Wreaths

The kids and I were able to go to Arlington National Cemetery today and lay wreaths on the graves.

As we laid the wreaths, we read the names of the soldiers and paid tribute to their service to our country. The girls were especially excited to find soldiers who had fought in the Korean war and Josh was fascinated by those who had fought in the Spanish American war.

 It was a great day.

happy dance

well, today was a day...16 years in the making.

today...i sent all six of my kids to school.

WHAT?

i know!

It was a great day. Everyone was happy to go to school.

Everyone had a great day.

What more could I ask for?

Mikayla went first this morning. Her first day as a sophomore.

Joe and Emma went next ... their last year of middle school ... big 8th graders.

Finally, it was time for the little ones to head off...taking my sweet Katie off to her first year of school...big kindergartener!

Josh is headed into 4th grade. And Becky into 2nd.

the kids were so cute at the bus stop. Katie was so anxious.

The bus passes by our house and then turns around and comes back to pick up the kids. Katie didn't realize this and almost passed out when I wouldn't let her go to the bus because I was still taking her photo.

She was so stinking cute! I can't believe she's in school. Where did the time go?

When Katie came home from school I asked her how it went.

She said it was great. She really loved going to the park (recesss) and she was happy she didn't get kicked out of school on her first day! lol.

Now...what am i going to do with all my free time?

End of an Era

well...i knew today was coming...but i wasn't any more ready for it than i thought i would be.

katie is starting kindergarten next week.

i can hardly believe it.

and in preparation for kindergarten we decided to cut her hair -- for the first time EVER!

Her hair was so long and as much as i love it, i could not see sending her to school with all that hair.

plus it was an opportunity to do an act of service since her hair was long enough to donate to locks of love.

i thought i might cry, but i managed to hold it together -- i think the fact that i was intent on documenting the whole thing was probably a good thing.

And now...she looks so darn grown up!

oh...my heart be still.

here's the side by side comparison:

she looks  totally ready to face the world.

wish i were as ready to send her out into it!!

Hop, Skip, Jump

Love the parks in California. This one is a favorite for the kids...because it's so different.

Choo Choo

We had a chance to visit a train park -- these amazing little trains take people for rides around this large park that these dedicated train buffs have built. There were several kinds of trains...even working steam engines. It was very cool.

We met up with our friends the Thomas' and had a great day!

My Fair Lady

The Orange County Fair is going on right now and I was excited to be able to go a couple of times. There are few better places to take photos than at a fair!

My friend Amy goes to fair every year and posts these amazing photos of all the yummy food she samples -- and I was beyond excited to try it out with her.

It did not disappoint.

We tried: Deep Friend Chocolate Covered Bacon. Yum.

It also happened to be food truck night and we sampled from Chunk-n-Chip. This little slice of heaven is a german chocolate ice cream and peanut butter cup ice cream squished between a brownie cookie and a snickerdoodle. YUM.

And a deep friend Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. YUM. YUM.

And best of all...I got a chance to practice my night photography.

I love California!

Hands On

I can't believe how quickly our time in California is passing.

We are mostly hanging out, but we have managed a few day trips as well, including the beach.

We also went to the California Science Center - which is awesome! The museum is highly interactive and hands on, and the kids had a really good time.

We were able to pick up a 6,000 pound truck -- all by ourselves.

Ride in a flight simulator.

Stand in a wind tunnel and experience 80 mph winds.

Make goo.

And build towers.

Excellent day.

The science center is really cool looking too.

And seriously...love these shoes.

i do.

our main purpose in coming out to california so early in the summer was so we could attend my cousin kim's wedding. three of the girls really needed haircuts...and they really turned out so cute!

i know i say it every time, but i just cannot believe how grown up my girls are getting!

and the other kids really turned out quite well too!

katie and becky were flower girls in the wedding...and oh gosh, was it sweet. they were so cute and did such a good job!

how cute was everyone blowing bubbles after the wedding?

and my cousin, Kim, was breathtaking!!!

 

and seriously...here cake topper? painted just like her and her husband, Ian.

I am so glad we could be here for their special day...and wish them so much happiness!!