What the heck happened to summer???

My last post is heading into summer plans, and this one seems to be heading right back out again! Seriously, Marina and Evan start school in 2 weeks!! I can't imagine one child in the south even listens to their teacher before Labor day so why do we waste all those tax payer dollars???

It has been a wonderful summer except I truly admit I had to work too much. If it had not been for Mayfield and Holli and Forest (cousins, and Mayfield's girl friend) I am sure the kids would have had hardly any fun at all...but as it stands, they were busy as a one armed paper hanger! Those teenagers took those kids on more field trips and outings and swimming and to the icee stand up the road.....and to movies even! The fun hardly stopped. All the while I was working and slaving in the hot sun hoisting those heavy bags on to airplanes (why do suitcases weigh more in the summertime?? I am not kidding). When it was my turn to get in on the fun I booked a long weekend trip to San Francisco. Seriously, that is one of the coolest places to take kids and I had bought lots of tickets to fun things last christmas off of ebay so the trip was manageable financially (even restaurant coupons from restaurant.com!) The zoo is one of the best I have ever seen, small but extremely impressive!that in itself was an adventure that should be a kids book! Evan dropped his "lucky hat" into the gorilla compound... and the mama gorilla eventually threw it back out so her baby would stop licking all over it. Yes the lucky hat has been spit on by a baby gorilla, is that Lucky or what??? We hiked around in the redwood forest (Muir Woods), and then tried to justify playing in the ocean when it was 64* and raining, though they were not in the ocean exactly until Marina tripped over a large rock and literally fell in face first, then the race was on to see if Evan could get away with it too...Fisherman's wharf had a good marine aquarium (the touch pool with the little stingrays pretty much turned into a wading pool for Marina--she looked like I had dunked her in by her heels she was so soaking wet when we finally pried her away!) and then before we know it we ran out of time...I took the kids on a weekend that Tully could not go, so we invited Forest so I wouldn't be outnumbered. It was an extremely smart move on my part and he seemed to love the trip as well. It was kinda fun calling him up the night before we left and inviting him to California...he thought I was kidding...I told him to get a passport because who knew where we would go next time!!

Marina starts this next year of school in a newly implemented program called a trainable classroom, and we are happily familiar with the process as that is what Caylyn experienced in school and it served her beautifully. This will give Marina a great foundation of colors and numbers and lots of songs and books along the way to help with English and learning the alphabet. I am thrilled for her to be in this class of 5-7 year olds and Evan and Marina will now be in the same school together! He is happy about that as well and so am I. I feel like now I can let them ride the bus together, at least to see how it works out. Gas is too high to drive them and pick them up everyday anymore.

As you can see in the photos Marina has learned to swim...although you can't tell it is her because she is wearing Evan's bathing trunks...she seems to think they fit her better than a regular girl's bathing suit. I do agree the legs don't jam up her fanny so much but I can't seem to convince her she needs the top too...and furthermore it makes Evan insane that she raids his clothing dresser. He never has clean shorts he complains! I have been a bit disappointed because the girl has a load of precious clothes that she addresses with the term EW or YUCK. Sigh...guess those will be heading to consignment this fall. Or over to my sister's where her little girl is a diva in waiting.

Ok I am off to find some things for dinner, we are in for the day I think so if the kids ever wake up from a nap I better be ready for some hungry little bears! PAKA for now!

PS I am heading out to Hawaii with my parents and Mayfield and Holli in late August. Their reward for helping with the kids all summer included a)getting paid, and b) getting a buddy pass to somewhere, thank heaven they chose Hawaii. I invited myself to go with them...and no one said NO. I am really looking forward to some down time after this fast paced sweaty hot summer. Maui here we come!! Tully, enjoy those children:)

PS We just got back from PA this morning from a hard week of playing Tom Sawyer with Daddy/Tully. I will make that an individual posting when I am able to get hold of some really great photos from my MIL. That trip was really groovy and the kids had a blast doing some of the greatest summer things of all times, including tubing down a river and rope swinging into the creek as well as a 60 foot home made slip n slide...yep, it was all things Tom Sawyer, except we did not have to paint any fences. Since the camera ended up in the creek and Marina has stuck various things in my computer plugs and outlets, you will have to wait on the photos of that adventure, there is no way to upload them from my little memory card.