Mia's 12th Birthday

Mia had a small party for her 12th birthday. 

We got her an Oculus VR set which she absolutely loves!

She's very much into Warrior Cats so we had cat cupcakes!

Happy Birthday Mia!

 

Easter 2021

Easter started out with bunny pancakes!

Anna then filled all the eggs for the annual hunt.

Mia and Anna dyed eggs. It's rare for us to do all these activities on the same day, but also fun!

These two dapper young gentleman came for the hunt and dinner!

Happy Easter!

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Crystal Pier 2021

 We went with the neighbors for a weekend at Crystal Pier in San Diego.

The hotel has little cottages on the pier. 

We weren't able to get one of those so we stayed at the original 

part of the hotel at the front of the pier.

The girls did "sister switching" every night and spent the night back and forth between our rooms.

We brought our fishing poles and did a little fishing.

And then there's always the ice cream.

We had so much fun we reserved the same weekend in 2022!

Homeschool Activities March - May 2021

We made a trip down to Salton Sea State Recreation Area. This has fascinated me since Darlene and I happened upon it during a trip many many years ago.  I remember kids at my elementary school saying they were going on vacation to the Salton Sea. It's a bizarre place now.

It's now pretty much a ghost town. The girls can see how corrosive salt is.

And what the experts are trying to do to clean up the sea.

Moving on to science, I'm not sure how we went from a geology lesson 

to roasting mini marshmallows.

For a unique experience, we went to visit the old Los Angeles Zoo. 

The abandoned exhibits are still there and you can walk through them.

Strange looking animal!!

We could see Bee Rock, but try as we might, couldn't find a trail that took us there, 

though I knew it existed.

We toured a food farm lab. 

El Dorado Nature Center is fun trip we made many times, mostly to see the turtles!

While studying US History, we learned a few of the songs in Hamilton

 and then watched the movie with the neighbors. Anna became a super fan.

Kelly works at the Marine Mammal Rescue Center so we got a VIP tour.

They do a fabulous job of rehabilitating injured and sick sea lions.

For some subjects, such as art and music, we use online teachers.

Creek walks, boogie boarding, tree climbing and hiking all count as PE!

We had a great tour guide at Lyon Air Museum. At least I thought so. 

The kids thought it was boring.

More PE, aka kite flying.

The girls love going to cuddle baby lambs.

Cuddling baby lambs, file it under PE, science, biology, and character development.

W

 

Super Site Campland 2021

We decided to split the cost of the super site at Campland for a weekend. 

We parked our motorhome in the site next door while Melissa and Kelly parked here.

This site comes with its own jacuzzi, artificial turf ( as opposed to dirt) and...

...a fire pit and...

a barbecue and restroom.

We took Oliver and Maks for their first trip in the motorhome.  

The kids made crafts and then set up stores to trade with each other and ...

...ate ice cream and ...

...made their usual forts on the beach and ...

...went swimming and ...

...went on golf cart rides and ...

...discovered they love lamb chops and ...

...paddleboarded to their hearts' content and ..

...played with nerf guns!

A fun time was had by all!