Finishing out August

With the start of school on August 16th, the second half of August went by way too fast!!  As much as I love getting into a routine, I definitely loved the summer and not having anywhere that we really had to be at.  Thankfully the transition to school has been smooth and Joseph is loving it.  The girls (and myself!) are missing him but they have been playing really nicely together.  One morning as Ella was watching a show the character in the show was talking about going on an adventure and asked the audience if they liked to go on adventures and who was their best friend and Ella answered immediately, "Jofush". They definitely are great buddies and she misses him but it has been neat to see the different dynamic with just the girls at home.  Since the first six weeks of school are only half days the mornings seem to fly by and before we know it, we are back at the school to pick him up at 11:40.  We come home and feed lunch to the girls (Joseph eats at school) and then Julia goes down for a nap around 1:00 and Joseph and Ella go up to their rooms for a little over an hour to rest and then we have the afternoon to swim, play outside or just to hang out...so we are in a nice little routine.  The weekends do seem like a treat now though since we aren't rushed out of the house by 7:30 and we are just enjoying the time before we meet our last little Ducote.  

Ella continues to take pictures constantly and she snapped these on August 16th which were pretty decent! 

 We went to Nani and Poppa's after the first day of school to swim and have dinner with the Ozeck kiddos.

 Teaching Cole how to dive.

 Look what I found-these two are too funny!!

 Waiting for dinner!

 The next morning I actually took the girls back to Nani and Poppa's since I had a doctor's appointment and they had lots of fun with play-doh and Syd and Cole.

 We went to story time at the library one day that week while Joseph was in school and this is how they were sitting-so sweet!!  Ella's hair is SO long!!!  We are working on getting her hair cut-she starts crying every time we talk about it but I'm hopeful we will get it done prior to her first day of school!!

 Practicing handstands with Daddy on August 20th!

Along with other acrobatic tricks!

 And, some nighttime wrestling!

 Warming up in the sun after a swim on Sunday afternoon.

 They wanted their picture taken together since both of their bathing suits went around their necks!
August 23rd

 The girls and I walked Lake Miramar one last time for the summer on August 24th while Joseph was at school.  Ella was not interested in feeding the ducks today so she sat at the top of the walkway, but Julia and I walked down and fed them!

 Things like this just make me laugh during the day!

 He was super excited to wear his WILL Power shirt to school for purple day on August 25th.

 We walked to a park in 4s Ranch on the 25th to play and to get some exercise in.

 On Friday the 26th I went to dinner with some girlfriends and got home around 11:00 and Rich was upstairs in Ella's bedroom with her-she had just woken up and was coughing and really struggling to breathe.  After sitting with her in the shower for a bit and calling the nurse hotline, we decided that she had to go to the ER because her breathing was not getting any better.  I took her and at first they diagnosed her with croup but then later said it might just be asthma related but whatever it was, after a dose of steroids and a breathing treatment she was 100% better.  It was a late night there, not getting home until 2:30, but she did so well and was so brave.  She wore her hospital bracelet for most of the following week and was pretty excited about her new accessory!!  As a sidenote, I literally watched my ankles swell up this night-they just seemed to get bigger and bigger as the night went on and unfortunately they stayed pretty swollen until I gave birth.

 We had a birthday party the next motning at 11:00 and Ella woke up feeling great and acting fine so we all headed over.  The kids had a blast jumping in the bounce house and playing on the playground and was a great way to burn off some energy before we all went home and crashed after the long night before!

 Linday and baby Finn arrived into town on Sunday the 28th so we went to Coronado in the afternoon to meet up with the thme at the Ozecks and to have dinner there with everyone!  All of the cousins were SO excited to have him around!!

THIS girl!!  She's so spunky and so much fun!!  

 Cole and Joseph breaking in the play gym for Finn!

On Wednesday, August 31st, we went to Stone Ranch Elementary School, where my mom retired from last year, so they could honor her at the morning assembly.  At the end of the school year she left suddenly since Lindsay was induced earlier than expected so the school was never able to honor her for her service at the school for the past 12 years, so the principal was nice enough to do it this school year and it was great that we were all able to be there!  Everyone came over to our house after for brunch and it was such a nice morning!  Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of the assembly or of all of us together after but we are so happy for my mom and for my dad to begin their retirement!  

Ella and Julia enjoying their time with baby Finn!!  

 Finally, a little afternoon swimming on the last day of August after school.  It is so hard to believe that we have been in the school routine for over two weeks now and that in the next week Ella will begin school and we will most likely have a new baby!!  We have so much to be thankful for and so much excitement to look forward to as well!

First half of August

The first week in August was basically spent all in the pool!  We finished up swim lessons on Thursday and Joseph and Ella successfully passed their levels.  They both really enjoyed the lessons and are both confident swimmers.  We were a little nervous as to how Ella would do, especially since she was the youngest in her group by a few years, but she did awesome and loved them!  We will definitely use the Westwood club for swim lessons again!

We packed a lunch every day and would stay and eat and play at the club.  We met friends there one afternoon and it was just such a fun week of being outside all morning long!  

Look at that crazy pool hair!  

You can't beat the 25 cent otter pops to finish out the day!  

Exhausted after a fun morning of lessons and playing at the club.  

It was pretty warm the first week of August, so we spent many of the afternoons in our pool.  

We had our buddies, Gavin and Colin, over one afternoon to swim, too.  Joseph was excited to teach Colin his new favorite thing to do in the pool.  

On Wednedsay, August 2nd we picked up dinner and went to a family picnic at the Outpost camp where Joseph attended for three weeks in July.  The counselors performed skits and songs and had called all of the campers on to the stage to perform as well.  Joseph loved it and the girls had a blast, too!!  He even won $100 off next year's fees so we most likely will be back!  

I have started to pull things out to get ready for our baby girl who will be arriving in ONE month or less and the girls, especially, are loving playing with everything I pull out.  

On Friday afternoon we headed to Mission Beach to meet up with the Alticks and the Martins for a few fun hours not he beach and then dinner at the Alticks' condo that they rented for the week.  It is always so fun to get together with our dear friends and I just love how the kids pick up right where they left off!  

Crazy faces!

The girls love their Auntie Katie!!  

The next morning we were up bright and early and in Balboa Park so we could meet up with the Davis family who were visiting from Hawaii.  Jimmy and Rich have been friends for a long time from the Army and decided to run the 10 mile race in Balboa that morning.  Sarah, Jimmy's wife, and I had the kids at a playground in the middle of the race route which was perfect so we could cheer on the runners and the kids were occupied and having fun!  After the race we went to Whole Foods for breakfast together-we always enjoy when the Davis family comes to visit and next time we see them we'll both have another child which is crazy to think about!  

Julia and their daughter, Delilah, became fast friends.  

That afternoon we went to Coronado to celebrate Sydney's 5th birthday!!  

Something strange with the exposure happened to this picture but I kept it in because Cole is always asking to hold Julia and she went with it this time-he's the sweetest but it's always so funny when he asks now since she's almost as big as he is!  

We walked and rode bikes to the bay to swim and play for a little bit before dinner.  Can't beat this view of the city!  

We then headed back to the Ozeck's for dinner and for Sydney's birthday celebration.  Laura was nice enough to make a cake for my birthday, too!  We are so thankful that we live close to family now and are able to be there for these special occasions and especially love watching the cousins grow up together.  It is hard to believe that we were just in the process of moving here a year ago!  

We spent most of Sunday in the pool which was great!  Julia is getting more and more confident in the water (she's pretty impressive for not being two yet) and prefers to swim without her puddle jumper on.  She was loving floating on the noodle today!  

Ella and Joseph were having a blast doing flips with Daddy.  

We had a great celebration on Monday for my 37th birthday!  The kids were SO excited to celebrate and both Joseph and Ella woke me up with singing "Happy Birthday."  I had an ultrasound that morning so dropped the kids off at my parents and after the ultrasound enjoyed a pedicure and a trip to Target by myself which was special birthday treat, too!!  That night we went to Wahoo's for dinner with everyone wearing birthday crowns and all!  

We arrived home to a decorated house complete with princess plates and an Avenger tablecloth.  Rich had taken the kids to Target the day before and they did a great job of picking out birthday supplies!

The highlight was the Angry Birds cake...just what I have always wanted!  

So thankful for the start of another year with these three sweet kiddos.

And the new one to arrive soon!  

I love Julia's cheese face here!!  

They definitely made my birthday (and every day for that matter) extra special.  

Sweet big brother.  

To round out the birthday celebration, I wanted to include the card that Ella made with the help of my mom.  I love her enthusiasm for the letter "E"  

On Thursday, August 11th we met up with my parents and the Ozecks at the Safari Park for the morning.  It was a hot day but great to be there.  Our passes expire at the end of the month and although we've enjoyed them this past year, I don't think I'll renew them this year since realistically I'm not sure how often we'll go with Joseph and Ella's school schedule and a newborn...we'll see how the year goes and then decide if we want to join again. This was a great day to finish out our year there though!  

Checking out the elephants with Poppa! 

It was a warm one so we walked past the splash pad and of course all of the kids wanted to get in.  I didn't have bathing suits or an extra set of clothes for anyone but Julia, but thankfully Aunt Laura came to the rescue and Ella ended up in an outfit of Syd's for the remainder of the day. 

Taking a break in the shade with Nani

Going to the Safari Park with Nani and Poppa is always extra special since they are known for always treating for a ride on the carousel!  

They were into playing with the camping chairs all week long so often our living room area looked like this...just a typical day, typical mess!  

Here is another typical day in our house-hard to see but Joseph and Julia are planking from the couch to the coffee table in front of Ella.

A picture from Ella with help from Nani.  

On Friday, August 12th, Joseph and Ella had dentist appointments.  Everyone received great teeth reports without any cavities which earned Joseph a lego set since the last time we were there the dentist was concerned about a spot turning into a cavity but she said with constant flossing and cleaning it would go away, and it did!  He was pretty excited to earn the lego set...a Ninjago dragon with Jay (his latest obsession!)  

We were able to make it to story time after the dentist which is always a good time. 

And, that night we met up with friends at the Westwood club for the dive in movie night, where they showed The Peanuts movie.  They set up a projector in front of the pool and people could swim while the movie was on.  Our kids all swam first and then were out by the time the movie started but had a great time.  Ella, Julia and I left about 3/4 of the way into the movie since both girls were falling asleep but Joseph and Daddy stayed until the end.  

The Tirados brought their boat, so the kids had a blast in it before the movie started.  

Enjoying the cookies and getting ready for the movie to begin.  

 

While at dinner on my birthday, we noticed a sign for a wrestling league for kids ages 5 and up, so Joseph and Rich have been attending it at least once a week, some weeks twice a week since then.  They meet at one of the local high schools and it is mostly high school kids but there are some younger kids and Joseph is loving it (as is Daddy!)  He has learned a lot and is having a lot of fun.  

Rich has been busy painting the fence and doing a lot of work in the backyard and Ella has taken a liking to be his painting buddy.  Rich says that she just talks his ear off and paints alongside with him.  She has done this for three weekends in a  row and was so excited to go on a special Home Depot date with him to get new paint.  She has definitely turned into a Daddy's girl!  

Abby Martin passed on an awesome trunk full of dress up clothes for the girls and Ella has found her favorite in the form of a mermaid costume and didn't take it off for the first few days.  

We spent the last day before school started at Moonlight Beach and had a great beach day!!  Joseph and Ella spent a lot of time on the boogey board and Julia always wanted to be swimming in the water whenever they were in.  

Pretty much a perfect beach day!  

Those camping chairs are still out and Ella set up a picnic for everyone to enjoy that night for dinner. Nothing like using the baby blanket that I had just washed as their tablecloth...

Other than that we just spent the first few weeks of August enjoying these three sweet kiddos before our family becomes a family of 6 and the routine of school begins.  I sure have loved this summer and have tried to savor every moment of it before the changes that are coming for our family.