Early Birthday Celebrations At The Exploratorium

For Jacob and Trevor's birthday, we decided to take the kids to the San Francisco Exploratorium. WOW is that a busy place!?! So many neat learning activities! It was awesome! The kids had so much fun exploring everything! Rocky really loved it too. In fact, I think he is now seeking employment as a craftsman at their workshop!! (More pictures in our family album)

Packin' Weight??

Upon checking in on Luke at nap time I discovered that while he slept his stomach had swelled to the size of a small blimp!

"Wha'cha got in that belly of yours, my little monkey??"

"I don't know, mommy"

"Mommy, can I take them out now?"

"THEM?!?"

So Very Grateful!

This week I am grateful for

My beautiful freckle faced girl (even though she can be quite the queen sometimes!) Making it to the S.F. Renegade Craft Faire The look on Luke's face when he saw the huge wide ocean for the first time These two nuts being soooo good for me at the faire!! Getting to see this (ha ha ha!!) Cause doing this is so much easier than moving the swing set. Ok, maybe not- but it's definitely more entertaining!)

I Love This Face!

I'm so glad that my mom brought a gob of pictures with her when she visited. And I'm especially glad that there were so many of my bitty niece- baby Mia! She is growing much too fast!

So Very Grateful!

This week I am grateful for:

Luke writing his name. Yay to our big boy!!

Brothers getting along

Seeing Luke full of excitement on the 4th

Talented Rocky, making this wooden vice for Luke's workbench

Getting a gob of goodies from the very crafty Anne of Annie Oakleaves (see my Isby Blue blog for more!)

Happy Happy 4th!

OUR 4th Of JULy

Watching Luke on the 4th was pure entertainment! And not just for us, but those in the surrounding areas as well!! He was in complete awe- staring and giggling at the fireworks. And lets not leave out the happy dance that he performed for everyones enjoyment! We only wish Brenden, Jacob and Emily were there to witness it first hand (they were at their dad's for the 4th). Here's a clip of Luke doing his happy 4th dance- recorded with Rocky's phone so its a bit dark. Sorry for that - but you can still see how goofy he was being!

On the way home from the fireworks, Rocky spotted this huge bullfrog making his way into the street. The bullfrog was a bit stubborn but we got him to turn around and head back into the bushes where it was safe.

Wee Sparrow Despereaux

This weekend Rocky found a wee sparrow who had fallen from his nest. Since there are tons of animals out on the prowl in our parts, we took him in. We didn't want the poor bitty guy to become a snack! The kids named him Despereaux after a character (who overcame great odds) in one of their favorite books. The next morning we took him into the Wildlife Care Association facility in Sacramento where they will get him strong and when he is ready- release him back into the wild.

Emily's hand- for comparison of how little Despereaux was.

The Wildlife Care Association facility with Emily on the steps. She was a bit sad to leave Despereaux but happy that he was going to be well cared for.

Yay For Family!

My dad came up from AZ with his father a couple of weeks ago and my mom flew in to join him a few days after. The kids were sooo excited to see them!! Since the kids are out of school, they got to spend a lot of time with them. And I got to spend some one on one time with my mom (which was nice!). Of course Rocky and the kids did a lot of golfing with Grampy! (Watch out Justin- Rocky's been practicing! It's game on!) Rocky sized down some clubs and re-finished the grips for the kids. Emily and Jacob are really good at it! Our time with them went by way too fast and we miss them sooo much already. We are counting the days until we get to see them again! Except next time we want to see ALL of the family!

Golfing with Grampy and Grammy- We all had fun at the Alameda County Fair. Emily even made a new friend!The boys, enjoying a rest with their Great Grandpa Zamora Who knew pigs could be so quick? And jump!!

The kids loved the Roller Derby (so did Great Grandpa Zamora- so I heard)!!

We got to spend a little time with Great Grandma Martin too.

My mom and grandmother

The Last Day

Emily drew a picture of an "Ice Cream Girl" and asked me to make it into a softie so she could give it to her teacher on the last day of school.

See my craft blog Isby Blue for more about Emily's softie. Emily even picked out the colors and fabrics. I think it turned out rather cute- all thanks to my softie designing daughter!

One last hug goodbye. It hasent quite hit Emily that she is no longer going to be in Mrs. Masterson's class. I am not looking forwards to when reality sets in. I have found that leaving their kindergarten teacher has always been hardest on my little ones.

So Very Grateful!

I am once again late but here I go-

This week I am grateful for

Seeing my dad and grandfather

Finishing Emily's Ice Cream plushie that she designed for her teacher

Jacob winning his i-pod. Seeing that smile was priceless!

My dad giving Rocky a welding machine. Rocky loves it!

Getting goodies in the mail from a sweet friend

AND

I have to add one more to the list this week:

I am grateful for my smart kiddos WONDERFUL report cards!!

A Winner, A Beach Party, & A Welding Machine

What an incredible day it has been!! Busy busy busy but wonderfully so!

Emily's class had their end of the school year Beach Party/ Hot Dog Roast. Aside from being a little cold from being soaked after their play in the water, she had so much fun! What a fun way to end the year!

Jacob was a big winner! He has perfect attendance this year and was entered into a drawing for an i-Pod shuffle and he WON!! Woo hoo Jacob! He also received an i-tunes gift card with it. For my music loving boy, it couldn't have been a better prize!

My grandfather flew in to AZ (from TX) and drove up to CA with my dad to see all of us family here. It was so nice seeing them. The kids were very excited to see Grampy! My dad, who is a welding instructor, brought over a big present for Rocky- a new welding machine. Rocky's head is full of all the things he wants to build- and a few things I want him to build!

She's Growing Much Too Fast

This school year has flown by so fast. It seems like just yesterday I was walking my nervous little girl up to her kindergarten class. Now she has "graduated". It was such a cute graduation ceremony! All those little kindergartners up on stage- all brimming with energy. Emily was so proud up there. Her smile couldn't have gotten any bigger. As I watched her singing her beautiful little heart out, I must admit I did have to fight hard to hold back my tears. I just can't believe how fast she is growing!

So Very Grateful

"All fathers are invisible in daytime; daytime is ruled by mothers and fathers come out at night. Darkness brings home fathers, with their real, unspeakable power. There is more to fathers than meets the eye."

~Margaret Atwood~

This week I am grateful for:

All of the strong and loving fathers in our huge family.

Cherry Pickin'

The cherries are finally ready! A few days ago, Jacob, Emily and Luke picked a bowl full of the hugest cherries I've ever seen! We were going to make cherry shakes but the flu was going around in our house and our plans were put on hold. Well, now that everyone seems to be feeling better (or close enough to feeling better), we plan on making those shakes tonight. Yum!

Luke's Morning Request

Luke's favorite and most requested songs.