8th grade promotion ceremony

each grad received a cute personalized chalkboard pennant.

love love love these group of girlies!

she walked in to the "Star Wars" theme song

(each grad picked their fave song).

wearing yellow checked sunglasses.

(each grad walked in wearing shades...cool kids.) 

the co-op teacher gave each grad a special word & a special gift that defined them.

her word was empowered & her gift was a Spock figurine. both abs perfect!

dress & converse...yes!

these two crazy best friendsies...peas in a pod {heart}

yummy gluten free 'stache cakes made by my sweet hubby!

{such a good daddy!}

me & my beautiful amazing girl

 

our oldest brownsugar's 8th grade promotion ceremony was Saturday. a little windy, but an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day for a country club celebration!

 

the promotion ceremony events were planned by the 8th graders themselves & our wonderful homeschooling co-op families did such a fantastic job with the party planning, decorating, etc...! these 8th graders were such an awesome group of smarties, they more than deserved it all.

extremely proud!

 

wait.

it's just sinking in that 8th grade promotion means she is done with 8th grade forever & will officially be a high schooler next year!

WAAAAAH! NO! NO! NOOOOOO!!!& why?!?

{only 4 more years left in the nest}

it all happened so fast...sadness.

...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. 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!







under mighty oaks

Mighty Oak
Stand tall oh mighty oak, for all the world to see,
your strength and undying beauty forever amazes me.
Though storm clouds hover above you,
your branches span the sky,
in search of the radiant sunlight you
count on to survive.
When the winds are high and restless and
you lose a limb or two,
it only makes you stronger, we
could learn so much from you.
Though generations have come and gone
and brought about such change,
quietly you've watched them all yet still
remained the same.
I only pray God give to me the strength he's
given you,
to face each day with hope, whether
skies are black or blue,
Life on earth is truly a gift
every moment we must treasure,
it's the simple things we take for granted
that become our ultimate pleasures.
Kathy J Parenteau source

this poem is such an inspiration to me.
oaks are an important part of our towns natural history.
i'll be copying it & posting it where it can encourage me daily.

today was spent with friends.
under mighty oaks.
in the warm sun & clean fresh air.
it was such a good day.

our winter break is winding down.
we've been checking lots of fun things off our winter to do list.
we've been working hard cleaning, purging & reorganizing.
we've also been enjoying lazy days just kicking back by the fireplace, reading, crafting & being home doing all sorts of slow happy to be staying home & having nowhere to be kinds of things.

it's been a nice, quiet way to say good bye 2012 & hello 2013. 

Gold Rush at Riley's Farm

Riley's Farm. Oak Glen, Ca. 11.1.12

a few weeks ago a friend invited us on their homeschool charter's living history trip at one of our fave local places 

Riley's Farm. 
it was on our fall to do check list, so we packed our stuff up last minute & hit the road early in the morning!

my mama made the brownsugars costumes a few years ago when we visited the Colonial Farm Life trip
& luckily they worked again for this Gold Rush trip. 
(because really what better way to experience a living history field trip than being in costume!)
check the Riley's Farm link...it's absolutely beautiful & they have so many many fantastic things to offer! 

our guide giving the group a history lesson & the laws of the land.

mining in the gold field.

to enter we had to make a deal with the claim owner.

our deal was to pay 30 percent of the gold found. 

the kids mostly calculated their negotiations themselves.

{these pix are out of order...oops}

searching for nuggets by hand in the sluice boxes.

afterwards the girls decided that maybe it would be better to invest some of their hard earned gold mining money on a {highly} price inflated mining pan.  

 at the bank they converted all their gold into paper money.

there was even a bank robbery!

 the miners also had the opportunity to try to earn extra money by doing other chores if they could find any.

 

after the claims & the bank closed for the day

we were served a miner's lunch that consisted an apple, jerky meat, cornbread, a slice of cheese & lemon aide

before the auction in the big barn

(where of course you get to spend your hard days work earned pay).

the auction was such a great educational lesson in supply & demand (as the supply of objects to bid on decreased, the bidding price on the remaining objects increased significantly).

at the end of the auction the guide discussed supply & demand in further detail as well as other valuable educational & historical info.

one of our fave tidbits was that he pointed out that the same people owned the claims, mines, the goods & supplies for purchase, the bank, the auction, pretty much everything involved

& they made a fortune off (US) the desperate miners!

i'm not giving it all away,

but fall at Riley's Farm is a beautiful time of year to visit (as any actually)...check out the Riley's Farm link to see why!