Local summer fun & First Day(s) of School

This summer the kids loved to go swimming every chance they got. It got up to 100* only two times this summer (while I was in Oregon and on the first day of school--figures!!), so usually we were at the pool in 70-80* weather with blue lips from being so cold. But that didn't stop the kids from enjoying their swimming time:

Some Saturdays Daddy would join us at the pool which always translates into a party:

On this particular day, the high was 65*... hence, we were the only ones at the pool!

The kids worked hard on their summer reading program from the library and earned some great coupons and prizes. One of their coupons was a pass to the Space Museum:

Another coupon was for their own mini-pizza at California Pizza Kitchen (CPK). Mmmm... just thinking about CPK's BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad makes me drool. Quite possibly my favorite food on the planet.

Whitney and her cousin Lauren joined a little singing/dance group this summer called Legit. A few ladies in a neighboring city organized this once a week class that the girls really enjoyed. They performed "Hello/Good-bye" at their final performance and were so cute remembering their dance moves!

We took the girls out for ice cream after the big performance.

Another local summer highlight was watching Tyler participate in his 2nd mini-Triathlon (aka Tri-for-fun). He decided to participate in the event just 6 days beforehand and still did awesome. 

Greeting the screaming fans :)

Way to go, honey!!

Whitney could not have been more excited for her First Day of FIRST Grade:

A little story behind the outfit: When I took Whitney back-to-school shopping a few days before school started, she made a beeline for this purple outfit and knew it was "the one." The mall was super crowded so we just bought it without trying it on; I assumed that the size 7 dress would fit her. Fast forward to the night before the first day of school when I had her finally try it on. It barely fit her! Whoops! I dashed back to the mall and exchanged it for the next available size: 10!! Thankfully it fit just fine and should last us through the school year. 

I can't help but think: does this size 10 dress mean that my girl is super big for her age, or does this mean that some clothing companies are making clothes shorter and tighter for 10 year old girls these days? Hmmm...

Anyway, that Tuesday morning we made it to Whitney's school with plenty of time to spare. Whitney was ready for me to shut off the camera, but as a mom you just can't when it's the first day of school and you are trying to document everything while Daddy isn't there!

Like I mentioned earlier, temperatures on that first day of school topped 100*! And since I'm a wimpy mom who didn't feel like heating up the kitchen by making first day of school cookies, I stopped by the gas station on our way to pick up Whitney from school. The younger kids and I picked out a lollipop and Slurpee for Whitney; however, the Slurpee flavors I could choose from were Blue Mountain Dew, Original Mountain Dew, or Coca-Cola. So Whitney may or may not have gotten her first hit of caffeine that day. I'm just going to tell myself that Slurpees aren't caffeinated... right??

Cole and Annie and I made this poster to welcome Whitney home from school, and I love how Cole drew the hearts and wrote that message, "I love you, you rock" all by himself! Go buddy!

These kids are such characters!

Because Cole will be turning 5 soon, he technically could start up kindergarten here in California, but we thought it'd be best if he waited one more year. So this fall we're doing a Home Preschool again with some of my friends from church. In January the plan is to have Cole start up the Junior Kindergarten program at the elementary school. 

Oh my word, this kid was so excited for his first day!! He picked out his outfit (a hand-me-down from Tyler's aunt's kids) all by himself and kept asking, "Is it 10 o'clock yet mom?!"

I think we're going to have a great year!!