11.21.15: Shopping for Nana

Today we decided to check out the local 'mall' to go birthday shopping for Nana.  The girls were getting a little bit restless while Brant and I looked around so we decided to let them pick out an outfit they thought Nana would like.....and the model it.
 Fiona
 Stella
Daphne

Turns out Nana has some good outfits for clubbing in her future.

11.14.15: Ninja Stella

When you live in very close quarters with your family and two bunk beds are crammed into a single bedroom, you look for creative ways to entertain yourself.  Stella discovered she can climb up the two bunk beds without using a later....American Ninja Warrior Stella!

11.13.15: Field Trip | Natural History Museum

When the class goes on a field trip to the Natural History Museum, everyone has to climb on the gray whale out in front, then slide down, then climb back up (repeat)

 When you live in Santa Cruz, this is where you have snacks....
 Stella
 Fiona
Daphne

11.11.15: Henry Cowell State Park

 Today we adventured up to Henry Cowell State Park.  This is an amazing park about 15 minutes from our home on some very curvy roads.  Upon arrival the trees are taller than you can even imagine and the surroundings are so peaceful.  We love this park as it is a great place for hiking and exploration.
 Just one of the many gigantic redwood trees.
This tree can hold 50 people inside and according to the ranger, people actually used to live inside the tree.  The girls were shocked with how deep they could go inside the tree.  I was a little less enthusiastic about this.

10.31.15: So much trick or treating

We started our afternoon downtown, where the main street was shutdown just for trick or treating at the local shops.  Turns out A LOT of adults like to trick or treat downtown too, so the candy was a little light, but still it was a wild experience.
After a quick rest after downtown, we headed to Scotts Valley to go trick or treating in a friend's neighborhood.  The neighborhood had some seriously fancy houses which seemed to correlate with some seriously large candy yields.

Overall a very successful first trick or treating experience in Santa Cruz.

10.30.15: Halloween Parade


Fiona, Daphne and Stella ready for the Halloween parade at school.  All of the kids get together on the upper field and hold a parade showing each other their costumes.  The girls had a great time, except it was really hot and Daphne and Stella were in pretty thick costumes.  Fiona was very proud to be the only Easter Egg at her school, Daphne loved being able to make animal noises all day, and Stella found a teacher dressed up as a panda too.




10.30.15: Our Special Person - Stella

Stella was the special person of the week.  This is a very exciting honor with a special activity each day.  On the final day, Stella even got to bring Daddy in as her 'special person'.  This fabulous poster was in class all week and the kids spent time getting to know Stella.  Fiona and Daphne helped to create the lifesized painting.

10.28.15: Field Trip | Pumpkin Patch


Today there was a class field trip to the local pumpkin patch with their 'Big Buddies' class (4th graders). Fiona found a snail, Stella had an easy time blending in with the other pumpkins and Daphne made sure to pick out the biggest pumpkin possible.




And then they carved the pumpkins in class!

10.25.15: Monarch Migration


Apparently every year starting in October, monarch butterflies swarm a certain natural reserve area of Santa Cruz.  Walking through nature surrounded by hundreds of butterflies is something that everyone should experience at some point - magical.
Daphne, Stella, Fiona

10.18.15: Pumpkin Patch

A beautiful day to pick pumpkins from an actual pumpkin patch (Fiona, Daphne, Stella).
and visiting some animals
Brant was thrilled when he discovered a wheelbarrow...apparently he wasn't looking forward to juggling five large pumpkins....or three small children
 Fiona
 Stella
Daphne
Our loot!