Mud

  It has been a long week.  The end of summer blows.  We have been running around doing late minute preparations, back in bed early, up early, and in back to school mode.

 Today I came home exhausted and looked at the bag of rocks the kids brought home from the beach.

Ahhhh.  The beach.

So I asked Dyleva if they wanted to work on the rock garden.  Surprisingly, they did. 

First they had so much fun yanking out the vines growing in the garden...they are strong!  Next, I started putting out the rocks.  Meanwhile..the niños got distracted. 

Next thing I know, Dylan is digging a river, and Eva is adding lots of wáter to the garden. 

They extract large amount of mud, and then began to massage it into their skin, and step in the mud mountain in their bare feet.

Really?

The were working together.  Teamwork.  They were excited.  They shared the tools and the watering can.  They had a plan and created this together....WITHOUT FIGHTING!!!

And they were having fun. 

Jeff walked by and looked at me, like, really?  But quite honestly they could have been doing anything and I was fine with it because they were friends.

The Lake

Rainy day-painting rocks

We have learned to respect the lake.

The lake and it's temperament dictates our activities and daily agenda. 

Our first week began with White caps, and ended smooth as glass.  Our second week, the opposite. 

When the storm hits the beach, it completely changes the landscape. 

One of my favortite memories of the week, other than when Tía Lisa came up to visit of course, was the beach after the morning of torrential downpour. 

The heavy rains formed a canel between the house and the lake.  Dyleva grabbed their rafts, and journeyed down the lazy river. 
Until they reached the end when the crazy waves sucked them back into the lake.  They had so much fun.  The waves were ridiculously strong.  Standing ankle-deep, they came crashing in and almost knocked us over. 

The storm also washes up all kinds of treasure onto the beach (but no missing chancle- I checked).

Our second week seemed more free, and more relaxing.  We embraced every last minute of summer.

Dancing at Mickey Rats

Mommy School

So on most days, except when we are at the beach, we have 'Mommy School.'  It is supposed to last about 20-30 minutes a day.  Many days Eva's goes over an hour because she is so pokey.

I am teaching them Spanish.  Dylan is working on letter sounds and fine motor skills, and Eva has been decoding through reading and writing, and typing.

Dylan's goal this summer was to write his name.  Check out the progress he has mad just through some simple thank you cards for his birthday presents:

He is up to about 11 letter sounds, which coincidently are the same in English.

Now Eva already had a background in the sounds because she did this with me last year.  She was reading and writing 2 syllable words.
But then she went to kindergarten and those pesky teachers taught her how to read in English.  I did not keep it up over the school year, she regressed.
However, she bounced back quickly!  She can write 'Eva Magnolia Wagner' without looking, she knows all letter sounds (even blends like bla,plo,dre), and she is reading simple texts in Spanish.

Her teacher also warned us about summer regression, which if you are a teacher, you know it happens...fast.  So to 'maintain her English she reads to me before bed, and works on abcmouse.com for a half hour during Dylan's lesson.

I am so very proud of the effort Dyleva has shown this summer! It is not easy to work when you are out of your normal routine.

The Beach Gods

Our youngest guest
 

 I wouldn't want to mess with the beach gods.  The storms that pass through here are violent and rapid.  It is impossible to predict the weather, because as quick as a storm sets in, it could be over.



Marshmellow kisses for Tia Jill

Yesterday morning we went out after a big storm that passed during the night.  We went looking for sea glass, as always.  Tio Pete referred to Eva as the "one woman stripmining machine."

As we walked along, we encountered a sloppy patch of sand. Next thing I know Eva is yelling and cracking up.  I look over and she has sunk into the ground.  So we yank her out, and she comes out shoeless.  Bummer.

So we begin to dig.  We find one chancla right away.  The other is nowhere to be seen.  So we dig.  And dig.  And dig some more.  Dyleva patiently waiting while we frantically remove sand from a seeping hole.  

It has been decided that the princess chancla was an offering to the beach gods in return for beautiful weather..... And they delivered.  
 



Hitting the beach no matter what
 

Hunt for sea glass
 

Working on Fairy book by night

Blueberries

One of the highlights of summer for us is berry picking.  We love to go to the farm and pick!  This year was no different.  

This morning I gave Dyleva their choice of 3 viajes for the day and they unanimously wanted to go blueberry picking!

It was a hot but breezy day.  Eva picks until all the containers are full.  She's hard core.  But Dylan picks, gets bored, and finds a bush to sit under.

Here are some action shots!

Now we can't wait for raspberries!