MFW K: water

This chapter, of course, was fun :) We had a warm week & we played with water, what could be funner? 

We floated things, sank things,

 dissolved things, realized oil & water don't mix :),

 and even enjoyed some lemonade :)

 After tying the oil/water not mixing to ducks, we decided a visit to the ducks was in order, with lunch with Papa, of course :)

Then we studied how currents carry things

We also filled balloons with water and froze them. We were hoping to make a snowman but it wouldn't stay up :(, such is the life in Cali :) Anyway, we estimated how long it would take for them to melt, 

and then we watched the liquid turn to steam, measuring the remains.

I love the boys' drawings this week :) Z6 (top) drew his with color & then watercolored over it. J5 doesn't quite like to do what others are doing so he opted to just crayon and not paint, too. As frustrating as it is sometimes, I was just glad to get a drawing out of him :)

Water. It really is amazing. In fact, we can't live without it. Same with our spirit. We just can't live life to the fullest without God filling & quenching our souls. Eventually, we'd just dry up like a leaf disconnected from it's tree :/ It's a good lesson to learn :)

and then we got busy...

Ugh. It has been too long since I posted last. I have a goal of posting every weekend but then we got busy...

You would think that with me turning off the computer during the day the house would be organized, the boys would be clean, and I would be nearly bored. Nope to all accounts :) 

So this is the last 3 weeks summarized into a few photos:

The boys and I went on a field trip to an old west horse ranch outside of Paso Robles but soon after arriving we realized the van went completely dead. We have never had a problem with our van (& haven't since) but it was without a doubt not going to start. C was just a few miles away working so he came up to our rescue. We could've called AAA but he had been contemplating coming with us that morning but decided to work and found this a ready excuse to come after all :) We were glad to have him :)

Soon after S turned 1, he realized not only are those red things in the garden strawberries, he was now tall enough & heavy enough to reach them (the fence is to keep the rabbits out :)). Every day he ventures over & peeks in :)

Speaking of S turning 1, he now has shoes! Many thanks to his Aunts & Uncles: he grabbed his birthday money and bought his first pair :) He's so proud of them!

We had hot weather! For 3 days it was in the low 100s :) I switched their lessons for the week to reflect that: one of the days they enjoyed a frozen treasure hunt (I don't think S was too thrilled with the first touch :) He did enjoy it later on)

Z is on a game spree :) We hadn't even finished eating supper when the cards came out:

and then the next day I came out from putting S to nap and found they started playing all by themselves. They are getting so grown up {tear}.

 I'm not sure how J got them (I can guess, though!), but he came in the house the other day with bug wings so we whipped some magnifiers out to see the textures & colors better. We are such a boy house! :)

I was desperate for a clean van so the boys did their books while I cleaned :)

1st rain day of the season! Yes!

On Thursday we went on another field trip to a 118 year old fruit farm. The rain let up just long enough for us to run out & glean 80 pounds! of apples off the ground and then it started pouring again. We were soaked! It seemed a shame to leave all those beautiful apples behind but now that I still have about 50 pounds left and I'm getting kind of worn out from peeling, cutting, cooking/drying, and figuring out what to do with them, it's probably a good thing we were stopped! :)  We will for sure enjoy eating all the "fruits of our labor" in the months to come!

C is in the backyard right now working on the new coop... should be done soon... hopefully I can blog about the finished project next weekend :) Love ya!

Easter weekend- S's 1st Easter!

S's first Easter... and egg hunt! Here's how it went: I plopped him beside an egg...

he tasted the egg (of course!)...
noticed the grass...
ate the grass...
and eventually noticed another egg but overall, he was more fascinated with nature =]

Z took this pic of Grandma & J~

right before we colored eggs =] J with his favorite egg...
Z with his favorite egg...
Can you believe he's seven months already??! Trying so hard to crawl...

the aquarium

Well, we've made a decision. We are for sure homeschooling the kiddos. So our first outing with the homeschool group was a trip to the Monterey Aquarium. C & I had visited when we were dating but didn't find it very exciting or worth the drive/expensive admission so never thought of taking the boys all the way up to it. But put a $7.50 price tag on it? We're there! =] And guess what? It's pretty fun with kiddos =]

First display was the sea horses & dragons- super neat. We spent alot of time there:Do you see the two?
And then of course the sting rays were pretty neat
And Z was even brave enough to touch one =]

This was cool. It was a tunnel that 'ocean waves' rush over. Z's excitement & awe was so fun!
We spent hours there & hope to return in about 2 more years when they are even more able to understand & appreciate God's amazing ocean creations =]

pumpkin and green beans

Interesting mixture, yes? Well, when my sister was here, we didn't eat them together but it sure seemed like the theme! =] I was blessed to have her visit for a week; we didn't do alot of travel but stayed close to home "relaxing" =]

We had 3 batches of these alone- oh so yummy!

For the pumpkin? We tried a pumpkin oatmeal (a no-go :{ ), pumpkin bars (yum!), & obsessed with dozen of pumpkin recipes =]

Of course, we did have to visit the discovery museum

and get plenty of cuddles and craziness in =]

She is one amazing Auntie and Sister! =]

montana de oro, yosemite, & sequoia

I moved to the "golden" state 8 years ago when my youngest brother was 15 . I've been back to visit MT numerous times since but never to spend one-on-one time with Tyler. He's now been married 2 years and even though I know that, my mind still held him as a 15 year old.

He called me last Saturday saying him & his wife will be stopping in for a day or two in a few days & I was excited to finally have family come visit =] But what I wasn't counting on & am pleased to say, he's grown into an amazing man & husband. Not only did I get to know him & his wife on a more personal up-to-date level, I got to spend 4 days with them =]

We took them to Montana de Oro:

A bonfire on Grover Beach

And then after all these years, we finally made it to Yosemite =]

That night we parted ways & then the next morning we took a detour home & went to Sequoia Ntl Park as well =]

I love how God sends little out-of-the-blue unexpected blessings =]