They had a marble run exhibit, which was Landon's favorite. He planned his design, then we cut strips of cardboard and hot glued them into place to follow his design. He had so much fun making it that the next day he exclaimed, "I know! I'll make a stand, like lemonade, but I'll sell marble runs!" I asked how much he plans to sell them for, and he said "$10....some for $1 and some $2 and up to $10 for the really cool ones."
After the science museum we enjoyed some ice cream, attended a birthday party and went to the Rogers' house for dinner.
The kids got a last swim in before the weather started cooling off.
I love how they look when they sleep (although Brooklyn's tough to get pictures of because she rolls herself into a comforter burrito and often has her head under the covers)!
Brooklyn attended PTA & Room Mom meetings with me one day and got the be the raffle prize ticket drawer....on the last draw she picked our ticket and was SO excited to pick out a floral wreath. She LOVES having the wreath in her room. I have been trying to get ovveralls on her for about 2 years, and she finally decided (on her own, after I gave up, of course) to wear them (and loved them!)!
We went on our annual beach camping trip at Doheny State Beach over Daniel's birthday weekend. We had a huge group (us, the other Kelepouris', Fenwicks, Garcias, Palmquists, Lavaglios, Melis & Kaylee and Mr. John) spanning 4 sites...and lots of fun!
Brooklyn has finally come around to being twinsies with Zoe!
Playing in the water, biking, snacking, playing in the sand, games, s'mores, repeat.
Best buddies on the trip:
Steel wool + fire:
Sunday was Daniel's birthday, so when we left the beach we stopped for lunch at Pizza Port then home for birthday dinner with all of the Kelepouris'.
Daniel's co-workers also celebrated him!
After all the riding in Doheny Brooklyn wanted to try riding a big kid bike again. She was able to start and stop all on her own this time! (The trickiest part of her learning to ride is how hard she is on herself. She does great when she's confident!)
We also walked to/by many touristy places: Supreme Court, Botanical Gardens, U.S. Capitol, Lincoln Memorial, Reflecting Pool, Washington Monument, MLK Jr. Memorial, WWII Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the White House.
Meanwhile, Grammie and the kids played, Landon had a soccer game (and loves playing goalie!), and the kids had a fun day with Daddy at Sugarplum Zoo.
He enjoyed it so much that he wanted to "write a long book," so he and I had a little Starbucks date where we brainstormed storyline ideas, outlined our story about Super Mario Bros., came up with a (very original) title, "Super Mario Bros.," made the cover and began writing and illustrating it. Then we tried to learn how to moonwalk (when we got home).
Brooklyn made her own (also very original) 2-page book because she loves pretty much everything that Landon does! And they have the cutest conversations...one day, I heard them fighting over something then it got quiet so I snuck over to listen. They were having their own little conflict resolution conversation, speaking ever-so-respectfully to each other about how to solve their issue. It was SO sweett!
She also decided one day that she wanted to have a lemonade stand where she "sells for free" her old headbands and broken toys instead of lemonade. She took her table and chair out in front of our house and waited. She didn't get any customers, but she was very excited that a neighbor waved to her as she drove past. (She also rode a 2-wheeler all by herself including starting & stopping!)
Vovo and Vova always bring the kids back souveniers from their travels, and this time they brought back a necklace that Brooklyn wore for about 48 hours straight (aside from sleeping) from Tanzania. Even to Landon's soccer practice then Pizza Factory with Tristan & Celse's family.
All tuckered out after a day of reading (she's getting so great at reading her Bob Books!!!) and a pre-bedtime game of family hallway soccer (with the deflated basketball).
Moonlight State Beach!
(and Handel's)
And dinner at the Rogers'.
This girl's sense of style is.....unique! She picks out her clothes almost everyday, but the best part is the random tights and cowgirl boots (no matter the weather). And she loves the color, "valender" (lavender)!
Rancho Elementary had a Crazy Hair & Sock Day!
Even though Brooklyn's school didn't have Crazy Hair Day, she wanted to participate with rainbow hair (and shirt & skirt) as well.
She still LOVES her "babies" (stuffed animals)!
And she likes playing ouside too!
The gym had an anniversary party with a face painter and bouncy. There were hardly any kids there, so they got to get arm tattoos too!
Tyson is staying with us for a couple of weeks, and the kids just LOVE him! Landon likes taking him outside in the morning (as long as it's not too early), giving him his morning treat and reading books to him. He's very gentle with him, always goes straight to gentle pet Tyson when he gets home and loves that Tyson sleeps with him. Say "hello" to Ms. Renter's Rancho Elementary Road Runner of the Week (he even reads regular books now, not just learning-to-read books)!
Brooklyn loves petting and snuggling him (although he's not as much a fan of it), letting him in and out when he needs to go, giving him food in the morning and a treat at night if he finishes his dinner. She likes taking him on walks (preferably by herself up and down our street), wants to pick him up, picks flowers from the yard for him to smell, makes cozy forts around him while he naps and scratches his chest while he licks her hand.
She also enjoyed using him as a pawn in her game to swing! We took Tyson for a walk to the playground, and Brooklyn was waiting a while for a turn on one of the swings. I asked her if she wanted to hold Tyson's leash while she waited, as she was getting restless. She took him and walked him by the girls on the swings and ever so slowly toward them. One of the girls saw him and said, "OH! A puppy!" She and her sister (that was on one of the swings) started petting him, but, unfortunately, she remained on the swing while doing so. Brooklyn shared with the girls that his name was Tyson, then the third girl jumped off her swing to go fawn over him. AS SOON AS the girl's booty left the swing Brooklyn dropped the leash and slowly walked behind the girls and jumped up on the swing with a huge grin! (It was most definitely pre-meditated.)
Daniel's friend, Derek, came into town, and they had a boys' night out.
Daniel & Brooklyn got some breakfast burritos one morning while Landon and I went to Jacob's soccer game.
Daniel and I had a date night at Outback, a walk around Harveston Lake, looking at the puppies at the pet shop and axe throwing.
We are working on decorating our dining room and put together a buffet table.
We are Halloween'd out at bedtime (thanks, Grammie & Papa for the blankets, pillow cases and stuffies and Auntie Gail & Uncle Fred for the pumpkin night lights)!
We love Art for Kids Hub (YouTube videos with a dad and one of his kids that teach kids how to draw things step by step)! Brooklyn has even started drawing with them lately.
...and also painting the backyard with water.
September Bloopers:
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| When you've got to go, you've got to go! |
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| Apparently the Kelepouris Boy way to sit on the couch is with legs crossed and right arm behind the head |
