Alameda County Fair 2011

While Freddie was away at Hume Lake, I tried to fill our calendar up so the girls and I would be busy and tired at the end of the day. On Thursday I had a photo session in Livermore and asked Samantha to watch the girls for me. When I got back we took the kids to the Alameda County Fair. We rode rides, ate junk food, and even ran into a very old friend. We had a great time!

Calista and Isabelle LOVED The Picasso Play area, Paper and markers and cute little stations for them to create anything they wanted. I loved the yummy light, perfect for photos!

Calista getting into her art!

Isabelle loving the roller coaster!

Sweet Calista in the tea cups, she got them to spin all on her own too!

Group shot!

Water Park Fun!

While Daddy was at Hume Lake we went to a church picnic at the local water park. It was hot out, so the water park was the perfect place to be. The girls had a blast hanging out with their friends Charis, Callie and Michael, they practically had the entire water park to themselves.

Calista loving the water!

Charis, Issy and Michael Jumping in!

We hope you are enjoying the summer and finding ways to stay cool!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Freddie is at Hume Lake this week, he went as a camp counselor for the High School group from our church. We are bummed to miss celebrating his actual Birthday with him, but we know he is having an awesome time at Hume! In honor of Daddy the girls made ice cream with Plah Doh and will be making a trip to Starbucks to enjoy a special treat, because we all know how much Freddie loves Starbucks!

Happy Birthday Daddy we love you so very much and are so blessed to have you in our lives!

If you give a kid some ice cream.....

If you give a kids some ice cream, you might need a few wipes to clean her up...

By the end of our trip to the ice cream shop, she had it in her hair, all over her dress, in between her toes and in her ears. She loved every second of it though!

Besties....

Last weekend we went to visit Nana and Pops for the day. We took the kids to see the Rodeo Parade in downtown Reno with Grammy and Gramps. They really enjoyed the parade and made out with a bunch of treats!

Nana and Pops got a new puppy in April, his name is Cody. Calista fell right in love with Cody and they became the best of friends. Above is a photo my Dad took of the two new besties!

Camping

Earlier this month Freddie and the girls went camping with the Kofler side of Daddy's family. They meet every year at Del Val for an annual family camping trip. Here are some pictures Freddie took of their trip.

Calista blowing bubbles with Grandpa and Grandma G.

Lasso Golf!

Playing in the river with cousin Matthew!

Calista loved Matthew and Michael's dog Sadie.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to one of the best Daddy's in the whole wide world!

Here is a photo from Isabelle's Father's Day present she made in Kindergarten. I will have to come back and post the card she made for him when I have more time.

Happy Father's Day to our Dad's Gary and Freddie Sr.

Isabelle's Kindergarten Graduation

Yesterday Isabelle had her Kindergarten Graduation. I can't believe this school year is almost over, it went way to fast for me. Isabelle absolutely LOVED Kindergarten! She made friends quickly, improved her writing dramatically, is learning how to read and discovered her love for math. In this school year, she grew taller and lost two of her baby teeth.

The kids greeted us by the auditorium as the parents arrived for the graduation. Then they took their place on stage and sang four songs. Then Mrs. Gravert called each kid up one at a time to present them with their certificate and asked each kid what they wanted to be when they grew up. Isabelle said she wanted to be a Veterinarian.

Before school started, I prayed that Isabelle would make new friends and that I would make friends with the parents too. On the very first day of school Isabelle and Audrey came out of the class holding hands and they have best friends ever since. Through their friendship Audrey's Mom Sarah and I started a friendship, she is a wonderful friend and I am so thankful for that answered prayer!

Mrs. Ball, Isabelle's Preschool teacher came to surprise Isabelle at the graduation. Isabelle loved that she was there!

I got to volunteer in Issy's class on Tuesdays, thanks for my sweet friend Rose who volunteered to watch Calista for me so I could be in the class. I LOVED being able to help in her class so much! I helped the kids make a special gift for Mrs. Gravert on one of my days in the class. We gave her a tomato plant with flowers made by all the kids. she really loved it.

Here is a video of the kids singing their favorite song, it was very cute!

Mrs. Gravert made a scrapbook page for each kid that had photos from the year and a paragraph to sum up the year for each kid.

When I was in Kindergarten, my friends were Audrey and Matais because they were nice to me. I like to eat Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches. I helped my friends in class write their numbers. I liked to play tag when we went outside. When we were in the classroom, I liked doing the puzzles. My favorite book was "The little Red Hen" and I like to sing the Chicken Dance. The most important thing I learned in Kindergarten was being kind to my friends. When I'm in first grade I want to learn about math. When I grow up, I want to be an artist and paint.

Another Baby Tooth Gone...

Issy lost her 2nd tooth on Sunday. The Tooth Fairy came again leaving a trail of glitter, a dollar bill and another fun note. Isabelle's new teeth are already growing in filling in the gaps.

After tucking her into bed on Sunday, I stopped in our hallway and looked at the photos of the kids, and noticed a photo of Issy when she was 1 year old, with her two bottom teeth showing. It made me kind of sad that those teeth are now gone and her big girl teeth are growing in.

Wishing I could freeze time for a bit to enjoy them this little for a while longer....

Isabelle in July 2006

Kindergarten Open House

Tonight Issy had her Kindergarten Open House. It was fun to go to her class as a family and see all the fun things she has been working on lately. It was great to see her interact with her friends and visit with her teacher and the other parents. Isabelle also had a chance to go to the first grade class and see what being a first grader is like. We still have about 3 weeks left of Kindergarten, this year went way to fast!

Issy and her teacher Mrs. Gravert. We think she is pretty awesome!

Issy pointing out some of her work around the class.

Standing next to a photo display. Mrs. Gravet posted a little note that said, " Thank you Mrs. Gallardo you are our wonderful class photographer." Mrs. Gravert invited me to take photos of the kids a lot this year and I really enjoyed being able to contribute to her class with my photos. It was a fun way to get to know the kids and share something I love. I thought her display and her note was very sweet!

The kids enjoying the photos.

Issy and her friends!

Issy and Audrey!

Calista enjoyed the open house too, she spent a lot of time trying on all the headphones at the listening center...

Issy And Her Buddy Jonah

Yesterday I took Isabelle and Calista to see Issy's buddy Jonah at his school talent show. Jonah and Issy are pen pals. We use to attend the same church as Jonah's family, but I am not sure when the letter writing started or why. Through the letter writing they each have formed a little crush on each other. It is kind of cute. A couple days after Issy lost her first tooth, Jonah lost his first tooth and told his Mom, "When the girlfriend looses her tooth the boyfriend loose his tooth."

Isabelle was excited to go to the talent show, she asked to get him a gift, because she didn't know if he would want flowers and she wrote him a card. As soon as we got to the talent show, she became super shy! She had a great time and Jonah did a great job! Issy and I were super impressed with his break dancing skills!

Jonah called Isabelle that evening to thank her for coming to her show and they had the cutest conversation!

Here are some photos of Jonah's awesome moves.