We have Another Reader!

Oh how sweet those first few months are when kids learn to read!

Jaden takes his reading homework quite seriously, pulling out his reading folder before we even get home. He enjoys reading his story to everyone.

Tis the Season

Shortly after Thanksgiving we headed up to Forest Hill to Snowy Peaks Christmas Tree Farm to cut down our tree. With many beautiful trees to choose from, it was a challenge to choose the best one.

Our new house has a much lower ceiling in the living room, and of course we forgot to measure it before we headed up to the tree farm. We finally decided on this tree, and it is a perfect fit just inches below the ceiling.

The boys are always eager to help Tom with cutting the tree down. But just like with decorating the tree, after a few minutes helping Daddy, they are off in search of something more fun like searching for frost crystals or looking for logs to jump off of.

Thankful for Good Health

I'm thankful everyday for Jacob's good health.

Monday we had an appointment with Jacob's neurosurgeon and all looks good.

Thankful: November 16

Some people come into our lives for a purpose. Jaden is one of those individuals. He often comes across as an easy going kid, yet he has an intense side which comes out on the soccer field, or when he is determined to do something his own way. Jaden operates on his own time schedule, and not much can be done to rush him through life. I've learned to let go , slow down (just a little), and let Jaden be Jaden.

Jaden has always been my independent one; wandering off one his own at the park time and time again. He has a confidence that not many kids his age have. I remember one time when Jaden was 3 he started yelling at an older kid who was across the playground. To Jaden this older child was climbing on Jaden's dinosaur. To this day Jaden has the confidence to walk up to almost any individual and start a conversation.

Having an opportunity to have a second year in kindergarten has been wonderful for all of us. Every evening Jaden pulls out a book to read to us before he heads off to bed. We rarely need to ask him to read. He's well on his way to being able to decode almost any 3-4 letter word and knows almost all of the sight words he is required to know by the end of the year. I enjoy watching him grow and become more aware of the world around him with each passing day.

Thankful: November 11

Today starts a series of posts to celebrate those things I am most thankful for in my life.

Jacob is one of those kids who has a personality larger than life; sometimes too large for my comfort level. :-)

I find that I enjoy him most when he an I can sneak away and spend some special time together, just the two of us. We usually try to catch a bite to eat and spend some time at one of our favorite places to shop like the Lego store or the book store.

I love that even at age 8, Jacob still wants to give me a hug and a kiss good bye on the playground every morning. He is always excited to see me on campus, especially when our two classes get together for buddy activities.

He has this creative side that every once in awhile reveals itself. Who knew that Storm Troopers love tortilla chips as much as Darth Vader.

Lost in Life but Still Here

It's been a long two months since my last post as I've adjusted to life working full time, teaching a new grade, and balancing it all with being a mom. Life could not be better....well, maybe some free time would be nice. It's been a lot easier to relax around here since the boys are able to play outside with out me hovering over them every minute. We're still loving our new neighborhood.

Kindergarten has been an awesome change. Even after the most frustrating of days, the kids come bouncing back in with smiles on their faces the next morning. Not a day goes by where I don't see growth and learning taking place....not as easily seen with the 6th graders. My grade level team of teachers is wonderful. Our lessons and activities are almost identical in all 6 classroom, yet there is lots of room for me to add my own ideas. My highest students are all well on their way to reading this month. Those that entered kindergarten knowing only a handful of letter sounds know sounds for almost all 26 letters. Today as we walked to lunch they were chanting the words to one of our sight word songs, "I like you, you like me, I spell like L I K E...."


Photos are on their way with the next post. :-)

Why Burney?

So here is they reason we head to Burney Falls each summer. Leslie & I started teaching together 8 or so years ago. Besides being my job share partner for many years, she has grown to become one of my best friends. She has all of those qualities I admire in a teacher and a friend; she's organized, hard working, conscientious, creative, honest, trustworthy...the list goes on and on. She's always there to lean on when the going gets tough, or when I'm feeling blue.

It's fun to spend time away from school with her, and to see her silly side come out: jumping into the lake after sundown, singing her campfire song, laughing just a little too loudly after "quiet hours" have started.

I have lost track of the number of years that Leslie has camped at Burney, but her husband, Bryan, is on year 30 I believe. Brayden has camped there every summer since he was born, so 6 years so far. We'll never catch up to with them, but plan to join them for many more summers to come.

Success

Another successful morning fishing at Burney. Each morning Tom wakes up early to head out for some fishing above the falls. The boys take turns getting up early to join him on the river. This year they came back to camp with smiles on their faces as well as several rainbow and brook trout.

Nature's Masterpiece

Burney Falls has to be one of Mother Nature's masterpieces. Each summer we make the trek up I-5 toward Mt. Lassen for several days of camping at McArthur Burney Falls. One of they boys' favorite activities is hiking down to the bottom of the falls and out to the swimming beach.

As we hiked, we joked about wanting the bottom of our swimming pool to be colored "Burney Blue". In all actuality, Tahoe Blue, our final selection, is quite close to the color of the water at the bottom of Burney Falls.

Not the best family photo, but what do you expect after 4 days of camping?

Happy Birthday Jaden

We celebrated Jaden's birthday with all the best; sushi, ice cream cake and an evening on the slip and slide. The boys had a blast with all the open grass area in the backyard. It was short lived, as less than a week after moving in, the excavation crew arrived to dig the pool.

Birthday?

Jaden's reading tutor just asked me whether we would be meeting on his birthday. His birthday??? A bit of panic set in as my mental calendar flashed before my eyes. 21st? When is the 21st? Is it really next week? Thankfully she reassured me that his birthday wasn't until the week after next.

For once I have not been obsessing about an upcoming birthday party. Usually by now I've coordinated goodie bags with a cake theme, sent out an evite or invitations, started making my shopping list for party food.....

With the move, our annual camping trip to Burney Falls, and the pool construction, I just have been telling myself that we'll celebrate Jaden's birthday in August after we're settled into the new house.

But then I got to thinking. Birthdays are so special for the little ones. We need to find a way to make the 21st special, even if it is something simple. So the date is set. I'm not sure exactly what we'll do, but he'll get a kick out of the cupcakes pictured above.

Boxes, Boxes, Everywhere

We're in a holding pattern while some documents are finished up for the new house. It actually works out for the best, I think, since there was some flooring work which required several tiles in the kitchen to be replaced. I don't imagine that was too easy a job since they were tiles in the middle of the room.

Needless to say, I'm going a bit crazy waiting to move. I have no motivation to clean our current house, though it needs to be presentable for prospective renters. Afternoon naps have been frequent, as well as spending way too much time on the computer. Hey it's summer, right? No need to rush anything.

Almost Here

It's almost time for a new pair of fun summer flip flops....only 1 more day of school for me!

Here are a few more photos of the new house.  We've been busy packing 

and painting our old house in anticipation of the move.

 Any ideas for what colors I should use in the kitchen and family room?

There is a full bathroom and a bedroom just through the doorway on the back left wall.

The pool plans we had drawn up will push the pool and a seating area into hill on the right.  There will be a stone retaining wall along the middle of the hill so that we can push things back to try to save as much lawn space as possible.

Most of you already know about the purchase of our next home.  It's taken me way too long to take a photo of the house, but finally here it is.  

We love the location; it's on a court that ends on a green belt.  There are bike trails and parks galore!  

Wish us luck with packing up 9 years worth of stuff.   We move in a month.  :-)

Snails, ABC's, and New Adventures

This morning I had an opportunity to take over Jaden's kindergarten class while his teacher gave a presentation and led a tour for prospective parents.  It was fun having all those smiling faces & eager hands raised for me.  After the regular morning routine of reading a book, changing the calendar, singing all sorts of songs for sight words as we wrote a morning message, I had fun leading a science center.  Above is Jaden and my job share partner's son, Brayden investigating snails.  

As I walked to my car, Jaden's teacher called me back in to read an email listing the placement of teachers who had requested  transfers for next year. Right at the top was my name with a kindergarten placement!  :-)  It will be another year of change for me with a new grade level and new school, but a move in the right direction for me as well as my family.  

No laughing when you hear me singing all the fun kindergarten songs....5 green and speckled frogs, sat on a speckled log, eating the most delisious bugs, yum, yum.....  I can't wait until August!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all my favorite moms, both far and near.  Take a moment and remember that you have the MOST important job of all, and that you touch your children's lives like no one else can.

I'm still here, I promise....just hiding out from the real world where the stress of work and real life has taken a hold and thrown me for a loop these past three weeks.  Full time work or half time again next year?  Interview for teaching kindergarten or 4th grade?  New house or keep looking at used homes?  I'll be back to fill everyone in when life is a little more settled.  Let me tell you, nothing sounds better than sipping sangria on those warm summer nights right about now.

Summer in April?

It feels like summer is here.  Last week we were enjoying the sun and playing in the front yard. The boys had a great time with their Easter squirt guns and climbing the plum tree.

 Today the thermometer says 95 degrees!  Time to go searching for houses with pools.

Spring is in the air

It's one of those beautiful spring days in the Sacramento Valley.  The sky is clear, the air is cool, and then sun is bright.  

Spring was always one of my favorite times growing up in Alaska.  I remember making pretty Easter eggs with my mom; the ones where you poke two holes to blow out the yolk & whites, then decorate them.  If I remember correctly, we hung the eggs on a bare tree branch which was displayed in some sort of a vase. How pretty would these butterflies be hanging from a little tree or branch!  So many projects, so little time.  I found this picture at Ali Edwards Flicker site.  She has a link with the directions below her photo.

Happy Spring!  

An Extra Special Easter Gift

The Ito family welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world this evening.  

Welcome to the world, Trinity Ann Ito!

Another one of Jacob's Creations

Jacob has always been a builder as well as one to take things apart.  As he has grown up it has been fun to watch him rip open a new Lego set, sit down, and at times, spend over an hour silently building.  The intensity of his concentration amazes me sometimes. 

As a culminating activity after reading a story about a young girl who is left in charge of keeping a light house burning while her parents are away, the 2nd graders at Jacob's school all were asked to build a light house of their own.

Jacob chose to build a replica of the lighthouse we visited last August while in Maine, Pemiquid.  He worked several days, using all sorts of new materials (styrofoam, wall plaster, balsa wood, sand and rocks) to create his masterpiece.  You can't tell from this photo, but inside of the top portion Jacob carved out a hole to seat one of his flashing bike lights.  I've never seen him so proud as the day he carried his lighthouse into class with all the oohs and aahs from his classmates.

Way to go Jacob!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Jaden played his first t-ball game last night.  It is so darn cute to watch the little ones play baseball for the first time.  Some would keep running past 1st base, down the foul line, until they were headed into the outfield. Some would run and pass the runner in front of them at 2nd base.  Then there was the typical mob of kids that would run from all positions across the field to go after a ball clearly the 3rd base player should be able to pick up.  Is say pick up, because their fielding skills are not so hot right now. 

Jaden's favorite part.....passing out snacks to all his team at the end of the game.

Go Nationals!

Just Rambling.....

No, I haven't fallen off of the face of the earth.  It has been a busy week with parent teacher conferences for my 6th graders, then conferences for my two boys.  Then onto a busy weekend.

Saturday and Sunday I spent a better part of the day cleaning and preparing for Jodi's baby shower, which is next weekend.  My hair is still full of dust and paint.

I snuck some time in there too, to be creative with a baby shower banner which will hang across my mantle and a sign for the front door.

Tom has been spending a lot of time practicing baseball with the boys.  You should see Jacob's swing!  I haven't checked out the walls of my garage yet, but I'm sure there must be some dents in them.  Jaden is coming a long way too, though sometimes I think he would prefer to catch and throw with the same hand.  That doesn't quite work when you have to wear a glove.  :-)

I've been tossing things left and right again, yet the house still looks too cluttered to me.  Oh how ready for a move am I! It feels good to be so productive.

I have my eyes on a house in the older part of Folsom Lake Estates.  The back yard is huge. We're about ready to start looking with an agent.

What a Surprise!

I took a quick peek at all my favorite blogs today to see if there was anything new worth reading, and the last blog to visited was Rissa's blog. What a surprise I had! I had to actually reread it a second time before I believed it.  

Congratulations Mark & Rissa!

Happy Birthday Big Guy!

Where does all the time go?  It seems just like just yesterday we were heading off to preschool for the first day together.  You were meeting new friends, finding your way in the world without me.

Watching you and all the silliness with your buddies Friday night was a kick. You are all such goofs, such warm hearted boys, such good friends.   

Happy birthday big guy.  I love you all the way to the moon and back.

Weekend Get Away

Dodging two winter storms, we made the dive up to Sonora on Saturday to spend some time with our good friends, Katie, Jason and their girls.   It's been a long time since all eight of us have had an opportunity to get together.  Way long overdue!  

It was a bit chilly Saturday afternoon when we arrived (I think more it was the shock of the cold cabin and trying to get it warmed up), but a few hours after the fire had started, the kids were running around in their bare feet having a blast together.

It was great to catch up with Katie and Jason once the kids all went to bed up in the loft.  One of my favorite things to do is sit around the fire and just catch up with good friends.  

Sunday morning we all bundled up and had a good time sledding, then rushed to get the vans packed before the road conditions required chains.  Note the matching snow covered vans.  :-)

Thanks for a great weekend, Katie & Jason!  

I have...

I recently found this on this lovely blog and thought it would be fun to do too! The things in bold are the things I have done so far.  The things in blue are things I want to do in my lifetime. 

1. started your own blog 

2. slept under the stars

3. played in a band (if playing the flute in my school band counts)

4. visited hawaii

5. watched a meteor shower

6. given more than you can afford to charity

7. been to disneyland/world (been to both)

8. climbed a mountain

9. held a praying mantis

10. sang a solo (Does in the car count?)

11. bungee jumped

12. visited paris 

13. watched a lightning storm at sea

14. taught yourself an art from scratch

15. adopted a child  

16. had food poisoning (on my honeymoon, yuck!)

17. walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. grown your own vegetables

19. seen the mona lisa in france

20. slept on an overnight train

21. had a pillow fight 

22. hitch hiked ...uuuum, no.

23. taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. built a snow fort

25. held a lamb

26. gone skinny dipping 

27. run a marathon 

28. ridden in a gondola in venice

29. seen a total eclipse

30. watched a sunrise or sunset 

31. hit a home run

32. been on a cruise 

33. seen niagara falls in person

34. visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. seen an amish community

36. taught yourself a new language

37. had enough money to be truly satisfied 

38. seen the leaning tower of pisa in person

39. gone rock climbing

40. seen michelangelo’s david

41. sung karaoke

42. seen old faithful geyser erupt

43. bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. visited africa

45. walked on a beach by moonlight

46. been transported in an ambulance

47. had your portrait painted

48. gone deep sea fishing

49. seen the sistine chapel in person

50. been to the top of the eiffel tower in paris

51. gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. kissed in the rain

53. played in the mud

54. gone to a drive-in theater

55. been in a movie

56. visited the great wall of china

57. started a business

58. taken a martial arts class

59. visited russia

60. served at a soup kitchen

61. sold girl scout cookies

62. gone whale watching

63. gotten flowers for no reason

64. donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. gone sky diving

66. visited a nazi concentration camp

67. bounced a check

68. flown in a helicopter

69. saved a favorite childhood toy

70. visited the lincoln memorial

71. eaten caviar  (if ikura counts)

72. pieced a quilt

73. stood in times square

74. toured the everglades

75. been fired from a job

76. seen the changing of the guards in london

77. broken a bone 

78. been on a speeding motorcycle

79. seen the grand canyon in person

80. published a book

81. visited the vatican

82. bought a brand new car 

83. walked in jerusalem

84. had your picture in the newspaper

85. read the entire Bible

86. visited the white house

87. killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. had chickenpox

89. saved someone’s life.

90. sat on a jury

91. met someone famous

92. joined a book club

93. lost a loved one

94. had a baby 

95. seen the alamo in person

96. swam in the great salt lake

97. owned a cell phone 

98.been stung by a bee

 99. wrote a poem for someone

 100. given a toast at a wedding

100th Day of School

You've heard all the details already, but I just had to upload this photo. Jaden had such a fun week preparing for and then celebrating the 100th day of school. He loves school so much! Here is his baggy of 100 Mrs. Browns.  :-)

Champion Young Guns

What an edge of your seat game the boys had yesterday! Jacob's indoor soccer team played their last game of the winter, and they won their division.  

Our team had faced this particular team before and lost.  I think all our boys went into Sunday's game really wanting to beat them. It appears that the other team has been taught unfortunatly to win at all costs. There was repeaded pushing and shoving, as well as playing with an extra player on the field (you can't tell me that with 4 adults in the coaches box, they didn't realize they had extra players on the field).  Our boys hung in there, played fairly, and won. They were so proud of themselves.

Way to go Young Guns!  

Busy, Busy, Busy

I've been lagging on my blog posts....so busy this time of the year with work (report cards are just around the corner), planning a movie outing to celebrate Jacob's birthday with his school friends, gearing up for baseball, homework, homework, homework...... 

Jaden and I had some fun today with some of his kindergarten homework. This Friday will be the 100th day of school.  If you haven't been in school in awhile, it's a big deal, especially for the younger grades.  The kindergartners are making silly 100th day sunglasses, will make headbands decorated with 100 stickers, and read a cute book, Mrs. Bindergarten Celebrates the 100th Day of Kindergarten.

To help with understanding what 100 looks like, the kindergartners bring 100 items in a clear Ziploc baggie. Two years ago Jacob cut out 100 little green frogs with a paper punch. Jaden's buddy brought in 100 paper stars.  I mentioned to Jaden some suggestions of what he could cut using my other punches. His response was that he wanted to put 100 mommies in his little baggie, then he changed his mind ...........100 Mrs. Browns.  

So today we used a square punch to cut out 100 mini photos of his teacher, Mrs. Brown.  Isn't that just like Jaden?  Always his own little humorous self!

Race Day

There's not a lot to say about race day.  The boys within Jacob's den raced 6 heats against each other.  Jacob's cheese car placed 2nd in several heats.

The cars were all unique as you can see.  A bit of each of them reflected in their choice of design or paint job. 

Jacob and Joey worked on several activities to earn more belt loops; rock identification, knot tying, art, nature conservation.  They have been good buddies since preschool.

 
Jacob, Kadin, and Joey, won awards, which thrilled them all.  Kadin's car was the fastest car with our den, so it advanced on to race against all the other 1st place cars within our pack.  

Oh, so cute!

Check out this adorable Valentine's Day card from Kristina Werner's blog. Just my speed. Glue dots, here I come!

Kristina's blog has great how two videos and tons of ideas for simple cards. I like her color choices & clean, simple lines.  

She offers a Color Inspiration challenge for others to share their creativity. A great place for getting ideas when you're feeling crafty.  :-)

Skateboards and Sidewalk Chalk Don't Mix

It's round two for the Itos at the emergency room this week.  Isaiah split his head open on a corner of the wall in his house Monday morning.  He needed several stitches, but it sounds like he is doing well now.  I felt so sorry for Mark & Rissa when they needed to hold him down for the ER staff to clean and stitch up the laceration, even more sorry for Isaiah, since it's always traumatic for the little guys to see their own blood.

Yesterday, as we pulled into the driveway after school the boys asked it they could play in the garage.  The like to do this when it's too rainy to play outside during the winter.

I mentioned to them that I needed to sweep up the pile of sidewalk chalk that I had driven over earlier in the week. In the amount of time it took me to walk into our kitchen, put down my purse, and hang up our raincoats, Jaden had attempted to ride his skateboard through the chalk.  I say attempted, because I'm sure as soon as the wheels touched the chalk Jaden must have gone flying off.

Jaden came running into the house holding his mouth, so I figured that he had hit his teeth on something.  Well it was not his teeth; he had a split about an inch long on his chin. It looked pretty deep.  As we washed off the dirt, chalk, and blood it became apparent that a Band aid was not going to do the trick; the skin would not close back together.

We headed off to Kaiser for what I thought would be stitches.  The doctor was able to layer Steri tape and Dermabond and close up the opening thankfully. Jaden was such a trooper; no tears or fussing in the least.

He was right back to his usual tricks this morning.  Falling off of risers at the Pinewood Derby race, running right out of his shoes while he was chasing Jenna and a little boy.  Not much slows my boys down.

Jacob is finishing up his Pinewood derby car for this weekend's big event.  His Boy Scout pack will race their cars and compete for various awards based upon their performance and design. We got sort of a late start, typical of any project we seem to tackle and started the project Friday night

Jacob and I sat down looking for ideas of what he wanted his car to look like. Right away he was leaning toward the more unique designs: surfboard cars with plastic dogs riding on top, a skateboard car, even a banana car with clay monkeys holding on for dear life. Once he spotted a car shaped like a slice of Swiss cheese, he knew that was what he wanted to make.

Tom helped with the power tools, but Jacob has done almost all the rest right down to the excellent sanding and painting job.  My personal favorite part is the clay mouse which rides in one of the Swiss cheese holes.  Check out the cute tail, and as Jacob requested, the pink clay nose.

I'll upload a final photo Saturday evening, and we'll let you all know how race day goes.  We're keeping the wheels off of the car for now since they are covered in messy graphite to help with the speed.

Love You Lucky

I've been eagerly checking my mailbox day after day for my newest purchase. One of my favorite jewelry sites is Heart on Your Wrist.  They make the cutest little silver charms which can be personalized with names, symbols, stones, etc.  

Last fall Tom ordered two of their tiny Thai charms with the boys' names on them.  After the holidays I gave some thought to how to spend a bit of money that my mother-in-law said not to let slide into the grocery fund.  You know how that goes, any stash of cash ends up in your wallet and then is spent on things other than what is was intended for.  So anyway, I decided to order myself these new charms; a tiny silver puffy heart, two fresh water pearls, and then.....a "love you lucky" charm.

So why "love you lucky"?  If you don't know the story, here it is.  

Ever since I can remember Tom has had a special of tucking the boys into bed at night, he's extra sweet that way. :-)  Part of his routine used to include, "I love you, and I'm lucky to have you."  Over the years that has been shortened to, "Love you, lucky". We say it to the boys each and every day as do they as well.  Its nice to have something like that that you share with your family. 

I love you Tom, and I am the lucky one to have you and the boys in my life!

My gift to you, Jaden, one more year

I cried tears today as you sang the Brown Bear, Brown Bear song completing the puzzle set that Mrs. Brown lent us for the weekend.  You’re such a happy kid, so imaginative, kind to your friends, and so excited about going to school.

You never complain about kindergarten being difficult, and you rarely ever grumble about homework, though I know it is not easy for you.  Those little fingers tire so easily as you color and write.  Those letters, though you know all the sounds, just don’t blend into words.  You’ve always lived your life moving at your own pace, showing us that it is okay to slow down.  What’s the big hurry anyway when there is so much to experience and enjoy?

So here is my gift to you, Jaden, one more year.  One more year for those small hands to grow and become strong.  One more year for you to sing and dance every morning before you have to sit down to work.  One more year of afternoons at the park, playing Star Wars with me at home,  snoozing in the car as we drive to pick up Jacob. 

You don’t know it yet, Jaden, but you’re giving us a gift too...one more year for your daddy and me to have you at home before it’s time to send you off to college.

I love you dear one.

Mini Lemon Meringue Pies

I'm still searching for ways to use up my lemons since I never got around to making lemon bars this past weekend.  Check out what I came across (sorry the photo is so large).  I'll let you know how they turn out if I give them a try.

Does anyone have an excuse for me to make them? I love using my mini muffin pan for making everything: mini corn bread muffins, mini cupcakes, mini brownies.  Oooo, how about mini chocolate cheese cakes?

When life deals you lemons, make lemonade

We had a huge crop of Meyer lemons this year.  I should have taken a photo of our tree with its branches weighted down almost to the ground.  

Meyer lemons are the best; so sweet you can almost eat them right off the tree. Well at least the kids think you can.

While Jacob had a buddy over this afternoon, I sent all the boys out with baskets to do some lemon picking. They came back with close to 30 lemons! They got quite a kick out of the juicing machine, and then sat down with their own cups to squeeze lemon juice, as they called it, the old fashioned way.

What do you do with 30 lemons? Make lemonade! This weekend the boys and I will make Auntie Sara's yummy lemon bars.