Little Scientists

Matt has been making soap, and many variations of it, with his high schoolers in Chemistry class.  One day he brought home some stuff to try out and made soap with the kids.  

The kids do  better job explaining the process than I could in their video below.  It turned out to be a great family project since I documented it all and had the kids narrate the pictures in an App called Shadow Puppet.  

Some of my favorite pics of my little scientists! I am so thankful for Matt's love of science and that he continues to teach and get the kids excited about it.  I learn a lot too!

After the soap was such a hit, Matt decided to make chapstick.  It has been fun but we all have blue lips now since we didn't realize how potent the coloring would be:).

November in San Diego

Luckily when we left Hawaii we din't have to give up year round beach trips.  Granted, they aren't as frequent but thankfully they are still possible.  We  had planned to stop by the beach to play and watch the sunset before dinner.  I din't bring suits for the kids because it never crossed my mind they would go in but I guess it never occurred to them that they wouldn't.

On Veteran's Day we took the kids to Legoland.  It turned out it was a pretty popular place for many families that day:).  Even thought here were longer lines than we were used to it was a fun day!

Climbing rocks in Cardiff before dinner.

My cheer coach from high school passed away at the beginning of November from cancer...he was 46 and way to young!  It was great to see old friends but I really wish it were under different circumstances.  Coach C was a great man and will truly be missed!

Just a couple of crazy kids at Grandma & Grandpa's house

Halloween Festivities

We had tons of fun getting ready for Halloween this year.   The kids get so excited and  were counting down from the 1st of October.  We met up with the Archards at the pumpkin path for a hot, dirty and very fun afternoon.

Abby found her pumpkin right away.

Z found his too.

It didn't take long before he was a complete dirt ball.

We had our 2nd annual picnic and Abby's tooth, which was a little loose, became looser as she was trying to open her Pirate's Booty.  It was wiggly but still in pretty good and she said, "I'm just going to yank it out" and walked away. a few minutes later she came back with this grin and a tooth in her hand.

Jen & I- so thankful to have wonderful friendships that keep getting better through each stage of life.

The first of many pumpkin decorating activities.

Moving on to painting pumpkins... We actually never got around to carving them this year and now we still have lots of decorated pumpkins.

The annual Libelle Ct. Halloween party did not disappoint this year. We had crafts, games, face painting, hay rides, contests and lots of fun!

More face painting at school.

Halloween night.  Belle and Captain America were ready to get some candy!

We had a neighborhood potluck to get the festivities started. 

Celebrating 35.

Getting ready to Trick or Treat

The kids hit all the houses in our neighborhood and we moved on to the next street thinking they would want to keep going but to our surprise their buckets were getting full and they were ready to go home and check out their candy.

It was a month full of Halloween fun!  Until next year...

October Highlights

Looking through my October pictures, I am reminded why I take so many pictures and blog...so I can remember what we do.  I had already forgotten about so many things that happened in October and love sorting through the pictures and memories.  It was a packed month so here are the highlights without Halloween festivities.

Z turned 4 1/2 and got a little treat to celebrate:).

These two boys captured my attention at Abby's soccer game.  They are too cute!

Hanging out at Miramar Lake.

My mom brought out the old Casio keyboard

A sunset view from the Court.

Zack, Ava Jane & Abby

Just hanging around...

My adorable pirate:)

Budding artists

We took the kids up to Buena Park  to watch a Pirate Show.  It was really fun and they loved it!

Abby climbing with Ava Jane ( it you haven't picked up on the theme here....they don't do much apart these days!) - her favorite thing to do after school

We got our yearly Chargers game in and were able to take Zack.  It was really fun to take hi to the game and see him so excited.

My dad and his dealership were shooting a promo video with Phil's BBQ.  I happily headed down to Mission Bay to have lunch that they were making for the video.  It was actually my first time EVER eating Phil's BBQ and I was fortunate enough to have Phil himself cook it up and I got to chat with him over lunch.

A hike out in the ranch after school/ work on afternoon.

Silly string...no description needed:)

More of October fun to come with the Halloween festivities!