Wordless Wednesday

Cheers,

Last Day of Kindergarten

Today was Landon's last day of Kindergarten!  I don't want to say anything, but me someone was a puddle of tears at the step up ceremony (graduation).  It feels like it was just a month ago that we were taking him to school for his first day of Kindergarten!  Landon's teacher had such sweet things to say about each child.  She said that they broke the mold when they made Landon (in no way did I turn into a waterfall at that point).  She loved that he was so interested in everything.  She also mentioned that any topic that they were studying, he would say, "I have a book on that!" and would want to bring it in to share with the class.

Of course, I had to take the end of the year picture like we did on his first day of Kindergarten.  His occupation has been upgraded from Volcano Studier to Paleontologist!  Still my little explorer and wonderer of nature.  We are so proud of our little guy and we are excited for him to be a big first grader next year.  Do you see a difference in the pictures? Does he look nine months older?

This weekend we are busy celebrating Charlotte's 2nd birthday, so that is pretty much encompassing our whole weekend and then recovering from the party on Sunday.  What are your plans for the weekend?

Cheers,

Savvy Summer Camp

Our first year of school is almost over for Landon!  He only has one month left of Kindergarten and then he will be a first grader.  I can't believe how fast this year has flown by.  With graduating from Kindergarten comes a bigger question - WHAT is he going to do all summer!  This is my first year of being introduced to all the summer camps that are out there for kids to keep them active and challenged during the summer months.  Not only does camp give them an opportunity to make new friends and have fun and great adventures, but it gives MOMMY (aka ME) a break.

image via Galileo

I've signed up Landon for four different summer camps that are spread out over the summer.  One of those camps is Camp Galileo!  I had heard great things about Camp Galileo from friends and when I checked out their website, I liked Galileo's mission - "To nurture and inspire a daring new generation of fearless innovators.  They combine art, science and outdoor activities with innovative themes that inspire collaboration and team building."

I also liked that every year, Galileo introduces new themes to inspire budding innovators. Each theme combines art, science and outdoor activities around a whimsical week-long narrative that’s crafted to keep kids giggling and engaged.  Landon is so excited for the theme for the week that he is attending: Space Odyssey: Cosmic Art and Rocket Science.  The themes are created together with Galileo’s fabulous curriculum partners at Klutz, The de Young Museum, The Tech Museum of Innovation and The Chabot Space & Science Center.

Discount code for Savvy in San Francisco readers: Right now until May 31st, Galileo is offering $25 off your camp registration fee with the code, 2013INNOVATE.  This is limited to one per camper at either Camp Galileo or Galileo Summer Quest.

Since I am a newbie at Summer Camps, share with me what camps are your favorites!  Do you have any tips for surviving the summer with little ones?

*Thank you to Galileo for sponsoring today's discussion!  I had already signed Landon up for Camp Galileo prior to being approached to partner with Galileo.  My opinions & thoughts expressed in this post are my own.

Cheers,

Mermaid Princess

Last week was full of firsts!  One of those firsts was Tatum's first day of preschool!  I found it interesting to see the difference between the first and the second child's first day of school.  When Landon started preschool it was a very emotional day for me him.  But since Tatum has always been a very "go with the flow" child, she did the same with her first day of preschool.  We stayed with her for about five minutes and then we left without her getting upset.  She just started doing a puzzle and it seemed like she been going there for months.  I can not confirm or deny that there was a slight welling up of tears in my eyes.  

I love how you can see the age difference when it comes to the ideas of what they want to be when they grow up.  I've never heard of a mermaid princess (aka Ariel) as far as an occupation, but I'm sure by the time Tatum is ready for college, it could be a new major! 

What type of princess would you be?  Is there such a thing as a purse and shoe princess? 

When I grow up......

Landon started his first day of kindergarten this morning!  When I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, he told me, "a volcano studier".  Carlos told him that was a geologist, but I wanted to make sure I wrote exactly what he said on the chalkboard.  It captures the sweetness of being young and the possibility that they can be anything they want.

Do you remember what you wanted to be when you were young? I wanted to be a marine biologist so I could work with dolphins and seals! 

Cheers to the Weekend

Hooray for Friday! I thought it would be appropriate to share these adorable back to school cookies from Bakingdom since Landon is starting Kindergarten on Monday!  We actually went to an orientation this morning and he found out his classroom and met his new teacher.  Note to self: wear waterproof mascara on Monday.  I cried when they called his name to come forward to meet his new teacher.  We are pretty excited because he was put in the same classroom as his best friend.  

This week has been busy with trying to cram every last bit of summer into the week.  We went to a pool party on Monday, Discovery Kingdom on Tuesday, Train Town on Wednesday and the Oakland Zoo on Thursday (I'm exhausted needless to say).  

I'm excited to start the weekend off with a date night with Carlos to check out a new restaurant, Plate Shop, in Sausalito. Tomorrow morning we are headed to ballet class and the farmers market at Marin Country Mart.  Then we are having a dinner party with friends at our house on Saturday night.  Sunday is hopefully going to be filled with hanging out at home, swimming and ORGANIZING.  I am determined to finish their playroom.  

• Some inspiration for back to school on the first day!
• A DIY project for their playroom! 
• Might need to cut the herbs from my garden and try this genius idea!
• Wondering if I should buy this or if a DIY project is in my future?

What are all of you up to this weekend? Any special ways you get prepared for the start of school that you can share with me? 

Cheers,

Kindergarten - How did we get here already?

Landon has been in the same playgroup since he was three months old!  We joined this playgroup through GGMG (an amazing resource for moms in San Francisco) shortly after he was born. Now looking back at these pictures I can't believe that they are all five years old and about to start kindergarten.  A couple of the kiddos were missing from the last picture (Owen, Jaiden & Caitlin) that couldn't make it to our playdate on Monday.  

This group of ladies has been such an amazing support system to me over the past five years and I'm so grateful for the wonderful friendship we have formed.  Oh, I guess the kids got something out of it too!

Three out of the four pictures were all taken on the same couch, so it's fun to see how they have grown up against the couch! 

I've been pretty sentimental this week as Landon prepares to start Kindergarten on Monday and Tatum starts preschool.  I don't know how the time goes by so quickly but it does.  Even though I'm sad for this transition, I'm excited for this new adventure for two of them and all of the things that my little sponges will learn!