Scrappin' Around the World

Lisa put together a wonderful day of scrapping, eating, drinking and girl time to celebrate Shannon's return from her around-the-world journey. Shannon quit her job last fall and spent several months touring the world. Lisa organized a scrapbook afternoon at It's About Time and gave every friend a country from Shannon's travels. We did her pages from that country and put together a beautiful book at the end. I think 44 pages were completed!!
The ladies worked hard to win the prize for best layout and most pages completed. It was so fascinating listening to all of Shannon's stories and looking at some amazing photos. She visited Australia, New Zealand, India, Greece, Swaziland, Morocco, Bahamas, Argentina, England, France and many more. Notice the globes hanging from the ceiling and the flags on the table. Too creative! Lisa even put little gems on a map to mark each country Shannon visited.

I was in charge of Tanzania. This is my 1st layout and it won 2nd place! I did another spread of the Masai Warriors and one for Norway. After scrapping, we headed to Lisa's for a delicous dinner. She always out does herself with the table decorations. Everything was pink and green and beautiful as always. We ate a yummy strawberry salad, feta chicken and an asparagus orzo salad.

How cute are these cupcakes with the different flags? And then we each brought a bottle of wine from a different country and tasted them throughout the night. Lisa thought of everything!

At the end of the evening, Shannon gave us each a goodie bag representing her travels. The tag said "Friendship is the spice of life" and inside was a bottle of African seasoning and a chicken recipe from her African cookbook. She also gave us globe chocolates and her favorite candy bars and a CD of travel tunes. What a creative idea and wonderful momento.

Grandpa Al Visits

Grandpa Al came for a weekend visit from Arizona. We were excited to have him here for soccer games and some time together. Matt picked him up from SD Airport on Friday morning and took him on a SD tour before heading back to Temecula.
They went to Cabrillo National Monument(where Matt did a college internship), Pacific Beach for lunch and up the coast.
The girls enjoyed having him cheer them on during their soccer games. Taylor had a rough 1-0 loss to the Orange Crush and Allison's team tied in their game 3-3. After the games and some lounging around the house, Grandpa surprised them with a shopping spree at the mall. They each got a few outfits at the mall before heading to Harry's for a yummy dinner. It is one of our favorite spots and Grandpa Al agreed.
I captured this cute photo of Matt and the girls leaving the mall. They are growing up so fast. Today, we spent the morning at church and relaxed while watching the Ryder Cup and some football games. We are hoping to visit Grandpa Al and Audrey during Spring Training in March. Until then, thank you for a great visit!

1st Grade Cookie Night

All of the 1st grade classes have been busy reading and doing activities involving the book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. I volunteered in Allison's class on Monday and helped the kids decorate their cookie costumes and today they baked chocolate chip cookies. Tonight was a fun family event to incorporate reading, math, art and performance with the book. When we walked in the Multi Purpose Room, Mrs. Skinner handed us a list of activities to complete. Allison had to taste test Oreos, Lorna Dorne shortbread, Nutter Butters and Chips Ahoy and put her favorite on this cute class graph. She also guessed how many chocolate chips were in the cookie jar, made a cookie frame, did math problems with cookies and made a mouse puppet. The highlight of the night was when the kids came out dressed like cookies. Too cute! The recited some cute cookie-themed poems and looked positively delicious.
Wait-those aren't 1st graders! The dads wanted in on the fun, or maybe the moms wanted to have fun at the dads' expense. Anyway, aren't Byron, Matt and Matt the cutest cookies you have ever seen?

Add Another to the List

Well, we have added one more activity to our weekly list. Taylor has started tennis lessons. They actually started last week, but I forgot the camera. She is taking weekly lessons through the Rec Center and is really enjoying all that she is learning. Madison and Jordan are in her group too, which makes it extra fun! Taylor is hoping to someday compete in matches, but for now will just work on getting better. Between soccer, tennis, chorus and girl scouts, it is amazing she has time for homework and down time. We are just glad to see her trying so many new things.

Bailey's Ashes

It feels a little weird, or maybe morbid, posting this, but I wanted to journal for future memories. I picked up Bailey's ashes from the vet hospital today. I thought I had my emotions in check until I walked into the office. As soon as I saw the box, I lost it and cried the whole way home. Still can't believe she is gone. We got this very nice box with her ashes and paw print and a certificate and a poem titled "Rainbow Bridge". I hope this at least brings all of us some closure, but it sure doesn't make it any easier.

Soccer Saturdays

Another soccer season is finally underway and it couldn't have started on a hotter weekend. The temperature gauge only said 92 degrees, but it felt more like 102! Taylor is on the Black Widows and is #8. She is in her 1st season of U10 and the fields are so much bigger. Look, you can barely make out that it is her! She played center midfield all 3 quarters she was in and did a great job running back and forth between offense and defense. She even scored 2 goals in their 4-2 victory over the Angels. This is the 1st year of competitive play so the wins actually count!
Her coach had this great banner made and even gave the girls practice shirts that match. I think she will have a great season with some friends from the Mean Green Machine 2 years ago.
Allison moved up to U8 with her friends, Marley and Lorien. They are on the Glow Worms and she is #7. Don't you love the cute worm on their banner?
Allison played defender the 1st quarter, midfielder for the 2nd and 4th quarters and goalie the 3rd quarter. She made some great saves as goalie and scored a goal at the very end of the game. Despite some great play by the Glow Worms, they lost 2-1, but who is keeping score?
Allison was most excited when the game was over. She spent every break filling up on ice water and spraying herself down with the spray bottle. Hopefully, it will be cooler next weekend!

Roar & Snore Campout

Although it was tough to deal with the emotions from losing Bailey, Taylor worked hard to earn this trip to the Wild Animal Park with her Brownie troop. I was also a chaperone and decided it would be best to still go and take our mind off things. Although tough to do, I think we managed to have a great time. We loaded up our sleeping bags, pillows and duffle bags and headed to the campground. I thought we might lose a few kids along the way because of the overwhelming heat and humidity. But once at camp, we each got our own mug and made sure to guzzle down lots of cold water and lemonade.
We had tents #9-11, with 5 people per tent. This was the amazing view from our tent!
Deana and I slept with Jenna, Taylor and Emily. The tents were surprisingly spacious and we loved having the camp chairs to sit out and admire our view. Throughout the night, we heard lions roaring, coyotes howling and birds squawking. Although it kept us awake a lot, it was such an amazing sound and nothing we had ever experienced.
Right after dinner was served, we saw these three giraffes approaching the fence near camp. It was so fun to watch!
After dinner, the guide took us on a behind the scenes tour of the tiger and elephant exhibits and shared so many fascinating facts about the park. We enjoyed a campfire with hot cocoa and smores and were ready for "Lights out" at 11:00pm.

Our wake up call came at 6:00am, but we were anxious to watch the animals wake up to and get a yummy breakfast. We did a quick cleanup at camp and then took a guided tour through the Heart of Africa. We said goodbye to our guide and ventured on our own for the tram ride, lunch and a ride on the carousel. What an amazing learning experience and great time together!

Goodbye Bailey! We will miss you!

We had to say goodbye to our sweet Bailey this morning. She has had a rough few weeks, experiencing seizures, weight loss and just some odd behavior. Matt took her to the vet this morning and tests revealed abnormal blood levels, problems with her kidneys and neurological issues. With very heavy hearts and lots of crying in the room with her, the 4 of us said our goodbyes and let her have peace. We will miss her dearly and appreciate all the joy she brought to our family. We love you Bailey!!

Allie-isms

Over the years I have been keeping a journal of funny stuff that comes out of Allison's mouth. She is the queen of one-liners! For instance on 8/8/07, the nightly news stated that the Beijing Olympics would start one year from that day, on 8/8/08. Allison chimes in "Oh yeah, I knew that. I read about it in the Bible. It had a whole page on China." Classic!

So last night, the girls and I were sitting in the family room and Taylor says, "Mom, did you know that at least one person dies every minute?" I respond with, "But someone is born every minute, too." And then from nowhere, Allison says "Yes, and there is a pharmacy closing every minute too." What?? Where does she come up with this stuff?

Here are a few of my other favorite Allie-isms:

• Allison and I were walking through the mall and saw a worker fixing the escalator. He was sitting inside of it, covered in grease. Allison pointed right at him and said "Now, that's a dirty job!"


• Last year she came running off the soccer field in the middle of the game shouting, "Daddy, feel how sweaty my armpits are."


• When I picked Allison up from preschool, she said they learned about Adam and Eve. She said the snake asked Adam and Eve to eat the apple, but they weren't supposed to. God got mad and wouldn't let them back in the garden. I asked her where they went and she said "I think they moved to Mexico!"

Nobody Gets a Shower

For the last few mornings, I have listened to the girls fight over who has to get in the shower first. I'm not quite sure why it matters, but it is another reason to fight, I guess. This morning was no different. As I was folding laundry downstairs, I heard Taylor and Allison go back and forth about why the other should have to get in first. Allison said "I got in first yesterday!" and Taylor responds with "It doesn't matter-just get in". After several minutes of listening to this, I yell upstairs "OK fine, nobody gets a shower!". I never thought those words would come out of my mouth, but that was the only thing that came to mind. I heard Taylor say "What? Fine, I will get in first". However I stuck to my guns and made them both get dressed without a shower. I think I made Allison's day, but Taylor couldn't believe it as she struggled to wet her hair with the spray bottle and battle to get the knots out. Hopefully, that will be the last time I hear fighting on this issue! I'm sure there will be a new battle tomorrow.

First Day of School!!

We can't believe the day is already here-the first day of school. We are excited about great teachers, great friends and fun activities.
Taylor, our 4th grader
Allison, our 1st grader
I felt bad not being able to stay with Taylor at her classroom, but she knows Mrs. Atkinson very well and has so many of her friends in her class. I walked Allison to Room 16 and got her all situated. Their 1st activity was to draw a picture of themselves as they look today. She was just excited to have her own desk-no more circle tables! I told her to have a great day and I will meet them by the flag pole after school. I am off to have coffee with Lisa as she cries over Dominic's 1st day of preschool. They grow up too fast!

Meet the Teacher

Well, we couldn't be more thrilled! After much anticipation, tonight was Meet the Teacher at Tony Tobin. The girls found their class list, took a picture with their teacher and ate dessert before dinner at the Ice Cream Social.

Allison is so excited to have Mrs. Skinner. She is very organized, loving and full of wonderful creativity. She gave each student a dog visor to wear because her class is Dog-Gone special! We will see her in Room 16 on Monday.
Taylor's dream has come true. We got Mrs. Atkinson again!!! Taylor had her for 2nd grade and they are perfect together. We love her as a teacher and a friend and appreciate all of the values she teaches, along with the academic stuff. Taylor was really nervous to check the lists-I don't know what she would have done if it didn't work out, but I don't need to worry about that now. The girls are going to have a wonderful year!

Notice their very special hair dos. I took them to Libby Lu this afternoon to spend some gift cards Allison had from her birthday. They both picked the Royal treatment and look like little princesses. Actually big princesses- I can't believe we have a 4th grader and a 1st grader already!

Sea World

The girls and I headed to Sea World for the last time this summer. School starts Monday so we are trying to pack it all in! When we got there, we met up with Jen, Chris and the girls for a few hours. We watched the Shamu Believe show, fed the bat rays, toured Shark Encounter, Manatee Rescue and the Penguin Encounter. When they headed home, we made our way to Journey to Atlantis-not to ride it, just to watch others come down.
The highlight of our night was Shamu Rocks. We have seen it several times, but it always fun. The girls love singing We Will Rock You and I Love Rock N' Roll as the show begins. The stadium vibrates from all of the hand clapping and feet stomping!

We're in Trouble!

I'm not sure what to make of this kid. Allison came down the stairs in this lovely outfit, claiming to be "Hawaiian Disco Man", the world's greatest dolphin trainer. Where does she come up with this stuff? The wig is a gift from Jen and Chris to celebrate Matt's new job and the shirt was part of Taylor's Fiji costume from last year's International Fair. Glad to see Allison knows how to use her imagination!

Postcards from my Travelers

I got these cute SF postcards from the kids today. They have had an amazing time at my Mom and Dad's house! They have been to an A's game, spent the day at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, played tennis and gone to the driving range. They had the "best meal of their life" in Chinatown with my brother and Aimee. They ate crab, calamari, shrimp and walnut prawns-not the typical foods for an 8 and 6 year old, but they loved it all. Thank you Uncle Chris and Aimee! Taylor said she got a seahorse kite and can't wait to fly it. Grandma and Papa also took them to see Kit Kittredge and they enjoyed a trip to the used bookstore with Grandma and a visit to Papa's gym and the track at San Ramon Valley High. Last night, they were treated to pizza and ice cream with Scott and Elizabeth and a fun time at the park. Can't wait to see pics of it all and can't wait to pick them up at the airport tomorrow afternoon.

Anniversary Weekend

Matt and I had an action-packed weekend celebrating our 11th Anniversary. Friday night, we had a delicious dinner at Harry's and then headed to Pechanga for the IMPROV. It is one of our favorite things to do and we are never disappointed. Always a great evening of comedy.

On Saturday, we ventured to the Del Mar horse races-my first time! No luck on our bets, but we sure had fun walking around, people watching, eating a shaved ice and watching several of the races. We left after about 5 races and headed to downtown SD for some dinner in the Gaslamp and then the Padres game. We got so lucky! As we were approaching the ticket counter to buy some tickets, a couple walked up and said "Tonight, we have a gift for you. You can have these 2 tickets we don't need." After a moment of surprise and a thank you to the couple, we realized the tickets were field level, 7 rows behind home plate!! We couldn't believe our luck and Matt couldn't believe how giddy I was. We called the girls and told them to watch for us on TV. The Pads were playing the SF Giants and we knew my Mom would be watching. The girls called us a few times to say that they saw us. It was very cute! The Pads couldn't score a run, but it was fun anyway. I took this picture of Randy Winn because I went to high school with him and it was my first time seeing him in the major leagues.