Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Summer 2012: What Did You Do In June?

Ok, I know the grandparents are ready to kill for some photos... here's what we've been doing so far this summer....

JUNE

June 2nd: Alyx's Summer Picnic at Vasa Park
Theme was Surfin' Safari. Took a silly family photo, rode a pony, Daddy did a sack race, and Maddie played in the various bounce houses (Unusual for her) and played in the bubbles! She thought mama was crazy when she was told she could go in with her clothes on. Sage Publications sure knows how to throw a good party!











June 5th - Last Day of Preschool. Because of our Palm Springs vacation, we missed the actual last day of school. Teacher Samantha was very sweet to give Maddie a book at the end of the year and go through her Me Book with her. That's a book put together by all the parents throughout the year. It's a lot of work to make pages for all 15 or so kids, BUT I realize now, just how special those memories are to capture. I'm sure it'll be a book she shows her kids someday.




June 6-9th- Our Annual Palm Springs trip with the Abrams Family
Bella and Maddie had lots of fun playing on the golf course and were even surprised by the sprinklers one evening. We all played in the great pools, and went back to the Children's Museum in Desert Springs. This year the two of them got to paint a car. As always, we ALL had a great time!






June ?? - We Flew a Kite for the first time! Maddie received a kite from her aunties a LONG time ago and we finally took it out for a test. Neither of us were really sure what we were doing but having both seen Mary Poppins, I thought "how hard could it be". Mission Oaks park was recently remodeled and is known for being windy so off we went to play on the new equipment and to attempt to fly the kite.




Weekday in June- Bowling with Nathan-
Each year I've signed her up for "free Summer bowling" but this is the first time we've tried it at our local Harvey's Camarillo Bowl. They didn't last very long but were very excited to throw/roll the ball and of course have a popcorn snack.





June 15th - Wanna Wanna Camp Lakota
Sarah's mommy friends take turns hosting play dates each month. June was Sarah's turn and to kick the summer off, she thought it would be fun to have all the families over for camping in her backyard. The kids swam, played on the swing set, ran around with glow sticks. Because it was an overnighter, everyone was really relaxed and parents enjoyed cocktails and the kids; smores around the fire. Scott built the pit just in time for the occasion. I created a fun banner to hang and each family was able to decorate a personalized family flag. Super fun time!





June 16th - Date Night to Lure Fish House in Camarillo. I won a gift card a few months back and couldn't wait for a date night with my hubby. Matt is not a fan of oysters so these babies were all mine! Maddie had a fun kids night at the YMCA while Matt and I enjoyed a nice dinner. We then picked up some chocolates to share with Maddie. She always seems to make new friends and doesn't want to leave. It's a nice $13 break and we already know all the caretakers and they all adore Maddie.


June 17th- Father's Day

After receiving a plate that Maddie made a school, a shirt with her handprints, and some fancy beers in the fridge, we headed out for a game Mini Golf. Another first for our family (all together). We had fun until Maddie fell down and got a scrape on her knee. :( We didn't make it the entire course, but we did end of playing video games before we left.





She was already "done" by this point. :)
June 19th - MOMS Club playdate at My Gym in Ventura
We went to this place regularly for a month or two last year. Maddie loves it! MOMS Club planned for a class but it ended up being open play time so the kids just ran around having fun.



June 21st - We've been busy!

We've been so busy on some days it's crazy (but fun). The day we had gymboree in the morning, then went to the park to play with our Pleasant Valley Co-op friends. After that we went swimming. Maddie came home and watched a movie at her table.. next thing I knew, she was asleep. If you know this kid, you know she isn't one to fall asleep anywhere except the car seat or her bed. She will fight and fight the urge... guess this day was a little too busy. I left the room after taking a photo of her and she was on the floor! lol



June 23rd- Her friend Carson's 4th Birthday

Her friend Carson had a Monster Truck Party! Again, my girl surprised me by loving the bounce house. The key is to go in when it's empty or just a few mild kids. If it gets too crazy, she scoots on out. The cake was really fun, and his grandma made these adorable truck cookies!


The mom was smart and gave all the kids a truck on their cake plate!

Fun in the bounce house!

This girl loves birthday cake!


June 26th- Malibu beach with friends
We went to a new beach with some friends. The water was very calm so we were able to run in the waves and the kids played in the sand. It was actually right behind a few celebrity homes.



June 26th - (same day) - First Day of Swimming lessons.
This year we waited for summer to be in full swing before starting. Last year it was pretty chilly for some of our lessons. This time we had them at 3:30 instead of 9:00am. She's definitely a lot more comfortable in the water. We even did one two week session without me in the water with her. She doesn't like to put her face in the water or go under but we're working on it. We've gone to swim at the YMCA quite a bit this year (at least 3x a week) which is more than last year.





June 29th - Create Art Studio in Westlake
We had a play date with my MOMS club at a new location. There is an art studio that has anything and everything you could imagine for someone to "create". Maddie decorated a box with modge podge, glitter, markers, paper, tissue paper, buttons, stickers, and a barbie head.. yes, we hot glued a head to the top. It's super creepy but she was VERY proud of her box and still puts her toys into it. The place was very cool and I really want to go back! Even some of the older siblings had fun.

Here's the box before the barbie head was added



That's it for JUNE, Stay tuned for JULY! Besides all the events I brought my camera for, we also went for walks, grocery shopping, had park play dates and craft/play dough time at home. Whew!