Brooklyn Paige

We were lucky enough to meet another sweet baby this week. Sarah and Renato welcomed Brooklyn on March 1st and she is adorable. The girls and I met Sarah, Molly and Brooklyn for lunch at California Pizza Kitchen.

She slept through lunch so we had a chance to visit and continued to sleep for much of our time together.

After lunch, we went back to Sarah's so the girls could play, but Taylor couldn't stay away from the baby. She loved feeding her and can't wait to start babysitting.

The girls decorated some sugar cookies as a rainy day treat and had so much fun together. Sarah said that Molly calls Taylor and Allison her "best friends". So sweet!

Santana Row

We spent a beautiful day at Santana Row on Sunday. We had never been there, so we loved walking around the Farmer's Market, window shopping and eating lunch at The Counter. It is a cool build-your-own-burger spot with great fries and delicious burgers.

The girls had fun kicking the soccer ball on the open lawn.

Grandma bought Allison this cute headband from one of the street vendors.

Zach and the girls.

Allison finally got her hands on Merritt.

Taylor too!

Meeting Miss Merritt

The girls and I flew up to the Bay Area for the first part of their Spring Break to meet our newest family member, Merritt. She is now 7 weeks old and cute as a button. We spent most of Saturday just passing Merritt around and visiting with my parents and Chris, Aimee, Zach. The kids kicked the soccer ball around the greenbelt, climbed trees and ran errands with Papa. We BBQ'd and ate a delicious dinner in the backyard.

SDSU vs. LBSU

We were treated to some college soccer right in our own backyard tonight. San Diego State faced off against Long Beach State in a "friendly" game at Birdsall field. Our Hawks club encouraged players to come in Hawks attire to support the teams and see some higher level play and there was quite a nice turn out. We arrived a little early to watch them warm up.

Allison with Reanna and Marley

Lauren, Maylie and Taylor-officially all Hawks girls now!

SDSU warming up

Long Beach in a last minute huddle.

Even though they called it a friendly, these girls were aggressive and played at full speed. There were several penalties called on both teams. It was great for our girls to see this level of play. They saw some amazing passing and footwork, saw unbelievable throw ins and headers (one player did a somersault before throwing the ball in!) and heard the players talking to their teammates the whole game.

The game ended in a 1-1 tie and then both teams got together for a group photo with all of the Hawks players too.

Hawks with SDSU.

I think Taylor left the game inspired and eager to work hard. These players had a lot of talent and I think she could tell it took a lot of work to get to this level. I don't think she will be complaining at practice tomorrow night!

Spring Carnival

After months of planning and organizing, our Spring Carnival was a huge success!! The weather was perfect, maybe a little hot, but no rain or wind. The students and their families had so many options for fun. We had great games, a rock climbing wall, inflatable obstacle course and a train. They had their choice of hot dogs, nachos, pizza, popcorn, and cotton candy to munch on and I think the snow cone booth had a line the entire day!!

At 2:30, we announced the winners of our silent auction and raffle baskets. Thousands of dollars were raised on this alone because of the great donations we received and our generous parents. And although it was a pretty stressful few weeks of prep and a very long day, the hard work paid off. The kids had a blast and PTA raised a lot of money to help with future programs. Nachos anyone?

Taylor joined the Lynch kids on the train.

Allison got her hair dyed and played just about every game.

Allison's class had the tattoo booth.

Felicia was one of our many community service volunteers. She did a great job working the Lollipop tree booth.

Cooper, Zoe and Jax with a little color spray.

Wendy and Brooke worked their tails off today, along with the rest of our great board.

Not only did we have the carnival, Chessa did a wonderful job putting together a Vendor Fair to coincide with the carnival. It was a great event for our school and hopefully will bring business to our community businesses.

Our talented 2009/2010 PTA Board.

GREAT JOB LADIES!!

Top Honors

Taylor continues to amaze us with her schoolwork. She was honored today for making 2nd Trimester Honor Roll. Not only did she make Honor Roll, she also had all "5"s on her report card. She has achieved this in all 5 upper grade trimesters and is already working hard to make it a clean sweep for the last trimester of elementary school. She is the most self-motivated child I know and truly deserves this award. We couldn't be prouder!!

Goalie in Training

Allison is becoming quite the little goalie. She loved playing the position in the fall ( we think she liked it because she didn't have to run!) and is excited to give it a shot this spring. Every Wednesday she asks to go to the Hawks goalie clinic with some of her friends. It has really helped her improve her skills and prepare her for defending a bigger goal next year. She doesn't even complain about the running! I would still like her to play on the field some, but I think she might actually do well at this position.

Allison and Reanna

Allison, Reanna, Amanda & little Wally

St. Patty's Day

Although they didn't look too appetizing, the kids enjoyed their green waffles and green milk before heading off to school today!

The Patient

Matt has had a few rough months of pain in his neck and right arm which we now know to be caused by a herniated disc in his neck. He met with a surgeon a few weeks ago to discuss options and started with 2 weeks off of work to see if that would make a difference. He felt some relief spending quite a bit of time on the couch, but as soon as he returned to work, the pain continued. This morning, I took him to the hospital for a scheduled Cervical Epidural procedure that will hopefully bring some relief. We arrived early this morning (thanks Wendy for keeping the kids overnight so they didn't have to see how early!!) and Matt was quickly called back to get prepped. Doesn't he look thrilled?

Gotta love the socks!

He was given a fair amount of "happy juice" to take the edge off and after a quick 20 minutes in the lobby, I was called back to see him. Although groggy and a little loopy, I walked him to the car and got him into bed where he has spent much of the day. If he is going to feel relief, he should feel it within the next week. We are keeping our fingers crossed!!

Astrocamp

Astrocamp used to be a school-affiliated event for all 5th graders, but with budget cuts and other issues, the last few 5th grade classes were not able to attend. Lucky for us, a few parents contacted the camp and found out they could chaperone a group of students on their own. We felt blessed to have the opportunity to send Taylor and were so thankful to Kimette and Eric for making it happen. Unfortunately, only 22 5th graders were able to share in the experience that Taylor called "the best weekend of her life". Taylor, Cassidy, Courtney, Demi, Shelby and Jaden

We met all of her friends and fellow classmates at the park on Friday morning to load up the vehicles and say our goodbyes. Taylor was responsible for packing everything from a bathing suit to a ski jacket in 1 duffle bag along with her sleeping bag/pillow. The kids loaded up and headed up to Idyllwild for a wonderful weekend of learning, confidence building and great times with friends.

Here are a few pictures taken at camp:

The whole group

Cassidy, Demi and Taylor

Kimette and the girls

Taylor, Courtney and Demi

Taylor, Demi and Ashley

Jaden, Demi, Maylie, Shelby, Ashley, Taylor and Courtney