Summer is Here!

Well, it looks like summer is here to stay. It has been getting so hot these past few days that we decided it was time to set up the pool this weekend. So we went to church in the morning, then came home and watched movies in the A/C while Todd hauled all the pool pieces from the garage to the backyard. After we set it up and started the water we went to Tiki Hut for some frozen yogurt and, by the time we got home, it was a good 3 or 4 inches deep. Perfect Emma & TJ depth. :) They loved playing with the hose and splashing each other. I decided to turn it into a mini-waterpark for a while as well and they LOVED that. Too cute.

Market Night!

Emma & I went to Market Night last night with our friends Erin & Sophia. The girls (generally) get along really well together but both seemed to be in a bit of a mood last night. Simple things kept setting them off. I guess its to be expected when dealing with 2 year olds. 2 year old GIRLS. 2 year old girls who have been on their best behavior in daycare all day. Oh well, we still had a good time. The girls enjoyed running around together and getting to have hotdogs for dinner and ice cream for dessert. They also really liked the street musicians. They both twirled to the music for a while before Sophia really got her groove on and Emma decided to relax on the ground and just bob her head along to the beat. Yep, that's my rhythmically challenged daughter following in her mama's footsteps! :)

As for the last photo, this was an example of the psycho mood swings the girls were having. As we got back to Erin's house, I started to help Sophia out of her car seat since it was behind me. And Erin had the audacity to get Emma out. Emma did NOT like this and I got to hear how she "wanted Mommy to get me out" all the way home.

Ants in the Pants!

Emma's newest art project from school. How freaking cute is this??? I love all her little fingerprint bugs.

Love this face!

We had a playdate on Tuesday and went to the HOA pool where some of our friends are members. After swimming the kids, of course, wanted to climb for a bit on the playground equipment. Emma decided she liked hiding out in the tunnel. In fact, she tried to tell me that she was stuck inside when it was time to go! Stuck? No. Stubborn & refusing to climb out? Most definitely! I do love this moody little face peeking out though!

The Elmo Show!

And now, finally, the post that prompted the last 3 posts. Elmo 1-2-3 Imagine! Whoo hoo! So exciting... sort of. Emma & TJ were very excited to go see Elmo. Even Mikayla was into it, as she still will watch Sesame Street with the little ones on occasion and she loves to go see any kind of show anyway.

So we went to see Elmo. Emma enjoyed the first half of the show but, true to form, got moody after the intermission telling me she wanted to leave and that she had already seen Elmo. But then they opened with an actual "Elmo's World" segment and that made everything better. She loves that part of the show. TJ loved the whole thing and was clapping and singing along, as was Mikayla which was funny to see.

The kids were each allowed one souvenir and, funny enough, they all wanted the same thing ~ binoculars! So Karen bought 3 pairs of overpriced plastic Elmo binoculars. They were a hit. Especially since I had bought us seats up in the nosebleed section! They loved using the binoculars to see the characters close up though. And they loved the stairs. That's how we spent our intermission... on the stairs. I stood at the top (to keep them from tearing off down the hallway) and Karen stood at the bottom (to catch potential trippers) and we just let them go. I think that giant staircase might have been one of the highlights of the day. All in all, it was a cute show and a fun weekend with the kids. It might not have been Tony Award worthy, but they liked it none the less and I love taking my girl out to try new things.

Kids love hotels!

After we finished up at the beach we checked into the hotel. These kids (all kids?) love staying in a hotel! Something about the swimming pools and ice machines I think... at least I remember those being highlights when I was a kid. :) So as soon as we unloaded the car they were stripped down and in their bathing suits ready to head to the pool. Emma & TJ are much more pool kids than ocean kids. They love getting in the "cold pool" (only on the steps) and then hurrying over to get in the "hot pool." Back and forth, over & over. The hot tub always wins out though. They are definitely children of creature comforts.

After swimming we went back to the room for a "hotel picnic" with sandwiches we had packed at home. Hey.... it's a recession. Gotta cut costs where we can! The babies (& even Kayla) thought it was cool to have a picnic on the beds, something they would never get to do at home. Next it was time for baths and then movie night. I brought the laptop with us so we could watch a DVD and we had a big bag of candy and goody snacks. The kids were thrilled. Mikayla chose to do some reading during this time as well. That girl always has a book in her hands but especially now as she is competing in an AR contest at school & is currently in the lead! She read almost 2 whole books this weekend!

At the Beach...

Once we finally made it out to Camarillo, we decided to head to the beach for a bit. It was beautiful there and remarkably uncrowded. I hadn't been to the beach in 2 years and was excited to bring Emma with me to enjoy it. Originally, the plan had been to spend a good few hours there but we ended up spending that time in traffic instead. So we only played at the beach for an hour or so. We didn't even bother with bathing suits and towels, just changed into flip flops and headed for the shore. Turns out, bathing suits would have been a waste of time anyway as neither of the little ones wanted anything to do with the water.

Emma walked right out to the shore with me when we got there and, as soon as the freezing water hit her toes, she flipped out and practically climbed up me to get away from the water. She cried for a good 2 or 3 minutes telling me how she "does not like the beach!" But, after we sat and watched the water for a while, she decided she DOES like the beach... just not the ocean part of it. She says she only likes the sand.

TJ was loving the beach, running back and forth from the crashing waves and shrieking with delight as the water ALMOST got him each time. And then Karen made the mistake of letting the water ACTUALLY "get" him, or his toes to be more specific.... Bam! Same reaction as Emma. Apparently he "does not like the ocean" either.

The only one of the kids who actually does love the ocean and would love to go in and swim is Mikayla. And she is still recovering from her electrical incident last weekend so its not like she could take her bandaged hand into the water. So she just enjoyed walking along the shore, throwing rocks, and digging for sand crabs.