Week 17

Welcome back!  Here we are in the last week of April which means there is just over a month of school left. This year went by super fast!  May is shaping up to be very busy so we'll be ready for another break soon--summer break!  I so love the longer, lazier days of summer even if it does mean a lot of water sports and traveling.  At least there is no homework to patrol!  Before we go diving into summer though let's work on wrapping up the school year and finishing off spring.

Here's a look at last week's pictures:

Day 111-  Monday, 4/21/14

Yep!  This is happening.  Be still my heart.  It was our first week having Tyler drive us around, and today was the first day he drove with me. My heart was pounding and the rest of me was shaking, but we survived and it'll get easier I hope.  It's just hard because I feel like I'm giving my baby permission to operate a lethal weapon.  I want to wrap him in bubble wrap and protect him from all those crazy drivers out there, but I can't.  I have to let him go.  I have to let him grow.

Day 112- Tuesday, 4/22/14

Happy Earth Day!  We have our tomatoes planted and growing.  Can't wait until we start to see some fruit.  Here's a tip- plant a small pot of colorful flowers near your tomatoes to attract bees and you'll end up with more fruit in the end.  True story.  It works!

Day 113- Wednesday, 4/23/14

Justin and his friend Jack are collecting canned food for the Sacramento Food Bank as part of their NJHS service project.  I was amazed at how many he manage to bring home just after his first quick pass in the neighborhood.

Day 114- Thursday, 4/24/14

We planted this hummingbird flower last year and I just noticed that it's started to bloom again.  The pop of red is just what our yard needs right around the pool.  I like it so much that I bought a couple more to add in the mix.

Day 115- Friday, 4/25/14

This is my crazy fun group of kids.  Brandon's class went on a field trip to the California state museum and Capitol today.  Unfortunately the skies opened up and poured rain.   The 1st part was indoors so that was fine, but the 2nd half including lunch was supposed to be all outside.  Needless to say everyone got soaking wet.  At least they're 4th graders and still thought it was fun exploring in the rain.

Day 116- Saturday, 4/26/14

Date night!  John and I went out to dinner at a local joint.  He comes here all the time for lunch, but I have never been so it was time and nice to get out.  We also ran into Tyler's Water Polo coach there.  What are the odds?

Day 117- Sunday, 4/27/14

Last night was all about us so tonight was all about the family.  We made homemade pizza for dinner.  Everyone chipped and was thrilled with the results.  So yummy!  I love a meal we can all work on and enjoy together.  It makes for the perfect Sunday dinner.

Wait!  One more--

April's Family Photo

Since Tyler is driving now we thought it would be fun to take our family picture in the car with him at the wheel--parked of course!




OK--now I'm done.  Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you next week.

Week 16

Welcome back!  What a week last week was.  The kids and I were off on spring break and it was very busy with a lot happening so you will see more pictures than normal.  We were blessed with perfect spring weather and could not have asked for anything better.  This week we are expecting rain, but hey it was fun while it lasted, and we could use more rain still so that's ok!  It can rain all it wants while I have to be stuck inside at work!

Here's more than just a peek at last week's activities:

Day 104- Monday, 4/14/14

Justin is obsessed with all things botany these days so he was super excited to join me on a trip to Lowe's for some new spring plants.  He even managed to talked me into buying him a red pepper plant when I was just really looking for tomatoes and flowering shrubs.

Day 105- Tuesday, 4/15/14

During break the boys had tennis camp in the mornings and swim team practice in the evenings.  It was great to keep them active because too much time in the house and they start to get on each other's nerves.  We also managed to squeeze in a movie (Mr. Peabody and Sherman) today right after lunch.

Day 106- Wednesday, 4/16/14

Tyler has lifeguard training all week from 9-5 and so far is loving it, but I do miss having him around during break.  He really enjoys learning about the CPR and first-aide stuff in addition to the swim components.  He's so excited that he's working on his application for a summer job and plans to submit it tonight.  It's great to see him so motivated.  I'm not sure how he can sit like that though.  For some reason he refuses to move the computer over and use the knee space.  *sigh*

Day 107- Thursday, 4/17/14

After tennis today I took the younger boys to Sonoma to visit the Mission as part of Brandon's mission project for school.  It was a fun little escape on a beautiful day.  We explored the mission, had a picnic lunch in the park, enjoyed some ice-cream, and found my very own hidden cottage on the walk back to the car.

Day 108- Friday, 4/18/14

Justin and Brandon learned how to make ice-cream pies this afternoon.  We'll pop them in the freezer and have them as our Easter dessert.  They look amazing and everyone can't wait to try them out.   Later I managed to get a few more of those plants we bought in the ground--yep, it's taking me awhile but that's ok because it turns out our drip system needed some work first.

Day 109- Saturday, 4/19/14

Wow!  Today was super eventful.  This morning Brandon, Bella, and I started early by taking part in the Vet School's Dog-n-Jog fun run.   We all loved it and will probably try the 5K next year.  Then just after lunch Tyler had his required 2hr driving lesson with a certified driving instructor (this was all done for free through the high school back in my day, but now it's all private, on your own time, and expensive!)  He was a little nervous at first, but it went well so now he's ready to go, go go and drive with us.  Lastly, we squeezed in some time to dye our eggs for tomorrow.  I'm glad we could at least find a time when all the boys were home to participate.  Whew!  I'm exhausted and still need to find the energy for bunny duties ;0)

Day 110- Sunday, 4/20/14

Happy Easter!  John's checking out the loot in the boys' baskets, and I'm sure staking some claim on a little chocolate.  He had to work all week so no spring break for him :0(  After baskets and a small egg hunt we sat down to a nice brunch with a breakfast egg and sausage casserole and cinnamon roll coffee cake.  It the the perfect way to start our beautiful Easter day.

I hope everyone else had a fabulous Easter.  Thanks for stopping by.  Come back next week for more fun--never a dull moment!

Week 15

Happy Tuesday and welcome back!  We are finally on spring break here which feels great.  We can't really go anywhere, but we'll still try to have some fun.  I have one kid in lifeguard class all week while the other two have tennis camp in the mornings and swim practice in the evenings.  I'm hoping we can manage squeeze other things in there to help it feel more like a break. At least the weather has been perfect and just plain gorgeous.  It feels so good to be outside right now.  Bust out the shorts and dust off the bikes!

Here's how last week went down:

Day 97- Monday, 4/7/14

Happy Birthday John!  Justin and John's birthdays are exactly 1 week apart.  We celebrated with ice-cream cake and then he was super excited to open presents and find a new motorcycle jacket for spring and summer riding.

Day 98- Tuesday, 4/8/14

Bella also had her birthday yesterday, and she is happy to have some new toys the boys picked out for her.  She got a new ball, a shark, and a new collar.  The kids love spoiling their pets and the pets love them for it.  She's got quite the toy collection now.

Day 99- Wednesday, 4/9/14

Right after Tyler's swim meet I had to run over to the other school for Justin's Science Fair.  He did a great job pulling his project together and was happy and excited to be there sharing it with others.

Day 100- Thursday, 4/10/14

Next project up is Brandon's Mission report and model.  It's a 4th grade state standard here in California.  Unfortunately we'll be working on this over spring break, but he's getting a good jump start on the research so that should help.  I think this is the first major report he'll have to type.  They grow up so fast.

Day 101- Friday, 4/11/14

Speaking of growing up too fast, Tyler passed his test for his driving learner's permit this afternoon.  Yikes!  I'm not sure I'm ready for this.  Look at that mosaic at the DMV office in Davis--so colorful and cool.  To celebrate I took the boys out for dinner at the Graduate. Yum!  What's up with Brandon and that sweatshirt?  It's been over 80 degrees out all week, and I haven't been able to get him to take that thing off!

Day 102- Saturday, 4/12/14

Rusty on the other hand is loving the warmer weather because it means the sliding door is open, and he can hear the birds and smell the fresh air through the screen.  This is one of his favorite spots to be especially in the morning and evening.

Day 103- Sunday, 4/13/14

I mined John's Facebook page to find some pictures.  Today was the main race at Moto GP.  John has been in Austin, TX with his friends since Thursday and is enjoying the last day of this big motorcycle racing event.  I'm glad he had fun but will be happy to have him back home tomorrow.

That's it folks! See you next week and I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter.

Week 14

Welcome back!  After a couple rainy and gloomy weeks we are happy to have some sunshine and warm weather again.  The past few days have been in the low 80's so we are loving that except that I did get a pretty bad sunburn at polo on Sunday.  I need to be more careful with that.  It's the final week of school before spring break.  Let's do this!  We all need the break and are looking forward to it. 

Here are last week's pictures:

Day 90- Monday, 3/31/14
Happy Birthday Justin!  He's officially a teenager--the big 13!!! and even has a phone now which he's not exactly thrilled about.  He's not sure he wants the added responsibility, but it's becoming necessary as he becomes more and more independent and needs to communicate about impromptu after-school activities and pick up times.  He'll like it more once he figures it all out and gets used to it.

Day 91- Tuesday, 4/1/14

This is no April fools.  It's a rainy start to our new month, but April Showers bring May flowers so I'm good with that.  It poured like crazy today and of course was the first official day of swim team practice.  The boys were hoping for a lightening strike or two so practice would be canceled but no such luck.  They swam in a super crazy downpour that never let up.

Day 92- Wednesday, 4/2/14

If only I would let her off leash to run.  You know she wants to!  The mustard is in bloom and we have many fields in our area which makes for a pretty evening walk.  The skies are still cloudy and grey but no real rain today.

Day 93- Thursday, 4/3/14

Neither one of us wants this hanging over our heads for the weekend so Justin is pushing through and trying to get his science fair poster done now.  The pets are being very supportive, and Justin is now a master at trimming paper and using a tape roller.

Day 94- Friday, 4/4/14

His poster is officially done!  He just finished the last little details he didn't get to yesterday and can relax and enjoy his weekend.   I thought he'd run upstairs to play right away, but he found Rusty napping in his favorite chair and decided to give him some love and attention first.

Day 95- Saturday, 4/5/14

Brandon helped me walk the dog on this beautiful evening.  It's still a little chilly out but is supposed to warm up really quick starting tomorrow.  Everything is so fresh and green after all the rain this week.  I even got around to some yard work and like seeing how my plants are blooming out to fill the space with color again. Welcome spring!

Day 96- Sunday, 4/6/14

Tyler and I spent most the day in Stockton in the scorching sun at a water polo tournament.  It was down right hot and the sun was so intense.  We needed some pop-up shade.  At least the play experience was a lot better than last time, and the refs were working well with the teams.  Later the family headed out to diner at BJ's Brewhouse to celebrate John's birthday for tomorrow.  The kids decided they are all pizookie fans, and when the kitchen messed up our dessert order we ended up with a couple extra pizookies to share--darn! ;0)  I'm going to have to kick up my workout routine following all these birthday celebrations.

Another week has come and gone!  Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you next week.

Week 13

Happy Tuesday and happy April 1st!  There's no fooling around here.  I think we are trying to catch up on rain.  It was a wet one last week and this week is starting off much the same which is a bit inconvenient, but we still need a lot of rain so better now than June!  We're working on school projects throughout the week.  There always seems to be a big push just before break.  I guess that helps us enjoy the break more.  Can't wait!

Here's a look at last week's photos:

Day 83- Monday, 3/24/14

The younger boys have been playing out front a lot and Brandon has discovered our long lost skate boards in the garage.  It's fun to watch him learn.  He picks things up fast!

Day 84- Tuesday, 3/25/14

Justin joined the older karate group for teens this month so he's working with the big boys now.  I think he likes it which is great, but it adds an extra hour to our Tuesday karate commitment.

Day 85- Wednesday, 3/26/14

It's a wet and wild swim meet for the high school kids.  I'm helping time today.  Right now the sun is out, but a few minutes ago it was dark and pouring rain.  Thank goodness for pop-up tents to help keep us volunteers dry.

Day 86- Thursday, 3/27/14

The past couple days John has had late-night work dinners, and I've been running here and there for kid activities so the dog has suffered a bit not really getting the attention she needs.  Thankfully Tyler was able to walk her today right after swim practice as I was leaving to work in the Boosters snack bar and drop the other two kids off at their last swim clinic.  Official swim practice for the city club starts next week.  Never a dull moment!

Day 87- Friday, 3/28/14

We're all so happy it's Friday and no one has any after school activities.  WooHoo!  Justin invited his friend Brian over to spend the night and was super excited about their sleepover.

Day 88- Saturday, 3/29/14

It's another pouring rain kind of day, but that didn't keep us inside.  We had some free tastings that had to be used before April so we braved the weather and hit the vineyards.  It turned out to be a really fun day.

Day 89- Sunday, 3/30/14

We ended up at Black Bear Diner for dinner after our first choice didn't pan out, but that's ok because it was a big hit.  Tyler and I have been to the original one near Mt Shasta back when he was about 2yrs old, but no one else has ever been.  They have a great selection of burgers that pleased the masses, and the desserts looked amazing, but we actually had cake waiting for us at home.  Tomorrow is Justin's birthday so we celebrated tonight.  I can't believe he's 13!

Wait!  One more-- 

March's Family Photo

This is in Old Sacramento by the Tower Bridge.  I was hoping to get more of the tower part in the picture, but we ended up being a little too close for that.  Oh well!  It's still a nice picture on this gloomy day.  Our plan was to take our picture here and then have dinner at Joe's Crab Shack but even going early at 4pm the wait to be seated was over 2 hrs--yikes!  No thank you.  That is how we made our way to the Black Bear Diner.  The food was just as good, probably much cheaper, and no wait.  Winner!

Now we're done.  Thanks for stopping by and see you next week.