Day at the ZOO

 As Taylor was returning from Disneyland, Allison and I spent a day roaming the SD Zoo.  It was an 85 degree day at the end of Nov, but the animals were active and the park has changed so much since we last visited.

We took the tour by bus and also walked most of the park to check out the giraffes,

 rhinos,

 kangaroos,

 elephants,

 polar bears,

orangutans,

pandas, 

and my favorite Okapi!

 The view from the Skyway was just perfect and so was our day at the zoo.

Before heading home, we also made a stop at SDSU to visit the bookstore.  I love this campus and loved sharing it with Allison.  This is the new Student Union building and such a pretty backdrop for the campus.

WSB at DISNEY

Taylor had a wonderful opportunity for a 3-day trip to Disneyland with her WSB group.  The main purpose of the trip was a Monday morning conference with a few thousand students at the Disneyland Hotel.  Here is the group that represented GOHS.  Taylor said the conference was very valuable and they learned a lot about being yourself and self esteem.  My two favorite quotes were "the grass is greener where you water it" and "it is better to be a good nobody than a bad somebody". 

Besides a great conference, the kids had a blast having a lot of freedom to roam Disneyland.  Taylor adores her group of friends and even blossomed some new friendships!

Taylor thinks she got about 7 hours sleep the whole time she was gone, but loved every minute.

She said it was magical from the moment they saw their cool room and she had so many fun stories to share when she got home.

Twins!!

I'm a very proud "Auntie" tonight as my dear friend Lisa gave birth to these perfect little boys!  Lisa is also my new hero!  After weeks of bed rest and numerous issues, she made it to 38 weeks and her scheduled C-section.

Daniel is certainly one proud papa and has taken such wonderful care of Lisa.

Absolutely gorgeous and SO BIG!

 Leighton John ( 7 pounds 1 ounce)

 Jackson Eric (6 pounds 8 ounces)

Big Sister Olivia is so excited too!  

We can't wait to get our hands on these little guys.  Congratulations!  I'm so happy that your dreams came true and your prayers were answered!

CIF

 For the first time in the school's history, Great Oak hosted a CIF playoff game.  Last week they beat Chino Hills to advance to tonight's quarterfinal against El Toro.

 The Wolfpack crew were considered underdogs in the matchup, but came out fighting and scored on the first possession.  They took a 24-10 lead into halftime, but had a rough 3rd quarter.  El Toro made a strong attempt at a comeback and had the ball with 40 seconds left in the game, down 27-24.  Luckily, GOHS was able to hold them and squeak out the win!

On to the semifinal next Friday against Mission Viejo…Good Luck WOLFPACK!

Miss Marvelous

Tonight the girls and I attended the most inspirational and heartwarming event, Miss Marvelous.  The evening celebrates the inner and outer beauty of 12 young ladies with special needs that attend the 3 high schools.  Each girl had a chance to take the stage in formal wear (escorted by very sweet boys) and to perform a talent.  Their challenges varied from Down Syndrome to Muscular Dystrophy to Autism, but they all shared contagious smiles and and sweet hearts.  They loved seeing themselves on the big screens and loved the applause and encouragement from the audience of proud parents and fellow classmates.  At the end of the evening, they were each presented a sash, crown and flower bouquet.  We all left with such happy hearts and such a sense of pride in our community and schools that helped honor these beautiful young ladies!

Birthday Girl

 Taylor woke up early for her soccer game to a decorated room, hallway and bathroom.  We picked up her favorite cranberry orange scone at Starbuck's on our drive to Pomona. 

 After her game, she requested lunch at Subway and we opened presents with the family.  She loved her new Beats headphones, Under Armor workout pants, Katy Perry perfume, jewelry holder, necklaces and workout gear!

Then it was time to get ready for her party. She invited 36 friends (about 27 were able to make it) for an evening bonfire/movie night.

 She requested a candy bar which was fun to put together!

 We also had popcorn, nachos, soft pretzels and fruit/veggies.

Allison made this cute sign for the front door.

 As her friends arrived they hung out both inside and outside.

Matt hung some cool lights under the patio and Hank and Leslie gave us their fire pit, which worked out perfectly!

I wasn't very good with the camera, but managed to catch some of the kids…Lauren, Taylor, McKayla, Summer and Taylor

 Taylor and Mandy (friends since Kindergarten)

 Lauren and Taylor (besties since U10 All-Stars)

 I caught part of the group by the fire…Summer, Taylor, Simon, Jenna, Lauren, Claire, Emily, Taylor, Mandy and Nathan

Nashali, Kim and Avery

Love these two girls!

They also spent time watching Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Grease while cramped together in the family room.  I think the last kids left at 12:30am and 5 spend the night, although there wasn't much sleeping going on. It was a great group of kids and I'm so glad Taylor has such wonderful friends.  I loved seeing her shine with all of them and it was a perfect night celebrating her 15th birthday!

15

 I get teary-eyed just thinking about it.  That sweet baby girl with fat rolls from head to toe is turning 15 today!

 She brings so much joy to my life.

 Taylor amazes me everyday!  She loves life, loves her family and friends,

 and works so hard in all that she does.  She is so quick-witted,

 beautiful, smart, humble, 

 funny, athletic, dedicated and truly kind.

 I am so proud of all that she accomplishes through academics and athletics, but am even more proud of her character and the values she stands behind.  I love the friendship that I have with her and all of the time we spend cuddling, bickering, laughing, crying, and just being.  

I will always be her biggest cheerleader and can't wait to see what her future holds.  For now, I will wish her the happiest of birthdays and enjoy every minute of her 15th year.  I love you Taylor!  Happy Birthday to you!

PROUD!

Today was a day I wished I could have been in 4 different places at once.  Matt was accepting an award at work for his team's efforts during the fires at a ceremony in SD. Taylor was helping run the Blood Drive at her high school.  She has been working for months to secure donors and organize staff and volunteers.  She learned so much, made her WSB teacher proud and even earned a $500 scholarship from the American Red Cross.  Allison was running in her last XC meet of the season at Diamond Valley Lake.  Unfortunately, I had a work training and couldn't attend any of it.  

These four reunited and have really pushed each other to do better with each race.  Thank you to Leslie and Darian for capturing some photos.

Last year, Allison didn't qualify for this meet, but today she KILLED it!  She ran 2 miles in 13:29 and finished 25th out of 187 7th grade girls.  She finished 3rd for her school and earned another ribbon.  She called me after the race with such excitement in her voice and I couldn't be more proud of her effort!  To top the great week off, she also made the middle school soccer team!!  The initial tryout with 70 kids was on Wednesday.  When she got to school on Thursday morning, she was on the call back list of 25.  After the XC meet, she went to the 2nd day of tryouts and found out that she made the team of 16!  It is a co-ed team with 6th, 7th and 8th graders and she is looking forward to a fun season representing her school.  Although the schedule often seems overwhelming, its days like today that make it all worth it.  Everyone's hard work is paying off!!

Here, There and Everywhere

 This was a jam packed soccer weekend.  I logged about 450 miles of driving to watch 6 different games in 2 days.  Taylor and I started with a Saturday morning Legends game in Carmel Valley.

 We grabbed lunch for the road and raced up to Cal Baptist University in Riverside to meet Allison's team for the Point Loma vs. CBU women's D2 soccer game.  Taylor and I left towards the end of regulation with the game still tied 0-0 and Allison stayed with Leslie to see the game end 0-0 after double overtime.

 Back on the road, we picked up Matt in Temecula and drove back down to San Diego for the Mountain West D1 Championship game at SDSU.  The Aztec women hosted Wyoming in a fantastic battle

that was 0-0 at the end of regulation, although SDSU had possession about 90% of the game.  6 minutes into Golden Goal, the Aztecs scored to win the title!!  They also advanced to the NCAA tournament and will face Cal Berkeley on 11/15!

After a very late night and little sleep, I was up early Sunday morning for Allison's two games in San Juan Capistrano.  They logged their first win in 14 games and played great soccer all day.  With little time to spare, we rushed back to Temecula just in time for Taylor's 4:30pm Legends game.  We were all exhausted by the end of it all, but loved seeing all of the great soccer!