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74 Days of Summer

I have calculated that we have 74 days between Westley's last day of Kindergarten and first day of First Grade (and Will's first day back to preschool). I wanted to keep track of the fun we have!

Making individual posts for each day is going to be too time consuming, so there will just be one post that I add on to.

Day 1 - Trip to Sea World - we saw 3 shows and rode all the kiddie rides. Will got to come face-to-face with a Dolphin. It smiled and squeaked for him.

Day 2 - Sick Day - we stayed inside all day while Westley was miserable with a fever  :(

Day 3- Blueberry Picking at Temecula Berry Co - We picked 2 pints of blueberries and the boys got to help the farmer feed the chickens and gather eggs. The place was beautiful, the staff were friendly, and the blueberries were great! We highly recommend the experience and we will be going back.

Day 4 - Pool Party in Hemet, celebrating Aunt Lisa's and Audrey's birthday.


Day 5 - Bowling. AMF Bowling Centers have a free summer pass where kids can bowl 2 games free every day and an adult buy a summer pass for $30 for the whole summer and get to bowl 3 games free every day (and you can bring 3 other adults to bowl free too). I thought this deal was too good to be true but we used it today and it is what it says. I was happy when I bowled a Turkey :)

Day 6 - Fun day with Aunt Cheryl - Miniature Golf, games, and pancakes.

Day 7 - trip to Legoland got cancelled due to morning misbehavior :(

Day 8, 9, 10- mini family vacation to The Westin in Rancho Mirage (near Palm Springs) so pretty with great pools! Water slide fun for the whole family, and a  1 1/2 feet deep pool the kids enjoyed for hours.

Day 9 also included  a morning trip to the Living Desert, a small zoo there. We all got to feed a giraffe!

Day 10 - Father's Day homemade biscuits, a book for Dad with reasons why we love you, and Trapeze fun (more fun for mom than the kids but they love the big trampoline there)

Day 11 - Bowling again- this time with 3 infants, 5 children under six years old, and 3 adults.  Bonus was seeing a baby cow nurse from it's mom in the field next to the back of the parking lot afterwards.

Day 12 - San Diego Fair. It was mine and Will's first trip to the fair. A bit crowded for my liking but the the boys thoroughly enjoyed the rides.

Day 13 - Fun Day with Grandma Kathy, finished off by getting to make a tent in her living room and sleep in it.

Day 14 -  Science activities with balloon

Day 15- Balloon tennis in the living room.

(Balloon tennis is super fun, tape a paint stir stick onto a paper plate to use as a racquet to hit balloons)

Day 16- Watched Dad play in a softball game PD vs Fire Department. We ran a snackbar for charity.

Day 17- Mom broker her toe at Trapeze, but that meant the boys lucked out and got to go to Carl's Jr. (where they love the play structure) for dinner.

Day 18- Mini birthday party at the beach for cousin Owen, and swim lessons

Day 19- Swimming at the pool with play group friends

Day 20- Beach day - with a mission to dig a big deep hole

Day 21- Will got to take a Train ride with Dad to the coast and have ice cream. Then Westley got to go out to lunch with just Dad to Shakey's.

Day 22- Played at our neighborhood parks.

Day 23-30 Camping Trip at San Elijo State Beach. Lots of bike riding,  extravagant sand castle buidling, and the boys started to learn to boogie board!  4th of July was a pool and backyard party at our cousin's house.

Day 31- Family Pool Party- with wild slide fun with Uncle Chris.

Day 32- My Kids Clubhouse camp with cousins Angelina and Johnny, and swim lessons.

Day 33- Pool Party for a friend's birthday, and juicing lemons for lemon curd (an all time favorite activity for the boys)

Day 34- My Kids Clubhouse camp again.

Day 35- Bowling with Mom, Grandma, and friends. Then swim lessons

Day 36- Painting tiles at Clay & Latte

Day 37 & 38 - Helping Dad build a chicken coop

Day 39 - Made a living room fort and went to a Birthday celebration for Grandma Martha





Day 40 - Westley went to Flip Force gymnastic camp. Will had pool play date with cousin Johnny

Day 41 - Painted in the backyard and  homemade fudgesicle  ice cream

Day 42 - Westley went to Flip Force again, Will and I went to Sea World

Day 43 - Lazy morning and swim lessons in afternoon.

Day 44 - The boys went Kayaking with Dad.

Day 45 - Dug out the old water table and had some water fights in the back yard.


Day 46 - Mom was busy on a total cleaning rampage after finding an unwanted guest in the house. Boys played outside a lot. We did sneak in time to make make homemade granola bars.

Day 47 - Gymnastics camp for both boys at Oceanside Gymnastics. Then we made homemade vanilla ice cream.

Day 48 - Went to a friends house to play and jump on their trampoline, then Gymnastics camp

Day 49-51 - lazy mornings and Gymnastics camp in the afternoon.

Day 52 - 7 house guests = lots of people to play with Westley. He was in Heaven

Day 53- 59  - camping trip at San Elijo State Beach. Lots of time with family, including our favorite Alabamans! Both boys were great at boogie boarding, Mom boogie boarded too. Westley won two Uno championships. Will celebrated his birthday early and spent hours playing with his favorite gift, and Imaginext Spaceship.

Day 60 - Wills 4th Birthday! We went to a Pirate Party at church, then made his cakes.

Day 61 - Chuck E Cheese morning continuing Will's birthday celebration. (I avoid that place at all costs on weekends, but 11am on a weekday is decently pleasant.

Day 62 - Legoland Waterpark. Our first time there this summer!

Day 63 - Bowling, then Trapeze for mom, trampoline for the boys

Day 64 - Legoland- the boys and I did it all - rides, miniature golf, and went back to the waterpark

Day 65 - boys were getting worn out from all our previous days of activity. Met friends at Jamba Juice, and later redeemed free birthday ice creams at Baskin Robins. In the evening, mom went to a party where she ziplined (for the first time ever) into a swimming pool

Day 66 & 67 - boys stayed at Grandma Kathy's house -went to a park, swam, and played games

Day 68 - Pajama Day - boys turned down my offers to go to Sea World or a park... they were content playing at home, staying in their pajamas until swim lessons in the evening, which they completed, then changed back into pajamas.

Day 69 - Walked the Oceanside Pier and had lunch at Ruby's.

Day 70- Legoland and Legoland waterpark. Westley got to do the Driving School for 6-12 year olds for the first time. We also miniature golfed there.

Day 71- Visited Will's new preschool class. Boys played dress up for the first time ever in his classroom. Then went to our friend's house to play and jump on their trampoline.

Day 72- Participated in Major's ceremony for Canine Companion's Puppy Raising program. We have cared for him and trained him for 18 months, but it was time to turn him back in for his professional training. If he passes he will be matched with a person with a disability to be their assistance/companion dog.  We will miss him though.
This afternoon, we got chickens (which all the boys in my house are very excited about).


Day 73 and 74- We went up to Grandma and Grandpa's house in Hemet. It was quite hot there, but great weather for swimming in their pool.

- - - - - - - - - -
Our 74 days of summer are complete, and now we are all back in school. Summer went by too fast. I wish we could have done even more. Now both boys are in school until 2. Without the boys and Major here the house feels empty. Kevin and I miss them, and they miss us, each other, and just being home. They both had a good start in their classrooms though. We hope to have a great school year, and another wonderful summer next summer.

Fold Over Painting

I've been meaning to do this activity with the boys forever, finally we got around to it, and they were interested it it.
We started out with butterfly shapes but tried other symmetrical shapes too, dotting on paint, folding it over, and then opening up the paper to see color added

Very Easy. This kept them busy for an hour. They made many more fold over paintings

Color Me Playhouse

Grandma and Grandpa got the boys this for Christmas, but we didn't get it out of the box until February.

This color me playhouse was really big, probably too big for some houses, but it was fun that we could all fit inside.
The boys drew on the inside walls too. I think Westley drew a TV for watching football.
They also really enjoyed the mail slot. I got out envelopes and addressed them to the boys and put 1 cent stamps on them and included an I love you note inside.
They were just as excited to get this as to get real mail.

I think this would be great if you could get a little smaller one for a week vacation in a condo or trip somewhere where you are staying and there is not much kid stuff.

Valentines

Will was very interested in making Valentine poster/cards this year. His ritualistic nature produced about 10  pictures almost exactly alike.
Each included a big heart made by the old trick of folding a piece of paper in half, drawing 1/2 a heart, and then cutting it out and opening it up to be a full big heart
He got good at it though - he can cut the hearts out all by himself!

Grandma Martha came to help one day. We all had lots of fun together

 Valentine's Day morning at our house (you can see a couple of Will's Valentines on the Wall

Homemade Tortilla Factory

After getting Will's hopes up to visit the Tortilla factory in California Adventure, we discovered it is not there anymore. Sad, that is all Will was interested in doing during our trip to Disneyland.

So I had to make it up to him by having our own tortilla factory.

I've posted this recipe before, but have to again because it is so good.

This time the boys enjoyed shaping the tortillas with me

Here's the recipe from the website preschool rock.com but this recipe should not just be limited to preschoolers. I would make them even if I didn't have kids.

NOTE: we skip the steps of rolling them in oil and letting them sit 15-30 min.
I just make sure the griddle is greased and spread a little butter on them when they are finished.

How to Make Flour Tortillas

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp canola oil
3/4 cup water

Step 1:Combine flours and salt in a medium sized bowl. Add oil and water and mix with a fork until dough holds together.

Step 2:Place dough on a floured surface and knead the dough for about 5 minutes. Add more all-purpose flour to the surface when dough becomes too sticky to knead. Give your preschooler a small piece of dough to knead.

Step 3:Divide dough into 12 pieces and let your preschooler form a ball with each piece. Add a small amount of oil to a bowl and place the dough balls in the bowl, one at a time, coating each with oil. Cover the bowl with a towel and let stand 15 minutes to 1/2 hour.

Step 4:Roll each dough ball with a rolling pin into a 6 inch circle. Place tortilla in a preheated, ungreased skillet and heat until brown spots appear on the bottom. Flip the tortilla and cook for an additional one minute. Cool slightly and serve.

Crepes (French Pancakes)

We have been on a cooking spree lately.

The boys helped make these, and Westley helped devour them

I've never made crepes before. Having to turn the heat on and off for each one was a bit of a pain, but it was nice to have something different.

Crepes (French Pancakes)

recipe make 4

• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
• ¼ teaspoon sale
• ½ cup milk or soy milk (might need a tiny bit extra)
• 1 egg
• vegetable oil

Directions:

1. 1
   Mix together flour, powdered sugar, and salt.
2. 2
   Add milk and eggs.
3. 3
   Mix well until smooth.
4. 4
   Heat oil in frying pan on medium/high until pan is hot (you may not need oil if you have a nonstick pan).
5. 5
   Pour about 1/4 of the mixture in the pan and turn off heat.
6. 6
   Cook until dry and then flip. Remove immediately and place on plate or serving dish.
7. 7
   Repeat.

Soft Whole Wheat Bread

Will helped me make this bread. It was really good fresh out of the oven, we all ate 1/2 the loaf right away
It is from the Book Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes A Day.
Don't be fooled it too much longer than 5 minutes, but it was worth it

100 Day of School

Westley's first school project

Needing to glue on 100 things for the 100 day of school

Professor Penny Pickles Children's Museum

My mom has wanted to take the boys to Professor Pennypickle's Workshop Children's Museum in Temecula for a while now, and we finally made it there.
It is set up like a house with different rooms and is the house of a crazy inventor names Professor Pennypickle. It is a science based museum, good for young children, but elementary school aged children can get more out of the science activities.
They have sessions so you can come in for 2 hours, so it doesn't get too busy. It wasn't too busy at all the Saturday we were there. The boys had a great time, and keep asking to go back. We will definitely go back sometime. This is great if you are every in Temecula or want to make a day trip out of it. It is in the historic old town area so there are other shops and touristy old things around and restaurants. There is also a farmers market close by on Saturdays. If going on a Saturday I recommend going to the 10:00-12:00 session as parking does fill up downtown by noon.
my photos aren't that great

Westley learning about the different types of lightbulbs in the Power and Electricity room

 The boys in a real hot air balloon basket in the Aviations room

 Grandma and Will in the music room

Thanks Grandma Martha for a fun time! (and for lunch afterwards)

String Trapeze/Zip Line

I rarely go on the computer when my boys are awake, but for some reason this day I needed to do something, and when I then walked into the playroom it looked like this

I had overheard the boys as they worked on it, they were building a trapeze. They continued to work on it for the longest time

I then helped them get some of the strings they wanted higher, and I found a was to zip line mini gummy down one of the strings.

This is not the first time my boys have had elaborate play with string. Give a young child a thing of yarn and a roll of masking tape and they will be happy and busy for the longest time!

San Diego Botanical Gardens

The first Tuesday of the month is free at the San Diego Botanical Gardens.
We have only been there twice and have never explored the whole Gardens.
This time we did with our cousins Misty, Owen, and Cole.
We went to the kids area right when they opened, which I knew to do because moms with young children is who really takes advantage of the free day and it gets very busy. The kids got to climb in the tree house, build with big blocks, make music, go through the alphabet garden, but their favorite was building and playing in the area with sand, dirt and water. Too many mother's dismay this area was a favorite for many of the kids. In this area was something I found really neat. There were metal poles in a square to make a house. Then there were long pieces of lightweight wood (2 by four style) that could be put between the poles to create walls. There were also shorter pieces of wood so you could make windows and doors. I would love to see this at preschools.

We beat the crowd but they started to catch up with us and it got quite busy, so we moved on to explore the rest of the gardens, which we have never done. I am so glad we did. The boys had a great time and we barely ran into any other people. We hiked up a little hill and saw a waterfall, visited a neat Bamboo "forest" and used our bamboo sticks as pretend fishing poles in a pond. The 4 boys had a great time together!

Home Depot Kid's Workshop

On the first Saturday of the month, Home Depot offers a free workshop for kids.
We went and had a great time! It was well organized, the kit of what to make was easy to work with, and the kids get an apron their first time to wear each time, and pin to document what projects they have made.
This was our first time, and the boys made Saving Sheds (little house like banks) Complete with a screwed in bottom piece to remove coins.
They helped hammer in the nails of each side and afterward we painted them.
I took the boys to a Lowe's workshop before. Those you are supposed to sign up for in advance, but have to sign up way in advance. When I went I didn't take Kevin and I struggled to make the Monster Truck project. Overall the set up of the project area wasn't as organized either. We will give Lowe's another try, but will definitely go back to Home Depot

"Sledding" in San Diego

This picture is not of us, I couldn't have my phone out and participate in this at the same time so no pictures of my boys, but thought this picture was so funny.
Yes that is a real sled, and yes that is a mound of sand.
We were at Moonlight beach with our cousins. We were actually "sledding" down the longer side of this sandhill on boogie boards.

January is southern California, I love it!

Pantry Stacking

This continues to be one of Will's things he likes to do. I have older pictures of more elaborate stacks of canned food. This time it was peanut butter :)

Zoo Trip with Cousins

My cousin Misty and her boys Owen and Cole were visiting from Arkansas.
We did many fun things I did not properly document (I didn't take my camera out much!)
I did get a really cute picture at the Zoo.
Note to all - Going to the Zoo the day after Christmas is not a good idea. It's like going shopping the day after Thanksgiving. We survived the crowds and the giant Hill back to the front of the Park and had fun with all our cousins so we will call it a success :)