End of the summer

The kids just finished their second week of school and it is going great!  Annabel's teachers have said that she is a very focused and hard worker.  She has adjusted to school life well.  For Maxwell, he loves being a first grader and has made lots of new friends.  He came home one day this past week and said they were studying the Big Bang Theory.  He told me he thought it was just a TV show.  As for Gabrielle, she is enjoying some one on one time with her mommy.

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1st day of school

Monday was their first day of school and they both had a great day!  Art took them because I knew I would be a blubbering mommy.  Maxwell was a little nervous that morning, but he did fine once he got to his classroom.  Annabel was so excited to go to her class she almost didn't say goodbye to Art.  When I picked her up at 12:15 she was so tired.  Although she was a bit cranky that afternoon she couldn't wait to go back the next morning.  Maxwell had a good day as well, which put his nerves to rest.

Newport Beach

Our second trip in the new RV was a longer one this time.  We "camped" at Newport Dunes which was set right on the bay.  Next to the campground was a Hyatt where they had a very delicious breakfast.  Really?!  Who goes camping and eats at a Hyatt?  We did not have a tow car yet (now we have a Jeep) so we rented an SUV for the couple of days we were there.  The weather was a little hotter than what we thought it was going to be...and oh, the humidity.  Something we are not used to anymore.  We stayed cool by meeting up with our friends at a beach in Laguna and eating Balboa Bars on Balboa Island.  We also went to Knott's Berry Farm amusement park for the first time and it was great!  It was a lot nicer than what we thought it was going to be and the best part was - it was not crowded at all.  Either we walked right up to a ride and got on or we had to wait maybe 1 or 2 turns.  Maxwell is now tall enough to ride some of the bigger rides and him and Art had a great time on the roller coasters.  Maxwell, Annabel and I rode the log ride and it was the scariest log ride I have ever been on (see facial expressions below).  About a quarter of the ride was pitch black.  Was not expecting that at all.  Overall, we had a great trip.  I can't speak for Gabrielle though.  She was not too fond of sitting in her car seat to and from CA while everyone else could walk around when they wanted to.  Only a matter of time she'll be able to walk around too.

Annabel loved playing in the sand!

Maxwell trying to run from the waves!

Daddy & Gabrielle

Mommy & Gabrielle

Maxwell catching sand crabs

Having fun with friends!

Annabel kept her arms up the whole time!

Good thing I was seated on the outside of this ride!

They laughed the whole time they were on this ride!

Famous hot dogs!  Yummy!!

Daddy & kiddos

Taken in front of a very cool house made of bottles.  

This picture speaks for itself!

Annabel playing with the ipad.  I'm not sure how she can see anything with all that hair in her face.

Gabrielle was happy at this moment.

These two were exhausted on the way home.

Captain Art

 

Tooth Fairy...again

Maxwell pulled out his 4th tooth today.  He complained all day long how much it was hurting him and wanted me to pull it out!  I couldn't do it.  It was sending shivers down my spine just thinking about it.  BUT what I did do was capture a picture of the Tooth Fairy (with a little help from capturethemagic.com).  I can't wait to see his reaction tomorrow morning.

Cedar City, Utah

As most of you know we upgraded our camper to a motorhome.  It's something we have been thinking about and Art has been researching for about four months.  Our first trip was to Cedar City, which is about three hours away.  We went for one night just to make sure everything was in working order.  Driving there and back was so nice, especially for Captain Art.  We didn't see Maxwell and Annabel for the first two hours.  They enjoyed hanging out in their bunk beds and watching DVD's on their personal TV's.

Maxwell wanted to ride his bike the whole time!

   

Happy 4th of July

What a great Independence Day!  It was not a typical hot, dry July day.  It was very cloudy and rained (really sprinkled) for about 4 hours while we swam in the pool.  The kids played and swam all day long!  After grilling out, we had fun letting off our fireworks while we watched the fireworks across the valley.

Landscape Award

Every year the Southern Nevada Water Authority holds a landscape contest for residents of Clark County.  So this year I decided to enter our yard in the contest...and we won 2nd place!  The awards ceremony was held on the week we were in San Diego so we were not able to attend the breakfast.  The company who installed our landscape 4 years ago was there and they accepted our award for us and dropped it off last week.  I knew we won a place, but I just didn't know what place.  I'm glad we didn't cut our vacation short for 2nd place.  Regardless, we are excited to get this award and our property will be featured in the 2013 calendar for Clark County residents who pay a water bill.