Hansen Dam

 Hansen Dam is like going to the beach, except you don't go to the beach.  It's15 minutes from my house, and 17 and under are FREE!!  Adults are $2.50.  I love a good bargain!

 It is a GIGANTIC wading pool, surrounded by sand, with one slide on the end - too big for my kids.  You can bring your own food, tents, etc - just like the beach.  Here is our picnic area.  We had yummy fruit and veggies for our kids.  These are our friends we met at Mommy and Me class.  The boy is Jaidyn, the girl is Toi, and Kasumi is the Mommy.

 Bee is enjoying a strawberry.

 Most of the day was spend in the sand. A very nice woman let my kids play with her sand toys, and then at the end of the day, she told us just to take them home!!  I protested a little, but I was happy to oblige. So nice.

 Notice same facial expression.

 Part of playing so close with each other involved dumping sand on each other's head.  They both were happy, I let them do it.

 Here is Jaidyn.  Bee loves to touch his hair.

Teo and Toi enjoyed swimming together.

 The water was quite cold, so Bee enjoyed bringing sand 

INTO the water.

 When I told her to stop, this was her expression.

Cold but fun.

 This is my perspective when I look down.  I love it!

Fun In The Sun!

 Last week we went to the Santa Clarita Aquatic Center.  It was such a great day.  All three kids went with me and we had a great time.  It's a community pool (so the price is ONLY $3) with slides, sprinklers, and such.  

I loved this pool because it had a huge, fun play area for Lola and Teo (very shallow), but it also had a separate huge lap pool with a diving board for Tanner.  So all my kids were happy.  We really had a great time.

This is what it looked like:

Great slide that Tanner COULD have gone on . . . but he had a little metal ring on his swimming trunks, so he was not allowed!  Poor Tanner!

 This is where we camped out on the grass.

 They provided Lola with this great floatation device for FREE! Just return it when you're done.  It worked great and she was happy to wear it.

 It was also "Safety Day" at the pool so every hour they taught CPR to anyone who wanted.  Teo got to practice on this dummy.

 Tanner was a great helper.  So glad he came with us.

 One thing I wish they would allow us to bring in our own food, but they want you do buy THEIR food.  So we bought a pretzel and shared it.

Water Baby

I won't give the video away, but I do have to say, "Why, Bee? Why do you do this to yourself?"

Now it's Mommy's turn . . . 

Thank goodness it was my feet she was interested in and not my head!  I love to watch her jump.

I turned off the camera, but she did this many, many more times.  Something about her and repetition.

Aquarium of the Pacific

Yesterday we took a day trip and went to Long Beach for The Aquarium of the Pacific.  I can't believe I have never been here before.  It was very enjoyable, but pricey!  When you start having to pay for multiple children things start to add up!

I also FORGOT my camera at home! UGH!! So Cousin Sylvia was there to take pictures from her phone.  Thanks, Sylvia!

Here we are at the Spider Crabs.  They were HUMUNGOUS!

 They had a new penguin exhibit which we enjoyed very much.  This was not it.  This is just for pictures.

 They also had a Lorikeet exhibit that was amazing.  One bird, in particular, really enjoyed nibbling on Tanner's ear.  I don't think Tanner appreciated it very much.  Once the picture was taken, Tanner promptly threw the bird off his shoulder!

The best part of the day was when Teo got to be in a stage play (as a volunteer picked from the audience).  He wore a penguin costume that was much too big for  him, but very cute.  He did a great job on stage and was, by far, the cutest one up there.

But the only pictures I could take were from my phone and I don't know how to transfer them here!  So I guess you will have to use your imagination (unless Gil can figure it out.)

We Be Jammin'

 There's nothing like walking into your child's room and finding both your sons rocking out together on their instrument of choice.  I'm glad my camera was close.

Tanner just started taking guitar lessons this summer and has really loved it.  Today was the first day it sounded like he was really playing.  Keep it up, boys!

Chocolate Ice Cream and Muddy Puddles!

Today after our chores, we decided to have a treat and walk to the ice cream shop down the street.  Both Teo and Lola got a scoop of chocolate ice cream which they tried to eat, on our way back home, before it all melted in their laps.

Once we were home and slightly messy, why not make the mess worthwhile by jumping in muddy puddles at the side of our home.  This is what occurred next.

 First, we must fill up the puddle with water!

 Then we must splash and dig until we are covered in mud.

 Then Teo decides to start pouring muddy water on himself, 

so of course, Bee must do it too.

 Time to Clean Up!

Now time for bath and bed.  That was a full day.