Summer Squaw

We have been here in the winter but it is a whole new world in the summer!

Remember how they held the 1960 Olympics here?

OK, me neither but we took a quick look at the memorabilia.

It got me pumped to watch the 2012 Olympics.

We took the tram up to High Camp.

This is what we ski in the winter!

It was gorgeous at the top.

Wildflowers and green.

The earth really is full of HIS glory. (Is 6:3)

There is a swimming pool at High Camp but it was just too cold that day to partake.

But we did try out the geocaching.
Looking.

Still looking.

Never did find anything.

When we got back to the office to turn in our GPS the guy was all

"yeah I think somebody is moving the boxes"

Thanks.

We did find a cool log to climb on.

This is my cute mama.

The next day we went down to Lake Tahoe itself.

Got our feet wet in that glacier melt.

Cold. Water.

It was a warmer day but we still opted out of swimming.

Found some wildlife instead.

A couple favorite pics...

It was so good to have my mom with us for a little while.

The kids just ate it up.

{please note Trek's jacket.  it is on upside down.  and Joe is smiling and i didn't even photo shop anything.}

Fave #2:  Dylan Sandwich!!!

Good times.

Slow Children

We have a new sign up in the neighborhood (I use that term loosely.)

Thank you, maintenance, for watching out for our kids' safety.

It so happens that the sign is hung right beside our neighbors driveway (I use that term loosely).

Theirs is the first house that you come to.

But our children (under the influence of their father, I believe)

felt like we needed a sign beside our driveway too.

Summer Art...Kandinsky Circles

Abstract is the theme of our summer art class.

We started out with potato prints. It was not so successful. The kids got bored with it pretty quickly.

Next, we tried contour or single line drawings. Much better. I loved how they turned out!

Today, we went back to circles.

Kandinsky circles on magnets.

The colors are so bright.

And since they are on magnets, it turns my refrigerator into an ever changing piece of art!

I didn't get but a couple "in progress" pictures because there were about 20 kids creating in my house all at one time.  It went surprisingly well.  The kids just rotated between the stations.  I left them free to make as many or as few as they wanted.

Station 1:  Choose a jar lid. 

            Trace with a black crayon. 

            Draw more circles within the first circle. 

            Cut it out.

Station 2:  Paint inside the lines with watercolors.

Station 3:  Glue your circle inside your lid.

            Glue a magnet to the back of your lid.





Here is the original Kandinsky.

picture from www.enjoyart.com

Your can read more about Kandinsky here.

Look who's three!

It takes some serious concentration to get those three fingers up.

But he's so good, he can do three on both hands.

My smart, dexterous child.

He has all kinds of mad skills.

A big boy bike so he can keep up with the big boys.

I wish this picture came with sound.

He has the best little mad scientist laugh.

Did you notice the birthday boy had a haircut?

This one has a new do too!

Just Girls

There are a lot of boys in my life right now but it used to be just girls.

Three sisters.

See.

One, two, three.

One of my sisters is super strong.

And one of them is super cool.

I thought you should know.

Summer Days (lower bidwell)

What makes a great summer day?

Running in the sun, getting hot and sweaty, cooling off with a swim, and repeat.

Sound good?

This was a great summer day.

We drove into Chico to lower Bidwell Park.

Checked off running and sweating at Caper Acres.

(Being with the ones you love makes any summer day great!)

Cooled off at Sycamore Pool.

It is seriously cool--fed by Big Chico Creek, it stays cool all summer.

(It's similar to the pool my sis took me to in Austin.)

 What more could you ask for, right?

 How about a nap.

I hope all your summer days are great!

Slime Science

One of the great things about summer is that we have time to do things we wouldn't normally.

Like Slime Science.

The other morning (had to be morning because they are all still in their pj's--but then again it is summer) Joe pulled out his recipes for gook and homemade boogers and other loveliness.  I'll spare you the picture of the boogers.  You know what they look like already.

Here's the gook.

I helped the little boys make their own gook.

It's the easiest thing...cornstarch and water.

Just add water until, well, until it's gook-y.

It creates one of those substances that defies the normal states of matter.

It's not a liquid but it does drip and pour.

It's not a solid but if you hit it, it feels hard.

I don't know what you call something like that.

The boys called it fun.