6 months ago, I *thought* had signed up our 2 oldest kids for a church drama camp (Kidshine) that I had heard was wonderful. Well, apparently I went through all the steps but never pulled the trigger and actually signed up… ugh! I wanted to kick myself! But then, I became grateful for the opportunity to just slow down this week. We’d been so busy with VBSs the last two weeks, and they were fun, but I wanted our kids to be bored sometime this summer. Great things come from being bored. Kidshine actually had a couple spots open up last minute, but we still turned them down. Instead of drama camp, our week was filled with pool playdates, beachtime with our friends, reading (we signed up for our Library’s summer reading program) and lots of Lego play. We’ll try again for Kidshine next year!
The kids performing their VBS songs with handmotions for Dad:
Last week, the Cliffs and Garlands headed for the San Diego County Fair. The kids get free admission by reading 10 books, so I’m always looking for a way to get myself in free to the fair. If you enter a contest, you get free admission, so 2 years ago, I made a pasta salad for one of the contests. Well, it was such a crazy day, so we never made it to the official place to “check in,” so we ended up eating the salad for lunch (4 kids and me).
I tried entering a contest again this year… my friend Jenni and I went on “repurposed plastic water bottle and plastic grocery bag” contest day. But alas, with 8 kids in tow (her 4 plus our 4), we never made it to check in our entries. Ha! It’s just a little too crazy. I do intend to officially enter a contest one of these days!
Jenni knitted this fun coaster out of “plarn” – (plastic yarn - strips of grocery bag). So creative!
Thanks to Pinterest, I made this fun(ny) birdfeeder:
Our crew:
The rabbits were a hit! This rabbit was HUGE:
The kids spied on roasting hot dogs:
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Beachtime
Sorta funny, right?:
Renee, Olivia and Sarah boarded together for several hours:
Zac handed out these cookies to friends, in honor of his upcoming birthday:
Purple jelly fish in the bucket: (I love all the “stars” reflected in the water.)
Rachel’s surfer look is all for show. She rarely goes in above her ankles:
Schleppin’ things back to the car:
Can you even imagine how much sand we have in our car?
That “Mango Nectar” is really our “surf water” – we use it to try to wash off sandy feet and hands before climbing into the car.
More sand rinse back at home – our brown grass needs the water anyway #killingtwobirdswithonestone:
Yes, that’s a toilet in our sideyard. The devoted Mr. Garland recently replaced one for us… *grateful* for working toilets!
Geez, now I really know why I’m exhausted after a day at the beach!
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8 mile fun run with Anastasia, Jenni and Jessica. It’s fun, but never easy! Love these gals:
The end of an era… our favorite restaurant ended their “kids eat free” Tuesday nights, so our visits will be far less often now. Oh Islands mushroom burger, how we will miss you:
Hope you’re having a great summer!
