Ladera Spring Celebration

 In 2010, I rode my bike over to the Spring Celebration in Ladera by myself to check it out.  I remember thinking, wow, there are a lot of kids.  Today, we went back, with two kids of our own.  It's crazy how time flies!

They had a mini egg hunt for the little guys and both of our little people participated.  It was crowded, but fun.  Alex found his very first Easter Egg!

Colin loved looking for eggs, just like last year.  He's such a sweet boy and was so gentle with all of the other kids.  The end result is not very many eggs, but several sweet sharing moments.  I love my sweet boy!

I can't believe how big our boys are getting!

Gavin and I tried to skip it, but Colin really wanted to meet the Easter bunny. Both boys did great, no tears or fear at all!

There was also an awesome slide.  Unfortunately it was for 3 and up.  Fortunately, Colin can't read...

Saturdays are so much fun.  After we came home for a quick nap, we headed out to our very first pool day of the year!  Both kids loved the water, and Colin remembered all of his lessons from last year's swim lessons!  He can climb out of the pool all by himself and did pretty good jumping in.

We BBQ'd for dinner and spent a bit of time at the water table.  It was a long and full day in the sun, and both boys were exhausted by bedtime.  Gavin and I stayed up and watched a movie, and I just kept thinking how much I love our Saturday Family Days.  We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful place and have such a healthy and happy family.

Hiking south

We went hiking again!

This time we went the other direction on the trail.  5.1 miles.

We borrowed a hiking backpack from another friend.  This pack was a Chicco.  I didn't wear the last one, so I can't compare very well, but Gavin says he liked where Colin sat in the seat better.  

Grandma came with us so we got several awesome pictures of all of us.  Sadly, I didn't get any of her!

This was my first time using a toddler packing backback. I started off with a sort of steep cliff and a river crossing!

 Family hiking is quickly become a favorite pasttime around here!  The boys absolutely love being outside.  Colin sings songs and tells us about what we are passing.  On this hike we saw a centipede, rabbit, bugs, and birds.

Our hometown <3

A beautiful hike.

Saturday is my favorite day by far. Our Saturday family adventure was a hike. I knew there were trails around, but I had no idea how beautiful some of them are!!

We borrowed a toddler pack from a friend.

Loaded up!

Alex feel asleep and had a prerty good nap for most of the hike.He kept grabbing my camelback tube!

Almost asleep.

Right about the time Alex feel asleep, we got to the first stream crossing.  I wasn't going to cross.  I didn't want to wake him, and I didn't want wet socks.  I finally decided to go, and I'm so glad I did.  Up to this point, the trail had been a gravel access road, but after the stream it became a really beautiful trail.

We stopped for a mini picnic under a bridge in the shade.  

We did have a mini drama at the picnic.  A bee stung Colin!  Gavin was trying to get rid of it (it was between his ear and his head) and when he finally did, it kept coming back!  He ended up picking up Colin and running about 100 feet down the trail to get away from the bee.  The stinger didn't go all the way in, but we monitored it closely.  A few hours later, it was completely gone, but Colin keep mentioning that the bee startled him during our hike! Poor guy!

What a beautiful way to spend a Saturday and enjoy some time as a family!

Ladera Learners

A few months ago, a mom in my Ladera group suggested starting a homeschool preschool program.  This idea fit perfectly in one of my and Gaivn's concerns for Colin.  We love that we are home with the boys, but we realize that Colin's getting to an age where he needs to be learning to interact with his peers on a more regular basis.  We talked briefly about sending him to preschool or some type of day program, but we aren't ready.  The idea of a homeschool environment seemed like a great solution!

We started meeting and formed a group of 8.  The Lil Ladera Learners.  After meeting a few times, I realized there were several other huge benefits to the group.  One of the major ones is exposing to Colin to the types of activities that I wouldn't think of or wouldn't have interest in doing.  Another is the idea of a better division of labor.  Gavin and I often prepare activites for Colin, but it's pretty annoying to spend an hour getting an activity ready that he spends 3 minutes on.  With a group, it's about the same amount of work, but more opportunity for it to be enjoyed.  Also, I've noticed that in a group, Colin seems to spend more time because he sees the other kids participating.

During our first week, Colin did way better than I was anticipating.  It's not that I thought he would be horrible, I was just concerned that the entire thing might be a little bit over his head.  It wasn't.  All of the kids seemed a little cautious at first.  The younger group, which has been Colin and two little girls, more than the older group.  Colin also participated really well in all of the activities.  He sat at the table and ate his snack.  He listened to the stories, he stacked blocks, painted, did puzzles and sang.  He 'shared' all of his blocks with one of his tablemates.

First moments of 'school'

First Classrom

Next generation Ladera Learners?

Did I mention we got T shirts? Cute!!

School Friends

Circle Time Board

Trying to stay clean and dry!

I am really excited about this opportunity.  I think it will amazing to watch Colin grow and learn with a group of kids his age.  I am so grateful that Gavin and I have the opportunity to be a part of this group.

Ladera Concerts 2014

Every summer our neighborhood hosts a series of concerts in the park.  This year we made it to most of them and had so much fun!!

We got to hang out with all kinds of friends!  Dr Lisa and Chris came down for one along with Chris' sister and daughter.  Grandma came to two of the concerts, and Grandpa came to one.  Jackson and his family came to several of them and we sat with some new friends and played at another.  Mommy was even brave enough to head out to one of them on her own without daddy!

Pretty much any even that involves outside, friends, and food is going to be high on Colin's list of good ideas! :)

We had such a fantastic time, and it really made be grateful that we live in such a beautiful and family friendly area.  We can hardly wait until next year!!