Back to School Night 2013

We were able to meet all of the kid's teachers and learn about all of the exciting things they will do this year. While all the information was interesting, the best part of Back to School Night is the project/letter the kids leave for us!

First up, Michael.

Here are a few words in which he chose to describe himself:  Michael.  Smart.  Funny.  Athletic.  Wishes to have a Lanborghini that turns into a solid gold jet.  Dreams of chocolate.  Wants 15 80-inch flat screen TVs.  Wonders if there are living forms in outer space.  Sixth Grader.  Who fears first at the bottom of the ocean.  Who is afraid of getting Bs.  Who likes chocolate.  Who believes in God.  Michael.  Who would like to meet Patrick Willis.  Who would like to see Joe Montana in person.  Who loves chocolate.  Who loves the personality of two special uncles.  Who loves soccer.  Who loves basketball.  Who plans to get straight As.  Who plans to be a great father like my Dad.  Who plans to go to Santa Clara.  Whose goal in sixth grade is to have a great year.

"Faith is important to me.  Faith is important to me because it shows trust, especially in my or someone else's religion.  Faith shows compassion and a full hearted spirit in what you believe in.  God always forgives you no matter what you do.  That's the beauty of God.  My faith in God is very strong.  I love Him and he loves me, too.  Faith is very important to me.

Second up, Claire!

Dear Mom and Dad,

My first days of school have been very exciting!  We have Math, Spanish, Art, Science, Language Arts, Social Studies, Home room, P.E., and Religion.  It's a big step from 4th grade!  I really like Mrs. Aldridge!  
                     
                                    Love, C

And lastly, Matthew!!!!!

My name is Matthew.
My favorite color is blue.
I like school because P.E.

(We love how he colored himself on the left.  The cutest!)

 Picture of Mom, Dad, and Matthew.  We LOVE this, Matthew!!!

Dear Mom and Dad,

I hope you have a graat time and can you chick under my disck?  I love you.

                                Love, Matthew

Happy Birthday, Sam!!

Our neighbor Sam is just the greatest!  He is so invested in our family and it is truly a blessing to have him in our lives!  He loves the kids, he adores and cares for Sweetie Pie, and truly appreciates me and Damien.  We couldn't have a better neighbor!

Today, Sam turned 94!  Isn't that amazing?  And he is still driving, still cooking for himself, and still completely in charge of his life!  He is incredibly capable and so inspiring.  We love you Sam and hope you had a wonderful birthday!

First Day of School!

It's been a long time coming but it is finally here!  The first day of school!  The morning was beautiful!  Well, to me it was.  Beautiful weather, beautiful kids!  I think it's going to be a great year!

Michael is starting 6th grade this year.  He is in 6B and will have Mrs. Brady as his teacher.  He is more than ready for what's to come.  5th grade is quite the adjustment academically so now that he has survived that, he should do just fine!  6th grade is supposedly supposed to be a review year of 5th grade so Michael is thrilled with the possibility that he won't be as stressed as he was last year!  Michael is going into school a more confident and capable learner.  5th grade was a real test for Michael and he passed with flying colors!

Claire is starting 5th grade this year!  This is a huge shift for students at St. Christopher.  As 5th graders, they move from the lower wing to the bigger wing (5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th graders).  They also don't sit in one classroom every day.  They move classrooms and teachers and need to stay very organized!  She is in 5B and will be taught by Mrs. Alderidge.  Claire enters 5th grade a creative, confident, and wonderful young lady.  I see only amazing things for her in the year ahead!

This is the first year (since we've been at St. Chris) where my kids are not all in A classes.  It also marks the first time where Claire won't get Michael's previous teacher!  The kids were shocked but I assured them, they'll be fine.

Mr. Matthew is poised and ready for his first EVER full day of school!  He is going to be in 1A and taught by one of my favorite teachers, Mrs. Ahlers.  She is amazing and I know that Matthew will thrive in her incredibly loving, and welcoming classroom!  Matthew is ready for full day school.  At home- he is so outspoken and relaxed.  He tends to tense up in school so we will work on bring to school the same confidence he has at home.

And Emily.  Not so fast, my little four year old!  She will start her first year of preschool in a few short weeks!

I am happy to report that all three kids loved their teachers and had a great first day!  Even Matthew, who bravely took on his first full day and joined his siblings in the 'full day of school club'.  While I was kind of ready for them to go back to school (there was been a lot of bickering and tangling between the kids), I wish I could pull them back and enjoy their faces for a few more days.  Happy Back to School, babies!  I love you all more than you know!

Last Day of Summer

It's the last day of summer.  Kind of a depressing day, if you ask me.  Sort of like standing on the edge of a cliff ready to jump off.  The backpacks are packed.  School supplies are labeled.  First day of school uniforms laid out!  It's happening!  

We decided to go out to lunch to celebrate the few hours of summer we had left.  We headed to Red Robin because the kids love the kid's menu there!  Crazy enough- as we stood there waiting to be seated, we saw Auntie Heavenly and Auntie Ali!  What a surprise!

We had a great lunch and loved that they actually came over and sat with us.  Claire made a great picture which was her last attempt at holding on to summer.  Let's hope it works!

Nonna and Grandpa's Cereal Delivery

Do you hear that?  The knock at the door?  It's the Safeway delivery man making the kids breakfast dreams come true!  Every year, Nonna and Grandpa order a ridiculously crazy amount of cereal for the kids to signal the end of summer and the beginning of the school year!  The kids think it is so awesome to get so many boxes of cereal from the delivery man!

This year was no different!  Emily and Matthew were completely beside themselves with joy as they had forgotten about this end of summer surprise!  Michael and Claire knew it was coming but didn't know when!

Thanks Nonna and Grandpa!  I can't imagine how cool this must be for the kids!  I can only say that if this happened to me when I was a kid- I would've thought it was the coolest thing in the world!  I'm just glad for my kids that they have such and awesome set of grandparents.  Love you guys!

Summer Bucket List

A few of our friends had their kids make a 'Summer Bucket List'.  I hesitated because I was worried that they would put too many things on the list that would be unattainable . . . which would lead to 'Summer Bucket List FAILURE'.  However, we did it anyway and as luck would have it, our kids came up with a pretty awesome little list!  And I am happy to report, we did all of the requested items.

1.  Play Legos
2.  Have a Lemonade Stand
3.  Go Mini Golfing
4.  Go Running at the Track
5.  Go to Raging Waters
6.  Wash a Car
7.  Go to Lake Chelan
8.  Have a Sleepover with Gabe and Brennan
9.  Rent the movie Parental Guidance.
10.  Go to a SF Giants Game (we substituted this with a Seattle Mariners Game)
11.  Go Camping
12.  See Monster's University in the Movie Theater

What a fabulous summer.  I love my kids and love the time I get to spend with them when there aren't school projects, loads of uniforms, homework, early wake up times and the fear of being late to school or practices.  Summer is slow, relaxing, lovely, and the perfect time to unwind and get to hang out together.  Ahhhhh.

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

School starts in a short five days.  The kids are feeling the summer creeping to a close.  School supplies are purchased, new uniforms are hung, and the kids are just sad that this awesome summer is almost over.  In my opinion- there was only one way to fix this situation.  Throw the kids in the car and head down to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk!

We really didn't have an agenda today!  Sports haven't started so no need to worry about that.  Damien was in the city working until really late, so we were really on our own.  It was just me, the kids, the rides, and the beautiful ocean!  Summer, slow down!

We went on tons of rides!  Emily was finally tall enough to join the big kid ranks and go on the really fun rides!  Around and around they went!  They got wet on the log ride, dizzy on the spinning rides, and after going on the pirate ship ride, Claire kissed the ground when she got off and vowed to never go on it again!

I let them play one carnival game each which was super fun.  It was also a good lesson on how the games are rigged to take your money and have you walking away a loser!  We HAD to get dipped cones while we were there as well.  Why go all the way to Santa Cruz and not get a good dipped cone?

We frolicked in the ocean and I warned the kids that they had to wear the clothes home that they were wearing in the ocean.  I'll give you a hint.  Only one kid didn't listen to my advice to not go any deeper than their knees.

All in all, we had a fantastic time today at the Boardwalk.  We missed Damien but took advantage of the dwindling summer in a totally awesome way!  Did I tell you how much I love these kids and how much I will miss them when school starts?

When I said only one kid got completely wet,
did you guess the right one?