First Day of Kindergarten

Today was one of the hardest days for me. I couldn't sleep all night - tossin' and turnin'. But it ended up being a wonderful day. It was through God's miracles that we got to this point and I ended up filling up with tears as I said good-bye to them not because I was going to miss them (which I did) but because I feel so thankful they are growing up and becoming little ladies. Anyway, they both had a wonderful first day of school although Mikayla is exhausted and says it is too long (from 8:30 - 2 PM). They will get use to it.

Daddy and his Kindergarteners (Mikayla loves her lunch bag)

Mikayla, in front of the school (which the montessori is "leasing" from the district)

Delilah in front of the school

All of us - so proud of the girls

The girls welcome sign on the classroom

Caitlin was truly sad to have the girls leave her.

But she got over it as soon as we got home and played on the swingset.

When we went to pick them up, we caught them taking pictures - here are the kindergarteners and their one teacher.

And here is the entire class (Kindergarteners and 1st graders) and both teachers.

My inseparable pair

Mikayla showing off her card she found in her lunch bag.

Delilah showing off her card she found in her lunch bag.

As soon as we picked them up, we whisked them off to Big Spoon Yogurt for a first day of school treat.

And then home they came to make a big splash in the pool (here - Mikayla)

Now Delilah's turn.

I definitely can say it will be a long year - but hopefully after the first month or two - they will be used to the routine and the length of day.

Our Neighbor's Birthday

It was our neighbor's birthday so we went down with a cake and some flowers and her biggest gift - the girls. She loves watching them run in her backyard and play.

Caitlin lookin' as cute as a button.

Delilah playing on the rope swing.

Delilah, Ms. Fran (birthday girl), and Mikayla

Mikayla with the sun hitting her perfectly!

The girls - their last night before Kindergarten

Trip to the Pt. Reyes

My initial hope was to wake up, get everyone ready and head out the door for a 2-hour drive to the beach where we could hang out for couple of hours then go check out the lighthouse. Well, we woke up and headed out the door and realized - we have a flat tire. Went to get that fixed and got on the road at 11:30 am. Still I was thinking - oh cool, we will be there by 1:30. Still no luck! Got stuck in horrible traffic all the way till we got off of the 80 and split off towards Santa Rosa/101 area. Finally we got to the beach at 3:30 pm. The girls still had a blast but I was bummed cause we couldn't go see the lighthouse. The fog had already rolled in on the cliff where Pt. Reyes lighthouse was but it was beautiful at the beach so we just hung out there for a while (until I "saved" Caitlin from being swept out to sea and dropped my camera in the water doing so)!

Fairytale Town Visit

It is 1 1/2 weeks away from the start of Kindergarten for the girls so we decide to treat them to a little surprise... off we swept them to Fairytale Town. It is so sad that I won't be able to take them there anymore during the week while all other kids are in school. :-(

Before we got there, Daddy stopped off at his favorite market downtown to pick up some pork baos. Oh they were so delicious and the girls killed them before we even got to Fairytale Town!

The girls going down Little Old Lady's shoe

Mommy and Caitlin going down the owl's slide

Checking out the cow at Old McDonald's area

This is the girls' pumpkin chariot

And there is the Prince with all his princesses!

The girls in the cheese.

Daddy, Delilah, and Mikayla waiting for Mother Goose to read them some rhymes.

Caitlin coming down the rabbit hole.

Daddy and the girls posing on the tortoise.

Delilah very sad to be jailed up in the pirate ship.

Our Summer Project

Back in June, Michael got a fire under his bottom to get a fishing boat. When searching ads, the nice boats were really really expensive and the cheap ones were not so nice. We ended up staying within our means and got a cheap one and did the labor ourselves. It took a while, was a little thorn in my side, but we are done!! (well except for mounting the trolley motor on to the boat).

August Summer Fun

Summer days have been all over the place - it is either super hot (100+) or in the high 80's or 90's. So depending on the day, we may hang around the house and swim and play or head out and do something. Below is a sample of the kind of days we have had.

Caitlin's new fascination is BABY DOLLS!! At a garage sale, we found a baby stroller and she uses that to push Sasha and Melody around (Mikayla and Delilah's babies). At least when they start Kindergarten, she won't have to fight for their babies anymore (at least not for 6 hours)

The girls had their first experience with the ice cream truck. Not cheap like it used to be!! But it was so worth it seeing their excitement as they heard the music getting closer and closer (thanks to daddy for driving to hunt the truck down!)

Girls enjoying their popsicles

Caitlin staying cool in the living room, watching My Little Pony

Took the girls bowling....The girls scored 70 and 74 on their games. Not too bad.

After a game of bowling, it was off to the arcade. The girls LOVED the motorcycle race game.
And I thought bowling took long, air hockey was almost as long!! :-)
But they had fun!
The girls enjoying some blueberries outside.
Caitlin taking Popcorn for a walk.
Delilah doing a little hopscotch.
Mikayla and Caitlin running from the sprinkler
Mikayla and Delilah sticking together as the sprinkler cools them off.