June Fun

Hello family and friends!  I am back, with punch!  I am playing catch up and having fun looking through old pictures!  I have missed writing about our family, just as much as you have missed reading.  Here's to loving, living and learning every single gorgeous day God has allowed, whether it brings sunshine or rain.  I will start with a couple pictures from our move to the new apartment.  

The far right corner conveniently became a third bedroom.  The area is pictured a little closer in the photo below.  Merrick gave the space a whirl first, but it works much better for Rowan.  All of the kids recently got loft beds, and desks for under their bed.  The kids are loving the extra personal space this provides.  

Kierce in her all handmade, completely recycled super hero costume at her school's Comic-Con.  Her comic character she created was Tee Tree :-)

With her front cover of her comic.  Her principal gave her special recognition in front of the entire audience for actually using trash to make her costume.  They were supposed to be costumes made of mostly recycled material, and most costumes weren't.  We had fun making it, and she had fun parading around in her costume!

Merrick with his friend Christopher after his graduation from preschool!  They had a gorgeous ceremony, like NO other preschool graduation I have ever attended before, and a gorgeous bay park location!

Below are photos of the girls last day of school.

They were lucky enough to end their school year with field day!

:-)

Kierce's teacher gave all of the students each a hat with their names on them.  The kids had fun signing each others hats!  The girls both had white pillow cases and had their friends trace their hands and sign it to keep a memory of this school year.  I can't believe Rowan has now moved on to 5th grade and Kierce is now in 3rd grade, but was hand selected to be in a 4th grade class.  After a little transition period, the girls are loving school.

Rowan had a graduation ceremony, as she moved into middle school this year.  I will be uploading a ton of videos to YouTube if you are interested in watching her graduation and watching Tee Tree in action :-)

Our very own exchange student, actually brother, Esteban visited the states and we were lucky enough to share a meal together.  Dana and him had enjoyed a Van Halen concert the night before, and he was off back to Spain after a hug and a kiss!  We can't wait to see him again :-)

Here we are enjoying some family time at Seaworld!  The kids are starting to get brave, see that ride behind us???

Some rare time out with friends from Merrick's preschool.  

Some beach time!

The kids and I had a blast one day during the summer, riding our bikes on the boardwalk at Pacific Beach!  They had just received these cool shirts from Aunt Dawnie and Uncle Kenny!

May Synopsis

Ryan's 34th Birthday

...yes the cookie monster himself got a cookie monster cookie cake.  The kids had fun helping me figure out how to make a natural blue food coloring using red cabbage to make a hairy cookie monster!

A Day at the Beach

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Our dear family friends, Paulette and Bo, were so kind to share a season ticket holder perk with us to celebrate Ryan's birthday - spending time on the field before the game!

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Rowan giving he Dad a questioning look before her second hip hop dance performance.  My boss at the time allowed me to leave work (last minute, so it was fun to surprise Rowan) to watch her performance.  Since it was open house as well I sprinted through the girls rooms to check out some of their work displayed.  Dad took a more leisurely stroll and captured the photos below :-) 

I had created a little surprise for the girls and their men to come home to since I couldn't be there after the show.  The cake celebrated Rowan's performance that night and Kierce's theater performance the next morning, of which you'll see photos below.  I will be uploading even more videos on our YouTube page in the coming days, of which you'll see Rowan's dance performances and Kierce's as well!  Rowan's first perfomance is already posted.

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I love this picture of him...

As if we didn't have enough going on in this little family of ours, we decided we would move for the second time this year!  We were able to plan the move on Ryan's long Memorial Day weekend, so this time I got a lot of help unpacking boxes and getting settled in.  ...not exactly how he desired to spend his three day weekend, but we are all much more comfortable in this new and thrifty apartment.

Rowan, Merrick and Ryan all participated in Merrick's school field trip to Legoland.  Kierce and I loved hearing all of the cool stories about the trip.  Kierce had a field trip to the zoo that particular day, and I had to work earlier rather than later, so we stayed back and the three of them had a blast!

This field trip also included a visit to Sea Life, an aquarium that is linked with Legoland.  These guys are very silly people, and I am very glad to say they are each an important piece of our family.  

April Synopsis

Since I started working, I have been crunched for blogging time.  But have no fear, I will be catching up in monthly posts, and hopefully (fingers crossed) will stay caught up.  No promises though :-)

Ryan and I had a blast with the kids at the Ocean Beach Easter Egg Hunt.  The kids had a fun scrambling to pick up eggs, especially searching for the gold or silver eggs to win a large Easter basket!  

Easter Morning

Mama bunny forgot that the Easter baskets hadn't made it into the Penske truck until after work on Easter Eve, so mama bunny ran to Rite Aid after work to grab some baskets, and of course by the time I, I mean mama bunny, got home the kids were in bed and had made their own make-shift baskets using tupperware and other household items for decorative purposes!  I was so proud of the kids for getting creative, and being eco-friendly at that!  

Easter at Merrick's School

Rowan and Kierce volunteering their time at Merrick's school helping us prepare the letter "V" craft in the art room!

Merrick showing off his Easter basket to Rowan or Kierce who is behind the camera for me :-)

Day at the Docks

Day at the Docks was just that, a day at the docks!  We cruised around looking at all kinds of fishing vendors and other nautical themed artwork.  

We took our first boat ride as a family since moving to San Diego!

Free Fishing for Kids

Another perk of Day at the Docks was the free fishing they offered the kids!  They allowed each child to catch a fish and throw it back of course.  Check out Rowan's reaction to her fish!

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Since I was going to have to miss Rowan's evening hip hop dance performance due to work, I decided to visit her during a practice run at school earlier that week!  Merrick and I had a blast watching Rowan get her groove on!  

Rowan's performance was at a held at a "Red Carpet" night at the girl's school.  Rowan brought clothes to change into after her performance, and thankfully Dad (a) remembered the camera and (b) remembered to take a couple pictures :-)

...and of course Merrick by his idol

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Merrick's Seaworld Class Field Trip

Merrick and I had a great time at his class field trip to Seaworld!  We looked at sharks, watched a couple different shows and even got to ride some fun rides!

...at the pet show

...and Merrick hugging his friend Cali before going in to Seaworld, or being hugged I should say!  She is a lover!