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A summer photo series: Each week during our summer vacation I will be posting a photo summary. I will include photos that capture the mood of our days and how we're spending them. 

This week we...

…had some wacky weather that started with clouds and rain:

Field clouds


Rain drops

…then the sky cleared and the weather turned into really hot days (108+ degrees), sending us outside in small doses:

Clearing

Walk

Swing

…took our dog to the vet and learned that she isn't the Brittany Spaniel and Border Collie mix that we suspected! She is actually a very rare (in North America) breed called a kooikerhondje! We feel like we found a Picasso painting at a yard sale with this sweet and beautiful dog!
Miley
Our Miley is on the bottom; the top is a Google image of a kooikerhondje.
kooikerhondje
Our Miley is on the bottom; the top is a Google image of a kooikerhondje.
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sunshine tree

The weather has been very wacky here. We started the week with two days of rain and, now, we are headed for triple digits for about a week. Either kind of weather, rain or Africa-like heat, keeps us inside a little more than I would like. I am trying to schedule outings for us in the early or late parts of the day or in places that have air conditioning!

IMG 5809

Here are some ideas for getting the wiggles out on HOT (or rainy) days (I've included some links for my local readers):
  • Splash park (local)
  • Indoor bounce or play places (like BounceU, or Wacky Tacky, or Sky Zone) 
  • Take a class at Home Depot
  • Go to a pond and feed the ducks
  • Go on a photo or nature journal safari in the early morning or late evening
  • Paint your own pottery or do other art projects (Petroglyph, Color Me Mine, Art Beast, ReCreate, Creative Art & Music Center)
  • Visit a museum (train museum, aerospace museum, art museum)
  • Visit an indoor learning or science center (Rocklin, Sacramento)
  • Visit a planetarium (Sierra College)
  • Go indoor rock climbing (Roseville, Rancho Cordova)
  • Go bowling (for free!)
  • Go ice skating (Skatetown)
  • Go to the library or a story time at a children's store
  • Go to the movies
  • Visit a cave (Shasta Caverns)
  • Go on an underground tour (Old Sacramento)
  • Expand your menu by trying a few new foods and serving a buffet of sample size bites on cute little plates. A good way to get kids to try new things!
  • Have an un-birthday party- make homemade ice cream, turn on some dance music, and play games
  • Have a paper airplane race inside 
  • Hit a beach ball over the volleyball net at a park (early or late in the day- find Roseville parks with volleyball courts here)
  • Fill up a kid pool in the backyard and play. At night, put glow sticks in balloons and toss them in the pool for a super cool glow swim!
  • Walk across the Golden Gate Bridge
  • My favorite idea: go to the beach in a cooler city!
More ideas for my local friends, here!
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A summer photo series: Each week during our summer vacation I will be posting a photo summary. I will include photos that capture the mood of our days and how we're spending them. 

This week we...

…had a preschool graduation and celebrated with chocolate treats:

preschool

preschool graduation

kids chocolate

…enjoyed water play for the last day of preschool:

Ww water play

Last day ww

…and in our backyard:

kids splashing

kids pool

kids swimming

…played with the neighbors over our back fence:

neighbor

…lost a tooth:

Lost tooth

…went to the dentist:

Dentist

…and lounged around in PJs a little longer than usual:

pjs

It's official as of this week- happy summer!
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In the spring, I did a ton of research and brainstorming to come up with a plan to keep my kids occupied this summer. I found lots of great ideas on Pinterest including a post about nature journaling. My kids LOVE to draw and hike and observe nature-y things, so this was a natural fit for us (pardon the pun)!

I bought a couple of sketch books and let the kids decorate them with some sticky foam letters and markers:

nature journal

nature journal kids

kids nature journaling

Their first nature drawings were done in our backyard:

flower

nature journal

From there, we ventured out into our neighborhood for a creek walk and some journaling there:

IMG 9066

creek clam

We love to take our nature journals along on hikes, walks, and even trips to the dog park! Drawings of flowers, trees, animals, bugs, animal tracks, and natural settings will be so much fun to look through on a rainy day when we're missing summer.

Some ideas for nature journal entries that I love:
  • Drawings, sketches, paintings (try colored pencils, crayons, markers, watercolors, washable paints)
  • Leaf or other rubbings
  • Pressed flowers or leaves attached with clear tape
  • Quotes (my 7 year old wrote a favorite movie quote, "we're going to take a walk outside today…" on one of his drawings). Love.
  • Make designs or paint pictures with nature finds dipped in paint (conifer branches, rocks, acorns, pine needles, etc.)
  • Tape a seed from something planted in your garden next to a drawing of the fruit or veggie that grew from it. Maybe add a pressed leaf too!
Find more great nature journaling ideas, here.
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A summer photo series: Each week during our summer vacation I will be posting a photo summary. I will include photos that capture the mood of our days and how we're spending them. 

I am a little late posting the photos from last week- it has been a little crazy around here as you'll see!

This week we...

…adopted two little fish that we named Goldy and Red (ok, actually this happened on June 3rd, but I wanted to make sure they made the blog!):

betta fish

…did a little neighborhood hiking down by the creek in a spot my kids call "under the bridge" because it is, appropriately enough, under a bridge:

IMG 9065

hiking kid hat

kids creek hats

IMG 9207

…created nature journals and did some drawing (I'll write more on this in another post):

IMG 9151

red orange dragonfly

…went to a park to watch a movie...

movie in the park rocklin

...and, instead, adopted the sweetest little rescue dog in the world, Miley! She's a 7 month old Brittany Spaniel and Border Collie mix:

brittany spaniel border collie

family photo

See what I mean? Eventful week!
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My creative side is very opposed to following routines. I have learned that my inspiration to be creative or to write or even to be happy doesn't come from quiet. It comes when my mind is un-numb. While routines are very helpful for managing the tasks of life, they are numbing to the brain.

I chose "joy" as my word for 2013. I have a tendency to overwhelm myself with hard-to-achieve goals and projects. I would prefer to do things that bring me joy instead of just giving me a feeling of accomplishment when they are checked off of a list after a ton of hard work.

This summer I decided to try some new things just because they sounded really fun. I ran my first trail race (the 5.8 mile short course of The Dirty Secret Trail Run) in May. The race was hard and the weather was HOT. It wasn't what I expected in that way, but it was so great to be out on a trail, in nature, instead of on a city street.

On Saturday night I ran another trail race. This time it was 10k (6.2 miles) in the DARK! In spite of the difficulty of the run (there was a very steep 1 1/2 mile hill just after mile 3) and the fact that I took a huge fall (olympic potential gymnastics here, people) I absolutely loved it. I loved watching the sky change as the sun set when we started.

Twilight sunset

I loved the firefly-like line of glow sticks and headlamps on the trail in front of and behind me. I loved the "take-your-time-to-take-it-all-in" vibe of the race. I loved that those ahead would warn those behind of rocks and other obstacles. I loved the minute or so that I stopped on a hill and turned off my headlamp to admire quiet night in the darkness. It was new. It was nature-y. It was awesome. Joy. Mission accomplished.

Ready to run; I'm on the right:

Twilight trail run

Other posts on un-numbing and joy:
Thank you, vacation
Fortified
Staying afloat: My bag of tricks for staying buoyant 
Why I tri

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Each week during our summer vacation I will be posting a photo summary. I will include photos that capture the mood of our days and how we're spending them.

This week we...

…had a birthday:

Photo 3

chocolate birthday cake

…visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium:

Monterey Bay Aquarium starfish

Monterey Aquarium penguin

…enjoyed the company of mama birds and their babies in our yard:

bird redwood tree

Photo

…picked the first zucchini from our garden:

IMG 9007

zucchini

…planned and hosted our first grilled pizza and s'mores cookout on a very hot summer (almost) evening:

planning notebook

Photo

…and enjoyed blooming flowers in the hot valley sunshine:

roses in a pot

flower shallow depth of field
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About me

About Me

My name is Allison. I am a writer, boy mom, and a nature lover living in Northern California. Read more here.

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