4th leg of the trip...the Bay area

Next we were off to see Uncle Rob, Uncle Tracy and cousin Joey in Los Altos (just outside of San Francisco).

Rick, the girls and I drove up (all I can say is bless the person who invented the in-car DVD player!) and Grandma and Grandpa Churchwell flew up. The girls couldn't wait to see Joey!
There was plenty of eating out on the back patio (unheard of in Texas during the summer), seeing the sights, playing at the park, walking the dogs, swimming in the pool, sleeping in the "clubhouse"...the room that we slept in was the converted garage and it's huge! We made a very large pallet on the floor and the cousins would have a slumber party in there. It was dubbed the "clubhouse" and all it would take was for one adult to mention the clubhouse and the kids would scamper off to play. I also gave them a new "secret" password every so often and told them if the adults didn't know the password they weren't allowed in. They loved it!

One day we visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It was awesome! So many things to see...

the kids all ready for the trip to the aquarium

Hannah, Joey, Haylee and Uncle Rob at the touch tank

cousins posing in a giant shell

this school of fish swimming around was pretty awesome

the girls were captivated by the jellyfish...how could they not be?

We also took a trip out to Capitola to see the new beach house Rob and Tracy were building. It is finished as I type but not quite while we visited. They are just a few minutes walk from the beach and all the excitement.

We spent quite a bit of time playing on the beach...building sandcastles, running in and out of the waves, having lunch, more playing in the waves. Uncle Tracy was a trooper, down in the sand with the kids the whole time. I can't wait until next summer and hopefully spending more time at the beach house!

I took a ton of shots at the beach but this is one of my favorites...we had just arrived and the girls were checking out the enormity of the water with Joey

At the end of our time there we had to say goodbye to Rick. He was driving his parents back down to Fullerton and then flying home to Texas.

"we love you daddy!"

The girls and I flew out to Seattle and the last part of our trip...THANK YOU Rob, Tracy, and Grandma and Grandpa Churchwell for your hospitality. We loved spending time with you all!...more to come...

Muffin Tin Monday - Back to School

Today has been a "school" filled day for us and it doesn't even start until next week!

The teachers are back at school getting everything ready for next week so the PTA sponsored a "Back To School" lunch for them, catered by The Texas Roadhouse. It was YUMMY! I only know because I went up to the school to help out and got to try it. The girls went with me and Haylee got to see her new kindergarten teacher and Hannah got to see her old 1st grade teacher from last year. They were very excited!

After lunch I took the girls to get their "back to school" haircuts. Nothing too drastic, just a little trim but they look much better!

Haylee has been quite nervous about going to kindergarten this year. In fact, when I took her to the Kindergarten Tour last Friday she was in tears. She's a very shy little girl! Once we got there and she got to go to her new class and meet her new teacher, she was much better. Her teacher is a cute little thing and Haylee is really excited about school now!

There was no theme for MTM this week so I carried our daily theme of school into our MTM! Tonight our Muffin Tin Meal was LUNCH! I basicallly just put together what they will be taking in their lunch boxes.

meat/cheese/mayo sandwich (as the girls call them), carrots and ranch, chips, cookies and diced peaches

Aren't these school bus cookies cute?? (sorry they're a little blurry!) At dinner Hannah shared some of her favorite things about kindergarten with Haylee. We also read the 2 books you see... "Tom Goes to Kindergarten" and "Countdown to Kindergarten". I am hoping to get Haylee as comfortable with the idea of "big girl school" as possible. I know that there will still be tears next week (on both our parts, I'm sure!) but I am hoping things like tonight will help her be excited to go. Keep your fingers crossed!

Head over to Her Cup Overfloweth to see what fun meals other moms have put together!

Leg 3 of our summer vacation... back in Fullerton

After our visit to Visalia we headed back down to Fullerton and Rick's parents for a few days. While we were there we got to see Aunt Claudia and Uncle Dale (Dale is Grandma Marlene's brother). It's always nice to see them and, as you can tell, the girls enjoyed the visit too! We went out to lunch then back home for a rousing game of Jenga. Poor Grandma, I think Hannah was about to give her a heart attack!
Grandma also favored us with a few songs on the piano. I would love to take piano lessons... maybe someday. I would really like the girls to learn too. I love this picture...
We also visited Griffith Park in Los Angeles to see the Los Angeles Live Steamers Railroad Museum. Basically it's just a bunch of big boys showing off their toys! But what cool toys they are! We took a ride on this little lovely...

It was a lot of fun! Someone even had their "Thomas" engine out for the day. They have quite a track layout there... we went over a bridge or two, through a tunnel, etc. After that we went over to Walt's Red Barn which is located right next door. It's really quite an interesting place to visit. Walt Disney loved trains and even had a small railroad he named the Carolwood Pacific in his backyard. This barn was where he tinkered with a lot of his trains. A lot of history is in this barn. I'm glad we got to see it!

And, of course, our trip to S. CA. wouldn't be complete with a visit to Disneyland... well, at least Downtown Disney, anyway! This visit we just didn't have the time to visit the park but we love to shop there! And of course, pose with a few "characters". Our sweet little girls don't pose with beautiful Belle, sweet Snow White or even tiny Tinkerbell... NO! They go for:

dastardly Darth Vadar (in the Lego store)

utterly evil Ursula from the Little Mermaid

*sigh* What's a mother to do? Coming up next... our time in the Bay area! Stay Tuned!

Muffin Tin Monday - Planes, Trains and Automobiles

We missed Muffin Tin Monday while we were on vacation! (notice her cute new button!) It's good to get back into the groove! This weeks theme is "Planes, Trains and Automobiles". I had a hard time with it and decided to do it dessert style! Here is what the girls got...

mini oreo's, big marshmallow, twinkie, cup of milk, baggie with frosting (for the glue) and one mini peanut butter cup

And here is what they made:a choo choo train! (if you squint and tilt your head a little bit, you can see it!)

Head over to Her Cup Overfloweth and see all of the other awesome ideas! I don't know where these ladies come up with them! Too fun!

We interupt the summer vacation posts to bring you this important announcement...

Today is National S'mores Day!!

If there was a Hallmark card for such an occasion, I would certainly send you one. S'mores are one of my FAVORITE things. If you'll lean in a little closer, I'll let you in on a secret:
*I love their chocolatey, gooey goodness so much that sometimes I'll make them in the microwave!* (If you share this information, I WILL deny it!)

I was checking some of my favorite blogs and came across this post at Skip To My Lou. I love the cookie idea and will be looking for those today!

I also happened across this fabulous fabric and thought I would purchase a bolt of it and make matching outfits for me and my close friends... you know who you are and you can thank me later!

I truly think that the eating of s'mores could bring about world peace and I'm willing to do my share...

Happy National S'mores Day! Get out there and eat some!

2nd leg of summer trip... Visalia!

The 2nd part of our trip was spent in Visalia CA!
We took a few days to go visit part of my family but not before we had to wait in a an 1 +hours of traffic on I-5 going over the mountains. This is what we saw....

lovely clouds of smoke...yikes!

we watched helicopters drop water on the fire, etc. as we drove up to the scene. By the time we got there most of it was out but you could see how close it had gotten to the side of the road because the posts that hold the guard rails up still had flames on them!

the hard-working firefighters that put the flames out...thank you!!

We stayed with my mom and took in a few sights in the area. On the first day we went to the Kings Canyon and Sequoia Nat'l parks. So beautiful! The weather was perfect and it was a nice break from the heat of TX. Here are a few pictures from the parks.

we ate at a little picnic area then...

we cleaned up other peoples trash that had been left around said picnic area... "leave only footprints"!

the girls are standing next to a tree that had fallen over... it's hollowed out so they could go inside and out the other end... it's so BIG!

ok, little story about this family photo... Rick wanted to hike up to the Tokopah Falls in Sequoia Nat'l Park. "It's a nice little hike", he says, "you'll love it", he says. It really wasn't too bad and the girls were great little hikers... until we ran into the swarms of mosquitos that were SO big you could saddle and ride those things! And there was no escaping them! Did we think to bring insect repellent? NO! UGH, it was awful! And then we got to the falls. I mean, they're nice enough and all, but they're no Snoqualmie Falls... I'm not hatin', I'm just saying. (you'll picures of those falls in another post from our trip) But truly, it was a great little hike and the scenery along the way was beautiful!

Also, my cousin Jana had us over for a BBQ and swimming. It was so good to see some of my cousins... Jana, Allison, Macy, Michael & Tiffany.the gals, splashing around

It was just good to see everyone! A few people stopped by my mom's to say hello...Ashley, Scott, Mary, Deneise, Haylee, me, Hannah, my mom

And we also spent some time at my Aunt Karen's house.
The girls had a good time playing over there with their cousin Briana... in fact, Haylee was over heard saying "I want to live at YOUR house" as they noshed on s'mores and played the Wii in Briana's bedroom! =}

We really like Visalia... the small town feel but just about any store you need is right there... right at the foot of the mountains and the National Parks... and family! Thanks for a fun visit!

The First Leg of our Trip..

Our blog has been a little quiet these past few weeks. We've been on vacation! The girls and I still are... Rick is back in TX in the heat but actually I think it's hotter here in WA where we are right now!

The first part of our trip was spent in Fullerton CA with Rick's parents. We only had 2 days there before we were on to our next adventure. Here are a few pictures from this part of the trip...

We went to the Orange Empire Railway Museum to see the trains, etc. It was so hot there... I thought since we were from TX we could handle the heat but it was HOT! Here are the girls posing in front of an engine that Ward Kimball donated to the museum. Who is Ward Kimball you may ask? He is one of Walt's “Nine Old Men.” He was especially noted for creating Jiminy Cricket, but it was Ward's enthusiasm for trains that motivated Walt's interest in trains. Ward built a railroad in his backyard and dubbed it the“Grizzly Flats Railroad.”

Rick's parents have a virtual garden of Eden in their backyard! An avacado tree, a lemon tree, 2 orange trees, etc. Rick loves to pick some oranges and make freshly squeezed orange juice. Hannah and Haylee got to help him pick the oranges... here is Hannah getting a few...

Here the girls are getting a little lovin' from their Grandma Marlene. They LOVE her! She loves to play cards with the girls, go on walks with them, etc. They always love coming to Grandma and Grandpa Churchwell's house! Next stop is Central California, visiting Grandma Joycie! Check back soon....