First day of 1st grade!

Today was my first day of first grade.  I like the patio outside my classroom.  I didn't like that we had to be in a little square group and I wanted just a desk that could open.

 Walking up the hill on the way to school.  My new backpack (which I love!) is almost bigger than I am.

This is my friend Steven, and my teacher, Mrs. Payne.

Y Camp

Sorry my summer posts will be out of order, but Mommy wanted to get these YMCA Family Camp memories down before she lost them.

Kinsey: creek hike to Ella falls, being carried on Doug's hip because the water came up to her chest; hike to Indian point; going in a rowboat for the first time; kayaking with Mommy; swimming in the lake - passed the swim test on the first try; cannonballs off the floating dock; painting ceramics; tie dye; campfires and s'mores; trying the climbing tower; low ropes course; participating in all of the Water Carnival games; making a lanyard with Daddy.  Also walked down the road in the dark by herself to find Mommy, saw a mouse in the cabin, ate meals with strangers who became friends, enjoyed watching skits, and learned to play Uno with all of the rules.  Liked having dessert with every meal!

 Travis: daily morning trail runs; fishing, kayaking, lake swims, dock-lounging, lanyard expert, high ropes, climbing tower, archery, painting with kids, eating.

Keenan: creek hike to Ella falls, also had to be carried once the water reached his chest, thank you Doug! made a popsicle stick cabin; went fishing with Daddy; got to try using a bow and arrow; went in a rowboat and a kayak; swimming at the waterfront, also passed his swim test on the first try (which meant he did not have to always swim with a parent and wear a life vest); cannonballs off the floating dock; low ropes course; painting ceramics, sticks and rocks.

In this Water Carnival game, the kids are splashing water into the adult-filled canoe in order to sink it.  Pretty cool to be told, "Yes, you may splash the adults!"

Our "Rustic cabin."

Deb: made it to the top of the climbing wall; did high ropes course; kayaked every day; rowed the row-boat to follow T in his lake swim; did the lake swim; hiked trails up, jogged down with T; campfire (ugh!), made to do a skit (survived); swimming with kids; jumping off dock; didn't have to prepare a single meal!

The camp had a fabulous kids-camp program in the morning.  On this day, the kids hiked up a creek (waist high in some places!) to Ella Falls.  We all enjoyed Family Camp!

Summer fun, weeks 1 & 2

I'm having so much fun this summer and it's only just begun!  The first week of vacation, I went to gymnastics camp in the morning.  We swinged on a pole and landed in a foam pit.  I flipped over on the bar; it was really fun because there were some other bars that you could flip over and the last day I had to practice one thing on each of the bars.

I asked Mommy if we could have a picnic in our backyard.  The blanket in my picnic basket was too tiny so I asked Mommy to find a different blanket to sit on.  We read books and we ate food and we did drawings and we did stamp pads and we looked at photo albums too.  It was really fun.

Take me out to the ball game!  I got to go to a Dodger baseball game with my Mom's part of the family.  Uncle Rob, Uncle James, Aunt Chris, Aunt Christi, Grandma and Grandpa, cousin Kurt and Mommy, Daddy and Lil'Buddy all came.  

This is a picture I took of my toes that are painted.  Do you see the pattern?

This week, my brother and I are at Vacation Bible School (VBS).  The theme is SKY, so here we are in front of the rockets.  Do you see the smoke coming out the bottom of the rocket?  Today our verse said, "Don't let your heart be troubled. Trust in God."  Yesterday, the verse was "People judge by the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

My art

School is almost over!  Tomorrow is my last day of Kindergarten.  We have a promotion ceremony at 10 o'clock.  All of the kindergarteners get to sing two songs.  Then my class is going out to pizza.  Mommy and I made a beach cake today to share with my class.  It has graham cracker crumbs for the sand, and blue frosting for the water.  (If the decorating turns out well, Mommy will post a picture of it on my blog tomorrow.)

Below are more pictures that I did this year in the after school art class, and the art class on Thursdays in school.

 This is my last picture from after school art class.  Mommy really likes it.

 This is the picture that Mommy thought she wouldn't get from the school because it wasn't in my portfolio.  But my art teacher gave it to me today.  It is a picture of kids playing at a water park.

 For this picture, I first did a big circle then a tinier circle then a tinier circle then a dot.  Then we put a background in, then the teacher sprinkled paint on our pictures.  We got to pick the colors.

 I did this dot-to-dot in school today.  First we did a 100 page.  That is where we write the numbers from one to one hundred.

This is a picture from Diego Rivera.  But I did a copy of his painting of a girl.  It's oil pastels on black paper.  Daddy has it hanging in his classroom; you can see the magnets if you look closely!

Palm Desert 2012

Our trip to Palm Desert was really fun.  We went to the pool many times, and we went night swimming once.  Mommy forgot to bring the goggles at night, but Daddy went back for them.  We ate ice cream, read books, had water fights, and played.  Saturday morning, my friends Brodie and Ashton came to swim with us.  Saturday afternoon, Uncle James and Aunt Chris came.  I got lots of Mommy time too.

 Here I am in the kide pule.

 Here I am squtn the teres with keenan and unckel james.

 Here is mi famle afder diner.

we are snugling.

After School Art Class

I am in an art class after school on Fridays.  All of the other kids are friends of mine, so it's fun. One of the teachers is nice; the other one is not so nice.  Sometimes she yells when we're not quiet.


This first picture is me in my bed.  To make it, I first started with a "U."  Then I drew an almond shape and put two dots for the nose, and a smile.  This was done using a black Sharpie and crayons.

The next week, I drew a crocodile.  I started with like a kind of upside-down "U," and then I went down slant and then I did two almond shapes for the eyes.  For the scales, I drew triangles.  I added the pond and the tree.  The rainbow color is a thin sheet of something that I attached with a glue stick.

The next week, I did a flower.  To begin, I drew the flower shapes with a black Sharpie.  I colored the flower with red, yellow, and green pastels.  There is also blue and orange in the middle.  And then I put a special chemical on it with a q-tip.  This made it nice and smooth.

Last week in class, I made a lady fishing in the pond.  Her feet are in the pond soaking.  This was a line-drawing with a black Sharpie and pastels again.

I don't have a favorite; I pretty much like all of them.  Do you have a favorite?  Write a note to me!

Family Fun

This weekend, I did two fun things with my family.  On Saturday, it was windy, so we brought our new kites to Elings park.  It was not easy to get my fairy kite up, but Daddy was patient and he got it to fly.  You can see my kite and my brother's Angry Birds kite in the picture below.  Also, you can see our taco tongues!  Can you do that?

Then on Sunday, we went to UCSB to watch Zoo Zoo, a show with acrobats and dancers dressed like animals.  Before the show, we got our faces painted, and had free ice cream sandwiches.  

 Little Buddy is a monster, and I am a phoenix.

 My friend V was a phoenix too!