Summer is here! It's hard to believe that at the entire school year is over, but we are SO excited for a fabulous summer that lies ahead and all of the memories that will be made.
Our first day of summer didn't turn out exactly as planned, but ended up to be amazing and the perfect kickoff to summer. Julia still wasn't feeling well on Friday so we decided to lay low and let her rest. It was basically after breakfast and Joseph and Ella started asking for things to do, so I told them to go outside to play. They came back in 10 minutes later and were so excited because they had the idea to have a lemonade stand!! Thankfully I had just received some packets of lemonade and iced tea for a volunteer gift from one of their classes so we had everything we needed and they got to work. They started by making signs and then we realized that the next day was the National Cure SFF lemonade stand so we decided that half of the money they made today would go to WillPower. They were so agreeable to this idea which, of course, made my heart so happy.
They were out from about 11 to 1:30 (I think) and made about $60!!! Amazing!! Lindsay and Riley came to help them and our neighbors were all very generous. It was such a great experience for them! They gave half of the money to Will Power, gave a few dollars each to Lindsay and Riley since they helped, too, and then split the rest. Later that night, Joseph went to Julia and gave her a few dollars and said to her, "Since you were sick you couldn't help us, but I know that if you were feeling well you would have helped us so here is some money for you." I thought that this was the sweetest thing ever and the entire experience just left me feeling so proud. The kids were so excited and this was truly the perfect summer kick off day! I even was able to get some organizing done in the garage so this left me feeling productive, too!
Thankfully Julia was feeling better the following day, so after a morning of baseball, we made our way down to Liberty Station. We were meeting up with the crew for the annual Corvette Diner end of school celebration but we went a little early to meet up with Jimmy and his family who were visiting from Hawaii. The kids got to check out a new park and it was nice to catch up with Jimmy. It was a beautiful afternoon so I tried to take a few pictures by the bay but this crew sure does make it hard (but funny!) sometimes!
We then headed over to Corvette Diner for a night full of games, laughs, food and fun!
Julia ended up leaving with some crazy teeth that she won so I'd say it was an awesome night!
On our way to Nani and Poppa's one day with this crazy crew!
Lots of swimming in their pool, well, maybe more Jacuzzi at this point in the summer since it still has been pretty overcast and chilly, but they love it!!
Poppa took Joseph and Cole fishing one afternoon. The weather has been so bizarre this summer-crazy that Joseph is wearing a sweatshirt here!
We didn't have any camps or obligations that we had to be at for the first week of summer which was an awesome feeling! We did some sort of activity of every day but it was so nice to enjoy the slower pace and just the time together. On Monday afternoon, we got together with the cul de sac crew since the dads were all going to dinner and a movie together. So, us moms, decided to let the kids play and then all do dinner, together, too, which was awesome! Fun for everyone!
The kids and I hit up the gym, the library and the park the next morning. Love having this time with all of them!!
Joseph was the happiest boy in the world this week because his new sweatshirt came in the mail. He ordered this with his end of the school year money that he received for his report card and he couldn't have been more excited about it. I'll admit that I tried talking him out of it, as I am not a fan of graphic sweatshirts, but he said this was all he wanted so I finally gave in, but with strict rules of where he can and can not wear it (like out of the house-ha ha!).
We made our way to Mission Beach one afternoon to say hi to Uncle JP and Aunt Carol who are in San Diego for the week. It is always such a treat to see them and the kids had a blast playing beach baseball with everyone (Nani, Poppa and Finn showed up for a bit, which made it even more special!).
TJ spent the night one night and the big girls spent the night at Isabella's house. They have been talking about this "switch sleepover" for months and were so excited when it finally could happen. They boys had a great time, as did the girls, and thankfully Charlotte didn't notice until later that the girls were gone, and by that time, didn't mind since she was so excited that TJ was over.
The day after the sleepover we met up with the rest of the cul de sac crew for a chilly day at the bay. It didn't seem to bother the kids but us moms were cold!!!
I say this often, but Julia truly has a heart of gold. She is always thinking of others and just doing the most thoughtful things that make you stop and just pause for a moment and say "Awwww!" She drew this picture and then asked me to send it to God. I told her that unfortunately we couldn't mail it to Him but He knows that she drew it for Him and we could hang it up on one of the doors in our home. We did and the picture stayed there all summer long.
Since baseball is over our Saturday mornings seem so open so we spent most of the day Saturday cleaning up the backyard and getting things done around the house. We had Rich's old co-worker, Dawn, and her family, over for a bbq that night. It was great to catch up with them and we had a really nice time! Since the house and backyard were all cleaned up, we decided to invite our San Rafael crew over for another bbq on Sunday! That was so much fun and the adults all shared so many laughs and the kids just had a blast together-they are such a great group of friends and we are so thankful to be doing life with them. We did find our first snake on the property while cleaning up for everyone-it was just a CA king snake (sounds worse than it is) but I was the one who found it and totally screamed! It was a long one, and even if it was a short one, it would still be too much for me!! Rich took it out past the gate, into the preserve and we hope to never see it, or any other one for that matter, again!!!
The girls table at dinner on Sunday having way too much fun...
SO many kids on the trampoline!! They all get along SO well though!
We kicked off the second week of summer with camps! Joseph attended a half day basketball camp at Del Norte with a ton of buddies from Westwood and Ella attended a cheer/dance camp at Poway High with soccer buddies. They both loved the camps and although it was nice to have some downtime with Julia and Charlotte I did feel like I was back in the school shuffle of coordinating drop offs, pick ups and carpools. It was fun though and we ended up having playdates after the camps with the friends a few days which was great.
I took advantage of being able to run with the double stroller so headed to Lake Miramar one morning. It was still nice and cool and the girls wanted to run the last 1/2 mile which was awesome, too.
Joseph had his first basketball game this week and is loving it. We celebrated after with ice cream at Yogurt Lounge which made for the perfect night!
Here is a sweet picture of Ella and her friends from camp. They had different theme days and sometimes Ella wanted to dress up for them and sometimes she didn't, but she didn't seem to mind if she didn't-she definitely doesn't care what others think of her and never does things to "fit in" or because everyone else is doing it. I hope that she continues with this attitude throughout her entire life.
One afternoon after camp, Joseph went with the Laugesens to a rock climbing place and had a blast!
Finn met us at camp one day so he could watch Ella's cheer and he and Charlotte had to run a few laps, well, not quite laps, more like a few feet, first!
Both camps ended on Friday, but Ella's camp ended with a performance at the Del Mar Fair that afternoon. We had never taken the kids before so thought that this would be the perfect opportunity, especially since we all got in for free! Rich had to work but the 3 big kids and I had such a fun adventure (Charlotte stayed with Nani and Poppa and loved it there, too!). Ella loved being on the stage performing with the highschool cheerleaders and we told her that her kick at the end was the highest one out there. After the performance we checked out the fair for a few hours with the Searcy and Quinn families and had just the best time. We played games, won fish!!!, watched a hypnotizing show, ate funnel cake and hot dogs and just enjoyed the sights and sounds of the fair! I don't necessarily need to make this an annual event but it was a great experience!
The story behind the fish is that we were in the "kiddy area" and of course the kids spotted them. Joseph caught wind of it and immediately started asking for one. Finally, I gave in and told him he could but that would use all of his tickets so it was his choice. The girls were still on the fence at that point and decided to wait. Basically all he had to do was give the 20 tickets and he walked away with our very own fish ;) We walked around for a little bit longer, the girls did another ride, and then Ella decided that she also wanted a fish. We found another game to win a fish and this one actually took less tickets. She gave the tickets and automatically won the fish...joy ;). Well, of course once the two of them had their fish, Julia decided no more than 5 minutes later that she also wanted a fish. We only had 10 tickets left at this point but thankfully found the cheapest fish booth and Julia lo and behold Julia was also able to win a fish for only 10 tickets! What a deal! The kids were so thrilled and didn't complain at all when I told them that they had to carry them for the rest of the night. Lots of excitement until the next morning when we came downstairs to find that both of the girls were fish had died over night. So, so, so, so sad!!!! So many tears!!! I told them that I would replace the fish one time so we could go to Petco to buy a new fish, or if they'd rather just have $5.00 I would give them that instead. Julia opted for the money (smart girl!) and Ella opted for a new fish so off to Petco we went. We bought a beta fish since we were told that they are "sturdier" and should last more than a day and Ella named him (although she thinks its a girl) Emma. And then, wouldn't you believe it that by Sunday morning Joseph's fish was also dead?!? Cheap fair goldfish!! So back to Petco we went Sunday morning, this time Cole got to come for the excitement, for another beta fish, this one named Gamer. Ella bought some sparkly rocks to go in her tank and we got some quality food and drops for their water. Hopefully these fish last longer than a night!
A little funnel cake to finish out the night at the fair. Such a fun afternoon!
='ve implemented a summer to do list of things that the kids need to do before they get their second electronic time for the day. The list includes things like: make bed, brush teeth, read for 20 minutes, and journal. So far (granted it has only been 10 days!) it has been going remarkably well! They almost seem excited to do everything and haven't given me any trouble at all. I had to take a picture of this because I told Ella that she could write about anything one day and she wrote about Mrs. Pinney and how much she loved her and loved school. I laughed to myself thinking "where was all of this love when I dropped you off in the mroingin and you were hysterically crying??" but I am glad that she has such fond memories of kindergarten and love for her teacher!
Julia going a little summer stir crazy one morning helping me with laundry ;)
What a beautiful smile, Julia!
We've known that the Bestafka family is leaving for months now but we really had to admit it on June 29th which was our last get together with them. We all got together at the Laugesens for one last cul de sac night with dinner and lots of fun. It's hard to believe that they've only been here for 2 years and that we've really only become close with them this past year because it seems like they have been here forever. Lynn has definitely been my "go to" this past year and I just love that our kids have so much fun together. We sure will miss seeing them every morning pull up behind us and every afternoon hanging at the grass and walking to the cars together. We would love to see them back in 2 years but regardless as to what happens we wish them all the best in Florida.
Such a great group of friends/neighbors and am so thankful that their friendship has continued despite us not living on the same street as them still.
A perfect rainbow to send them off.
Lynn and Charlotte definitely have a close bond and it has been so fun watching Charlotte love on her!
After a night of celebrating the Bestafkas, we were up early the next morning to drive to Carlsbad to meet up with another military family, the Hsus from our time in Hawaii! Wil and Amy are great friends and we have been able to see them every now and then since we've moved to San Diego since Amy has family in LA so they come to visit. They just returned from South Korea and we are so thankful that they are home safe and that they made time for us out of their busy vacation schedule. We met for breakfast and then walked over to the beach and had a really nice few hours catching up.
Check out Charlotte's multiple expressions in the next few photos-she is a girl of many faces!
We finished out this last weekend in June with a bang...from one exciting event to the next! After Carlsbad we went home to relax for a bit and then made our way to Coronado for our last summer concert in the park before the Ozecks move. So many military connections this weekend. As always, we had an amazing time hanging out with everyone. I just love watching all these kids (and adults) together-whether they're dancing, singing, doing flips or headstands, or just hanging out. So thankful for each and every one of them.
We love you, summer!!!
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