Afternoon activities

Although the little ones were spending their mornings at VBS last week, I still needed to keep them occupied during the afternoons. As always, we were able to find plenty to do. On Monday, we met Heather & her kids at McDonalds and then went swimming at her HOA pool. On Tuesday we had lunch and then went to the library. The kids enjoyed turning in their weekly books and spinning for prizes in the summer reading program, playing on the computers, and Mr. Tom even brought out a guinea pig for them to pet! On Wednesday we went shopping at the mall and Emma, Sophia, & Hayden had a blast at the indoor play space before we headed off to gymnastics class. On Thursday afternoon we went swimming at Tim & Jen's & had dinner over there. I brought stuffed zucchini - yum! Then, on Friday, we went to See's Candy (yay for free lollipop day!), out to lunch, and then Jen took some AWESOME pictures of our girls in their matching Kith dresses at Sylvan Park... those pix coming up soon! Such a fun, busy week!

VBS

Emma & TJ are finally old enough to attend Vacation Bible School! I didn't sign them up at the church we usually go to just because they run VBS as an evening program and I was looking for a morning activity. So they attended VBS at The Packinghouse in Redlands this past week. The theme of this year's program was "Kingdom Kids" and, let me tell you what, nothing excited Emma, Sophia, and Hayden more than an excuse to don princess garb! They looked adorable and (I hope) learned a bit too. In fact, the kids keep singing songs they learned and quoting scripture bits they picked up. At one point, TJ told Karen that "It doesn't matter if I don't win (whatever it was he was doing right then) because.... " the battle belongs to the Lord!"" I love it. :) Plus, it gave me 3 whole hours of peace & quiet every morning where I could run errands and get things accomplished... or relax & drink coffee while perusing facebook. :) This week was a blessing all the way around.

Rugrat reunion!

Back in February one of Emma's friends, Kaia, moved up to Northern California with her Mommy (Erinn) and Daddy. Erinn & Kaia came back down this past weekend to visit family and they were able to squeeze in a playdate. So we all met up at Jen's house on Sunday afternoon for lunch, swimming, and fun. The kids were excited to see Kaia and we all had a great time!

Happy birthday Tommie!

After art class, Karen & I took the kids over to Alicia's house to celebrate Tommie's 6th birthday. They had TWO waterslides set up, a snowcone machine, 3 pinatas, bobbing for apples (Emma got one!) and TONS of food. We had a great time and Emma & TJ had a blast playing with all the other kids. What a fun afternoon.

Petite Picasso!

 

 Karen & I took Emma & TJ to a trial art class hosted by Kith this past Saturday morning. They had a chance to test out some different mediums... paint, pastels, chalk pastels, and collage... for about an hour. Emma seemed to really enjoy the experience and was very proud of all here creations but I don't think actually signing up for the classes would be worth it at this point. They aren't doing anything that I haven't already done with her and, at $20 a class, it  is not for us yet. The free trial was a fun way to spend the morning though...

Rolling, rolling, rolling...

With all the other activities we have been involved with this summer, the free bowling program has been pushed to the back burner and we have only gone a couple of times this summer. Last week was one of those days. Emma & her bffs had a good time bowling after our customary lunch at shakey's. I even remembered to snap a few photos of my girl. She is so strong. I can't believe how well she does, even without the ramp! In fact, as much as we try to discourage the "I'm first! I won! Whose turn is it?!" squeals from the wee ones, I have to tell you... Emma won the 2nd game. :):)

Pharaoh's Splash Kingdom!

One possibility that was always on the table for my friends and I was the idea of taking the girls to the local waterpark. But, as a group of frugal minded mommies, there was no way any of us were going to agree to the $30 general admission cost. Well, as luck would have it, the local country radio station decided to have a discount day! Ahhhhh! (Cue the harps!) It was like it was destined to be. Now we could each get in and check out the park for only $9.51 per person. Yeah buddy! I asked mom to come along with us as I was not relishing the thought of being responsible for 3 small children by myself and, luckily, she was available and happy to tag along. And, since we were saving so much on admission, Erin, Jen, & I decided to spring for a cabana & split the cost 3 ways. What a great investment. It was so nice to have a shady "base" to run back to where we could keep snacks, drinks, sunscreen, beach bags, etc and not worry about the sun or crowds of people. We ended up having an awesome day and stayed till they were near ready to kick everyone out at closing. The kids loved the mini slides, the lazy river and, especially, the wave pool. It was great. I think season passes are definitely on the agenda for next summer. :)