Thursday, April 23, 2009

Bug Class! (Eeeew!)

That's right - bug class. Its awesome! It's an adult ed class at the city college, and I sort of thought it would be a joke, like we would all just walk around outside with our kids and point at different bugs we saw. But the lady who organized it was so prepared. There were tables literally crawling with worms, snails, potato bugs, crickets, ladybugs and more.....plus bug-related snacks and art projects. The kids were invited to touch what ever slimy creature they wanted. This is right up Finn's alley.

He couldn't get enough of these Tomato Horn Worms (caution - they bite!)


A lot of snails


I love that this snail left a slimy trail on the paper


Lady bugs on Finn's body


Ladybug (snack) in Finn's body


Escargot anyone?


He thought I was serious when I suggested he give the snail a kiss. (Gross.)


These silk worms' cocoons should hatch next week. We watched them start making cocoons last week. Hopefully we'll see some moths emerge next week. Its so fascinating to see it all happen first-hand.


This morning when I asked Finn if he was ready to get dressed and go outside, he said "Nope. I just want to pretend to be a snail. Like this." It's slightly different from the hermit crab impression he's been doing lately.

Heat Wave!

Granny Peg came to visit....and she brought with her a heat wave reminiscent of Nor Cal in the summertime. (Well, maybe not that hot - but when it gets past 90 degrees in Santa Barbara people lose their minds.) So here we are in April, and we are splashing around in the kiddy pool at 9:30 in the morning.



Finn giving Selah a chilly reminder of who's boss....


I decided to bite the bullet and buy Selah a swimsuit the next day. I think she looks so cute in it. Finn, on the other hand, would be naked all day every day if it was up to him. We let him "go commando" in the pool, but make him wear clothes on most other occasions.



We had a great visit with Granny Peg. Nate and I actually got to go on a couple of dates (gotta love grandparents!) and the kids REALLY enjoyed their special time with Granny Peg, who always comes bearing gifts - like this doggy bubble machine! A big hit with Finn.






At the Mission.




Selah playing peek a boo behind some flowers at the restaurant where we ate brunch.


Thanks for the visit Granny Peg! We love you!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Happy Easter. He is risen!

Well, we did it again....another whirlwind trip, this time to visit the fam for Easter. The Easter Mass was lovely, and Selah slept through most of it (which never happens) with her head on my shoulder. It was so cute.

I love that we've started a new tradition of merging the families for the Easter Sunday brunch and egg hunt. (or rather, that the Monleys have added my folks and sister's family to their long-standing Easter tradition. Monleys are good at traditions.) Anyway, it was so cute to see the toddlers and babies together, all dressed up and poking around the yard looking for eggs.



My sister's neighborhood had an Easter kid-parade and egg hunt on Saturday. It was a beautiful day. Grandpa Summy got some special QT with Selah.




Finn was full of his usual level of enthusiasm about the whole egg hunting business. He made sure everyone knew what he found inside each egg.




Selah just stayed put (for once) and tried to wrap her head around the invention of the plastic egg.




I thought this was cute and funny. I captured a little sibling interaction during an attempt at a cute Easter photo with the cousins.


Monday, April 06, 2009

Spring Break 09! Woohoo!

Ya gotta love a teacher's schedule! It was so nice to have Nate for a week all to ourselves. True to form, we decided to cram as much as we could into that week.....with outings to the park, beach, zoo, downtown, farmers market, and a whirlwind 3 day trip down south to do some of the So Cal things we've been meaning to ....before we move away.

We had a great visit with my great aunt MaryLee in Santa Ana.


We stayed with newlyweds, Tia Lina and Tio Mark in their cute little home in Anaheim. The kids enjoyed the attention.







Next stop.... SEA WORLD!!! First stop IN Sea World....The Sesame Street rides!




Finn grew a half inch since we were here in November, to exactly 37 inches tall, thereby graduating to some of the more mature kid attractions in the play area....like this bouncy house.....his fav.


Selah enjoyed romping around in the baby "Tide Pool" area.

With virtually no nap, she did quite well throughout the day in our arms

...in the stroller

...and all up in the fishies' faces.


The Beluga Whales were everyones favorite animal to watch. They are amazing and beautiful.


and of course, it wouldn't be Sea World without....SHAMU!




I think Nate and I enjoyed it a little more than the kids. We were sitting pretty high up in the nose-bleed section.


Finn had his first 3-D experience at the Sesame Street short film.


Next stop.....JOSHUA TREE!


Nate has wanted to come to Joshua Tree ever since we've lived in Southern California. Well, we finally made it happen, and I'm glad we did!

Finn absolutely loved finding "Finn rocks" ....rocks perfect for him to climb.














This is the Mecca of rock climbing. It would have been fun to bring some gear and really go for it....but it was just as fun to just play around.






It wouldn't be a vacation without a truly cheesy shot. (Hey - look how strong I am!)


Finn discovered some caterpillars on the rocks. He loves creepy crawly things.


The desert wasn't blooming quite like we had hoped, but there were some pretty flowering cacti and everything was beautiful...sort of other-worldly.




I think this is some type of chrysalis. There were a ton of them in the bushes, and you could see the caterpillars squirming around in there. Pretty neat.


So where do you want to go to next, kids?....Uh.....hey kiddos?




...stay tuned for Easter ....