Back to School

It's the first day of school, and children everywhere have butterflies in there tummies, and parents are skipping around like it's the most wonderful time of the year.

We have mixed emotions around here. It's exciting to get on a new schedule as the summer wears on, and yet it's terrifying knowing that the children are in fact growing and embarking on another year that will surely fly by at the speed of light and the days of fun in the sun at the beach and playing with friends until the street lights come on are over.

Good bye freedom, hello homework.

And hello to these cuties who are ready with their backpacks, supplies, new clothes and nerves!

Brooke and Christian go to school together every day as Ashlyn has afternoon kindergarten and Madison's school starts 20 minutes later.

BRACES!

Put on yesterday, the day before school starts. What great timing! Poor thing was so uncomfortable.

Christian is super-duper excited that he gets to be in 2nd grade with his best bud, Harrison. Those two boys! Look out Mrs. Berman! (His brothers Sam and William wanted to get in on the picture).

We couldn't be more thrilled that Brooke got Mrs. Babcock! She's the best!!!

Madison is starting 7th grade and was eagerly met by her buddies Bridget, Malory and Fatimah once she arrived at her locker. I think these same girls were in her 6th grade picture, too.

Now it's time for Ashlyn to go to school. I made her a tote bag (recommended for K) and she picked out the fabric. It's so cute!

Walking our last baby in to kindergarten.

She has two lovely and wonderful teachers (who've had all the Merrill kids!).

Mrs. Barkman and Mrs. Zdenek ... we love you!

They eagerly hugged Ashlyn and said "Our last Merrill!"

Ashlyn found her desk and was so excited that dad was able to escape work for a few minutes to walk her in.

She jumped right in and became the line leader and had a great first day of school. Not knowing anyone in her class, we were a bit concerned, but pleased for the opportunity for her to grow and learn to make new friends. The first thing she said after school was, "I made a new friend!"

On the 2nd day of school, Ashlyn's still so excited and loves to dress up for it and have her hair done just so. I wish I took a picture of her on the 3rd day when she had Shirley Temple curls.

Being goofy and posing. Soooo Ashlyn.

The End of Summer Somethings

Just as things are heating up around here, it's sadly time for the days of summer non-stop fun to come to an end. And it's time for another snippet of the summer happenings of this Merrill Clan.

Lots of plays, lots of dress up, and lots of goofin' around.

Christian started Tae Kwon Do and tested (and earned) for his yellow belt.

Lots of baking took place, too.

This one was a banana split cake

and was super delicious made by Madison and Brooke.

Another creation by Brooke and Monroe was a chocolate peppermint double layer cake.

It was gooooood.

One morning I said it was time for us all to wash our super dirty car. Then our little entrepreneurs got it in there heads that they wanted to hold a neighborhood car wash.

They made $44 and learned how to properly wash a car.

Madison went to girls camp for the first time which was located at Camp Whittier near Lake Cachuma above Santa Barbara. They got up early for the 6:30 am hikes (here with her buddy Iayn)

did service projects, climbed rock walls, did rope courses

and took first place in the archery competition. I got to go up to drive the girls to the beach one day and stay the night in the lovely cabins. Reminded me of my good ol' camp days.

More dress up and fashion shows. There were a lot of fashion shows. This time with Rebecca Tarbet.

To cap it all off, we went to the Pt. Magu Surf Competition where the weather was great, the beach gorgeous and the giveaways aplenty.

Then we headed over to the Camarillo Air show

The highlight for me was seeing this. So cute!

Ashlyn and Christian in the basket of a hot air balloon.

Ashlyn driving a big tractor.

Then we had an end-of-summer piano recital which doubled as a farewell to our beloved piano teacher of five years Liesl. She will be missed!

One last chance to surf with Gwen during the week before school starts.

Boo Hoo.

School is starting.

Our Family's Summer Vacation 2011

Our big family summer vacation this year was an extended weekend in the OC -

Down in Dana Point at the Laguna Cliffs Marriott.

We stayed there one night last year for my birthday and loved it so we decided to take the kids for a little vacation.

There are a lot of things to do and it's such a beautiful area, we were sure everyone would be happy.

First up, on the way down, we stopped at Knott's Berry Farm for a little amusement park fun.

We only stayed a few hours because it was pretty crowded, and compared to what it was like the last few times we went, we were spoiled. I'm not one for waiting in lines.

Then we went to the hotel. They were so nice there and showed us three different rooms from which to choose (which is very accommodating of them since we were using points).

It did not disappoint. We had a great room with plenty of space for all six of us.

It's right at Doheny Beach which is one of the top 5 beaches for beginner surfing. Also right there is the Dana Point harbor where one can rent any type of water craft to have a splashing good time.

And that was the plan.

And that is just what we did.

The first morning we hit the Jet Skis and that was a BLAST! The ocean was glassy, it was early enough that nobody else was out (10:00a.m.!) and we got up close with pelicans that would fly in formation right along with us speeding along the coast. It was fantastic and exhilarating!

The only downer was the nice waterproof HD camera/video that we used to take awesome photos and footage of everyone rippin' it up on the sea suddenly disappeared and was lost forever right as we pulled into the dock. Such a bummer! I'm hopeful that some good samaritan will find it and have it in their heart to turn it in. I told the staff that the reward can be they can keep the camera, just email me the photos! So these pictures were taken the next day when we went back to rent kayaks.

Another hit of the hotel was the kids' splash area at the pool. Very cute!

Kayaking!

That was a workout and super fun.

We took a break to climb the rocks to see the raging sea on the other side of the breaker.

Of course there was surfing. Lots of surfing.

The waves were teeny tiny which was great for the kids (nobody getting pummeled) but challenging for Madison (and of course John) to catch really good rides. She did super well and this was her first time that she just took off on her own and was catching nice long rides without any help or coaching. She spent hours out there in the lineup waiting patiently for the sets to come in.

Everyone had a chance to paddle around.

and QUACK!

And paddle.

Ashlyn was so cute. I called her little Nemo because her arms don't reach across the board so well which makes her paddling with her little hands so funny to watch.

She was totally awesome though! Atta Girl!

Hang Loose!

At night we walked down to the harbor to get ice cream and a really cool band was playing on this boat. Their sound was great and we enjoyed the free concert.

Breakfast (or any meals for that matter) at the hotels are really something else. Seriously, $115 for breakfast? Are you kidding me? We didn't even eat that much. Luckily we had four free kids' vouchers that we received from attending the kids movie night the previous evening or we would have been really feeling the pain.

Perhaps the cost of hotel food wouldn't be so extravagant if they didn't provide you with these. On our first night, John was trying to find something nearby to grab for dinner and it was getting late so we ordered from the hotel - very simple hot dogs for the kids (it was the cheapest!) and sandwiches for us. They gave us several bottles of darling ketchup, mayo, and mustard. No little one-use pouches here! Holy cow we had 18 cute little bottles of condiments. Seriously people, ease up on the sauce and lower your prices! ha!

The other thing we really wanted to make sure we did was paddle board. SUP (stand up paddle boarding) is all the rage now, thanks to Laird Hamilton, and Dana Point is a perfect place to try it out.

It was a lot of fun and we all got to try it.

It only takes a moment to find your balance and realize that the board is not going to tip over.

I was glad though for the calm bay, but Madison wanted to take it out to the ocean and try to ride the waves in.

Triumphant!

It's always fun to play in the sand while you await your turn.

Maddy and Brooke took a tandem turn and loved it.

Now it's my turn for a tandem turn, back to the dock.

Nobody fell in! I recently saw a photo of a bride and groom exit their wedding reception on SUPs - complete with gorgeous white gown - you don't even get wet, it's awesome.

The four-day summer vacation came quickly to a close.

Way too quickly.

Until next time!