A Weekend in Monterey - Part II

Just Beachy - More Fun At The Beach

Puppy Love

Dog parks are awesome in California! This week, I took our dog Tukker to exercise and play off-leash at a nearby dog park. Tukker is as much a part of our family as Paige and Taylor - heck she's like a 3rd child really - but too often, Tukker plays second fiddle to the twins.

Now, call me crazy, but I gotta' tell you I REALLY LOVED taking Tukker to the dog park - just she and I - while the twins were at preschool. For the first time in a long time, I watched Tukker enjoy a little canine companionship and play. I watched her lounge out in the puppy pools, splash in the mud puddles, run through the sprinklers and I loved every moment of it! Tukker even met 2 other puppies that day, believe it or not, named Tukker too!

The look of a tired, content puppy after much play and splashing in the pools!

What can I say...Tukker loves water!

The 3 Tukkers - Yes, all 3 of us, complete strangers, discovered that each of our dogs were named Tukker. Every time one of us would call our dog, all 3 would come running! It was very cute. We decided to get a picture of the 3 Tukkers together at their puppy play-date at the park.

Bragabout Friday

Bragabout Friday. It's all about boasting about my kids, which actually is what I pretty much do here every time I have a post, and I certainly don't reserve my bragging to just Fridays. Even so, in the blogging community, Fridays are commonly designated as 'Bragabout Friday' so in the spirit, I offer the following post.

Paige and Taylor spent an afternoon not too long ago creating their very first hydropower renewable energy science kit. Their daddy is well-acquainted with hydropower as an energy source since his work is dedicated to exploring the power of water as well as the generation of hydroelectric power. Naturally, it was the perfect project for daddy and daughters to work on together!

Taylor familiarizes herself with the tubing while Paige sorts the small and large frames for the hydropower station.

Paige and Taylor compete over who gets to manage the tubing for the project. And, seriously, they could have cared less about the lessons of how water can travel through a system of connections using these tubes, also known as communicating vessels.

The struggle over the tubing continues...

Meanwhile, daddy is focused on the construction of the water wheel with generator.

Nearing completion, Taylor joins daddy to watch how their water wheel might generate electricity.

Mission accomplished! The first hydropower renewable energy science kit at our home is done. And, while the twins may not understand why or how the water wheel can drive small machines, exploiting the flow of water to create usable energy, they sure had a good time tinkering around with all its parts and pieces and creating something new and special with their daddy!