the way the sweet boy may have bumped his top teeth as this one was for sure the loosest!  And the permanent tooth is already coming in, so it was definitely ready to come out!  He could have quite the large gap soon!  Good thing corn eating season is about over for the summer!

End of Summer Fun!

Even though school has begun, we are still enjoying the beautiful summer weather!  The other day we went down to the beach for a walk and to play at the playground!

 

We also made a trip up to the Santa Barbara Zoo last Wednesday.  It was perfect as all the schools are in session, but no school is taking a field trip there yet!

 

The Comic Convention came to the Ventura fairgrounds last weekend, and when the kids heard about it, they begged to go see it!  Our good friends the Koch's joined us, which made the experience even more fun.  Here are the kids with two Storm Troopers from Star Wars.  They all dressed up too, adding to the fun of the event!

 

Yesterday we spent the afternoon as a family at the beach!  It was the perfect combination of warm weather, warm water, and big waves!  The kids had the best time!

 

Olivia still hangs out primarily at the edge, which is good, and she is always happy when one of her siblings comes in to play with her!

 

All three kids brought home so much sand in the suits and on their bodies!  But of course the mess it makes is always worth all the fun that was had!

Another School Year Begins!

The start of the new school year has had a direct correlation with the lack of blog posts lately!  Even though this is not our first year of school, it took a while getting back into our school routine.  Now a couple weeks in, we seemed to have found our groove, and life has taken on a more normal feel once again!  Whew!! 

Faith is starting 4th grade this year, and Shane is beginning 1st grade!

 

Probably the biggest challenge in finding our school routine this year has been figuring out what to do with Olivia!  Thankfully she is starting to settle in and getting used to playing more on her own for longer periods of time!  She often plays with her kitchen or Strawberry Shortcake, or when we are really desperate, she watches a show! An educational show, of course!

 

With the beginning of school and the arrival of fall, all of the fall activities are once again starting.  Shane is playing soccer, and he had his first game this past Saturday. 

 

While the team does not look too strong this season, Shane is having fun so far!

 

Faith is continuing with ballet and will be attending class twice a week this year, and the biggest news is that Olivia will be starting ballet!  Since last March she has been asking each time we take Faith to class when she can start!  Her first official class is this coming Saturday morning.