Merry Christmas Everybody!!
My year has run away with me and I'm afraid that I'm finishing the year with quite a bang. I officially forgot when Christmas was and keep thinking I have another few days to take care of business... as you can tell I'm writing to you on Christmas Eve. I am offically out of time. The shopping is done, and the cooking is started, but packages have yet to be wrapped. Today will be full of fun! Oh, and a great big Happy Birthday to Sean. We are hoping your mountain top adventure goes well!
We have SO much to be gratefull for and hope that the coming year will treat us all well. Our thoughts are with all of our friends and family,
Merry Christmas!
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
NOT CYANNE!!!!!
The end of the first trimester has come. That means report cards have come home. All the kids did pretty well. Ressa is achieving many of her goals, Foster is slightly behind in his English skills (but is making progress), and Cyanne made the HONOR ROLL!
For the first time in her life Cyanne had all B's. She met all her reading and testing goals, and after a rocky start to the year has become quite the student. She loves being in Mr. Baskent's class and seems to be making some great friends.
As a reward she spent last weekend in Long Beach with Hannah (our old nieghbor). The girls had a great time running errands with Ms. Sharon and Mr. Jim, watching movies, going out to lunch, and just hanging out.
Cyanne is very excited to try to do better. Her competative drive has kicked in. She says she wants to have at least 2 A's next term, but straight A's would be better! We will see how that goes, but in the mean time she has surprised us all!
For the first time in her life Cyanne had all B's. She met all her reading and testing goals, and after a rocky start to the year has become quite the student. She loves being in Mr. Baskent's class and seems to be making some great friends.
As a reward she spent last weekend in Long Beach with Hannah (our old nieghbor). The girls had a great time running errands with Ms. Sharon and Mr. Jim, watching movies, going out to lunch, and just hanging out.
Cyanne is very excited to try to do better. Her competative drive has kicked in. She says she wants to have at least 2 A's next term, but straight A's would be better! We will see how that goes, but in the mean time she has surprised us all!
Monday, November 9, 2009
WHAT ARE YOUR BLOG ADDRESSES?
I'm disappointed to tell all my friends:
I have lost all your blog addresses. First our laptop crashed-- we have yet to fix it. Then my dumb phone crashed with all my contacts being wiped clean. Therefore, I have lost track of all my friends I like to peek in on. I remembered Kristin's just because the name is so her, but if any of you would leave your addresses either under the comment section or email it to me I would be grateful. We really miss everybody!
Tara
I have lost all your blog addresses. First our laptop crashed-- we have yet to fix it. Then my dumb phone crashed with all my contacts being wiped clean. Therefore, I have lost track of all my friends I like to peek in on. I remembered Kristin's just because the name is so her, but if any of you would leave your addresses either under the comment section or email it to me I would be grateful. We really miss everybody!
Tara
QUILTING... NEVER AGAIN
Foster's class decided to make quilts. Some of the moms know how to do it and all, but I have never done it before. Foster, of course, tells his teacher I can do it since I'm "an awesome sewer". Thanks Foster. All the kids took in their choice of material and then were given 20 squares from their classmates (did not get a square of their own). It is random, but I think turned out as well as can be expected!
This is the finished project of his class reading/picnic quilt. It took forever and I won't be sorry if I never do it again. Big thanks to Brandi's mom Genie who walked me through the process!
This is the finished project of his class reading/picnic quilt. It took forever and I won't be sorry if I never do it again. Big thanks to Brandi's mom Genie who walked me through the process!
HALLOWEEN!
As most of you know Halloween puts me in my element. This year we decided to go easy on my sewing (due to little time and our just settling in). We were a family of zombies. Brandi and I had WAY too much fun with this one, and are already brain storming for next year!
I went as a lifeguard, Nate was a business man, Brandi was a runner, Cyanne was a soccer star, Foster was Foster, Ressa was a sweet zombie, and Ammon was a beach going zombie. Brandi bloodied up the clothes with the kids and I did all the make up. We were rocking the trick or treating! We are thinking about framing some of these pics. Enjoy!
Family picture:
Stay out of the cookie jar:
Just a taste?:
Soccer zombie:
Foster zombie:
Sweet zombie:
Beach bum zombie:
Crazy dad zombie:
Me and Brandi:
Even little zombies like loves:
When we were done in the neighborhood we stayed out on the front porch to hand out candy. Next thing the masks were out and we were scheming on how to scare teenagers. Cyanne successfully scared a couple (wearing Nate's big scary mask)when she jumped out from behind his chair. The one threw his bag of candy on the floor and yelped, while another screamed and almost landed in my lap. It was a great night.
Ressa didn't get in on the scare fun, but she modeled the mask for us:
SHAUNTE SAID TO UPDATE... HERE I AM!
I spoke to Shaunte' this morning. The coversation didn't last nearly as long as needed to get all the details out, but it seldom does when you have kids at home. She checks in here often, as do some of the rest of you, and would love to have me update. Today is a relativley calm day so here I am!
We are all loving our house! The idea of us owning it has finally started to settle into our heads. We have begun watering the dead lawn (mostly to keep the dust down), Nate purchased a weed wacker and knocked down all the weeds in the back, we had our first Halloween in our new area, the kids are starting to meet new friends, and my sewing room is finally all set up (the bare bones were functional before, but now it rocks)! I still have to paint it. The walls are all stark white, but I haven't discovered what color or colors I want to use. Soon I hope!
Our next project is to plant grass in the front and back yards. Nate also has to get the sprinkler system working. I will be getting some rose bushes and planting them over the next few months. They always remind me of Grace so of course they are my favorite. This area is great for them and they bloom nearly year round!
Here is the shock that nearly dropped Jen to the floor... I finally bought a vacume! We have always has wood floors and I never owned one. Now that the whole house is carpet we broke down and got a canister vac. I am loving it! It is fantastic for the stairs because it is light. The kids are hating it though... lots of legos and barbie shoes have met their end by being sucked up.
We have been so busy getting the house unpacked and figured out we haven't done anything too amazing. I also haven't had too much time to get on the computer or phone. Check out the other posts, and eventually I will start catching up with everybody!
Hope everybody is doing well!
We are all loving our house! The idea of us owning it has finally started to settle into our heads. We have begun watering the dead lawn (mostly to keep the dust down), Nate purchased a weed wacker and knocked down all the weeds in the back, we had our first Halloween in our new area, the kids are starting to meet new friends, and my sewing room is finally all set up (the bare bones were functional before, but now it rocks)! I still have to paint it. The walls are all stark white, but I haven't discovered what color or colors I want to use. Soon I hope!
Our next project is to plant grass in the front and back yards. Nate also has to get the sprinkler system working. I will be getting some rose bushes and planting them over the next few months. They always remind me of Grace so of course they are my favorite. This area is great for them and they bloom nearly year round!
Here is the shock that nearly dropped Jen to the floor... I finally bought a vacume! We have always has wood floors and I never owned one. Now that the whole house is carpet we broke down and got a canister vac. I am loving it! It is fantastic for the stairs because it is light. The kids are hating it though... lots of legos and barbie shoes have met their end by being sucked up.
We have been so busy getting the house unpacked and figured out we haven't done anything too amazing. I also haven't had too much time to get on the computer or phone. Check out the other posts, and eventually I will start catching up with everybody!
Hope everybody is doing well!
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
WE ARE STILL ALIVE!
For most of you it has been forever since we have caught up. I know I have been bad about keeping everybody up to date, and am sorry.
It seems our summer started off in a whirl and we merged right into the school year full steam ahead. We moved twice this summer. First into a friend's rental house in Rowland Heights and then again when our home purchase in Lake Elsinore closed. We moved into our new home the day before school started so you know we were running! We also made a trip to Lake Powell with the Smith side of the family, went to a couple swim dates in Long Beach, attended a Dodger game, and have spent most of our time unpacking and fixing up our house.
HOUSE!!
We were lucky enough to be able to purchase a new home for our family. We could not justify the cost of Long Beach foreclosures and so decided on Lake Elsinore. We bought a very clean foreclosure that sits on a huge (by cali standards) lot. We now have 6 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and loft to our names!
We are loving our house. I spent the first week and a half covering all the shelves in the kitchen with vinyl flooring. It took some experimenting, but in the end I got pretty good at it!
Nate got out all his tools and hung ceiling fans in the house. Those seemed to be a hot commodity for the previous owners as they had taken them all out. The monster one in the living room was a pain to put up. We were laughing because on the box it said it was a "5 minute fan"... try 55 minute fan!! It looks and runs great now though.
Nate also switched out the kitchen faucet for me. The previous one leaked and looked like it had never been cleaned. I am loving my goose neck faucet now!
Our yard is dead, but that is okay with us for now. We have grand plans for the front and back yards, but will have to wait until it isn't quite so hot around here. The first couple weeks we were her the temps ranged from 102-111 everyday. We recently had a nice week in the high 80s, but as of today are back up over 100! When will it end?
Brandi, my best friend from growing up (also know as Aunt Brandi), moved in with us a couple weeks ago. She has been a lot of fun to have around. The kids love her! She is working over the Ortega in San Juan Capistrano in a medical lab. She plans to stay with us for a few months until she is ready for her own place.
SCHOOL
The kids school is incredible! Such a change from the Long Beach schools we are used to. Rice Canyon was just built 8 years ago. The classrooms are larger than the standard, and there are a few more kids in each class (mostly due to so many new families moving in over the summer) but the teachers and principal are fantastic. The teachers are really gearing the kids for the responsibility of middle school. The kids favorite details of the school are, of course; the huge grassy sports field, the fact that every grade level has its own computer lab, and the fact that they can actually bring home the library books that they check out. Like I said... way different to LB!
Cyanne is loving 5th grade. This is the first year she has a male teacher and she just thinks that is the coolest thing ever! He is very strict, but fair with the kids. I like his style! She is doing fairly well in his fast paced class.
Foster is in 3rd grade. He is struggling a little with the fact that there is daily homework as well as weekly homework. Over all though he is liking school much better.
Ressa started kindergarten! She is loving the half days of school and is excelling in getting her homework done. She is very motivated to do well. She has these little flower clips that she won't go to school without. Her teacher makes a comment everyday, and I hear about it every afternoon... followed by her princess giggle. Tina makes the clips and sells them online. I would suggest anybody with girlie girls check it out! http://www.princessjanesbows.blogspot.com/
Ammon is loving having the house and my attention to himself. We hang out every morning while Ressa is in school. He has gone on a couple mommy dates with me too. His favorite was the first day of school when I took him to IHop. We had blueberry pancakes and he was all smiles! He has also been getting into all kinds of mischief. He found a sharpie the other day. In the time it took me to use the bathroom, put on yoga stuff and put up my hair he had colored all over himself and one of the couches. Fun!
DOGS
Daisy had puppies when we were in Rowland Heights. They were adorable! Foster just loved that he got to watch them be born. He has told everybody about how cool and messy it is. It was the first time I have been part of that process. It was actually very cool. She was a great mom!! Her puppies left the house a week and a half ago. They went to friends of ours. They will be very happy girls!
The day the puppies went to their new homes we picked up the doberman puppy we were waiting to adopt. She is adorable! Her name is Jackie. She is all legs and with any luck she will be a big girl. Her parents were huge! She is really sweet with the kids and calm for her age (10 weeks this week). Ammon pals around with her all day. She mouths a little, but is really good not to bite. Sometimes I look out back to see his hand or diaper in her mouth and them walking down the patio... nothing like holding hands. This new addition doesn't have Gretchan too happy, but she is getting along just fine. Daisy enjoys her play buddy for the most part, but has definitely showed poor Jackie who is boss. Jackie loves to cuddle with the kids and Nate. She likes me during the day, but once Nate comes home she is all his.
I think that is everything this time. I will try to be better about posting now that we have settled in some. I owe a lot of you phone calls too. Will try to start calling this week. Finally have a home number so will be able to really talk instead of rush off the phone due to minutes. Hope everybody had a great summer and will chat soon!!
It seems our summer started off in a whirl and we merged right into the school year full steam ahead. We moved twice this summer. First into a friend's rental house in Rowland Heights and then again when our home purchase in Lake Elsinore closed. We moved into our new home the day before school started so you know we were running! We also made a trip to Lake Powell with the Smith side of the family, went to a couple swim dates in Long Beach, attended a Dodger game, and have spent most of our time unpacking and fixing up our house.
HOUSE!!
We were lucky enough to be able to purchase a new home for our family. We could not justify the cost of Long Beach foreclosures and so decided on Lake Elsinore. We bought a very clean foreclosure that sits on a huge (by cali standards) lot. We now have 6 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and loft to our names!
We are loving our house. I spent the first week and a half covering all the shelves in the kitchen with vinyl flooring. It took some experimenting, but in the end I got pretty good at it!
Nate got out all his tools and hung ceiling fans in the house. Those seemed to be a hot commodity for the previous owners as they had taken them all out. The monster one in the living room was a pain to put up. We were laughing because on the box it said it was a "5 minute fan"... try 55 minute fan!! It looks and runs great now though.
Nate also switched out the kitchen faucet for me. The previous one leaked and looked like it had never been cleaned. I am loving my goose neck faucet now!
Our yard is dead, but that is okay with us for now. We have grand plans for the front and back yards, but will have to wait until it isn't quite so hot around here. The first couple weeks we were her the temps ranged from 102-111 everyday. We recently had a nice week in the high 80s, but as of today are back up over 100! When will it end?
Brandi, my best friend from growing up (also know as Aunt Brandi), moved in with us a couple weeks ago. She has been a lot of fun to have around. The kids love her! She is working over the Ortega in San Juan Capistrano in a medical lab. She plans to stay with us for a few months until she is ready for her own place.
SCHOOL
The kids school is incredible! Such a change from the Long Beach schools we are used to. Rice Canyon was just built 8 years ago. The classrooms are larger than the standard, and there are a few more kids in each class (mostly due to so many new families moving in over the summer) but the teachers and principal are fantastic. The teachers are really gearing the kids for the responsibility of middle school. The kids favorite details of the school are, of course; the huge grassy sports field, the fact that every grade level has its own computer lab, and the fact that they can actually bring home the library books that they check out. Like I said... way different to LB!
Cyanne is loving 5th grade. This is the first year she has a male teacher and she just thinks that is the coolest thing ever! He is very strict, but fair with the kids. I like his style! She is doing fairly well in his fast paced class.
Foster is in 3rd grade. He is struggling a little with the fact that there is daily homework as well as weekly homework. Over all though he is liking school much better.
Ressa started kindergarten! She is loving the half days of school and is excelling in getting her homework done. She is very motivated to do well. She has these little flower clips that she won't go to school without. Her teacher makes a comment everyday, and I hear about it every afternoon... followed by her princess giggle. Tina makes the clips and sells them online. I would suggest anybody with girlie girls check it out! http://www.princessjanesbows.blogspot.com/
Ammon is loving having the house and my attention to himself. We hang out every morning while Ressa is in school. He has gone on a couple mommy dates with me too. His favorite was the first day of school when I took him to IHop. We had blueberry pancakes and he was all smiles! He has also been getting into all kinds of mischief. He found a sharpie the other day. In the time it took me to use the bathroom, put on yoga stuff and put up my hair he had colored all over himself and one of the couches. Fun!
DOGS
Daisy had puppies when we were in Rowland Heights. They were adorable! Foster just loved that he got to watch them be born. He has told everybody about how cool and messy it is. It was the first time I have been part of that process. It was actually very cool. She was a great mom!! Her puppies left the house a week and a half ago. They went to friends of ours. They will be very happy girls!
The day the puppies went to their new homes we picked up the doberman puppy we were waiting to adopt. She is adorable! Her name is Jackie. She is all legs and with any luck she will be a big girl. Her parents were huge! She is really sweet with the kids and calm for her age (10 weeks this week). Ammon pals around with her all day. She mouths a little, but is really good not to bite. Sometimes I look out back to see his hand or diaper in her mouth and them walking down the patio... nothing like holding hands. This new addition doesn't have Gretchan too happy, but she is getting along just fine. Daisy enjoys her play buddy for the most part, but has definitely showed poor Jackie who is boss. Jackie loves to cuddle with the kids and Nate. She likes me during the day, but once Nate comes home she is all his.
I think that is everything this time. I will try to be better about posting now that we have settled in some. I owe a lot of you phone calls too. Will try to start calling this week. Finally have a home number so will be able to really talk instead of rush off the phone due to minutes. Hope everybody had a great summer and will chat soon!!
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