The Beach (take 1)

Monday morning we headed to India Street in San Diego to check out the Shakespeare Corner Shoppe. Andrew was excited to find sausage rolls, scotch eggs and lots of delicious British chocolate. 

After we finished looking around the British shop, we walked up and down India Street. The street was full of different restaurants and shops pertaining to certain cultural. We passed Greek , Italian and Lebanese restaurants. We didn't have time to try all of the food, but we did settle for some Gelato. 

 It was my first time having gelato, as well as the girl's. We all really enjoy the sweet, yet refreshing treat before heading to La Jolla beach. 

The girls were so excited when we got to the beach. Rebekah, Charlotte and Emily loved playing in the sand making sandcastles and cookies. Sadly, they didn't care for the ocean that much. Even when mom and dad were sitting right beside them, so Andrew and I took turns watching the babies while the other enjoyed jumping in the waves. 

It was so bright and warm at the beach, as you can tell my pictures didn't turn out the greatest because of the brightness, but I tried salvaging them the best that I could. If we plan a beach trip again in the future I'll have to make sure my camera is under some shade so I don't catch the sun head on. Oh well, at least we all had fun. 

After leaving  La Jolla Beach, we headed to Little Italy, which is a street in San Diego full of Italian restaurants. A lot of the restaurants were pricey, so it took us a while to find somewhere kid friendly and cheap. We ended up eating at the Mona Lisa and the food was scrumptious. We even got a yummy chocolate cake for dessert. 

Old Town San Diego

We arrived in San Diego late Saturday night, so we didn't do much. We ate dinner at CRUST Kitchen; the food was scrumptious, but the service kind of sucked. Andrew ordered a pizza, but the wait staff didn't bring it out to him for over an hour. While he was waiting for his food the girls and I had already received and finished our meals.

We didn't let that get us down though! We spent Sunday morning lounging by the pool and enjoying the wonderful 70 degree weather. 

Rebekah loved using her new paddle jumper float. She was so excited that she could swim on her own, without mom and dad's help. The twins, however, did not like their new baby floats. Charlotte freaked out every time I left her to float on her own. After spending time with daddy Emily was more than happy to float around the pool by herself. 

After a morning of swimming, we decided to check out Old Town San Diego. The shops were beautiful and full of bright colors, the food was delicious and the atmosphere was amazing. During dinner we even got serenade by a lovely Mexican man. 

Eastern Idaho State Fair

One of our favorite things about living in Idaho is the Eastern Idaho State Fair. It's huge, there's lots of delicious food and it's always fun seeing the girls' faces light up as they enjoy the rides. We love how inexpensive and fun a day at the fair can be (well, it's inexpensive until we buy the ride tickets, but the girls will only be young once). 

This picture of Rebekah is one of my favorites! Look at the pure joy of her face as she rides that little horse. P.S. the horse also looks like Lil' Sebastian and we're currently watching Parks & Rec again, so that's pretty cool. :) 

Poor Charlotte and Emily weren't able to ride half of the rides because they were too little, but they enjoyed watching Rebekah and the few rides they could ride. 

Rebekah's love for this ride proves she's her father's daughter. I rode a ride similar to this one with her at Bear World and cried. I do not like the jerky height rides! 

I really wish the twins could have rode more rides, but at least Rebekah was able to enjoy it. The twins had fun riding in their stroller and seeing all the different animals. I'm sure they'll have more fun next year. :) 

This year I actually ordered some funnel cakes and they were scrumptious. The girls all loved the too. We had a fun evening at the fair and because of all the wildfires Idaho has been getting the sun was super red as we were leaving. 

A is for Alligator

This week we're learning about the letter A. To start things off I had Rebekah complete this worksheet and color all the pictures of the letter A. She wanted me to do it too, so it felt like we were playing a game of tic tac toe.  

We also learned about big A and little a. Rebekah loved this worksheet. She had a lot of fun tracing the letter A. She would get so excited after she finished doing one all by herself.

I found both of these adorable worksheets, for free, on a website called teacherspayteachers.com

All you have to do is make a account and then you have tons of resources to help teach your children, no matter what grade they're in! It's a no-brainer? I mean who doesn't love free stuff? 

After we finished our worksheets we moved on to some fun crafts involving the letter A. Rebekah had so much fun making her scary alligator. She loved being able to glue the pieces together. I need to find her safety scissors so next time she can help me cut. 

 

Whenever I need to find something cute to make or need inspiration to write I go to Pinteret. This website never disappoints. I was able to find this adorable blog with step by step instructions on how to make a paper plate alligator. Here's the link if you'd like to check it out for yourself: https://www.easypeasyandfun.com/crocodile-paper-plate-craft/#_a5y_p=5136891 

I know the link says crocodile, but we made an alligator. After all, A is for alligator. 

We even came up with a little song to help us remember the letter A, but Rebekah didn't want to sing it with me. Maybe another time? 

A is for Apple, ah-ah-apple

A is for Alligator, ah-ah-alligator

A is for Ant, ah-ah-ant

A is for Amber, ah-ah-amber

A is for Ashley, ah-ah Ashley 

American Wife

American Wife                                  10/10

Recently, I have finished reading American Wife by Taya Kyle, wife of Chris Kyle, who was retired Navy Seal, murdered while trying to help a struggling Vet. This book is heartbreakingly raw, full of emotion, love and laughter. 

It's been a while since I've read anything that wasn't fiction, my obsession is YA fiction, so this was a nice break. I was impressed by the courage, strength and unyielding faith that Taya had in life's purpose, her family and God amidst all the struggles and trials she was facing. The rawness of her story caught me off guard; it felt as if I was talking to a lifelong friend, instead of reading a book. 

I'm grateful she was willing to share her story, including all the bad parts. It truly is a beautiful story and I know without a doubt in my mind that she'll be reunited with Chris again. I look forward to reading American Sniper, and learning more about this wonderful man who sacrificed so much for our country. 

This is Where it Ends

This is Where it Ends                     Rating: 10/10

This book is heart-wrenching, devastating and yet it is still beautiful. Marieke Nijkamp takes things that are taboo and discusses them without fear, but in a sensitive, kind and understanding way. There were many things that I loved about this book, the first things being that Nijkamp wrote a book about a school shooting, something that is horrible and unthinkable, but sadly happens in our world more than we would like to admit. I think she did a beautiful job of showing the betrayal that could drive a person to do something like this and she also adequately showed the fear of the students who were victims of the shooting.

The second thing I rather enjoyed about this book is how the author addressed common misconceptions we have about each other. One of the main character's best friend is from Afghanistan, and because of this he's usually the first suspect when something goes wrong (despite the fact that he's a good, trustworthy student). I think this really teaches an important lesson about humanity and the way we view others. By addressing this common misconception, the author shows that we need to look past the outward appearances of those around us and see them for who they truly are. No two people are exactly alike, even if they do come from similar backgrounds. Just because you have two apples, it doesn't mean they're going to taste the same.

The third reason I love this book relates to the second reason. While the shooting is taking place some of the students are on their phones using Tweeter to communicate to the outside world. I found these interactions between the victims and the outside world to be very realistic and heartbreaking. A lot of the comments on the Tweets were talking about how sick and twisted it is to fact something like this for attention (which I think a lot of the time we believe people are just crying wolf, instead of actually coming to their aid when they're in trouble). A few of the other comments were from news reporters, who were so concerned about the story they were covering and catching their big break, than the students suffering in the school.

The last reason I really loved this book is because it deals with discrimination. One of the main characters Autumn is too afraid to admit her true feelings because she's worried about what others may think. I don't think anyone should have to face feeling like that. We shouldn't backlist and shame people because they think differently than us, and I felt that was a point the author tried to get across.

Warnings:

There is a bit of swearing in the book and the author refers to rape, but that's it. Overall this book is a fantastic read, very insightful and I would recommend it to anyone. I think it should be taught in schools as there are a lot of valuable lessons that can be learned. I will definitely be reading this book again.