Tuesday, May 31, 2011

field trip {monarch butterfly conservatory pt. 1}

{monarch butterfly conservatory}
a few weeks ago the fam went on a feildtrip to the monarch program in encinitas.
(encintas is one of my fave places!)
seeing all of the butterly lifestages in person, in one place & all at the same time was pretty neat.
tiny butterly eggs
cute little caterpillar
chrysalis
(did you know butterflies ONLY make chrysalis not cocoons?)
beautiful butterflies.
the weather was really cool, so they were on the ground or mostly still.
butterflies love watermelon so they were easy to catch & observe...
with our eyes only!
 magical.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

guess what im thinking about :)

guess what im thinking about...



we miss our chickie girls.
playing with Pinterest this morning.
 i made a entire pinboard just for my chickens.
i really miss them :)
*was having trouble with the embedding codes, but looks like i got it.
this is going to be fun.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

had a few minutes to craft

this morning i had an empty house, some Norah Jones playing, some creamy coffee & a few minutes to craft alone. 
the girlies are going to a beach party next week so i made these bright & fun hair clips. so fun that i made a few extra to sale just in case :) 
Blogger flipped this pic. Grrr!!!
happy saturday!

Friday, May 27, 2011

friday flowers
{hibiscus}
hibiscus are one of my fave flowers.
 i have a few varieties in my courtyard.
 this beauty was right in my face while i was eating lunch out there.
the entire bush is full of blooms just like this.
im such a happy girl.

*sorry my friday flowers took so long, i was playing on my brand new, very fun & addicting Pinterest page all day.
im beyond hooked!

Thursday, May 26, 2011

new fave song {the Sesame Street side of Will.i.am}

our one of our {new fave} songs



very cute!
a different & sweet Sesame Street side of will.i.am.
i/we will drop everything to watch Sesame Street. 3 & i are watching it together right now while the Big Girls are gone.
is there anyone who doesn't love Elmo?
...oh wait....he's on...gotta go!

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

FINALLY! our first visit to our FANTASTIC NEW LIBRARY

FINALLY! OUR NEW LIBRARY
{my new fave} 
a remodel in 1987 is the version we had when we moved here.
2009 ground was broken on the current remodel.
 we watched it being built from the ground up & it was finished not to long after we left town for 3 months!!!remember
what an unbelievable transformation.
Here is the BEAUTIFUL NEW & IMPROVED GREEN REMODEL!!!
*WARNING*
 this post will never do this library remodel justice! there are sooo many little amazing details, artistic nuances & clever GREEN state-of-the-art design features that would take many posts!
seeing is believing is a MAJOR understatement.
amazing artwork outside the building by a local artist
this is my all time fave used bookstore!
 the spiffy new Friends of the Library Bottomshelf Bookstore.
it's now located right outside the entrance. i have purchased almost all my books from here in the last few years.
 popular titles even requested popular titles from 10 cents & the most $3(they let you fill out a request form & so far i have gotten all but 1).
these were our first steps inside.
STUNNED!
our own section!!!
we live in the Avocado Capital of the World. no really it's true.
giant hanging fruit are a nod to the agriculutural roots of our community.
Ms. 12 yo's mouth dropped!
she's all over "her spot". it has a Wii, the coolest furniture, a TV & much much more...
another thru the glass shot
artistic native plant Quiet Garden.
wish i could have gotten the amazing living green roof.

we literally spend hours & hours in our new library. browsing books, bringing in our school work, exploring still, or just sitting in awe & appreciating.

Monday, May 23, 2011

mahogany monday{a mama's nest}

mahogany mondays
{a mama's nest}

our sweet neighbor gaved this beautiful little fallen mama hummingbird's nest she found while working in her yard to the girls as a little gift.
(along with a tiny animal bone)
she knows us so well.
(have i mentioned how much i love my neighbors?) 
"this was a really smart hummingbird. it used string, paper & twigs to keep it's nest together" ~ 3.
guess what they want to learn more about now :)

*mahogany mondays is a showcase of mothers of color that are living the natural mahogany lifestyle (homeschooling/unschooling, healthy eating,natural parenting, etc...).
please visit the mahogany way.
 feel free to join :)


Sunday, May 22, 2011

the girlie's handmade gift

*first can i just say i'm still super bummed about Blogger's unannounced shutdown.
i lost some posts that were important to me & a few other things are screwed up.
Grrrrr!!!
now moving on to...
{the girlie's handmade gift}
with only a teeny bit of help from mama
in this post i mentioned we were putting together a gift, but we hadn't given it yet so i couldn't share.
a few weeks ago we finally gave the gift.
the girlies were so proud of themselves for giving something creative that they made with love by their own hands.
 they worked really hard.
(no she's not sewing alone, but she wanted a pic)
the recipient of this gift is one of our sweetest neighbors who just went away to college.
the girlies picked out fabric that they thought perfectly matched her personality & interest.
& made her this journal cover & floral pen. on the front page of the journal they wrote sweet notes to her.
(we really miss her!!!) 
there's more...
they made her some personalized magnets according to the things she loves
ex: nature, hiking, flowers, all things outdoors etc... 
(remember our magnet making mania)
there's more...
they added some cute stationary that she can only use to write the girls & a magnet board for the magnets to hang in her dorm room.
they wrapped it themselves, delivered it too her & she was sooo pleased! 
(we all were)

Saturday, May 21, 2011

there really is a first time for EVERYTHING!

there really is a first time for everything...including using a chain saw!
GO AHEAD WITH MY BADSELF!!!
{my cute little first chainsaw ever pile}
working in my garden today.
my compost area needed more sun.
i gave it some :)

Friday, May 20, 2011

friday flowers{matilija poppies} & the mission san luis rey fieldtrip

 friday flowers {matilija poppies}
 & the mission san luis rey feildtrip

we saw these beautiful matilija poppies on the mission san luis rey grounds on our feildtrip this week. there were a lot of beautiful & different flowers but
i fell in love with these instantly.
 i wrote more about them here & you HAVE to see the other pix i took.
they are sooo sunny & happy.
{my new fave}
{fieldtrip}
the fieldtrip was with the charter school so i didnt post alot of pix, because of the other children in them. it was a beautiful & informative historical learning experience. history brought to life. it was amazing to see the girls "go back in time" all on their own & almost get into character really. they made the history of mission living real for themselves.