k officially graduated from kindergarten today.  The shoes that she started out with on the first day of school are barely hanging in there, but her backpack is holding up just fine for first grade.  So much has happened in the past year: she made new friends, lost her first tooth, and had perfect attendance.  Tomorrow, k will be 6 1/2.  Her teacher, whom k really liked, is retiring after 39 years(!) of teaching.  It is definitely bittersweet.

For the last day, the dress code was Hawaiian, and their end of year party theme was a luau.

Here’s to summer!

A while back I found a puzzle of PCH, drawn by Charles Fazzino, at Barnes & Noble (on sale).  I thought it would be a fun family activity, although D and I did most of it.  We finished the 1000 piece puzzle in about three weeks.  By the first day, however, we knew we were missing a piece because it was a border piece, which we did first.  Sure enough, we finished, and the one piece is still missing. ;(

Close-up of missing piece. 

Overall, it was enjoyable puzzle, due to all of the minute detail.  It is also nice that it is a map, and has many places that we have been to.  One negative—Oakland is on the map, but not Berkeley?  Boo.

Yesterday we celebrated Father’s Day with my dad, combining it with celebrations of my sister’s family’s birthdays in May-June-July.

My dad enjoys practical gifts.

Nothing says “I love you Dad” like a roll of garden siding.

My nephew likes trash trucks, so my mom made him a trash truck cake.

Today we had a Father’s Day breakfast at church.  Afterward we just hung out at home…. 

…and the pool.

My parents gave the kids noodles so they tried them out today.  The kids really love going to the pool with D so I am hoping this will translate to them enjoying their upcoming swim lessons. 

On Saturday we went to Knott’s early because they opened up Camp Snoopy and a few other rides a half hour early for passholders.  We now have a routine of sorts, and this is oftentimes the first ride for the kids since it is right at the entrance.  I’ve never seen adults ride on it before (I didn’t even think they were allowed to).  I love the grandma’s expression (she only went on because they said another adult had to even out the weight).   

This giant skateboard ride is so funny to me.

We were also able to check out the revamped Log Ride, my personal favorite.

New creepy animatronic figures.  I’m not sure if it was just my imagination, but I think they now pipe in a wood fragrance too.

The pine trees look nice and fresh.

There is a newly opened section called the Boardwalk.  n was able to go on two of the three rides.  Notice how overcast it was—perfect theme park weather.

This ride knocked my equilibrium out of whack.  I do not think I will be going on it again any time soon.

We watched the Wild West show again, this time from a covered wagon instead of the splash zone. 

We had a busy Saturday last week.  The kids even took an afternoon nap, which is a rarity these days.

At night we went to see Wreck-It Ralph on an outdoor inflatable screen at Heritage Park put on by the Irvine PD.  We ate a picnic dinner and the kids played at the park before the movie started. 

Next time I need to bring blankets to cover up with as well as to sit on.

I made sandwiches with the chia seed pockets from Costco.  A little too healthy tasting, in my opinion.

I guess I am still one week behind in my blogging.  Last Friday’s adventure was to use our last state park pass to go to Crystal Cove.  Although the coastline was lovely as usual, there were tons of washed up rotting seaweed with gross sand flies (and squirrels) everywhere.  We went to the north entrance, so next time we must remember to use the south entrance. 

Shake ‘N Bake!

Afterwards we ate at Twisted Noodles with a BOGO coupon.

Pretty good…I liked all of the veggies in the Drunken Noodle dish.

After dinner we worked on our first puzzle as a family.  It is a 1,000 piece illustration of the California coast with tons of detail.  We’re pretty sure that we are already missing a piece—very frustrating!

D is surprisingly into it.  He said that he used to like doing puzzles but that his sister would always clean up his puzzles before he was able to finish.

Since I quit my job to become a full time SAHM, I am really appreciating having more quality alone time with n.  I know these years will go by fast, and I will never have another chance to invest in him during his early childhood.  I love that we can stop by the park after dropping k off at school and not rush home to my computer and the stress that often ensued.   

Yes, sacrifices have to be made, but to me, it has been 100% worth it. 

(I have also enjoyed being able to volunteer in k’s classroom.  Today, her classmates actually cheered when the teacher told them that I would be helping out with their upcoming handmade ice cream day.  It is not often that one receives such accolades.) 

Last week k had her Kindergarten Open House.  It has been quite amazing to see the progress she has made during the year, especially in her writing.  Hard to believe that there are only about two weeks of school left. 

On Memorial Day we ventured out to Alhambra to visit two of my friends who recently moved there.  It was nice to catch up and see how their lives are going in their new places.

D told the hostess that the living room would make a perfect setting for a Mexican restaurant.

I cannot believe it is June already.  Wow.

We stuck around here for Memorial Day weekend.  On Saturday, k went to a birthday party.

There was a giant slide, but she liked the zipline the best.

n dressed himself for our dinner at Baja Fresh.

We camped out in the living room.  It felt so roomy compared to our tent!