litoria caeruleas, selachimorphas, & a cangrejo

litoria caerulea

i LOVE frogs! we've been wanting  some for our classroom & yesterday a friend donated this entire habitat to the girls. fully equipped with 3 whites tree frogs (litoria caerulea). we are SOOOOOO excited! there are a few drawbacks :: the tank is SO HUGE & we were going to split the habitat up because 3 wanted one in her room...but we discovered, while watching a movie, they love to sing at night (to opera esp). their nature song is beautiful, impressive & super L.O.U.D. i think it would scare 3 right out of her sleep at night (scared me to death!). also, they are NOT as snuggly as 3 was hoping. in order to hold them you have to wet your hands with filtered water. 3 had to adjust her expectations, but they are still THE COOLEST!

selachimorpha

this statue of a surfer on his board is called the Carlsbad Kook. we see it driving along PCH. it gets decorated many different ways, by different local artist. this time a local artist put this grand shark around the Kook's base in the middle of the night (somehow!). it has become quite the controversy & news story but the perfect segue at our home into...

yes! SHARK WEEK! our lives have become consumed with sharky-ness. today we watched our first show to kick it off.

cangrejo

of course when you talk sharks everything ocean becomes part of the study. i just so happened to find this toy cangrejo in a store. 3 is in love. we went to a resturant & she asked the waitress how to say crab in spanish. cangrejo has become our favorite word. we cannot stop saying it. it's fun to just yell out :: CANGREJO!  it has been a fun lesson in rolling those r's.

fun beach boardwalk memory frame project

we tried this beach boardwalk memory frame project from the Family Fun Mag.

they turned out awesome, but MAN they took a LOT of time (& a lot of mama time) & work (& yes alot of mama work).

1's

3's

2's

but we are all royally happy with our finished products!

Friday Flowers :: summer sunflowers

Friday Flowers

summer sunflowers

thanks L for hand delivering some summer to our home. coastal june gloom over stayed it's welcome. it's been so cool here most of this summer (not complaining).  but now it's starting to summer up & we can eat our berry yogurt pops in shorts & t's.

* im trying my 1st ever linky post & i hope im doing it right. this one i can really get into. thanks to Renee for hosting Friday's Flowers.

mama's littlest brownsugar baby turns 5

this month my littlest brownsugar beauty turned 5!!! unbelievable!

 it's kind of bittersweet place to be (for mama). her life purpose is to be a big kid. she spends endless energy & might trying to keep up with her big sisters. so in that sense I'm happy for her. big girlin' it at last. part of  3's last steps to big girlness according to her  ::

• 
  
  learning to read (check!)
• 
  
  using mouthwash (check!)
• 
  
  getting rid of training wheels (check!)
• 
  
  getting her own Razor scooter (check!)
• 
  
  starting schoolwork (check with gusto!)

so by her definition (& all others as far as I'm concerned, she's a big girl)

 

BUUUUUT now i have no more baby! which is also bittersweet :: no more diapers, nursing, night feedings, etc....on the other hand no more fat juicy babies, dreamy mama's milk drunk eyes, cute little toes, cute little lips, cute little bums ::  (still all the cute) but no more little anything! some of my mama's heart feels the want to bring another baby home. thank goodness though there are my practical mama parts that bring me back to my senses

 "relax mama. this day comes for ALL mama's of little sweet babies. it's supposed to, they can't stay little forever...go forward from here & enjoy this part of the journey too" *please make it stop*  

2's handmade surprises

2 worked on these gifts for 3 in her room, in private. surprised her & all of us.

this embellished can is even blingy-er in person!

2 is dying to learn to sew. she made this purse ALL BY HERSELF (even designed her own pattern). then tested it with a brick to see if it held up. so stinkin' cute!

 i was trying to show her hemming detail, she even turned & hemmed the pocket before she sewed it on.

first ever girlpowered camping in the Sequoias day 3

  almost all too soon & in some ways not soon enough, day 3 of our girl powered camping trip in the Sequoias arrived (only one more post about this trip i promise!).  that meant the bittersweet end of our girlness emacipation. as much as we were dying to return home to see Daddy & sleep in a real bed...we didn't want to leave the MOST beatuiful place we've ever seen or the best trip we've had to date. here is day 1  &day 2.

our big group. many thanks to our family who did the planning.

August would not leave this particular cousin's side then entire trip. cute little buddies!

us girlies by the rushing Kings River.

Kai became quite the hiker on this trip. she even navigated a search & rescue operation for some wayward teens.

well then Miss Mia why don't we just do that!

hugging trees as instructed by Miss Mia. i wish i counted how many cousins it took to span this tree trunk base.

Mia means my little brave & mighty. & just look at her!

Auntie E too the rescue! our only dramatic little mishap on the trip. i for sure thought our camp drama would involve a bear or moose or something else wild, furry & with lot's of big teeth , but this moment will have to do.  it was someone's first time lighting the stove fire. thank goodness for Auntie E's swift reaction, because i needed to take the picture.

we stopped at a stoplight on the drive home & this is was we saw in the backseat.

now of course our trip couldn't just end without some learning. NO WAY! in post 4 i'll show you what i mean.

first ever girlpowered camping in the Sequoias day 2

our summer camping was so amazing our summer is still being defined by it.  our first ever tent camping, first ever BIG no daddy trip & THE trip where us girls gained, tested & proved our she-woman independence, self reliance & all around kickbutt-ness (ok other fam was there too, BUT...) we decided to go BIG & emancipate ourselves in the Sequoia National Forest. day 1 

 i do hate that these trip post are so spread out, so looong  & not done!  BUT there are sooooo many pix to sort thru & details i want to share, but as not overwhelm i will save some for our family scrapbook :)

 

no matter how often a visitor, experiencing the majestic beauty of the Sequoia National Forest is so breathtaking & awe-inspiring even in the minutest of details. in wanting to capture all the sights & sounds i found it easy for all our trip pix to be of each & every tree, plant, river, natural wonder, mountain, vista, tree, tree & more trees. alas i edited my pix... i will contain myself.

5 am potty break (freezing cold)

i finally fell asleep around 3am. 3 had to go potty around 4am. i bundled us up, stepped out with my flashlight to do a "bear check", tripped on my tent door lip & fell on a rock. the tent next door asked if i was ok..."I'll be fine until daylight!" was my reply. couldn't feel my arm or hands at that point & decided i didn't need too in my sleep or the pitch dark & beyond freezing wilderness anyway! (found out a month later by my Physical Therapist that i actually  injured it!) ok so got cozy enough to sleep again & tried thru the suffering (arm started throbbing).  5am 2 & the ENTIRE tent next door took a group potty trip to the actual facility...& yelled good morning to us in our little (quiet) tent on their way. HAVE MERCY & FORGET SLEEP so... we just got up & joined K by starting the day with breakfast, a much appreciated fire & coffee. 

the iconic "Marshmallow". i HAD to add this pic. i wish i was this cool! i totally want a VW BUS, Westfalia,  Eurovan etc... this is K's & he built a bed in the back...he spends A LOT of time in the mountains. us novice campers learned from his mountain man savvy.

hmmmm i spy a not-so-happy camper?

us girls by the raging Kings River.don't know if you can see in this pic, but on day 2 the i-miss-my-daddy-home-pets-own bed-blues hit one of us girls pretty hard. right before this we talked to Him on the janky pay phone that after 5 minutes asked for more coins to get 3 more minutes, only to give us another minute & 5 seconds. after about $5 we gave up. our only contact with Daddy for 3 days & it was very frustrating because we didn't get to say anything.

the Kings River flowed along our campsite & was rushing, raging & swollen due to the snow melting. it was ABS FAB but very dangerous even at the shore. the power of the river was such an amazing & captivating sight...all God's force & fury unleashed. we were mesmerized, but cautious. thankful too it was so LOUD it drowned out all the nighttime outdoor nature-y sounds.

cousins playing the game CAMP (LOVE! more next post)

we now consider this the absolute best way to end any night anywhere.