s'mores

*When it comes to money, Cameron is my saver and Kendall is my spender. Recently Cameron had saved up enough to purchase an Altimeter (device that tells you your elevation). He is VERY excited to use it on our next hike. Today after we got it working, we tested it out and drove up the road to see it change. :)

*I hate the original Goldfish crackers, but I LOVE the flavored ones. I was quite happy when Chris came home today with S'mores (my favorite) for our road trip tomorrow.

*We lasted three minutes with the movie, Wild. Too much nudity. Bummer. With all the hiking we have been doing, I think I would have loved all the shots of the Pacific Crest Trail. :(

*The other day Cam got specific with me as far as how breastfeeding works. When I finished my explanation he said, "Mom! That's not fair to you! It's like you are a grocery store for the baby!" :)

Okay...off to Pismo for a week with Chris' family!! So excited :)

camp tlc

Tomorrow is our last day of Camp TLC (our church's version of Vacation Bible School). This will be my 4th year teaching, "Cupcake Creations". This year was the first time one of the kids took my class. Cameron loved it and I enjoyed having him. :)

Each morning, every child gets to run through a line of cheering teens (the camp counselors) giving high fives. This isn't the best picture, but you can see the excitement on Kendall's face. :)

Before the day begins, the kids get to play outside. Kendall loved teaching herself to jump-rope.

Here was my and Cam's favorite creation of the week. It actually wasn't a cupcake, but our oven was too cute nonetheless. :)

Cameron has belt testing this Saturday. We were so impressed with him because for the past three nights, after 9 hours of Camp TLC, he went to Taekwando. He really wants to be ready for Saturday. What at trooper!

change of plans

Yesterday was supposed to be our big hike up the San Gorgonio mountain (not the whole thing) with my dad. Cameron had been super excited. As we were rushing out the door, Chris mentioned a huge fire he had just read about. Turns out it was right in the area we were supposed to hike. Shoot. Cameron was REALLY disappointed. I scrambled to try and find another hike we could do. We finally agreed on one we had done many times before, but had never gone farther than a certain point. I convinced him that going higher would get him his "strenuous" hike (which is what he always wants).

The hike turned out to be awesome and all three of us agreed that the last 1/3 was harder than most hikes we've done! Score!

*This morning the kids and I took my HUGE list to Winco. I'm teaching cupcake decorating at our church's VBS next week and needed tons of supplies.

First we stopped at Panera. :)

Cameron loved checking everything off my list.

*Tonight Chris and I rented Wild. I loved the book and am anxious to see how the movie measures up.

*I made a batch of Chris' all time favorite cookies today for Father's Day.

lately

*My sister's girls spent the night this past weekend. My other nieces had introduced us to the game, Spot it! a while ago. We showed these cousins and they were instantly hooked. I must admit that as a non-game person, this one is pretty fun. I also like how small and portable it is.

When the nieces spend the night, Auntie Kelly gets to do their hair! Ha!

*Yesterday we met some friends at Yucaipa Regional Park. The kids had a blast!!

My MIL bought Cam this suit. I LOVE it because as you can see, I can spot that color from a mile away!

 For the first hour and a half, this little girl literally did nothing but go up and down the waterslide. Up and down, up and down.

*This morning Cam and I started on his hiking scrapbook. My dad had suggested the idea a while back and Cam latched on right away.

jurupa park

I was so excited yesterday to find a really fun outing for the kids. I had heard of Jurupa Regional Park, but had never been. It was SUCH a great place and we will definitely go back.

We arrived when it was still overcast, so we started out at the regular play area. We then headed to the splashpad. The kids LOVED it. Luckily they got a good chunk of play time in before the crowds hit. However even once the crowds arrived, they still stayed in the "zone". :)

This was Cam's first time taking a pic.

. Not bad considering it isn't the easiest thing on my phone!

I love this!

filling our days

The best thing about summer is having a blank slate for every day. That can also be the hardest thing about summer. :)

Today we had zero plans. Last night I was searching the internet for ideas to fill our day. I finally decided on a Lego themed day. We started off by riding our bikes to the donut shop (we went to one further away so as to extend the outing time!). Afterward, I dumped all their Legos in the living room and they each were to create something. It's amazing how exciting you can make an old activity when you simply put it in a different location in the house and blast some Pandora Disney. :)

Cameron's "Titanic":

Our Lego day continued with, "Lego Challenge" at our library. The kids were instructed to make different things (spell their name in Legos, make a maze, etc.). They loved it!! Here is Cam presenting his creation to the group.

Hmmm...now to plan tomorrow...

hike

*The kids got donuts the other day and Kendall chose a Lucky Charms topped bar. Speaking of nastiness, the new Frappuccino flavors? Granted, I did like the recent Smores addition, but Red Velvet and Cotton Candy? Blek.

*On Saturday we attended the annual Cherry Festival Parade. It's a small-time parade, but the kids always seem to enjoy it. :)

*Our next big hike is scheduled in a couple of weeks. It will be the same one we just did, but we will complete the entire 7 mile loop. I should clarify that our GOAL is to complete it. We will need to start out super duper early since it is in Palm Springs and the weather obviously will be a big factor. My dad is the type that likes to go jogging in the middle of day when it's pushing 100 degrees. I keep reminding him that we have an 8 year old in our little group. :) Here is a 30 second video that gives you an idea of how beautiful it is at the top.

Tomorrow is the last day of school!!! :)

pictures

*Last Saturday Cameron was especially excited for our hike with my dad. My parents had bought him a Camelbak backpack so he could carry his own water. It worked great and I loved not having to carry his water!! :)

*I've felt badly for a while that Kendall didn't have an activity like Cam has Taekwando. She's wanted for a loooong time to take gymnastics, however it has been both too expensive and too far away. Recently I found a basic little class right up the road. We found there are a few girls she knows who also attend. Yesterday was her first class. She LOVED it.

*After her class, we headed up to a park for a picnic with my family. My dad recently purchased a new camera. We set it on a tripod and were able to get some pretty decent pictures! :)

After the pictures, Chris and Chris practiced corn hole since they have a tournament coming up at a church down the street. :)

REI

*I'm always interested in reading about people's lives. Usually I'll check out their biography and just read a few chapters to get a feel for what they were/are really like. I recently got a book about Dean Martin (written by his daughter). I love, love his voice and wanted to know what he was like. Ummm...I'm not too impressed with some of his life choices. Bummer :(

*I went with Cameron on his field trip to Legoland last Friday. It was such a neat time for us to spend together and he had a blast. I just love seeing him with friends. LOVE it.

*I FINALLY started working out after a one month turned six month break. :) I will say that I was much more sore than I had anticipated! Part of my motivation was getting a new DVD, Yoga Meltdown, from my friend, Jana. I'm hopefully going to buy a yoga mat this week so I can give it a try. :)

*On Saturday we went to my niece's birthday party at Cal Skate. Kendall started zipping around from the start, however my sweet Cam had a hard, hard time at first. Poor thing could not even stand for five seconds without falling down. He was soooo discouraged and my heart was breaking seeing him so defeated. However after getting him a little "walker" type thing to lean on, he persisted and ended up doing really well. It was awesome to see his confidence soar once he got the hang of it. :)

*On Sunday I stayed back while Chris took the kids to lunch.

Afterward they went to REI so Cam could look at all the hiking equipment. Here he is looking at the maps (of course!).

*Cameron probably eats about 1/3 cup of peanut butter a day. He's always hungry and, since he doesn't like cheese (unless it's melted on something) or nuts, I need more protein options. I've started getting Almond Butter and most recently, Sunflower Seed Butter. If he isn't a big fan, I can put a little jelly on top to sweeten the deal. :) A favorite snack I like is Sunflower butter + apple cinnamon rice cake.