Reflection's Gallery Night

The girls both added another trophy to their book shelf tonight after being honored at the Reflection's Gallery Night. The theme this year was BEAUTY IS... and Taylor turned in entries for Photography and Literature and Allison entered in Photography and Visual Arts. The participants and families had a chance to view all of the work and enjoy some cookies and juice before the awards were announced.

Allison won the Award of Excellence for her photo of Half Dome that she took on our summer vacation in Yosemite. She was so surprised and excited to hear this photo will be advancing to the district level!!

Taylor also took a photo in Yosemite at Vernal Falls. I just love the rainbow she captured in the bottom left corner. She won the Award of Merit for her grade level. She has been a finalist for 3 years in a row!

Next year the theme is TOGETHER WE CAN... I look forward to some more creative entries!

Mid-Season Soccer Update

Although I haven't posted pictures of every soccer game, my girlfriend Leslie took some great shots at both games last weekend and I just love them. Allison is having a great season on the Lightning Horses, playing half the game as goalie and the other half on the field. She has scored several goals, has improved as goalie, has a very nice punt kick and has designated herself Team Captain. We often hear her telling players where they should be or checking to make sure a player is OK after an injury. She has some great friends on the team and has really proved to be a strong soccer player.

I would say she is having fun!!


Taylor's team, Charlie's Angels, is now tied for 1st place out of 22 teams with a record of 6-0-1. The team is working well together and getting stronger each week. They prove each game that they are in it to win it! Taylor has continued to do well at left forward, but is also helping out on defense when we are trying to protect our lead. She has great footwork, but has struggled to get power with her left foot. She has been working hard to improve her left foot skills, but often turns her body so she can take a shot with her right foot. It paid off with 2 goals today in our 3-2 victory! It has been a real thrill to be the Asst. Coach for her team and be part of this great season. With only 3 games left in the regular season, we are looking forward to advancing to playoffs and hopefully even on to Commissioner's Cup in December. We will just take 1 game at a time!

Red Ribbon Week Kickoff

Beginning on Monday, our school will observe Red Ribbon Week and promote the National campaign for drug awareness and prevention. Our Red Ribbon Week coordinator asked several students to help perform a skit this morning at Friday Flag Salute as a kickoff to next week'e events. Although a little nervous, Taylor was excited to participate! They just looked so cute before we left for school this morning!

The theme this year is "Let's Wipe Out Drugs. Just Say No Way Dude!" Mr. McSurf and the Wavettes did a little dance number to WIPEOUT to get the kickoff started.

Then some of the 4th and 5th grade students explained what would be the theme for each day next week.

MONDAY- "Isle" say no to drugs- dress in hawaiian clothes

TUESDAY- Don't get burned by drugs- wear red from head to toe

WEDNESDAY- "Lei" off drugs- wear a hawaiian lei

THURSDAY- Get radical dude, stay away from drugs-crazy hair and clothes day

FRIDAY- Keep your cool, just say NO- wear hats and sunglasses

Taylor saying her lines about Friday's theme


It should be a great week with a very powerful message!

Reason to Celebrate

Charlie's Angels had reason to celebrate this week. We went into this weekend with 4 wins and 1 tie (3rd place) and were playing the 1st place team that hadn't lost or had any goals scored against them. We beat the unbeaten by a score of 2-0!! The girls all played with everything they had, kept the ball on our half of the field most of the game and gave the Bandits a run for their money. Now we sit in 2nd place with 4 games left to play. We celebrated with a short practice, followed by dinner at Chick-Fil-A. It is always fun to get the girls together off the soccer field. Their personalities really shine through and it is nice to see them building friendships.

Normally after each game, we select 2 girls for "Lifesaver" awards for going above and beyond, but this week, it was a true team effort. After dinner, I awarded each girl with a pack of Lifesavers which I had promised after the game. Way to go Angels! Keep up the great work!

Disneyland- Halloween Style

I think this is my favorite time of year at Disneyland and we took advantage of a day off of school to visit. The park is Halloween festive from the momemt you walk through the main gates.

The Haunted Mansion has the best decorations in the park. We didn't mind waiting 25 minutes in line for the ride because there was so much to see!

We all loved Space Mountain and the special Ghost Galaxy music and special effects throughout the ride. The girls had never been on Matterhorn so they were so excited for it. And it lived up to all of the hype. They loved it and did it again!

We also had plenty of time for Star Tours, Pirates of the Caribbean, and a good lunch at Critter Country.

After lunch we headed to Thunder Mountain, another favorite, before meeting up with the Sommers family for the afternoon. They met us at Matterhorn for another go at that ride and then we spent quite a bit of time at Autopia.

After Wendy and I spent some time with the kids at Autopia, we spotted Matt sound asleep on Main Street. He even had his shoes off! Now that man can sleep anywhere!

Allison spotted Woody as we walked through Big Thunder Ranch and we also got some nice family photos while inside.

The day wasn't complete until we got our Nestle Toll House ice cream sandwiches, used our fastpass on Indiana Jones and watched the CELEBRATE parade on Main Street. Disneyland never disappoints!

Run Trailblazers, Run!

The girls are exhausted after a very long day at the Jog-a-Thon. Allison's class (Falciano's Fast Feet) ran from 9:30-10:30 hoping to raise big bucks for our PTA. They were so cute as they came out of their classroom and marched toward the field chanting "Let's Go Fast Feet, Let's Go!" They all wore adorable matching shirts with their footprints on the front and names on the back. Go figure-Allison leads the class in their march!

2 members of the Fast Feet- Allison and Lorien

The kids thought this gorilla was a perfect addition to this year's festivities.

Stretching before the big run

Allison and Cooper enjoy an Otter Pop after working very hard

Allison ran 33 laps and the class ran a total of 692 laps! Way to go Fast Feet!

After a quick lunch break, I returned to watch Taylor's class (Mrs. Atkinson's Splendiferous Sprinters) run their laps from 11:45-12:45. Splendiferous is one of the words the kids have learned in their vocabulary program-they sound so smart!

Time to line up Taylor!

On your mark, get set, RUN!!

The PTA set a fundraising goal of $25,000 this year to cover the cost of so many wonderful programs for our students. If we reach that goal, Mr. McTasney promised to sleep in a tent on the field overnight. The students would love to see that! So now the money collecting begins. Great job, Trailblazers!

Gaslamp Quarter

A big thank you to my parents for watching the girls overnight so Matt and I could enjoy a little birthday getaway. Matt found this very quaint, boutique-style hotel online and booked it for a night in the Gaslamp Quarter. Once there, our 1st stop was to the 10th floor rooftop access for a 360 degree view of the city. There were gorgeous views of the Coronado Bridge, Petco Park, the Convention Center and many of the beautiful high rises that make up the skyline.

We spent the evening having a delicious dinner at Chianti Restaurant on 5th Avenue. It was probably the best Italian food we have ever eaten. It was nice to sit on the outdoor patio and enjoy all of the festivities of a Friday night in the Gaslamp Quarter. Then we were lucky enought to get seats outside at The Field. It is a great Irish Pub just a few blocks down. I think we actually sat right next to Carlee from American Idol a few seasons back! We were also able to see some of the fireworks from the Padres game.

As we headed back, we spotted this pretty sign of our hotel. It was so nice to not have to worry about driving home that late and we were able to enjoy a little getaway together. It was an early morning though to make it back for soccer games. Thank you to Matt for a thoughtful birthday surprise!

Turning 35!

Thanks to wonderful friends and family for making my 35th easier to handle. Birthdays certainly don't have the same appeal as when I was a kid, today was a fun day with girlfriends and fun night with family. Teri, Chessa, Wendy and I spent the morning at Original House of Pancakes for a yummy breakfast of coconut pancakes. It was a nice celebration of my birthday today and an early celebration for Wendy's birthday next week. They were so sweet to also give me movie passes/candy and a Yogurt Island gift card and Summer picture frame. Thank you ladies! Wendy and I even sneaked in a quick trip to Yogurt Island before picking up the kids from school! After Allison's soccer practice we met my parents (they flew in this afternoon) at Harry's for a birthday dinner. It is my favorite place to celebrate. Taylor loves the coconut shrimp, Allison loves to build her own pizza and Matt and I always get the Paniolo Skirt Steak. Delicious! Then it was back home to finish up homework, study for Allison's science test and visit with Grandma and Papa before calling it a night. Thank you all for a great birthday!