...these became part of that child



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.2.2013 Buccaneer Beach Oceanside
 

the schooners, the waves, the clouds,

the flying sea crow, the fragrance

of salt marshes and mud, the horizon's edge.

these became part of that child who went forth everyday

and who now goes and will always go forth everyday.

 

Leaves of Grass - Walt Whitman

la jolla marine bio beach teach

 

la jolla 2.21.2013

miss smartypants 8th grader was invited on our homeschool co-ops high school marine bio beach teach lab. the younger brownsugars went to the Birch Aquarium with their sitter & big sis & i spent the day together exploring the beach & tide pools with the high school kids. (btw - i loved this awesome group of teens!) 

the day started out chilly but by the time we hit the water it was much warmer, sunny & absolutely beautiful!

 

*note to self*- the red wellies were a fantastic choice! i would have been miserable with wet jeans, socks, shoes & freezing feet!

 

SUCH a fantastic day & another fave field trip

(the younger girls had a fantastic time too!...bummed i missed it)

weekending. idyllwild.

Jeffries Pine tree bark smell like vanilla

 

 2.2.2013 Idyllwild

 

"get everyone ready...we're going on a road trip."

hubby's text to me in the morning. after a 1 hour & 45 min car ride to the mountains we arrived at one of our new fave places! we have been wanting to visit Idyllwild for a while & finally got our chance.

 

we checked out the Idyllwild Nature Center, hiked the grounds & did some geocaching. we drove around sight seeing & then got out to explore the downtown on foot. we found a campsite to bring our Airstream back too (excited!). & of course my battery died with so much left to see.

 

it was a crisp & chilly evening & we grabbed a hot drink at Higher Grounds coffeeshop. students from the Idyllwild Arts Academy were outside performing (such awesome talents!). most of the businesses were closed but we walked up & down the streets looking in windows, chatting with friendly people taking their doggies out for an evening stroll (such a dog friendly town) & picking out places we can't wait to visit on our next trip.

 

this quick post does not do Idyllwild or our visit any justice, but this is how i described it : "such a cool funky artsy hipster urban country mountain town...love the beauty, the vibe the whole thing...sooo much more to explore". we decided that this will be our spot & will be spending much more time there!

 

ps. this post took 3 weeks to fully upload...Grrr!

weekending. north park & the big bay.

 

1.12.2013. North Park SD & The Big Bay.

 

"let's get a coffee...but in North Park!"

on Saturday we felt like exploring & taking a little day trip 45 mins away in San Diego. it's so nice to be able to just hop in the car & go with minimal prep! we hung out in North Park with a little bit of Hillcrest mixed in. after cruising around & grabbing a coffee shop treat (coffee for me & hubby & blended caramels for the brownsugars) we drove around areas of Balboa Park we were not familiar with to people watch & looking at the fab houses in our fave neighborhood behind it.

 

afterwards we wandered around The Big Bay. it was late by the time we got there & all of the attractions were closing. it was so windy & FREEZING by the water, the brownsugars were getting uncomfortable (brrr!!!) & starting to meltdown. but still i loved that it was a beautifully brisk winter-y day by the water which we don't get here very often. we enjoyed it overall & cannot wait to go back to the museums. as we were walking back to our car a lobster fisherman was weighing in his catch & he was so excited to give the girlies a little lobster lesson..he was such a character!

 

we moved to Southern California about 6 years ago. the 1st few years we spent the same amount of time living in both our new home here & our old home (6 hours away). hubby was also working long hours & weekends between both places. we've done some local exploring, but haven't really done enough in my book. now we have more time & the brownsugars are older also which makes exploring easier.

 

there is so much to do & see here even just with in 30 minutes to an hour & tons we have yet to see, so we will be doing plenty day trips. i love traveling & with less planning, packing, driving, etc...i think living here as a tourist will be an easy, economical & exciting way to explore new things & have lots of family fun!

 

ps late post...pix took 3 days to upload?!?! grrr!







this {past} week

{a few little tidbits from last week...that were supposed to post on Saturday}

 

one of our fave days of the week is our coffee shop date. the brownsugars & i usually bring schoolwork or reading books to our local coffee shop, but this week we brought our art supplies.

we all really enjoyed it & trying yummy new drinks!

 

we did some fun science experiments using a new weather kit to finish up the weather unit we began at the end of last year. we started recording our weekly temps at set hours that we will graph. we also did a barometer experiment & an evaporation chamber experiment. we still have a few more experiments left. 

 

K has gotten REALLY good on her guitar. she is super passionate & equally as self motivated about her guitar playing. i LOVE LOVE LOVE listening to this girl practice & play. i'm also loving watching her artistic growth (all around) & the fact that she has enough time to pursue & develop them.

 

beach day is, of course our other favorite day of the week! we took beach study & our bible study books along for some beach schooling & family worship before going in the water. it was a perfect day for it. it was hot! after we finished with the books & our picnic, we hit the water for the rest of the evening. 

(yes! i actually had on a swimming suit!)

 

this past week was definitely an "i'm sooo happy to be homeschooling" week. i'm loving the blessing of being able to watch my brownsugars grow into themselves right before my eyes & being able to be here to facilitate if necessary. there are so many things, subtleties even, that i would have never know about each one of these girls if we were not homeschooling

& none of which i want to miss.