jam packed july

we started off by going to the beach on the 3rd of july, which also happened to fall on a friday. never again. so crowded. but the kids had fun with some neighborhood buddies.

{i've never seen so many umbrellas at one time, nor that amount of people in the water.}

and then into the pool with some pizza and our 'hood rats.

our neighbors hosted a 4th of july pool party. dad had to work but the kids enjoyed some sparklers.

{his first time holding a sparkler. he was fascinated.}

{she's an old pro now.}

as i have mentioned, i am going back to work full time, which means my job share partner, julie, and i have to divide up our classroom. i don't have to move rooms, but i do have to change some things. as i got more and more used to the idea of going back, i started trolling the pinterest galleries for classroom decorating ideas and organizational tips. i've spent countless hours arranging the room furniture in my head, deciding on a color scheme, and figuring out how to make all of my ideas come to life. first up, i had to paint a few walls. when julie and i moved into this room a big navy blue wall was starring us in the face. not my choice of color, but it would have to do because 5 years ago both of our kids were little and we didn't much care to be at the school more than necessary. so we made it work by adding green hills(synthetic grass), a picket fence, and some clouds. 

not bad, but now that my kids are a lot more independent i want to make my classroom my home away from home. i want it to be inviting and i love, love, love to decorate so my headed was flooded. my little helpers came with me and we got that wall painted black. i was a little nervous, but as julie pointed out with navy blue i was already half way there. plus, kids' artwork looks so nice against a black background. 

{ta daaaa! so far i'm pleased.}

next up was this other corner space that again, was not my choice but had to work for us. i'm not a mary engelbreit type of decorator, so cherries just are not my thing. i tried to get back to the original wall color as best i could. 

{this girl was such a great help. it would have taken me double the time to get this done. thankfully both walls only took 2 days.} 

stay tuned for more on my classroom makeover in august. now it is back to summer activities with the kids. we were missing grandma so she took us to see this cool tree at "big tree park" and then went to see an old castle. 

{these roots are so big, he could jump down
and we wouldn't even see him.}

a family bbq with the newest garcia member. ryder was about 3 months in the pic. such a good baby and maddie loved holding him.

then we were off on our second lake havasu trip of the summer. this time we added a new toy. it's known as a lily pad. as you can see there were no bored kids.

{now that our lil' man is not so scared to float, we love stopping in the middle of the lake just to cool off.}

next on the summer list, visiting the aquarium of the pacific with the michael family. we had a great time. maddie just wanted to touch the starfish and after much fear and anxiety reese actually touched one as well. he was so proud of himself, as was i.

{this sea lion captivated these kids.}

back to the classroom to start separating our stuff and getting organized. doesn't this look fun...

and then we enjoyed a beach day with a few teachers from my school. so fun to see them outside of our work environment.

i was able to sneak away for one night with some girlfriends to visit SUR and pump. two restaurants that "the real housewives of beverly hills," lisa vanderpump, owns. one of my many downfalls is my love of reality tv. 

{have to admit, food was not that great, but the site itself was beautiful.}

{lisa's famous car.}

{the "pumptini". again, nothing to write home about.}

can't wait to let you know how august goes...