Water Slide

 

We were invited to a friend's birthday party at Lifetime Fitness in Tempe.  I was thinking it was a gym with an indoor pool.  So I didn't bring sun screen and I wore jeans and shirt.  I was overwhelmed and so surprised that this "gym" was a full on water park inside and out.  The girls had a great time and Paige did her first trip down a water slide...alone!!!  It was a great party and we are so thankful to have been included.  The girls had a wonderful time.  

 

This is inside!!!  There are 3 other pools inside too. 

Paige's first trip down a water slide!

Hailey playing with the other "little" kids at the party

Mother Nature Farms Pumpkin Patch

 

Our playgroup went to the pumpkin patch last week.  The girls were not much up for pictures because we had a big photo session at Waldorf that same morning.  They had fun on the hayride, petting the animals, picking pumpkins and decorating them.  I didn't have my camera charged so a friend let me borrow her camera.  No pictures of them posing, but like I said they weren't in the mood anyway.  We had a nice morning.  

 

Hayride

Kelsey the Cow

Hailey

Hailey

Hailey

Paige

Decorating

Carlsbad, CA

 

To celebrate the end of the hot weather in the desert we ventured over to Carlsbad, CA for a break for the heat.  It was the girls first time at the beach and they LOVED it.  They DO have their Mama's native Californian in them.  :)  We spent 4 days on the coast and found the Carlsbad just may be a great annual vacation spot for us.  We were able to park the park once and walk everywhere around the village for the rest of our stay. Our resort was all inclusive and right on the beach.  So beach chairs, sand pails, shovels, etc were all there and we didn't have to haul things back and forth and it kept sandy stuff out of our room.  We had a great time.  Paige really liked the water and Hailey really enjoyed the sand.  I will make several scrapbook pages on the trip, so I won't go into anymore detail here.  It was a wonderful trip! 

 

 

Playgournd on the resort grounds

Cool tree we found.  We went with our friends who also have 2 girls. 

Our view for much of our time in CA.

First time toes in the ocean

Michaelmas 2013

Paige's Dragon Bread

Hailey's Dragon Bread

Dressed to kick off Fall

St Michael taming the Dragon

We made Dragon Bread at DMS this year and attended the Michaelmas play and assembly.  It was a beautiful morning to celebrate and recognize that as we head into darkness after the Autumn Equinox we have our inner good to get us through. 

Locomotives

 

Brian is beginning to take up the hobby of building a "rideable" train that will run on a 7.5" gage track.  He is currently building each and every part in Solid Works software so that one day (probably sooner that I think) he will begin actually building this K-36 locomotive (like the one that runs in Durango).  He also found a Steamers Club that just happens to be the 2nd biggest in the nation.  The club has 18 miles of tracks. 

Sooooo....he took us out there to ride the trains!  It was really fun.  We rode a train and then Hailey was such a big girl and did the Engineer School and got to drive the train herself!  It was a fun afternoon for us. 

 

First ride

Signing the log book

Signed their names

'All Aboard!"  Learning the switch.

Forward

Backward

Halloween Box

 

Auntie sent a huge box of Halloween stuff for the girls this year.  It included cups, candy & a ton of books.  They LOVED it.  Thank you Auntie!  

 

Hailey so excited for CANDY! 

To Do List

One day as I working with Paige during Learning Time at home, I was met with some resistance and struggle.  I talked to Mrs. Hart about it who said she was experiencing the same from Paige.  Her solution was to create a To Do List for Paige to get done everyday.  It's still in Montessori form, in that she can choose what she does first and so on.  But it's really helping to keep her focused and get her learning in.  In that three weeks since this has started the list, she has discovered that she LOVES the movable alphabet box and even one day spelled the word, "PUMPKIN."  This is where she is given an object, (ie, rat, mop, pig, etc) and sounds out the word by grabbing letters for the sounds from the abc box.  She then writes the words out on paper.  Mrs. Hart says she's ready to start four letter words but is letting her relish in the pride of being able to complete a list of three letter words easily. She is also learning the decimals and is understanding counting by 10's.  She can then add numbers to equal these numbers (ie, 8+2=10, etc).  I'm really proud of her successes and want her to enjoy learning and school as much as Brian and I do.  Fingers Crossed!!!

Catching up

 

I haven't posted for a while, so these are just some pictures of play time to get the blog caught up.  

 

Hailey prepared her own snack.  She got out the plates & food.
Chicken, carrots and Ranch dressing.

Playing tea party

Silly, snuggle sisters

Our Fall display in our yard.  They helped to set it up.

Playing.  All the animals were having a picnic at the ocean.

This actually got to me and made me teary as they looked in awe and wonder
at this holiday display at Lowe's. 
It truly reminded me of a scene in a LHOTP episode "Christmas at Plum Creek"
where Laura and Mary are looking in the Mercantile window. 
My girls looked at this and each object for quite a while. 

Here's the scene from LHOTP that reminded me. 

Coloring by Paige

 

These are  couple pictures that Paige colored for me and I had to save:  

 

She did this one at school.  It's our family.

She did this one a couple weeks after we lost Woolly. 
I think she did a great job of coloring him, she even included his black saddle.
Both girls still say they miss him.  It's weird that they always
mention it in the car on the way to school.  I'm not sure what triggers it.

Back to School Night

 

Since Hailey started school mid way last year, this was her first Open House/Back to School Night.  I made it a point that Brian attend so she could show him her classroom.  Both girls had such fun showing him all around and what kind of works they could do.  

 

Fine motor and geometry with Dada

Paige naming the continents

More fine motor with Dada.  Stringing beads.

Works presented to Mama and Dada to take home.
I will treasure them forever.