Phone Lessons

For some reason, today I decided it was time for Hannah to start learning how to properly answer the phone. So I gave her a few pointers, told her how I wanted her to answer the phone, and then I called Gramma and asked her to call this way so Hannah could practice answering the phone.

I don't think I quite prepared Hannah for the sillyness Gramma gave her. Which you can see by the expression on her face. LOL.

A Weekend with Gramie

Hannah and Rachel spent the weekend with Gramie. They had a great time and I think Hannah's grown use to sharing the time at Gramie's with Rachel. Gramie said Hannah was an extremely good helper especially when it came to helping with Rachel. She often did things without even being told. Hannah is good that way, she does help with her little sister. It's the mothering instinct she has like ALL older sisters do. :)

At any rate, the girls are home and now we're detoxing. LOL.

To Gramie's House We Go

This afternoon, after picking Hannah up from school, I took the girls to Gramie's house for the weekend. Hannah was so looking forward to going. The timing worked out great too, because this will be the first weekend that Emily is gone and won't be here to play with.

Both the girls came down with colds the last couple of days, but we gave Gramie a heads up and she still wanted them. Tomorrow night they are going to the Movies in the Park. It sounds like fun and perhaps quite a few people going. No matter what they do, I know they'll have fun.

Dinner with Friends

Last night we went to dinner with our friends, one last time all together. We had a nice dinner, talked about the moving truck, the trip, etc. Here is Hannah and Emily. Hannah picked a "Best Friends" necklace at the Castle Park prize counter when she redeemed some tickets. She gave the other half to Emily.. Hannah broke down crying at breakfast this morning. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers over the next couple of days, and even weeks. Thankfully, this coming weekend, the girls will both be going to Gramie's house. That will be a welcomed distraction for the first weekend of not having her best friend to play with.

A Day at Castle Park

Our church hosted a special event at Castle Park today. Tickets included unlimited access to the rides all day long as well as a concert with several bands in the evening. We arrived shortly after noon and scoped out the rides. It wasn't too long before we found a family we knew from church. They have three kids, two boys, and a little girl. The boys were off doing their own thing with friends they had brought, but our girls were excited to see Bethany. We ended up spending the entire day together! We had a great time hanging out and getting to know each other and the three girls had a fun time going on all the rides together. We had a fun day. The girls had fun on the rides. The concerts were good. And Hannah made a new friend!

Final Night of VBS

I joined the family this evening and went to the final night of VBS. Hannah has had so much fun this week. And she's been really good about getting up the next morning for school despite having stayed out so late the night before.

Emily has gone the last three nights and has also had a lot of fun. She said our VBS was a lot better than at her church. Which was cool. Giving a lot of thought as to how to decorate her frisbee. Notice she put the date on her frisbee, it's something she's doing on everything lately. Her teacher must really be encouraging writing the date. Having just gotten soaked in the water games.

Vacation Bible School

Hannah was so excited for VBS this year because the theme for VBS was Son Force Kids, whereas the kids will act as secret agents all week. Hannah went with Emily one night when her church was having VBS, which was the same theme, so that got Hannah even more excited about our VBS. And because Steven did some cool things for the laptop and projector, we've had the DVD where Hannah pretty much knew the songs they'd be singing all week.Monday's are usually busy days with school and karate, today was even busier because I took her to an earlier Karate class and from there went straight to VBS. Hannah came home having had a lot of fun tonight. After getting home and baths, it was well after 9:00 before she was in bed, but it didn't take too long for her to fall asleep. Here's hoping she gets up tomorrow in a good mood for school. :)

Birthday Party for a Friend

This afternoon we went to a party of a little girl who we've known since birth. When Hannah and Katie were babies, their mommas use to pack the strollers and spend the day at Disneyland, in the good old days of the parks literally being deserted in off peak seasons, when we were practically the only ones walking down Main Street. Oh, those were the days. Katie had a Hawaiian Luau for her party theme and it was a lot of fun, in addition to their built in pool, they had a giant water slide for the day out on the front yard. However, the first thing that my girls went for was the beautiful wooden play structure. Every time we go to Costco, the girls eye that play struture and express their desires for one in their own backyard. We did our research and one won't fit in our backyard. However, we have been talking about designing our own and building it ourselves.Hannah had so much fun, it was hard to get her to leave. But she'd been playing all afternoon and it was hot and she did have school the next morning. She tired and pretty worn out when she went to bed.

Emily Comes for a Sleep Over

I surprised Hannah with inviting Emily over for a sleep over. Hannah had no idea until Emily was at the door with her sleeping bag and PJs.

Emily and her family will be moving the week after next (the week of the 23rd) to Maryland. So this was their last sleep over.

We ordered pizza for dinner, and played games, and then went to the nearby ice cream parlor, they came home and stayed up and beaded, and colored, and eventually fell asleep. I missed out on taking a picture of them in their sleeping bags cause I fell asleep on the couch watching a movie and forgot. LOL. Not exactly a picture I can restage. LOL.

Enjoying my new rocking chairs.
YUM! Pizza! Emily especially loved that I had pizza with pineapple.
Ending a hot day with a cool treat. The girls woke up and played some more, were totally soaked by squirt guns before 10:00 and had a blast doing it.

Hannah is going to miss Emily so much. How often do you have such a good friend next door?? They play together several days a week, on the weekends, and have been friends for 6 1/2 years. Thankfully, Hannah is back in school and that will act as a diversion when the moving truck comes next week and all that stuff happens.

Conversations with Hannah

The other day at dinner, we were talking about Hannah's day at school, what they did, etc. They had done some music that day and Miss Barrett played some music using a record player. When Steven asked Hannah if she knew what a record was, she answered, "it's a big CD". LOL.

This morning, Hannah asked me if they had records when I was growing up. LOL. Apparently she doesn't remember the rickety old record player they had at preschool.

A Chart for Hannah

We've tried star charts in the past. We'd be diligent about them for a while, and then it just kinda goes to the wayside. LOL. However, last week, Hannah asked me to make her a star chart. She was even more enthusiastic about doing a star chart after I'd gone birthday gift shopping and got things she's been coveting for from having seen them advertised on commercials. I had no idea she'd been wanting these things, which are now things she is striving to earn starting with ten perfect days. We started the new chart this morning, and so far, so good. First reward is at five perfect days with a choice of a trip to Starbucks, an Icee, or ice cream cone.

Birthday Party for a Classmate

This afternoon following church, Hannah had a birthday party to go to for a friend from school. The party was held at the dance studio in which the birthday girls mom owns. The dance room was set up with tables and decorated in pink and purple tablecloths with lots and lots of balloons floating around. Once the party got going, the lady who owns the Bead shop next door, taught the girls how to make braclets and necklaces by stringing beads. Hannah LOVES to string beads so she was really having fun doing this. We also learned a couple little tricks as to tying knots. After beading, the tables were cleared for pizza and juice boxes. Hannah's been wanting pizza and she finally got her wish When lunch was done the girls got a litle bit of makeup, their fignernails painted, and then their hair streaked with pink hair coloring. The girls loved it!

The blonde girls all looked like punk rockers after the spray paint. Once every little girl was 'purtied up', it was time for pictures and for the birthday girl to open presents. Following presents, we walked five doors down to the ice cream parlor in which the birthday girls grandmother owns. We had cake and ice cream there. And the cool thing was that everyone got to pick what flavor of ice cream they wanted! It's a cute little ice cream shop and we look forward to going back and getting some Dreyers ice cream some evening. Hannah had sooo much fun at this birthday party! Next weekend, we have a Hawaiian Luau/Swim Party to go to! Which Hannah is excited about!

Afternoon Swim

What better way than to spend a hot day than in a pool?? And according to Hannah, it's even better when it's Uncle Robbie and Auntie's pool where she can play with her cousins! We went to my brothers house this afternoon to refresh and relax in the pool. It was nice. After we'd been in the pool for a while Uncle Robbie grilled up some carne asada (YUM!) and we had it on corn tortillas. We were amazed at how well Hannah ate it and that she even tried it with some Pico de Gallo. The girls all played together for a while, while us adults broke in the new leather sectional in the comfort and coolness of the air conditioning. It was so nice to relax and visit, talking about our camping trip last weekend and future possible trips, etc.

Hannah's Fridge

Hannah did her first piece of artwork today and they were already on the wall for us to see this evening. The kids had to all draw how it was that they come to school, she drew and colored a picture of our van.

Back to School Night

This evening was Back to School night for school. We got to see Hannah's classroom and meet her teacher. First of all, let me say that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Hannah's new teacher, Miss Barrett. I think she's going to be a fun teacher for the kids this year. And like a mom friend pointed out this morning, the teacher must be a fun person, her toenails are painted blue. LOL.

Upon entering the classroom, she took pictures of each student with their family (very impressive to me since I love to take pictures! LOL). She greeted each family and thanked us for coming, she complimented us on how well Hannah was a good listener today. Hannah showed us her desk and we checked out the books inside. Steven and I were both very impressed and excited to see a music textbook in her desk. And on the white board (they don't have chalk boards anymore) she had a composer of the week written in an upper corner of the board. We talked to the teacher about the book and while she doesn't know much about music, she loves music and will be teaching about different composers, etc. We were excited about that. Hannah will also have an art portfolio that she'll bring home the end of the school year with all her projects in it. No more homework packets coming home on Monday and due on Friday, but homework due everyday with 20 minutes of silent reading. No more spelling tests at the end of the week, but instead they'll use their spelling words in writing everyday. It's still early, but I think it's going to be a very good school year!

1st Day of School

Today was the big day! The first day of 2nd grade! Hannah was a little nervous of the unknown with a new teacher.

Hannah had a great morning, she got up, dressed, ate breakfast, all with no attitude. Which made the morning go so much nicer.We arrived at school to find a note on the door to line up on the blacktop at the back door. When the teacher came out she talked to a few of the children and then had them line up. She told the class they were going to start 2nd grade off on a fun note. They could walk into 2nd grade or they could jump into 2nd grade. She then brought out a hoola hoop and if they chose, they could jump through it or simply walk into class. Hannah walked. LOL. Once all the students were in the class, there were about 20 parents left standing there. The past two years, we've been able to walk our kids into their class, check out their desk, etc. Not this year. LOL. The teacher went to shut the door and then opted to leave it open for a few minutes so we could peak in and then politely said she'd see us tonight at Back to School Night. :)

4th of July

Our 4th of July was a fairly quiet one. We hung out at home all day, resting, relaxing, watching television. Hannah starts school tomorrow and after the busy weekend we had camping, she needed the day of doing nothing. The girls did a craft on their own, while I ran to the store. Hannah colored a flag and then taped it onto a straw. Pretty cute idea!We grilled some hamburgers and finished putting our camping gear away. We then gave the girls baths and put them into their pajamas and went in search of the perfect spot to watch fireworks off of Mt. Rubidoux, the local mountain where fireworks are shot off of every year. We found the spot and it was awesome! We'll definitely go back to that spot again. We were able to open the back of the van and enjoy the music that was synchronized on one of the local radio stations. The fireworks started at 9, and Hannah stayed awake for the entire show, but fell asleep on the way home, which was only about a ten minute ride, 20 with the traffic. She has a big day ahead of her tomorrow!

Class List Posted

Hannah is only days away from starting 2nd grade. This evening after karate and dinner, we stopped by the school to take a peak at the class lists that were posted over the weekend. We were pretty sure Hannah's classmates would be the same as the previous two school years, but it's always nice to be reassured when you see the list. It's hard to believe that Hannah starts school on Thursday. Let alone hard to believe she is starting the 2nd grade!! She'll be off track again the end of September, which at that point the holidays will literally be around the corner.

Mammoth Camping - Day 4

We were really having a great time and there was still many more things we wanted to see around Mammoth that we contemplated staying another day. But decided we'd better leaving "wanting more" as Steven put it. So this morning we packed up camp and headed out. Uncle Bart left really early, as he had an extra two hours of driving beyond what we had. Not having a camp to pack up of their own, Mom and Dad left fairly early too. It was us and Robbie and Grace that headed out at the same time. However, for us, there were a few more things we wanted to stop and see along the way home.

Our first stop was the Geothermal Hot Creek. Up until last year, you used to be able to go swimming in the Hot Creeks, but due to the geothermal activity, the hot creeks are an upwards of 160 degrees and now closed to swimming. Hannah thought the place smelled stinky, which it did, like sulfer.
Located in the same area was the Hot Creek Fish Hatchery. We enjoyed our stop at the Fillmore Fish Hatchery last year while on vacation, and knew we'd probably enjoy this stop as well. At this hatchery, we were able to see baby fish, which was neat. After a quick change for the girls out of dirty clothes from being at the campsite and into shorts and tank tops, we settled in for our long car ride home. Hannah had a great time camping and complained off and on about not wanting to go home, her vacation comes to an end this week when she goes back to school on Thursday.

We arrived home shortly after 8. We had a great time and are looking forward to our next camping trip, when and where that'll be has yet to be decided, but we're looking forward to it at any rate.

To see all the pictures from our Mammoth Camping trip, please go to Mammoth Camping Part 1 and Mammoth Camping Part 2. You can also see other pictures from our camping trip by visiting my sister-in-laws Camping Pictures.