Elsa's Fall 2018 Girl Scout Camping Adventure

Last weekend, once school got out on Friday, I took Elsa's girl scout troop on their first two night camping trip. After school we headed down to New Brighton State Beach near Santa Cruz. The girls loved playing in the trees.

 

We walked to the beach picking wild blackberries.

We made a fire and eat our pasta dinner in the dark.

The girls had fun in the tent and stayed up late.

The next morning we made pancakes.

Then it was back to the beach to watch the fishermen.  They found a simmering fire that they put out.

We stopped by the ranger station and did an art project.

Then the rest of the girls arrive and we headed back to the beach to ride the waves.

I had a good group of moms helping out.

I left for the night because Elsa asked for a night without me.  What a night it was! Elsa fell and scraped her face. In the morning her eye was swollen. Oh my! It was still a great time for all the girls.

Kids Obstacle Challenge

This Sunday Liam & Elsa, along with a number of their friends participated in the Subaru Kids Obstacle Challenge at Coyote Point. It was fun to see the kids, in particular Elsa, get muddy and have fun. There were a number of easy and harder obstacles to pass over, under and through.

Elsa even tried to get muddy on the rope swing.

At the end, both Elsa and Liam  got their medals.  Elsa was a bit muddier, since Liam skipped a bunch of the really muddy races.

Then, Elsa and her friends did the course a second time! Once their were finally done, it was fun for the girls to spray off the mud before we headed over to the Millbrae Pancake house for lunch.

First Day of Addison 2018

Tuesday August 14 was the big day that Liam started Kindergarten and Elsa started 3rd Grade! It was a very exciting day that started with pictures by the front door.

We then walked over to Addison Elementary! 

Elsa is in Room 18 with Ms. Cordova!

Liam in is Room 3 with Teacher Lee!

 He was first in line to meet the teacher.

 Then he headed right into the classroom.

A great start to a new school year. 



Summer 2018

We had a wonderful summer and it ended on August 13, when the kids headed to Addison for the first Addison Kids Club all day. The next day school started. The weekend before summer ended we headed up to Foothills regional park for a night of camping.  This has been our tradition for the last few years and it is nice to spend some time in nature before starting a new school year.   

The kids had a lot of fun climbing up the hills around the cabin.

 

The big hit was our hammock, which the kids enjoyed swinging on.

In the morning, Arne & Liam went to the lake for some fishing.

The summer was filled with the big trips like Alaska, Yosemite and Camp Blue, but also a lot of fun at camps and with family. Elsa had a great time at her first sleep away Girl Scout Camp, as well as at Peninsula Day Camp girl scout camp, where I volunteered. 

She also had fun at a Lego camp with her friend Raina.

Liam's last day of preschool was June 22.

He then headed off to Galileo camp with his sister. 

Liam loved his week of Uncle Erik camp with Grandma and Grandpa! Erik came all the way from England. The big project was Big Ben.

They found all the best monkey bars around town, had a one-of-kind tour of the UC Botanic Garden where Grandma volunteers, and went to the Oakland Zoo and the Lawrence Hall of Science.

 

The summer ended with a week of swim camp.  All the swimming has been great for Liam - he is now a level 3 swimmer.

Just after school started we went to Point Reyes Station for one last summer trip.  It was great to see our friends the Dumbras and their new house.  We had a great time swimming and seeing whales at Limantour Beach.

It was a busy and fun summer of outdoor time and exploration.