Today is the day when my dear hubby packs up the car so that I can take the kids, plus my Mother In Law and Grandma In Law (GG) to California for 10 whole days! So excited. So much planned! And, so lucky that my dear hubby will come out Thursday night and spend the holiday weekend with us too! That makes my load a bit easier, especially since I had the kids for a full week 2 weeks ago. (By the way, I survived that whole week, in case you couldn’t tell) Anyway, this will be such a great time!
On Tuesday, I have a super-secret trip planned for my boy’s birthday (which is on Wednesday). I can’t wait to tell him! And you! And share the pictures. We’re going to have a blast!
On Wednesday, we will spend Mason’s birthday at the del Mar County Fair! Woot woot! Mason is super excited for the “carnibal”.
Thurday: Beach day.
Friday: the Midway and a harbor cruise (perhaps on the duck?) and dinner out with some SD friends
Saturday: Padres game with the family…and a special ride on the Coaster to get there!
Sunday: Happy 4th of July!! What will we do?
Monday through Wednesday we’ll be in Big Bear. I’ve never been there…and I’m SO excited!
We had such a busy weekend! Not only did Emma debut in her first ballet performance on Saturday morning, but we celebrated the birthdays of Mason, GG (Great Grandma), and Oma (my mom) on Saturday afternoon. It was a crazy day, but so much fun to hang out with all of the family! Mason had a great time at his party. It was a pool party and bbq, and plenty of presents and sugar to top it all off! I mentioned briefly in another post about his obsession with all things Mercedes. Well, we fueled it this weekend, that’s for sure! I will spare you the 9 minute video my husband took of him opening his Mercedes gifts (you’re welcome), but instead share with you some pictures from this very fun afternoon!
This is a picture-heavy post as I’m SOOOOO proud of my little girl! On Tuesday, she graduated from Kindergarten! You may know that for us, any milestone is a BIG milestone! And one that’s celebrated. A few months ago, when we were in the throes of IEP‘s and in the back of my head, I really didn’t know if she should move on to first grade. It was a huge struggle for me…something that I thought about. A lot. After speaking with her teacher (also my college roommate!), she finally put my mind at ease. Yes, Emma needed to move on to first grade. This was such a relief to actually know. And to know that she would stay with her peers. Here are some pictures from our wonderful day!
Walking onto the stage with her classmates
Here she comes!
Receiving her certificate!
Such a big girl!
Proud mommy!
Proud parents! (Mason was there, but had a bit of a 'tude working)
Emma and Grandpa
Oma and Emma
Grandma, Emma, and GG
Emma and Mrs. Huguley
Me, Emma, and Christine Huguley, my college roommate!
Emma and Ms. Steier...the best aide EVER!!
Emma's sweet friends, Julia, Kayla, and Treasure
Mrs. Paul and Emma. Mrs. Huguley and Mrs. Paul job-shared...they were WONDERFUL together and they will be missed!!
Emma and her two teachers. What wonderful ways to start your education in school. We couldn't have been more blessed!
What special celebrations do you have for your kids at the end of the year?
Do you watch the show? I LOVE it. One of the best shows on TV right now. I can relate to it on a few different levels. First, Max, a little boy on the show, just got diagnosed with Aspergers. And while Emma doesn’t have Aspergers, she has some autistic characteristics. Secondly, you know the beginning when they’re all sitting around a big table outside at the grandparent’s house? That’s like our family at my in-laws. We have a blast. And I just love seeing all the dynamic relationships between family members. I’m telling ya, if you haven’t watched it, take a peek and tell me what you think!
Our cousins came up to Flagstaff on Friday night and all of the kids really got into the snow after dinner. And I’m not talking about a 6:30 sled ride…they made a hill in the front yard and were sledding around 8:30 pm! It was SO much fun. Our kids definitely have a need for speed. Fortunately for them, we kept the thrill coming the next day when we visited Elk Ridge, a tiny little ski lodge up in Williams. It was perfect for us. Perfect. We rented tubes (you can’t bring your own sleds, FYI) and they had a little track complete with a ramp. It was too fun. Both kids went down alone. Here are some pictures from the rest of the weekend!
My boy doesn't leave home without this!
I wish I had the camera handy when I failed miserably at attempted snowboarding. I couldn’t even get up the hill, let alone down. They had a rope-pulley system that you hold on to and it brings you up. Or, rather, it’s supposed to. After 3 failed attempts, the instructor recommended I take off the snowboard and walk up the hill. Once I did get up there, I couldn’t stand up. It was physically impossible. I spent the next 15 minutes on my butt. And about 27.8 seconds on the board actually going somewhere. And of course, for the finale, a face plow into the snow with a couple of 360′s thrown in for dramatic flair. I kid you not. I will try this again. However, it will be after a private lesson!
Do you live in the snow? Are you a fan of cold-weather sports?
On Friday we took the kids to Sunset Crater, a volcano that erupted a long time ago. I remember coming here as a kid a lot. It was the place to bring all the visitors, next to the Grand Canyon. Anyway, the kids really liked it! They wanted to climb to the top, but we told them that wasn’t an option! They got to feel all the rough volcanic rocks, and of course play in the snow a bit. There were so many great photo ops here!
By the way, I think I’m going to have to make tomorrow’s post about this trip too. It was so much fun!
I just thought this was a cool picture…it makes me want a really good camera!!
We were supposed to go to Flagstaff a few weeks ago…remember this post? That storm was labeled “The Storm Of The Century” in Flagstaff (capital letters added for effect). I mean, they did shut down I-17 for like 3 days. The kids were so bummed out. We had a good weekend anyway.
Fast forward to this weekend. We’re trying again! And we should have no difficulties this time. Roads are clear, and in fact, I’m wondering if there will be enough snow so we can sled? I will keep you posted…and post pictures, of course. We’ll be bunking with my cousins this weekend, too, which should be a lot of fun.
I am nervous, though. I will admit it. My parents got rid of their satellite TV to help trim down costs. The sad part is that they have this beautiful new (47 inch?) flat screen that they can only use for movies. I think under normal circumstances I’d be okay. I don’t want you thinking we sit in front of the TV all day every day, but we do enjoy TV. Like I was saying, normally it wouldn’t be too bad except I’m missing some good Olympic TV. Women’s figure skating is tonight. Apollo Anton Ohno is on Saturday. Hockey is on Sunday (I think). I don’t want to miss all that stuff…we are loving the Olympics right now.
And I gently reminded Brett that he wasn’t going to be able to head to a sports bar with Cousin to partake in the Olympic festivities without me.
I’m so excited about this inaugural post, that I don’t know exactly what to say! It’s exactly like a first impression…I can make it or break it right here and now.
I plan to make it.
I’m willing to bet that a good portion of the population has been to the beach before. Common beach activities? Building sandcastles, looking for seashells, swimming, and jumping waves. And that’s my segue, folks!
My family loves the beach. My husband spent his first 5 years living near the beach. I have always had a never-ending fascination with the ocean (side note: I wanted to become a marine biologist who studied humpback whales, but changed my career choice when I realized I would have to leave my current land-locked state!) If you didn’t know better, you’d think my daughter was born and raised a beach bum. And my son, well, he’s finally getting past the “icky” sand feeling, and enjoying getting completely soaked in the surf!
Let me continue to introduce ourselves. I’m Jessica, wife to Brett and mom to Emma and Mason. I’m an Arizona native, and don’t see myself leaving anytime soon. I was a teacher for a short time until I got pregnant with Emma. I met Brett through a mutual friend of ours. It was my first year teaching…I was fresh out of college! He was several years older with a career in the family business and his own house (his own house was so cool to me!). Brett’s almost a native. He has always said that the only way we can live at the beach is if he can have a house right on the beach and not have to work. So like I said, we’ll be staying here for a long time. Emma expanded our family in 2004. She is this adorable toe-headed-blue-eyed little girl. We didn’t ever know something was really wrong with her until she had a flu-bug and we went to the ER for (what we thought was) fluids. That ER trip landed us in the PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit) for a week. I will delve into that topic in a post to come soon. And Mr. Mason completed our family in 2006. He is 3 and into all sorts of trouble. Whoever said that it should be called the “terrible 3′s” was right! He’s a stinker and right now enjoys challenging our authority. I think the key word here is challenging. That is my family in a nutshell (or seashell, ha!!).
I can’t wait to continue on my writing journey with you! I’m probably going to leave you with some questions….like “what’s the point?” I’ll get there…I promise! For now, feel free to comment if you like…I would love to hear what you have to say! (The other night, when I had all these blog ideas popping into my brain, I dreamt that I received 72 comments on my first post! <hint, hint>)
I’m so excited about this inaugural post, that I don’t know exactly what to say! It’s exactly like a first impression…I can make it or break it right here and now.
