The Overall's

Our Ballerinas

2012-02-28T21:15:00.000-08:00

Dalaina's--pre ballet class

Faith's Level 1 Ballet class

VACATION

2012-02-18T21:04:00.000-08:00

We decided to schedule our vacation in February this year---an attempt to avoid our annual colds--

Here are the girls as we head out on our road trip!

First stop--SanClemente

Amtrak literally runs right by the beach!!!

Next stop-learning central- I mean the California Science Center in LA. I don't want anyone to think we learn all day, everyday-even on vacation!

...awesome to try to lift this 4000 pound truck!

...the girls really enjoyed this wind tunnel to test aerodynamics:)

This was an area where you got to design your own car on a computer. You had to decide what type of materials based on cost, weight, recyclability, and something else I've already forgotten.

...digestion section--totally grosse!

...a green environment

bird watching

Biomes

Below, you could test different insulations and touch the snow wall--way cool (get it!)

Next stop, Santa Barbara---the zoo

We got to watch Lucy get her daily pedicure--yep, you heard right! She gets a pedicure everyday; a fifteen minute soak per foot:)

,,,impressive wingspan!

onto some relatives....

she fits right in:)

from the long arms to the long necks....

then, to play

while dad slept:)

Next, across the street to the beautiful beach for some beachcombing!

Searching for sand dollars and sea shells is exhausting!!

The next day, we toured Hearst Castle in San Simeon

his library

Mr Hearst had ancient artifacts as displayed here

his office

guest house

beautiful scenery

the Roman pool--which the family still comes and swims in

...loungin'

the indoor pool-inlaid with gold

After the tour, we headed back down the hill to the San Simeon pier for more beachcombing:)

then, back to show dad the treasures (he was napping)

Finally, the drive back north on Hwy 1

scenic but windy!

then--home

Eruption

2012-02-01T18:13:00.000-08:00

Dalaina asked for an erupting, glow in the dark volcano for Christmas. I thought it was a longshot---but, her Aunt on the east coast found one for her. And, we finally did the project!! She was one happy little girl.

build

plaster

paint

add glowing glue

science part--add necessary ingredients for eruption!

It was great!!!

Honor Court

2012-02-01T18:07:00.000-08:00

For the January Honor Court at American Heritage Girls, Dalaina completed 25 service hours to earn a service bead! She took care of a dog, visited and baked for a neighbor, helped with a church recycling project, and went Christmas caroling at local senior living places:)

Faith earned 5 Service stars (25service hours), a textile arts badge, flag badge, and kitchen scientist badge

They are learning a lot and enjoying the girls group.

New space

2012-01-11T19:20:00.000-08:00

It's no secret that our kitchen is not my favorite space in the house! We have 1 and 1/2 drawer---it's crazy. However, I am blessed to have a willing and able husband. I can say that "I'd like a counter about this high with some shelves to go right here" and VOILA~~~~

...some redwood, screws, nails,and paint did the trick (and my hubby's muscles and labor)

After adding some hooks for the pot holder/ovenmitts, it will be finished! It allows more counter space near the stove and sink. As you can see, some of our favorite appliances have a new home:)

I love it!

And, we hung a knife magnet on the wall---getting our knives out of the silverware drawer! Now, I don't have to cringe when someone enters the drawer for a spoon:)

YAY!

Sweet treats!

2012-01-11T19:11:00.000-08:00

I have lots of friends who like me for my Peanut Butter Cookie Pizza~ and I'm OK with that, I'll take 'em however they come! Anyway, my friend had a baby recently and we baked her a yummy pizza for our visit:)

If you like peanut butter and chocolate, you can't go wrong with this:)

Of course, it wasn't about the edible sweets for us! We just wanted to hold the baby---Emery

Tradition resumes

2012-01-09T18:21:00.000-08:00

OK--so my trusty, favorite kitchen appliance broke in Nov--my waffle maker:( That terminated our Sunday tradition of waffles before church; I may have been the only sad one in the house.

But, my hubby is good---a new one found it's way under our Christmas tree!!!

It's awesome-

....mix, pour, flip and VOILA~

...a yummy waffle! Makes mouth happy:) Makes mom happy:)

FINISHED!

2012-01-02T15:09:00.000-08:00

2011 brought a challenge for me --- read through the bible in a year!! I am very happy to report that I succeeded.....woohoo
It feels great to accomplish something that huge. To plan in January and last the whole year through!

I learned a great deal along the way. Here is something from that journey--summed up by Aaron Jeoffrey:

HE IS

In Genesis, He's the breath of life
In Exodus, the Passover Lamb
In Levitcus He's our High Priest
Numbers, The fire by night
Deuteronomy, He's Moses' voice
In Joshua, He is salvation's choice
Judges, law giver
In Ruth, the kinsmen-redeemer
First and Second Samuel, our trusted prophet
In Kings and Chronicles, He's sovereign
Ezra, the true and faithful scribe
Nehemiah, He's the rebuilder of broken walls and lives
In Esther, He's Mordecai's courage
In Job, the timeless redeemer
In Psalms, He is our morning song
In Proverbs, wisdom's cry
Ecclesiastes, the time and season
In the Song of Solomon, He's the lover's dream
He is, He is, He is!

In Isaiah, He's Prince of Peace
Jeremiah, the weeping prophet
In Lamentations, the cry for Israel
Ezekiel, He's the call from sin
In Daniel, the stranger in the fire
In Hosea, He is forever faithful
In Joel, He's the Spirits power
In Amos, the arms that carry us
In Obadiah, He's the Lord our Savior
In Jonah, He's the great missionary
In Micah, the promise of peace
In Nahum, He is our strength and our shield
In Habakkuk and Zephaniah, He's pleading for revival
In Haggai, He restores a lost heritage
In Zechariah, our fountain
In Malachi, He is the son of righteousness rising from with healing in His wings
He is, He is, He is!

In Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, He is God, Man, Messiah
In the book of Acts, He is fire from heaven
In Romans, the grace of God
In Corinthians, the power of love
In Galations, He is freedom from the curse of sin
Ephesians, our glorious treasure
Philippians, the servants heart
In Colossians, He's the Godhead Trinity
Thessalonians, our coming King
In Timothy, Titus, Philemon He's our mediator and our faithful Pastor
In Hebrews, the everlasting covenant
In James, the one who heals the sick.
In First and Second Peter, he is our Shepherd
In John and Jude, He is the lover coming for his bride
In Revelation, He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords
He is, He is, He is!

The Prince of peace
The Son of man
The Lamb of God
The Great I am
He's the alpha and omega
Our God and Our Savior
He is Jesus Christ the Lord and when time is no more
He is, He is!

One of my favorite verses was Colassians 2:7

"Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness."

~~A thankful person is content, humble, forgiving, and generous. A thankful person remembers, enjoys, and expects more to come!

And, that, dear friends, is where I am beginning 2012!
Happy New Year to you all......

...this Christmas

2011-12-25T18:54:00.000-08:00

Here we have some beautiful-silly girls before the Christmas Eve candle light service~~

Christmas morning: Dalaina was so cute.....she says "Sissy, I've never seen the tree so full!!"

Here she is at the fireplace---she told David, "Santa forgot to shut the fireplace doors!"

Faith found an easier way to investigate her stocking this year....

...she was very happy to receive a puppet:)

...priceless here-- trying to pick up as gift for her

Faith got Dalaina some Disney figurines-she couldn't wait to play with them. She took them straight to her room, to the castle!

...here Faith tears into that big package-

AND--it's a 400peice Marble Trak!!!

Oh my gosh---thank you santa for the disaster that just exploded in the dining room!!!!

They (David) got to building the trak at 0830....little did we know what was involved

...some progress after church

...more progress by 2pm

FINALLY--after many shouts, grumbles, tear downs, and redo's, it's finished at 430pm!!!!

The girls were so excited---it is on their dresser now and they are playing!

A mini Build-A-Bear

DINNER- pinneapple glazed ham, carrots, brussel sprouts, cheesy scalloped potatoes, and rolls!

Desert: chocolate peppermint cupcakes.....yum!

We had an awesome day;We are very blessed. And, we thank all of you ~near and far~ for the many gifts!!! Dalaina keeps saying on the phone to everyone that she can't even say what she got for Christmas because she got so much:)

Merry Christmas!

Traditions

2011-12-12T17:10:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas season begins Thanksgiving night. After we are full from turkey, we build and decorate a Gingerbread house! It is a favorite time for the girls:)

Then, it begins.....Christmas music, shopping, decorating, and baking.

We go to a tree farm and chop our tree, carry it home, put it p and decorate it together as a family:)

Most of our Christmas stuff is in Alabama...so, this year, I decided to make something for our front door----instead of the typical wreath!

...it took 15minutes, 6 sheets of card stock paper, staples, tape and a ribbon! very easy:)

Then, we spend the next days preparing gifts, baking cookies, and driving around to see the beautiful lights!

Oh, there are now only 13 days until Christmas........and already gifts are arriving under the tree:)

CCA Christmas

2011-12-12T12:17:00.000-08:00

Each December, our homeschool group goes Christmas caroling at a local Senior resident home. We gather in the lobby, check out the birds, get our bells for jingling, and practice a song!

Then, we gather in a room with the residents and sing some songs:)

After that, we head back for our Christmas parties!! There is always yummy food....

fun games...

crafts.....

story time....

and, cookie decorating!!!

It was a great day!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

2011-12-06T11:23:00.000-08:00

Forgot to take the camera for the selecting and cutting down of the tree this year....but, here is our tree

Dad and the girls did the lights this year, instead of mom and dad

...ornament time!!

...here is our finished tree

some of our favorite ornaments...

...our stockings are hung

...and our card holder is empty (awaiting those Christmas cards)

We are full into Christmas season here. No more curriculum...lots of cidar and hot chocolate, stories, caroling, and crafts!!!!

Thanks and Giving

2011-11-22T16:08:00.000-08:00

We have taken the opportunity this Thanksgiving season to think about what it means. Each year, I have the grand notion of doing a collection of thanks in some way. However, the project never comes to fruition. This year, I spied this Thanks and Giving Tree idea on someone's blog and loved it!!!

We started at the beginning of November and wrote down one thanks for each day and one way that we were giving. We wrote them down on little leaves that the girls colored and then glued it to the appropriate tree.

The girls love their trees and were excited each day to add a leaf! By Thanksgiving, the trees will be full of colored leaves and we will have a visual for thanks and how we have been giving:)

Autumn

2011-11-22T15:54:00.000-08:00

We took a much needed break and got out of the house to enjoy this fall weather. The girls and I took a brisk walk around Spring Lake~~ it was pleasant!

...it is finally fall here in Northern California:)

A little cooler than I thought, but we made it around just fine.

Our Girls

2011-11-09T11:35:00.000-08:00

Some recent pics of the growing girls

Faith~

Dalaina~

Academy at CCA

2011-11-06T18:08:00.000-08:00

I am teaching 17 1st-3rd graders on Fridays and we are having so much fun!

tug of war

Simon Says

attempting to get a peice of pasta onto a toothpick between their teeth--no hands allowed!

In geography, the children learned that rubber comes from trees in the rainforest. So, we passed out balloons and had them try to blow them up-- a few succeeded:)

In HomEc, we had a green eggs/Dr Suess day.

For those not wanting green eggs, they had eggs in a nest:)

We are having a great time!

Jenness Park--Homeschool Camp

2011-11-06T16:37:00.000-08:00

We went to a homeschool camp for a few days with some friends! What a great time we had:)

This was our cabin-full of bunk beds. We had 15 people in our cabin!

Elora, Hannah, Rachel, Elena, Faith and Dalaina~

David took a mountain bike ride with one of the locals-this was him smiling upon returning!

...the chow hall

David teaching Faith how to shoot paintballs:)

David's turn!

Dalaina learning how to shoot a bow and arrow

Faith's turn

The Survival Training Obstacle course was a lot of fun:)

To the Leap Of Faith~~ I went to first to show the kids to have no fear:)

...up the 35foot telephone pole I went

...and, I took the leap to the trapeze and made it!

David's turn:)

Faith's turn...

Fire Building

Dalaina learning to light a match!

....SUCCESS~ they started a fire

Faith getting a quick kayak lesson from David

the rock wall

go karts!

David and the gang heading out for a hike...

Learning to track animal prints

Practicing setting a trap

...the zipline

just hanging with the gang--having fun

We had an amazing time there. We learned about the persecuted church, bible couriers and voice of the maryrs! It was an eye opening experience. We are looking forward to next years camp!!!

Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T17:06:00.000-07:00

Halloween had a new look this year for us. We went to a pumpkin carving, cookie decorating party and had a great time!

A Princess Ballerina and a Princess Vampire~

We Attended our church Harvest Party and had awesome food, games and fun. Over 1800 people came through this year--a great testimony for our community!!

Pete's Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-13T18:39:00.000-07:00

......milking a cow:)

.....potato digging

lots of fun!

Final!

2011-10-10T18:36:00.000-07:00

Cake class ended with a Treasure Island cake

...complete with a cave, volcano, sand, water, waterfall---pirates, etc
It was very fun AND delicious!!!

Tolay Festival

2011-10-10T17:05:00.000-07:00

We L-O-V-E fall because of the pumpkin pathces and harvest parties and festivals. We took a trip to the Tolay Festival this year---and had sooooooo much fun!!!

Corn Husk Doll making...

Brushing the wool to create hair for the dolls

...the completed dolls :)

It was an educational trip too, of course...

incubator

new chicks

...onto planting

...onto inking

...making flags

They learned about the water cycle

by making a bracelet

There was also fun stuff--like sack races...

lots of cool animals to check out

starfish and anemones

candle dipping

Indian stuff...

We had a great afternoon there...the girls learned alot and had great fun with their classmates:)

CAKES

2011-10-04T18:32:00.000-07:00

Cake class is flying by---I realized that I hadn't posted any of my work!!
Here is cake #2: we worked on stars, piping, dots-icing on icing

This was the practice-filled cupcake for week 3. A vanilla coconut cake with pistachio pudding in the middle!

This was the homework for class-strawberry cake-not filled. We learned how to stack together cake pieces and then decorate with different tips!

And, week 4--a heavenly chocolate with raspberry mousse cake. We learned roses, wild flowers, scallops, shells, and putting it all together!

...my best one yet. The easiest part was making the leaves:) I just wanted to keep making them~

Cake Class

2011-09-14T12:45:00.000-07:00

I am so excited~ I am enrolled in a beginning cake decorating class:) So, every Monday night, I go to class to learn decorating tips!! My frst class was this week. We learned the basics of cake baking, cooling, splitting, making a well, filling, crumb icing, final frost, how to put our bags together with the couplets, how to mix icing (with colors), and 4 different borders!

I learned the zigzag border, shells, stars, and a curvy rope design. It was a lot of fun and I look forward to next week--we are making a wild flower:)

Alpha Bakery

2011-09-14T12:03:00.000-07:00

So, in Kindergarden, we bake each week--according to the letter of the week. The week before last week was T week and dad didn't know to take pictures. Last week was B week and dad still didn't know to take pictures. But, I was home in time to get the oven shots:)

...yummy Banana Bread for B week

this was her first time taking food out of the oven and she did great!

(we're growing our bangs!)

Ballet

2011-09-09T16:01:00.000-07:00

Oh, my baby ballerina is growing up so fast! I was in tears when I came around the corner and saw her at the Barre through the window. I can't believe she's lookin' so big!

...stretching

Faith was so happy to be on the barre finally!!!

Dalaina had her first ballet lesson. She is very happy to be old enbough for ballet now!!

....oh, where does the time go?!

A new school year...

2011-08-30T17:22:00.000-07:00

Books-check
pencils-check
erasers-check
paper-check
enthusiatic children--check!!

The girls were definitely ready to jump into a new school year:)
Dalaina is now in Kindergarten and Faith is second grade....wow!

What started out as browsing our new curriculum turned into a full day of school. They were very into the work:)

After some time, I let them outside. They decided to explore, pick leaves, and make an apple delight!!

We are excited for another year and look forward to many more of these days where they love to learn!!

WHY

2011-08-24T20:51:00.000-07:00

I don't know who this is for, but I hope that you will find it helpful!

In 2007, we were living in PA, my husband decided we should homeschool our daughter. We pulled her out of the church preschool program and the journey began! My husband was impressed with a homeschooled family that we had met and he wanted to control what the girls learned and who they spent their time with. I was not crazy about the idea. My first response was "what about socialization?" However, in order to be a submissive wife, I accepted the idea and moved on. Plus, my thought process was like this-"Faith is only 4yrs old, what harm could be done at this early age?"
I set myself to researching this whole homeschool thing as much as I could in my spare time (which was very little). I didn't purchase a curriculum, as I thought it not necessary for preschool. We unexpectedly moved to AL in 2008. It turned out that a neighbor homeschooled her children. I found her a helpful resource. She would answer my questions as they came. She convinced me to join a group for 4-6yr old homeschoolers. We went on field trips, park play dates and had a weekly Co-op.
It turned out that there was plenty of socializing to be done in the homeschool world! I continued my researching (the internet is amazing) and teaching as we plowed on through pre-k and into Kindergarten. Still, I didn't purchase a curriculum.
Then, 2009 brought another move for our family and I realized that homeschooling was very convenient for our lifestyle. We didn't have to take Faith out of one school and put her into another.
I soon began to enjoy planning the lessons.  I decided not to purchase a pre-packaged curriculum. I created the lessons myself. I enjoyed deciding what, how, and when she would learn. I loved spending time with the girls. I liked getting to know them and how they learned, what they liked, what they thought, etc..
Now, there were plenty of moments along the way that made me want to cry, scream, and quit! Prayer, along with support from other homeschooling moms, is the reason we still do it.
In 2010, we connected with an amazing homeschool group after we moved again! I just soaked up the information from these experienced women. I continued to read all I could and I began to go to seminars and conferences. But, I still did not purchase a curriculum. I was just creating the lessons based on the girls interests.
   Through the years, God changed my heart and attitude toward homeschooling. It was a long, slow, painful process. I no longer worry about socialization. God has worked in me through many different ways to realize that I am doing Kingdom work in homeschooling our children. This is not about test scores or comparing the children to others.

I learned that in order to succeed and continue this journey, I needed to have solid answers to three questions:

1. Why do we homeschool?
2. How will we teach our children?
3. What will we teach them?

It is in having a firm answer to these questions that I have found comfort in our decision to homeschool. I have gained a lot of knowledge over the last three years.  And, I have finally purchased a curriculum--after many days of searching and browsing what is available.

I have learned over the years that yearly plans may not turn out the way you hoped. I learned that daily plans may not turn out the way you want. I learned that your house may not always be tidy. And in these lessons, I have learned to go with the flow. See the bigger pictue and let God be the leader of the homeschooling!!
Advice from me to you:

~~Know your anwsers for those three questions
~~Pray every morning for wisdom and direction
~~Be patient with your children-if they have a strange look on their face, that method is not working
~~the curriculum is your servant
~~Be as flexible as possible-you will deviate from your schedule
~~Expect that your plans may go wrong
~~Know how your children learn
~~Have fun!
~~Get connected
~~Read--interent, books, blogs, etc

This journey can be trying, but I assure you it is worth the effort!

Have a great year!

Horse Camp

2011-08-12T21:54:00.000-07:00

The girls attended their first horse camp this summer~~ and they loved it!

The girls had an amazing time with the horses and their friends!!

washing, brushing, feeding, playing, funny hats, bible time---amazing day!

last stop~

2011-08-12T21:37:00.000-07:00

To end our vacation, we drove north to Virginia to see Aunt Laura. We hung out with her and Brittany~

oh, and Princess and Kisses :)

David did some more loungin'

...as did the girls :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~We had plenty of family, rest, and good food!!

Next--

2011-08-02T12:15:00.000-07:00

Outter Banks, North Carolina---Kitty Hawk

We enjoyed the beach, playing in the sand, swimming in the pool, and other sights......

swimming is exhausting!

...little toes

David and Laura

Quick family portrait

We also had some learning....

Kite flying

First Flight Monument

Curritock Lighthouse

....made with 1 million bricks!

and never painted

We had a blast in North Carolina!

First stop---

2011-07-29T21:20:00.000-07:00

Haven't had a vacation in a while!!...it was great:)
We flew out to Pittsburgh to see family.

....the girls were packed and ready!

Science center in Pittsburgh, PA

Awesome-life size Operation!!

Some balance work on the skateboard...

Faith climbed the rock wall with no problem!

....on the way home from the science center---vacation is exhausting!

there was plenty of playing with the cousins....

~David did lots of relaxin' and reading--

~the 100degree weather called for some water fun---the kids got the guns, loaded, and went at it!!

~play doh on the porch before the sun came up

~movies

~playing, wrestling, laughing, chasing....

Did I mention that David did lots of relaxin' and reading?!

The main event~~ Thanksgiving in July! It was awesome:)

The girls and their cousins

Faith and Uncle Nathan

Dalaina and Aunt April

Uncle Justin and Ariel

Uncle Jason, Annie, and Uncle Nathan

David and cousin Domenic---checkers at Cracker Barrel! (Serious stuff)

Cousins Domenic and Aubrey on the famous rockers:)

Family breakfast at Cracker Barrel before we left town.

Fourth of July Celebrations

2011-07-08T13:42:00.000-07:00

At the curch BBQ the girls had lots of fun. There was a sprinkler set up for the kids~~ and they loved it!

The girls also took part in the bike parade there. Their bikes were the best decorated!

The parade was too slow for Dalaina to enjoy riding, so she decided to take to the parking lot for a spin!

Then, another bike parade in our neighborhood on the 4th!

Uncle Sam showed up on his bike too---

The girls enjoyed it because they got to ride on the road!!
It was a great holiday weekend for us:)

SEVEN

2011-07-08T13:34:00.000-07:00

WOW---how grown up my baby is:( Faith Nicole Overall turned 7 years old on July 3rd~~

We went to IHOP for lunch so that she could have pancakes--and they gave her a free sundae for her birthday:) She was quite happy about that!!

Then we went to Howarth Park for pony rides, the carosel, a train ride, and the jumping house !

Then, dad bought her some ice cream to cool off! Another happy face:)

....train ride with Gram

then, home for presents.....she got a build and paint bird feeder, lizard net, butterfly net, new colored pencils, an art tablet, and a new webkinz!

then we headed over to church for a BBQ~~

...then, back home for cake and ice cream-another happy face!

In honor of Faith's love to read, we chose a book cake this year. And, we let her place her 7 candles-this is her first birthday with individual candles!

And, we let her decide on her slice of cake---which was huge!!

She had a day full of fun and love!

I forgot a close up of my hard work. This year was by far the most difficult time I have had with the birthday cake!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY FAITH VOLUME 7
and OVERALL was on the bind

stay tuned for Volume 8!

And by the way, she slept fine that night--she only had a few bites of that huge cake slice!

Napa Fair

2011-07-08T13:16:00.000-07:00

HOT HOT HOT~~~~~~~~~~~~~ at the Napa fairgrounds, but that didn't stop us:) We drove out to the fair and barely tolerated the heat!!!! There were plenty of rides for the girls.

They enjoyed the miniature golf a great deal-- took a few tries to get the ball in the hole.

~~the ring toss proved to be a little difficult for them but they still had fun trying:)

~~ We took a break from the 95degree, scorching sun in the art hall. There, the girls were able to make great hats to shield them from that sun!

They also got to take part in the making of the float for the 4th of July parade---they loved that~

We also had the chance to go in the butterfly tent and feed some butterflies~~~ lots of fun!!

Q tips with gatorade, a little patience, and....

VOILA~~~ a butterfly on your Q-tip :)

I still can't believe that the girls rode this ride--it was quite high! But, they loved it enough to do it twice:)

Their first try at driving---didn't go so well. They did this 3 different times and then finally figured out the stearing!!

After lots of rides, butterflies, crafts, and corn dogs, we headed home~~ it was a great day:)

Six Flags

2011-06-28T14:09:00.000-07:00

We headed out to Six Flags on Sunday~~ a great family day of fun:)

We checked out the Dolphin show

We also checked out the Orca show (Shuka was her name)

The Orca loved to splash the people!

..............and could do amazing flips!!!!!

We saw some camels, turtles, elephants, giraffes, a fox, and and some loud Lirakeets

-- oh, and butterflies:)

The girls rode lots of rides and we had a great time!!!!!!

Summertime

2011-06-28T13:43:00.000-07:00

We are enjoying the summer:) We have had a koolaid stand, explored the yard, gone to Six Flags, watched the oldies car parade, shooped at several yard sales, and are now amidst VBS! The girls are enjoying time off from school. We are gearing up for Faith's birthday, the 4th of July, and our family vacation back east! Stay tuned for some great stuff!!!

Out and About

2011-06-23T11:54:00.000-07:00

Fun at the park

We have taking to walking around Santa Rosa alot lately...and, we stumbled upon another Charlie Brown!

The landscaping around here, especially McDonald Ave is beautiful!

This is one GIANT tree on the corner around here! They were trying to hug it but it was tooooooo round!

....on to more summer fun:)

Peggy Sue

2011-06-23T11:50:00.000-07:00

Santa Rosa's Peggy Sue's Car Cruise

We had a great time checkin' out the cars:)

Fairyland

2011-06-22T10:56:00.000-07:00

Who knew there was such a place called Fairyland? I sure didn't. But, what a great place for the young children!!! There were some rides, live animals, a puppet show, and lots of things to see and climb on!!

.... the girls flew down this clock tower slide!

...........checked out the belly of the whale-

..............climbed through the Japanese Tea Garden to get to the Dragon slide---which was crazy fast! I wanted to do it, and I climbed to steps and went to the top and found the sign that said "No adults please"

We stopped in the old west for lunch...the kids enjoyed locking each other in the jail!

The carosel was great, the girls rode it 4 times in a row!

Here, you can go down the rabbit hole....

...and come out through the card maze!

......church was in service!

Dalaina as Dorothy:)

We watched the puppet show: The Reluctant Dragon

Overall, it is a great place for kids to explore, climb, play, dream, and be creative.............

KOOLAID Stand

2011-06-11T21:31:00.000-07:00

While David and I were away, the girls and their babysitters had a koolaid stand! They had lemon lime, lemonade, and cherry Koolaid:)

It was very colorful!

.....Lots of people (and their pets) came by~~~

...there was much drinking and silliness!

Thanks to Julia and Bella!
The girls earned money and then walked to a yard sale and bought some stuff---they had a great time!!

...a sunny day

2011-06-08T10:04:00.000-07:00

Psalm 30:5 ....but joy comes with the morning.

After the many rainy, cloudy, gloomy days we've had here in Santa Rosa, it was nice to awake to the sun on Tuesday. Thank you for the sunshine~ a new day!!

We took advantage of the sunshine and had a walk through Santa Rosa. Barnes & Noble, Sweet tooth, and along the way, we stopped off for a rest in the green grass:)

Soggy...

2011-06-05T20:47:00.000-07:00

We headed out on a family walk the other night. We had 45minutes before the gate was going to be closed. We headed up the trail and half way up, the drizzle started to fall from the sky. NO big deal, we all had rain jackets on and the girls had their boots :) We continued (I don't know why) Eventually, we realized for time reasons that we should turn around and begin our decent. The drizzle quickly turned into RAIN. We hurried the pace-as well as the little legs would tolerate. We were not quite half way back down and the RAIN turned into POURING!!!!!!! Faith was good because she brought her umbrella:) However, Dalaina's rainboots had a hole and her socks were getting wet, my open-toed sandals created a challenge, and David's hat was not waterproof! As you can imagine, not the best day ever:)
However, we made the best of the walk... On the way down, Dalaina said that she wished she was a cheetah! I inquired as to why and she responded, " So I could carry us all home really fast!" I just loved it:)

PROMOTION NIGHT

2011-05-28T21:30:00.000-07:00

My baby has finished first grade! It feels like last week I was considering curriculum and planning the year and wow--here we are, finished:)

FAITH~~~ bold

DALAINA~~~~ generous

Waiting in line for the procession to begin...

Silly girl---happy that Grandma was there to watch!

The children present the mom's with flowers:)

My darlings:)

................scoping out the goody table-----yummy cake pops!

Offering Mrs Weimeyer a cake pop--so sweet!

............hanging with her friends

Great night---way to welcome in summer! We are so ready for summer; we'll be taking a vacation back to the east coast to see family and friends!!!!

OLD FAITHFUL

2011-05-27T09:06:00.000-07:00

We also stopped at the Old Faithful Geyser of California!

The surrounding backdrop of the geyser was breath taking. St Helena

Petrified Forest

2011-05-27T08:55:00.000-07:00

While Grandma was in town, we took a drive to the Petrified Forest. Who new that right ehre was the forest that contains the largest petrified wood in the country!

A tree grew out of the fallen tree!

This tree was 100feet long and I think 8 feet round

What an amazingly awesome tree---you could build a house in it!

This is what the petrified wood looks like when you remove the bark --beautiful, smooth, and multicolored!

This was a great little trip:)

BOUDIN

2011-05-27T08:43:00.000-07:00

Field trip! There is less than 2weeks of school left, and Faith has done an amazing job in first grade. So, David decided on a field trip day:)

They headed to SanFrancisco while I worked~~

A bakery in San Francisco...

...........looks good

~making french bread since 1849

I need a mixer like this!

-----looks like they had a great field trip:)

Then, they went around the city and did some other stuff

Coit Tower

TransAmerica Building

Trolley Ride!

GREAT DAY!

SHE'S 5

2011-05-10T09:46:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness, my baby is 5 (wiping the tears)

I was excited this year though~~she did not want princess stuff!!!! Dalaina requested an art and drawing party:)

So, here is the cake

And, here is my baby!

We had her party at our house and there were 11 little girls:) We had 3 stations set up. This is outside where they painted wooden things to make into a magnet.

Then, inside, they drew on placemats that they could take and get laminated to use at home.

Lastly, we made kool aid play doh--4 different flavors:) What a mess!!!

We played a sculpture game. each child had to create something from their play doh that was related to a birthday and we had to guess what it was!

Cake time:)

This year, Dalaina had her own personal size cake and she was delighted!

Gift time---what a great expression! This is so Dalaina:)

Later, we took her outside for the mom and dad gift. She waited with her eyes closed, giggling and jiggling the whole time with her sister.

.......A new bike--without training wheels!

It was so funny, she went over to it and tested the brakes. "Mom, the brakes work!"
Then, she felt the seat and said, "The seat is so nice mom!"
Finally, she felt down the frame and said, "It's a bit boyish, but that's ok!"

Then her and dad went down the street!!

I later realized that she didn't have her helmet on---wooops!

Overall, she had an amazing day

Balance

2011-04-26T11:38:00.000-07:00

Dalaina has been riding a bike with training wheels for over a year now and we've been raising them up. Finally, David removed them---and VOILA---she's riding without training wheels!!!

She is still learning how to get started without help and mastering the concept of brakes~~~~
but she's doing great:)

...more

2011-04-26T11:33:00.000-07:00

How fun is coloring eggs? I have such fond memories from my childhood~ and I am glad that the girls have come to love this part of Easter too :)

First, they had to be sure the eggs were dry...

Then, they decorated them with wax crayons...

Then, dropped them into the colors...

.....and waited-----------

Mom and dad slept through the little ones Easter morning---I mean, thegirls had already been to the baskets, looked through them and then, they came and jumped on us!

They were good enough to wake us before they pulled everything out!! Which is great, because I was able to snag some pics:)

...new books, jewelry boxes, pencils, socks...

...and of course--- CHOCOLATES!!!!!

Here, Dalaina tells dad that her new bright yellow sock with blue flowers DO match her Easter dress fine and she CAN wear them to church!!

...she's showing him how there are flowers on her dress-just like on the socks!!

~~~~~just for the record, she didn't win that discussion with dad. We had the "dressed up/formal" wear conversation.... and in the end, she chose tights and silver shoes:)

EASTER

2011-04-25T19:53:00.000-07:00

We love this time of year:)

Thanks to our friends in Alabama for the cool mail! The girls loved painting these hot air balloons!

And, they love their new towels---they are gaining a collection and just love it!

Lunch--they had a rabbit sandwhich on Saturday---they thought it was way cool....

...so cool, they ate the topping stuff and didn't want the sandwich part!!

Here, they are checking out their buckets of eggs from their hunt Sunday afternoon ~

............great expression!

comparing and sharing---always fun~

A great day!

DISCOVER

2011-04-25T19:45:00.000-07:00

My friends and I took a trip to the Discovery Museum in Sausalito~~ a field trip:)

We love the drive toward SanFrancisco and just love the GG bridge!!

And, because we are calling this a field trip, I have to explain how this could be!

Art--painting, color mixing, imagination

Decoupage--crafts, coordination, creativity

Life size building blocks-- architecture, fine motor skills, logical thinking, creative thinking

Music- fine motor skills, music skills

Hula Hoopin'--physical ed (great ab work) and coordination

Waterboat building--- creative thinking, logic, architecture

Trains-- history of the locomotive, roads, tracks

Overall, I'd say that we,they, had a very fun, I mean educational day!!!!

See, you can make anything count for education:)

Girls time

2011-04-10T16:48:00.000-07:00

The girls are part of a little girl group. Designed for them to get together and share stories, crafts, and playtime.

They are enjoying the story from Mrs. Beasley. After storytime, the girls got to create a journal in which they'll keep their weekly bible verses in.

We gathered the girls outside for a picture, thinking it would be a great idea. However, the sun in the eyes was not smart!

Here, the girls are brainstorming a skit to perform...

Sisters---hangin' out:)

Great afternoon~

SCIENCE

2011-04-10T16:35:00.000-07:00

The Academy of Sciences in SanFrancisco is an awesome place! Great field trip:)

We walked through the rainforest--saw lots of tropical birds and beautiful butterflies flying all around us:)

The girls were so excited to see this butterfly land on this woman's arm! Faith tried standing very still, but no luck.

Proof that the planet spins...

....Albino alligator

...lots of jellyfish, tropical fish, and more

The hands on section was great for the girls--they got to touch star fish, seaweed, and kelp.

We did not like what it feels like to touch an electric eel!!!!!

Macaw

Great displays...

The penguins were real---

......stingrays

sharks

...the living roof

Overall, a very cool place to visit! Aquarium, planetarium, and museum all in one:)

Agriculture

2011-04-05T18:49:00.000-07:00

We headed over to the Sonoma County fairgrounds for the annual Ag Days~~ what fun!

...oh, and it was very educational.

We saw a K9 demonstration. Learned about the dogs, how they train them, and what they use them for.

There was a lot of hands on--touching, petting, and feeding of the animals:)

After the sheep shearing, the girls were able to take home some of the wool.

Spinning demonstration---especially cool for the girls because they are learning to knit and this brought it full circle for their minds!

...........These piggies were born the morning before we got there! So cute, and man could they squeal!!

Faith watched how horseshoes are made and played with some--she loved it!

....They got to shake cream until it made butter~~

Overall, it was an amazing and educational morning!!

Crafts!

2011-03-30T13:45:00.000-07:00

Spring time often means more crafts for us. Here, the girls are making kite-suncatchers in their Academy class:)

We also took a trip to the pottery studio that afternoon. Dalaina chose to paint a rabbit!

And Faith, her very own plate:)

The thing about the pottery is that we have to wait a week before we get to see the final piece!
So, we'll show you how they turned out when we get them:)