Isabella at 10 months

Here's our little cutie at 10 months. Notice she's showing off her new teeth in a couple of these shots. She's picking up on a lot of words and standing up with the aid of the furniture.

Joel turns 7!

Can you believe it? He's so tall for his age (still ABOVE the 95th percentile) and skinny. He tolerates school, but, really, school is a bother because it gets in the way of his playtime. He still has a soft spot in his heart for Thomas the Tank Engine, but Pokemon and Star Wars Legos have taken over his interests. He loves computer games, too.

On September 11, his actual birthday, we allowed him to bring some friends with him to Chuck E. Cheese. It was a good time to go, since it was a Thursday and not too crowded. He had a blast. Then, on Friday when Jacob and Hannah came home, we had a family party at home. He LOVED being king of the day and perhaps took it a bit too far when he wanted to boot Daddy from his seat at the head of the table.

Last Hurrah

I think we're going to have to refer to the summer of 2008 as the "Free" summer. What a bonus that, on the day Joel started school, we received in the mail free tickets to Universal Studios for the entire family. YAY! We were hoping to get to a theme park this summer, but decided it best that we save our money. What a blessing and surprise this was. So, we took the family on Labor Day as our last hurrah. I was surprised how family-friendly is was (last time I went was in the 90's and pre-kids). We didn't have to split up to to tend to varied interests and age levels and they are very baby-accomodating. We stayed from opening to closing. Mark really enjoyed the Simpsons ride and wanted to give it another spin before we left. I sat out to nurse Isabella and surprised the family with a big Simpson's doughnut to cap off the day with a burst of sugar.

Our Staycation

2007 was a crazy year, what with the high-risk pregnancy, the loss of Karen's mom and the birth of Isabella. There were so many emotions and a lot of trips to Minnesota! This year, to save money and to take a slower pace (ha!), we decided to stay at home and do as much as we could around town. Southern California is not hurting in the entertainment department, but what really surprised us is how much we found to do that is absolutely free! This is, in part, due to the fact that we live in an awesome, family friendly community and in part due to some sleuthing and just plain luck. Following is a photo journal of some of the highlights of our summer.

THE KICK OFF:
In June we welcomed the close of the school year (and the beginning of summer break) with a family picnic! Aunt Kathy was here from Minnesota and we had a great time! It was a bit hot,but, being the party pigs that we are, we swam and then ate al fresca to celebrate Aunt Kathy's birthday!

SWIMMING:
If anything characterizes our summer (s) it's swimming. We all love it. Even baby Isabella gets a big kick out of the water. With 3 pools to choose from in our association, we feel very blessed to be able to get out and splashing almost every day. It's the ultimate "free" fun!

INDEPENDENCE DAY:
4th of July is my favorite holiday because it falls in summer and I enjoy hot weather. It is a great opportunity to reflect on all the blessings we enjoy living in the United States of America. Our Independence Day always begins with a good ole hometown parade. Lots of freebies for the kids passed out and we always seem to run into our good friends the Mitchells! This year, after a BBQ at home, swimming and resting, we sealed the day with Isabella's first show of fireworks.




MOVIES:
Three times this summer we enjoyed free movies on the big outdoor screen at Universal Citywalk! We saw Horton Hears a Who, The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything and Transformers (an edited version). It's fun just to walk around and see the lights and enjoy the stores, too.

Our local movie theater shows free movies on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, so Mark took the kids several times during the summer. They saw: Over the Hedge, Water Horse, A Bee Movie and Madagascar. I stayed home and enjoyed a quiet home while Isabella napped!

CONCERTS:
And then there's the concerts. Our community puts on free concerts in the park, at the mall, at the local grocery store and more! We enjoyed R&B music, jazz, Frank Sinatra, etc. The following photos are from the "Boogie Nights" at the mall. We all got our groove on with some great disco and funk tunes!

Joel says: Dig the fro, man!

SKIRBALL CENTER; NOAHS ARK EXHIBIT:
Oh I wish I had better photos to show you! The battery was dying in my little camera! This was one of the highlights of our summer and, yes, we went on one of the FREE days they were offering. This museum is only about 30 minutes from us in the Sepulveda pass. The exhibit, which is all hands-on, is a Noah's Ark theme. Many of the animals are made of recycled and re-purposed materials. Notice that the zebra's mane is a keyboard and the elephant's ears are floor mats from a car. You can help "build" the ark and get small toy animals on two by two via a conveyor belt that you crank. The kids loved making the storm. Various cranks and pulleys help make thunder and lightening. In the next room is a giant play area where kids climb ropes, play with stuffed animals, gather eggs and even scoop up "poop." My dear pal Becky and her daughter Larissa joined us for the outing and we stayed until they kicked us out! Outside is a mister that, in the sunlight, is a rainbow. The kids ran through and got sopping wet. Afterward we splurged on the El Pollo Loco dollar menu! What a great day!


BEACH DAYS!
What's a summer in Southern California without a few beach days?
The first one (when Aunt Kathy was here) was a bit cold, so we didn't stay long. But since we went all the way to Ventura Beach, we decided to make the trip worth it and we stopped for arguably the best Mexican food ever in Santa Paula (Familia Diaz).
The rest of the days were nice and warm. We went to Hermosa Beach and Zuma Beach too! Isabella just enjoys it so much and even cat naps while we're there.

A Sea Weed Fashion show became the all-consuming activity of the last beach day.
























DADDY and MOMMY DATES:
Each kid got a night or day out with each parent. With daddy, it was ice cream dates. With mommy, it was bike ride dates. There was an exception, though. When it came with my date with Hannah, we did pedicures instead of a bike ride! We're lovin' the girly stuff together!

















The Swap Meet:
This was a fun one! We took the kids to our local swap meet (flea market) on the free Tuesday morning and gave them each $2.00 to spend. It was awesome, because the thrill of the chase for something special kept them all going and we each walked away with some treasures!


The Ventura County Fair:
Dollar Day, baby!!!! This was such a perfect summer activity. We packed lunch and dinner in a cooler and ate our meals next to the ocean. The fairgrounds are seaside and it was a lovely sunny day.














Each kid got 2 rides. We scoured all the booths of vendors selling their wares. I was SO EXCITED to find a "Rosie the Riveter" sign. I'd found one in San Francisco years back and kicked myself all this time for not buying it. She embodies the "can do" attitude that I want my daughters to adopt. Be it power tools, changing tires or fixing a leaky faucet - let's not be afraid, women! We can do it, yes we can!



















Mountasia (Minitaure Golf):
During the 4th of July parade we were handed free passes for some rounds of miniature golf!
Sweet! So we mini golfed inthe mid-day 100 degree August sun, well armed with water bottles and sunflower seeds. pictures are from my phone camera.














All in all it was a wonderful summer! I can't say it was very relaxing for the parents, but the kids got their share of Lazy Days, Pajama Days, Sleep in Days, a Pokemon Day and more. They did have chore days, too. So, they're not COMPLETELY spoiled....only mostly. Now, Joel has entered 2nd grade, Jacob will be entering 9th grade (High School!) on Monday and Hannah 7th grade the week following. So, by August 26th Isabella will be the only kid in the house during the day. Sounds quiet. Sounds peaceful....and a bit lonely too.