Millerton Lake

On Memorial Day, we decided we should do something outside the 20 mile radius we usually stay within. So we took a surprisingly short drive up to Millerton Lake (about 50 minutes) and hung out for a few hours. We ate a picnic did a simple 2 mile hike on a path along the lake. It was actually really fun and the girls liked it a lot.....with the exception of Peyton who made me hold her most of the time. She thought the boats were "gonna get her". (I had some fun messing around with Photoshop for these pics).

First Swim Meet

In our area of California, swim team is a pretty big deal. In our little town alone (which only has about 10,000 people) there are over 300 kids on our swim team (ages 5-18). So it's quite a gathering at the pool!

Last night was a practice swim meet, so we didn't compete against another town...just ourselves. It felt very official to see my girls in a competitive activity like this! They had to dive into the lane when the loud horn sounded and then their time was displayed on the huge score board for all to see! We were so proud of them! They listened to their coaches very well, and swam so bravely!

Jordyn swam 4 events (all 25 meters): freestyle, backstroke, breast stroke and butterfly. Lexi just swam in two events, the freestyle and backstroke. The swim meet didn't end until around 10:00pm!

Jordyn loved every second of it. Lexi had one moment of panic and cried that she didn't want to do it anymore. But her coached walked by right then and said "Lexi, you're up!" and she immediately followed her coach and got in line. She was fine after that! Lexi just doesn't like the pressure of competing, whereas Jordyn thrives off of it.

It definitely feels insane to add these practices and meets on top of everything else right now, but only FOUR days left of school!!!!!!! Woohoo!! And then it'll feel a bit less crazy with me not working. I can't believe it!!

Cousins!

(Jordyn-7, Lexi-5 1/2, Lyric-4, Peyton-2 1/2, Paxton-almost 2)

I think it's so special that our girls get to live around some of their cousins. That's something I always wanted growing up, but we lived hours from our cousins. It was still special to see them, but not as often as I would have liked. So I always love to see the relationships our girls have with Lyric and Paxton. It's a close sibling-like relationship, which is priceless.

We don't have work/school tomorrow, so Lindy came over with Lyric and Paxton for a leisurely and late evening. It's amazing how loud/intense our 5 kids are when they are together! But they have so much fun too! Even though we've had really hot days, our evenings have still been beautiful, so we took the kids on a walk tonight around the neighborhood. Besides Peyton trying to open every single car door she saw....and Paxton chasing cats into the middle of the street, it was a beautiful walk!

Swim Team

So we decided to add fuel to our busy fire and let the girls join our town's swim team. It's a really big deal in our small town and I've put it off the last two years (when Jordyn was old enough to try). This year, Jordyn and Lexi were both old enough to join, so it made it seem more do-able.

Swim team is quite a commitment! Practice is 5 days a week from 5-6pm for a month. Then the swim meets are every Tues/Thur for a few weeks. It's hotter than HECK outside and it changes up our evenings quite a bit. But they have loved it so much that it makes it much more tolerable.

They had their official team try-outs last night. To qualify, they had to make it across the (big) pool without touching the lane divider. I was really nervous! So was Jordyn...she was near tears....but she ended up doing GREAT! And Lexi didn't show a single nerve. She stayed quiet and focused.....and she rocked it too!

Hope me, Tucker and Pey survive the hot evenings at the pool!!

Lexi sitting poolside, waiting for her turn

Jordyn, practicing her kicks

Muffins With MOM

(whew! it's tiring to catch up on posts all in one sitting!)

Jordyn and Lexi are only one grade apart, but in our town Kinder and 1st are at separate schools. So we get to do two of everything! This year, their schools did "muffins with mom" and "donuts with dad" as before school fundraisers. The girls loved having their own special morning with me....and so did I!

Me and Lexi (5 1/2)

Me and Jordyn (7)

Check Out This BOWL!

I can't say enough how much I love homemade bread and jam. I haven't had much "free" time lately, but since our strawberry season will not last much longer, I made a batch last weekend. And there's nothing like homemade bread to go with the freezer jam!


Check out this metal bowl! My mother-in-law has the best memory in the world and heard me mention one time how my bread rises and spills over my bowl (the green one that I used to think was huge!!). So she sent me this huge metal bowl for Mother's Day this year. I was so excited to use it and even more excited when my bread (all 7 loaves) did not overflow at all!

Time to SWIM!!

Each year, by the month of May, my kids have been asking for literally MONTHS "how much longer until we can swim???". It makes me crazy. But that time is finally here! My mom and dad have had their pool for 9 summers now and each summer it gets used more and more. The pool definitely epitomizes Grandma and Grandpa's house for the grandkids! They are such gracious hosts. The pool comes full-service with goggles, pool toys, a doting Grandma and Grandpa (sometimes an 18 year old uncle!) AND even BBQ! Wow. What more could you ask for?

(I couldn't help but post this pic of Peyton and Paxton. I'm sure they'll kill me someday, but this is how they walk around quite often. Au natural!)

The Swedish Festival

We live in a very Swedish town where tradition and culture is cherished and maintained. Each year, there is a Swedish Festival in May honoring this heritage. It's quite the affair, with booths, a parade and lots of food. As is common, it fell on the first really HOT weekend of the year, so we ventured out for a bit in the 100+ degree day to partake of the fun.

Valkommen is "Welcome" in Swedish

The fire truck was a cool and LOUD part of the parade! (Jordyn plugging her ears)

It was too loud for Peyton too!

Another claim-to-fame for our town is Sunmaid Raisins. They are made right here in Kingsburg, CA! Look at the box next time you're at the store!

The Shave Ice was the PERFECT snack on such a hot day!

Family Movie Night

As our kids get older, there is a noticeable incline in how busy we are. It feels like we are always going in so many different directions that it's hard to just stop and BE together.

Then I got an idea. I noticed that one of my Facebook friends was posting about her family movie nights each Friday night and how fun they were. At first, it made me feel like it was yet another thing I wasn't doing for my family. But then I started remembering how much I loved Friday nights as a kid. My mom would take us to pick out lots of treats at the store, and then we'd come home and we'd watch the TGIF lineup of shows (I don't remember all of them, but Full House was one of them).

So we decided to try it. We've now done three official Family Movie Nights and it has most definitely been a hit! First we take the kids to Walgreens or whatever store has a fun selection of candy and let them each pick out one kind of candy (it ends up being MORE than enough for their small tummies). They think this is absolute heaven. Peyton picks the red bag of Skittles every single time. Lexi picks different things each time, but is confident about her decision. And Jordyn could spend the entire day trying to pick one (she's indecisive like her mommy). We come home and put a big blanket on the floor....with blankets and pillows. And ALL of us sit and watch the movie together. No laptops, phones or other distractions (that is hard for me). Peyton bounces all over the place, but otherwise it goes pretty smoothly!

Here is what we've watched so far. (I'm trying to have them be new-to-them movies....but eventually we'll call on old favorites):
1. Bedtime Stories (Adam Sandler, newer movie) - they thought it was funny
2. Star Wars (Episode 4) - so/so. They liked it, didn't LOVE it. Tucker's pick.
3. E.T. - Big success

Here are some pics from our last week's Movie Night (we invited cousin Lyric to join us):

First, I had a gift card, so we went to In-N-Out for some burgers!

After the wild trip to Walgreens with four kids going crazy in the candy aisle....we came home to start Star Wars!

Tucker had to do some explaining beforehand :-)

Yum!! Sugar!!

I hope we can keep the tradition going! Because all too soon, they may be way too cool to spend Friday nights with their family!

Thought for the Day

"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing, and so you are not surprised. But presently, He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of — throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace" (Mere Christianity [New York: Macmillan, 1960], p. 174).

Growing Pains

Stormie and I helping sell See's Candy bars at the Clay School Car Show

Making posters for the Car Show

When Mrs. Scomona and I were planning for the last month of school, she asked if I'd rather plan the remaining History or Reading units (I'm already doing the Math). Before I knew it, I was answering with "Well, I should probably do the History since it's my worst subject...". I would have rather taught Reading 1 million times over History!! I could not believe what I was saying!

As I've pondered this choice, I think I knew - deep down - that I needed the "growth". I wish I could put into words how hard History has always been for me. All the names and dates just jumble together for me and it's a big ol' mess. So, teaching three weeks worth of Ancient Hebrew/Israel, Greece and Rome was a literal nightmare to me!!!

Teaching it meant that I had to actually understant what I was teaching!! So before I could teach them, I had to teach mySELF!! I just completed my week on Ancient Americas and Ancient Hebrew/Israel and can tell that I've benefited from the growing pains! I forced myself to conquer something very uncomfortable to me....and I will even admit that I *sort of* liked what I learned. I've covered from about 2000 BC up until 68 BC. I felt determined to teach it to them in such a way that, if possible, they would not feel all jumbled and confused about History like I always was. I think it worked. Its a fine balance between giving them the right amount of information, keep them interested, present it in a dynamic way and then assess their knowledge on it afterward in a way that is challenging yet not overboard. Whew!

As challenging as this entire semester has been for me and my family, I feel that I am a better person for it. I've really enjoyed it. And I really feel like I've been placed where I was "supposed" to be. My current master teacher (which feels funn to call her because she has become a friend to me now) just found out that she is pregnant after a couple years of trying! She is so thrilled and is so thankful that I'm here right now. Before I came, her dad had just been diagnosed with cancer and life was hitting a peak of stress for her. She thought the principal was crazy when he approached her about having a student teacher (they have a reputation of being a lot of work). She was reluctant, but we both feel like it was "meant to be"! We have made a great team and I wish we could teach like this all the time! She even wants me to be her long-term sub when she goes on maternity leave next year! I'm anxious to see what the next year unfolds for us.

Frog Season!

It's frog season around our house again. You've got to watch your step around here....especially at night! Can you believe this big ugly thing that I almost stepped on the other night?

Only Two More Weeks as a Kindergartener!

Sadly, Lexi is nearing the end of her Kindergarten year. I say "sadly" because I think it's sad to see her get older! I felt this way at the end of Jordyn's Kindergarten year too. It's like...... Kindergarten is cute....but moving to first grade makes me realize the progression won't ever stop.

Today she had a parents program at school. They practiced 7 songs and sang them all beautifully for us! I was so glad I was able to leave my classroom for a bit to come see her. I think my favorite was one about "If I could put my mom in a box" and talked about always having your mom with you. It definitely made me tear up.

She was so proud to have us there. I love these pics Tucker took during her performance because they are SO Lexi! Just totally capture her essence.

1st Grade Project

Last month, Jordyn had her first big project due for school. She was supposed to depict the environment of a frog with any kind of crafty materials. This is what we came up with. And, besides Tucker buying the frogs and me cutting off little pieces of our household fake plants, Jordyn designed and painted the whole thing all by herself! We were very impressed with her skills!! (If you notice a little tear on her trying-to-smile face, this was taken on one of our really hard, filled-with-tears mornings.)

Meet the Ronbinsons - at the Beach!

This past weekend, we were able to meet the Katie and Ryan at Cayucus Beach for a day to hang out with them. They had traveled like 14 hours for a family trip....and since we only had a two hour drive, it sounded like a perfect reason to get out of town for a day. We don't get to see each other much and so it was fun to catch up and let the kids play, play, play!

Savannah (almost 7), Lexi (5), Jordyn (7) and Cooper (5)

Katie on a walk with cute little Luka (18 months)

Savannah and Jordyn - they play so well together, so it was extra fun!

Ryan's sister Chalyse was there too and was a great "Aunt" to all the kids!

Me and my Pey Pey (2 1/2) - who, I'm proud to announce, did NOT get an ounce of a sunburn on her WHITE skin!

Tucker, Jamie, Katie and Ryan - doesn't Katie look amazing at 18 weeks prego!?

My little beach beauty, Lexi

Cooper and Lexi - Cooper was "surfing"

Tucker was obsessed with finding crabs and shells. He walked over with a big handful of sand-crabs and the kids were fascinated!

Look how cute Cooper is! We were laughing at his sand goatee (or however the heck you spell it)

Peyton went from hating the sand to laying down in it!

Katie saw something rolling around in the ocean and thought it was a person needing help. Luckily, it was just a sea otter laying on his back playing with clams!!!

This little one just wiped out exhausted on mommy. My little snuggler.

With sand caked on her face!!

Thanks for the fun day, Robinsons! We're so glad we got to see you for a few hours and make some memories!!