Lake Day...

I felt the need for a quick getaway, and there is no better place for me than Lake Arrowhead. We used to get up there for weekend getaways at least 3 or 4 times a year, but it has been a while since we have been up there. We weren't able to go for the weekend, but I was content with just hanging out for the day!

The weather was great, it was nice and cool, although the wind picked up a bit in the afternoon. After the horrible heat we've had at home the last few weeks, it felt GREAT to be in jeans and put on some sweatshirts!

We had a nice time just walking around the village, going in a few shops, walking along the shore, watching the boats, hanging out on some docks, and breathing in the wonderful mountain air. We even spent some time feeding the ducks...

We brought our own picnic lunch and the kids had fun playing on the grass while we ate. They could start a synchronized gymnastics class. :)

After lunch we walked along the shoreline some more and the kids spent hours looking for cool rocks and sticks and hanging out on the dock by the yacht club.
Pure beauty...
We finished the afternoon with a little ice cream...

It turned out to be a beautiful, relaxing day. I love, love, love being up in the mountains on a lake, and this is one of my favorite places. We had such a nice time just hanging out and enjoying the atmosphere and being together, and hopefully it won't be as long until the next time we can head up.

BMX Family Night!

Tony Tobin hosted a free family night at school as a fun way to welcome families back to school for the year and help kick off our PTA membership drive. Joe and Cooper got there a little early to save some seats and Zoe and I raced over after her dance class.

The show was absolutely AMAZING! These guys can do some pretty fantastic stunts.

They even jumped over Mr. McTasney who was sitting in a chair on top of the ramp!
It turned out to be a beautiful night, after a scorching hot day, a crazy storm with thunder, lightning and huge gusts of wind. We ended up with a pleasant night and a gorgeous sunset...

The kids each brought home an autographed poster, and continued to talk about the show and tricks throughout the night. I think that means the family night was a huge success!

108 degrees...you have got to be kidding me??

This heat is a killer. This is, by far, my least favorite time of year! August and September are just too darn hot. I really can't figure out why the kids are back to school when they can't even go outside for recess. It just doesn't make sense...we should be spending these days at the beach!

So, what to do? Well, we have spent A LOT of time in the pool this past week!

We also spent quite a bit of time at the Clubhouse this weekend. It was nice to be in the cool, air-conditioned space with lots of fun games to play. We played pool, foosball, air hockey, and ping-pong.

Cooper got the hang of ping-pong quite quickly. We had a great time and had a few good matches. Lacey became the foosball champion since none of us could beat her!
Cool temperatures, please come quickly!! I'm not sure how much more of this I can take!

Spa Day...

We have been planning a Mom's Spa Day for quite a while now, and for one reason or another, it never quite worked out. Joe had given me a gift card over a year ago for Mother's Day and I still hadn't used it. Well today was finally the day! Jenny, Chessa, Leslie and I headed to Glen Ivy for a relaxing (although way too short) day.
We hit the Mud Bath first. We had a great time slathering the thick mud all over ourselves and then baking in the sun.
After rinsing off in the showers and feeling our newly smooth skin, we went over to the pool to relax on the rafts. Since the heat has returned, it was nice to be in the cool water.

We were ready for lunch so we hit the Spa Cafe. We all had salads and split some awesome nachos...yummy!
We spent our last hour back in the pool. It was such a beautiful day and we had a great time chatting and relaxing. We wish we could've stayed longer to enjoy it a bit more, but we had to get back to pick up the kids from school.

I am definitely grateful for the day though. It has been a tough adjustment going from summer mode to school mode. Zoe started back up at dance after taking a month off, and Cooper had baseball assessments this weekend. So we are trying to get back into the swing of things. Thanks Joe for giving me the gift card so I could enjoy a nice girls day!

Back to School

I wasn't very excited when I woke up this morning, I'm just not ready for today to be here yet! This year just seems a little more unsettling than usual. Between Cooper nervous about his class and this being Zoe's last 1st day of elementary school, it is an emotional day. But, I put on my happy face and woke up the kids to get them ready. They were in pretty good spirits and we had a great french toast breakfast!
We had fun taking our first day of school pictures too! Can they really be in 3rd and 5th grade?

My baby girl sure is growing up!So is her brother!

They even wanted a goofy shot...
And they were both excited to bring their teachers a yummy treat for the first day!

Time to walk...
We went to Cooper's class first. Zoe was in good spirits, but as you can see Coop was a bit apprehensive.
Once he got inside, he gave me good smile before I had to head off. It was hard to leave him, especially knowing he was so nervous and unsettled about his class. I just kept reassuring him that he would do great!

I raced over to Zoe's class, but missed walking her in since I had stayed with Cooper. I did get a quick picture though and she seemed very happy!
I can't believe my baby is in her last year of elementary school! It seems like yesterday that we were walking her into kindergarten. Here's to hoping this is great year for both of them!

End of Summer.

Could it really be over?? Is it already time?? It couldn't possibly have gone by so quickly??

We are all pretty heartbroken that our summer break is over already. Where did the time go? Lazy mornings, great beach days, fun times in the pool, lots of neighborhood walks, a mini-getaway, bike rides, movies, baking....
I sure will miss this and can't believe that tomorrow is the first day of school! We had a fun and busy day enjoying our time together.

We had a lazy morning playing the Wii...

We went out to pizza for lunch and then stopped at 7-11 for a slurpee...

Then it was off to Chessa's for a fun afternoon of decorating the girls' school binders. There was lots of cute paper and of course, the Cricut, making for a fun time for the girls to personalize their binders. Coop had fun playing the Wii and eating a Popsicle.


Zoe and I had a great time getting Mommy/Daughter pedicures...

while Cooper stayed home with Dad to skateboard...

We finished the night with dinner and fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. Time to get to bed early...it will be a big day tomorrow!

A new year...

It's that time of year again...time to meet our new teachers for the school year. As usual, I was full of anxiety leading up to our annual ice cream social, as were the kids! They couldn't wait to get in line to look at the lists.

For Zoe's 5th grade year she will have Mrs. Underwood. She is a very sweet lady and I think Zoe will do very well in her class. She is also a big proponent of technology, so that should be fun too! Zoe is also thrilled to have her best friend Lacey in the same class.

Then it was time to move on to meet Cooper's 3rd grade teacher. He will have Ms. Chesney this year. He was happy to find out that she loves sports, P.E. and ice cream, but he was really sad that his best friends were put into other classes. I think it is going to be an adjustment for him, with an interesting group of kids, but I have faith that he will do great this year.

What a crazy evening with lots of emotions, but here's to another great school year...

Staying Busy...

We sure are enjoying the last week of our summer break. We are slowly getting things ready...buying new backpacks and lunch sacks, a few school supplies, loading up on school snacks at Costco, and having a beginning of the year PTA meeting.

On Wednesday we had a fantastic beach day in Carlsbad with some teachers and friends, and lots of kids from school. The weather was PERFECT! The kids had a great time playing in the sand, riding their boards, and filling every inch of themselves with sand. I'm so sad these summer beach days are already coming to an end.
They even buried Zoe in the sand...
We could've stayed all night! If only we'd had a fire pit to roast some hot dogs and marshmallows!

We also had Martin come for a quick visit on Thursday. We got to meet his new girlfriend, Kendra, and had a nice dinner and some hiking time...

On Friday, Heather got a bunch of us together for a fun Back to School pizza lunch. We ate and visited, and the kids spent lots of time in the arcade. Money seems to burn a hole in Cooper's pocket, so he decided to take $8 from his wallet inside...needless to say he spent $7 of it! We had a great time and it was nice to visit with Heather, Jenny, Teri, Chessa, Amanda and all the kids!

We also had some sleepovers and more cousin time...
including another backyard campout...

It's been a fun few days and we are definitely trying to squeeze in as much fun as we can before school starts!