August

Most days this August I got to take a nap next to this cutie while Kate and Gwen watched their show for the day. She sleeps best next to her mama. 

Kate and I had a special date to pick our her new backpack and lunch box for first grade. She loved it and I got this note on my pillow that night. Lucky me!

We took a family field trip to the local nature center. We had just finished reading a library book on monarch butterflies and the girls were so excited to see the monarchs (caterpillars, chrysalis and butterflies) all around the milkweed bushes.

We've spent a lot of time in our pool and watching our babe on her play mat. Kate and Gwen are so helpful with Clara and love to take care of her.

 

Clara got all dressed up for her first Sunday at church. She slept the whole time.

Paul had planned to take Kate and Gwen to the lake with my family and Clara and I were going to stay home to rest. At the last minute we decided to join them and I'm so glad we did. Clara was so easy to travel with. She slept the entire 6 hours in the car, waking up once to eat. Clara and I mostly hung out at the house while everyone played on the lake. It was relaxing and fun to watch Kate water ski for the first time. She did great and was so proud of herself!

One of our weekends was spent at a block party with our neighbors. We live on a fun street with really nice people and lots of kids. Our kids love it. We had our annual meet up with our friends the Andersen's. This time they were so nice to bring us dinner and come swimming at our house. We met in NYC and now 3 girls and 3 boys later, it's still fun to get together. We should more often!

The girls riding the train at a local park with one of their favorite babysitters, Amanda.

Summer days spent walking to the park, swimming and doing a kids yoga dvd. The girls love their tree pose.

Paul left work early and we went to Disneyland for the evening. Despite the constant sweaty state we were in, we had a pleasant time and enjoyed that there were no crowds! 

Friday before Labor day weekend we met a group of friends at Doheny Beach in Dana Point. It was one of the best beach days of the summer. It was a really hot day and the water was so refreshing and warm to swim in. I even got to attempt surfing again and thanks to my friend, Sally, stood up on a few waves. The kids ran around playing in the sand and water from lunchtime until sunset. After sunset we moved the party to the fire pits and had pizza and roasted s'mores. Gwen had sand in her hair for 3 days after, but it was worth it! Clara was happy to be held most of the day by whoever was sitting in the shade and then in the sling at night. It's days like this that make me sad summer has to end!

 

We celebrated GG and Gramps 94th birthdays and wedding anniversary. My mom goes all out throwing their party and this year had a Luau with Hula dancers. The girls looked forward to it all week. We are blessed to have GG and Gramps in our lives and love their positive outlook on life. 

Tomorrow school starts and summer break is officially over. It's always a bittersweet time in our house. It's exciting to start a new school year and I think we are all craving a bit more routine. But we've enjoyed lazy summer mornings together and coming and going as we please. The girls summer workbooks are probably not as complete as they should be but we have had fun! And we've added Clara to our family and that alone makes me feel like I've accomplished a lot this summer!