Adventures in Camping

We've had our fifth wheel for about a month now and we've already been camping three times! Thank God I have a husband whose willing to load up the trailer and head out for even a one night trip whenever we have the time! We absolutely LOVE camping and I think buying this fifth wheel is one of the best things we've ever done. Madeline has been having a blast. She loves spending our days at the beach and then heading back to camp to ride her scooter, roast marshmallows, play...it's been great having such quality family time! We've been fortunate enough to have our friends and family join us as well. We've made two trips to San Clemente and just got back from a trip to San Onofre. We have one more trip to San Onofre planned in early October and then the trailer will likely be stored for a couple months until we are ready to make our first trip as a family of four! We're looking forward to all of the adventures in camping we'll have as a family in the years to come! =]

Maddie's First Day of Preschool

We wanted to get some pictures of Madeline in front of the house before we left...you know, the traditional "first day of school pics" with her new shoes and backpack. This was our best shot. She HATES having her picture taken these days and when you ask her to look at the camera and smile she just makes these silly faces and dances all around. Crazy girl!
Here we are walking up the front steps at school.

Maddie was so excited! Mommy was a little emotional...

Standing in front of her classroom. She actually looked at the camera and smiled here!

Mommy and daddy signed her and gave her hugs and kisses. She immediately plopped down on the classroom rug and started playing with her classmates. She had a great first day. Miss Patty said she was a great helper. She has been going to school for almost a month now (she started August 16) and we have yet to have one bad day. She absolutely LOVES going and brings home some of the cutest little art projects. Her best buddy at school, Kaylee, is the daughter of mommy's elementary school best friend. How crazy is that! We love hearing stories about what the days activities entail and listening to her sing new songs. When she started school, she could count to 10 in English and Spanish, knew all of her ABCs, colors and shpaes, and could recite the months of the year. She can now count to 20 (in English) and also knows all the days of the week. She is starting to recognize numbers and letters...she saw a #2 on one of the fire trucks at the station yesterday and was so proud that she was able to identify it. She is the youngest girl in her class, but is the biggest helper. She consoles the kids who are sad. She hasn't had one accident and has yet to cry when we drop her off (or at all, as far as we know). We are so proud of our big girl and are so happy we made the decision to start her in school this year.