Three weeks ago our boys began attending a local church youth group. Two weeks ago, our middle son came home from group enthusiastically sharing about an upcoming Pie-off (bake-off). The event was a parents' open house and pie contest, a meet and greet and have some good eats type of gathering.
Our little brown-eyed boy was so excited! He began brainstorming the best pies to make. I promised to set aside a day to help him bake. AND, perhaps being a chip off the old block, he wanted to make not one, but two pies. I also think he calculated his odds of winning a category in the pie contest would be increased with more entries. Smart little dude!
Psalm 103:15 Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die. This week we finished reading Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. For a dog lover this book is a heart warming yet heart wrenching read! Through the pages we fell in love with Old Dan and Little Ann. Their antics, battles, victories and most importantly their relationship with Billy left us desiring the company of man's best friend in our home. We lost our beloved family member, Sam, about five years ago and there's still a void in our hearts.
I read aloud to the kids nearly everyday and the kids know my emotional sensitivities get the best of me on a regular basis. While reading, if something touches my heart, the next thing they know I'm fanning myself trying to hold back the tears. The day before we finished the book I had to call it quits. I was so choked up I couldn't speak or read. The tears were flowing freely.
Some may say my Papa (grandfather) was a junk collector. If you knew him you know he would NEVER consider throwing away a piece of copper wire, an old two-by-four, a rusty nail, or an unusable toilet. He embraced the unwanted and reigned as king over his junk castle. To him, these were ALL treasures and would one day be used to create a kingdom to be admired.
We had the opportunity to experience Cars Land at California Adventure this week. Disney offered Annual Passholders one hour special event early entrance before the park opened to the general public. It was GREAT! Having this hour before the masses allowed us to take in the new land, photograph it and go on a couple rides.
If you're going to California Adventure this summer, and you would like to go on Radiator Springs Racers, I would highly recommend getting there at opening, rushing to the Fast Pass line or go on as a Single Rider. Otherwise, you're looking at a 3-4 hour wait. Who wants to spend a good portion of the day in line?
When we got in line with our Fast Passes the wait time was 210 minutes for Stand-by. By the time we got off the ride, Stand-by wait time was 240 minutes!! We don't even know how bad it got as the day went on. With our Fast Passes, our wait time was about 5-10 minutes. We rode alongside two gals who did the Single Rider line. They waited 45 minutes. Not too bad.
Here's the ride from our vantage point:
I will post more photos from our day. What a special day it was!
This week was All-Star selection in our local little league. It's met with enthusiasm and anticipation as boys from ages 9-13ish await to find out if they've "made the cut." It's also a stressful time of anticipation for parents too. Do we prepare our kids for the excitement or the big letdown?
Sports, politics and the politics of kids' sports stir up a mixed bag of emotions. On one hand, I know in every league, if people are involved there will be amazing dedicated volunteers, kids striving for the best they can be and parents hoping their child will shine in America's Best-Loved sport. On the other hand, with people involved and human flaws, life happens and the outcomes are not always fair...but that's life. It's not fair. And that's okay.
The saying that time flies when you're having fun is so true. I can't believe we've lived in southern California for almost three years! In these three years we've had some friends and family visit, but in May we had some extra special visitors. I think we had my mother-in-law, my Grandma and most recently my brother, sister-in-law and niece came for a one week visit. As expected, the seven days FLEW by!
Teaching. Last week two of my teaching commitments came to a close. As I was packing up my class supplies I began to reflect upon the year. I get so sentimental, so easily. I realized this year how much I love teaching, not just teaching my kids, but others. I really do love it! Perhaps this is why I'm so passionate about homeschooling. I love learning and presenting material in a way that hopefully appeals to students.
Reaching the end of yet another year has given me cause to reflect on my brief experience in the public school arena. The first kids I taught are now in their 30's!! How can that be! I wonder what became of them? What happened to those little 4th graders? Also, when I look at the precious gifts given to me by dear Ukranian students and their families, I wonder if they made it in their new found country, America. What happened to Yuri, Alexei, Nazar, Ludmila, and so many more? Did they embrace the freedom they were seeking? Did the kids who struggled in 4th grade, make it through and find a love for learning? I often wonder where they are now. Teachers spend a year with kids, pour into them, and then the kids have to move on. Next grade, next teacher, next year.
Little Nazar, Travis, Olga, Travis, Antonio...1992
Yesterday we celebrated Little League Day at Angels' Stadium and kicked off a fun-filled-action-packed family day. We met with our fellow Orange County Little Leaguers in the Angel Stadium parking lot on the morning of May 6th. There were thousands of anxious kids with coaches and team parents awaiting their turn to enter through the tunnels and step out onto Angel Field.
We have a Lego boy in our home who's been obsessed with the Danish interlocking building blocks since he was a wee little lad. I love watching the wheels spin as he spends countless hours building and creating. He doesn't seem to tire of it and hearing the Lego employees refer to the "Master Builders" I can sense he'd love to be a "Master Builder."
Living fairly close to a Lego Store, is a highlight in his life. We frequent it when we head to Downtown Disney so he can purchase mini-figures or look at the latest Lego releases. He has informed me his one Birthday wish is to be able to go into the Lego store, make his purchase and walk out with a BIG bag! I think to a Lego boy, that is a sign he has "arrived."
This year I've been blessed to teach a couple book study classes at a local homeschool organization. One class is geared toward grades 1-4, the other grades 4-8.
In the younger class we've read:
Ox Cart Man
The Drinking Gourd
A New Coat for Anna
The Rag Coat
Miss Rumphius
The Bears on Hemlock Mountain
The Courage of Sarah Noble
"When the swallows come back to Capistrano," Grandma began singing when I told her we'd be heading to San Juan Capistrano to field trip at the mission. Interestingly enough, this song was written and released in 1939 when my Grandma was 13 years old. This is the same age as our oldest son. It's fun to think of my little grandma as a 13 year old girl singing this song.
We are blessed to have Grandma visiting once again. She arrived late last night and we're already filling our days with good times.
Today after schooling, a trip to the Goodwill, and swimming I asked Grandma if she'd like to go for a manicure and pedicure. At first, she looked at me with surprised eyes and then shook her head, "No." I asked why not and then asked if she took good care of her nails and toes. She proceeded to take off her white tennis shoes and socks, which are on from sun-up until she climbs in bed, to show me her little feeties. One glance and I said, "We're going in."
We tried another bird's nest idea this Easter. This one is with Chow Mein noodles and Whoppers Robin Eggs. It's a very simple combination of ingredients, yet they are OH SO tasty!
My Girlie made them along with her BFF. I love their friendship! Lots of giggles, and lots of fun!
Despite the many cookie recipes I try, a favorite among the kids, and Hub especially, are Rice Krispies treats. I remember the early days in college when I first met my sweetheart and wanted to impress him with some good home cooking. Sadly, in my tiny dorm room I only had a microwave and a pot for boiling water. Sometimes you have to make due and in this mini-dorm room microwave I would whip up Rice Krispies treats for him and they stole his heart!
After our morning of French toast, we headed out on the town to continue to celebrate our girlie.
One outing that's become part of our annual birthday celebration for our girlie is a stop at Starbucks for a Venti 2% Decaf Caramel Frappacino with Whip. Why, you may ask? Well, we'd have to thank her great-grandma, a.k.a. Gommer P. Gommer P. loves Caramel Frappacino's with extra caramel. On one of her visiting trips she purchased one and gave a sip to the kids. That was the end! The kids LOVED it!!! BUT...they're about $5 each and $5 times 3 kids...is a spendy outing reserved for only for Birthday's.
And since Starbuck's is in our local Barne's and Noble store and I love to buy them books, it's one of our favorite celebration stops.
For weeks, our girl has dreamed of spending her special day at Disneyland. Last night, as we were making plans we checked the Disney website and found her birthday (today) is BLOCKED OUT! How sad! It was heartbreaking to give her the news. Her little face drooped and she slowly walked away.
Today I had a couple students from my book study class over to bake Colonial Chicken Pot Pie. They all did such a GREAT job and I took a ton of photos. Sadly, once again I forgot to put the memory stick in the camera and thus missed the photo memory making.
Luckily, I remembered before we cut into my girlie's pie. We captured the following:
Last night was a big night in our little girlie's life! Along with the 8 girls from her soccer team, she was treated to hair, make-up and dinner on the town (Disney Downtown) compliments of AYSO and Disney.
Recap:
In November she entered a Cars 2 Sportmanship essay contest sponsored by AYSO and Disney. In one hundred words or less she had to write what sportsmanship meant to her.
Here's her essay:
Sportsmanship
By Ari
In soccer there’s always going to be a winner and a loser but good sportsmanship helps every player have a great time. This year our team used dance to bring other teams together. We did a dance called the “Cupid Shuffle.” After games, we’d ask the other team over and dance together. It was a great time to celebrate and have fun! While dancing we forgot who won or lost and just enjoyed the moment laughing. While walking off the field the girls always left smiling. That’s what having good sportsmanship is all about.
