MERRY CHRISTMAS

Click on the picture to see Santa and some of his more talented Elves.
It takes a while to load depending on your computers speed, but it's fun.

Well, we're back to work on the kitchen. Last year we had the old tile counter top replaced with new Corian solid surface. They are wonderful! So this year we decided to have the cabinets resurfaced as well. You can't tell much from pictures because the color is almost identical, but they are beautiful. No more water damage stains, all the doors close without having to smack them a few times, they wipe clean, and they don't whine when you open and close them!
OLD-------------------------------------------NEW

Wizard enjoyed a week of
roaming through the empty cabinets.

Graduation Celebration!

Ok, this time it was my turn to graduate!
In November I became a State Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) with the idea that I would work doing home health care during the day while the kids are in school.
Little did I know that just before I graduated our home health department here would be doing a complete revamp of their system and now have almost no clients left. So for now anyway, I don't have a job.

In the mean time, I work at the nursing home at our local hospital on an as needed basis. Which basically means that they call me if someone calls in sick and if I'm avalible, I go help.
I'll be much happier when they get home health straightened out so I can spend more 1 on 1 time with the patients.

This is me with my sister-in-law Donna
who was in the class with me.

Halloween

This year we had a Gypsy and what might be called a
"defunct snake charmer" for Halloween at our house.
(Sorry, the photos aren't that great)

Deven's costume even won him a prize at school!

Band

Sierra decided she wanted to try band this year at school so the teacher assigned instruments based on what the kids thought they might be interested in learning. Sierra chose the clarinet so we rented one for her to use for the year. After her 1st class, (they only meet once a week) she came home all excited because she was asked to try out for the advanced band. I thought she must of misunderstood her teacher because she has never even seen an instrument up close before much less played one. But it turns out she is a natural at it!
Here are some of Sierra's creations about band;

B is for band
A is for actually fun
N is for never want to stop
D is for determined

1. C is for concerts all the time
   
2. L is for like you should so try it
3. A is for a very fun thing to play
   
4. R is for really fun
   
5. I is for i don't want to stop
   
6. N is for never give up
   
7. E is for ever tried the clarinet
8. t is for then try it
   

Movin' on up

Tonight our 1st Class Scout was promoted to the rank of "Star"!!!
Six months of being a Star and he will advance to the rank of "Life" (he already has all the required badges he just needs to "do the time") and 6 months later... "EAGLE"!! (the highest rank in scouting and only 2% of scouts make it to Eagle) He only has 1 more badge required for Eagle and a big community service project to tackle, but he's well on his way!

CAMP GRISSOM 2008

This years Camp Grissom went "Hawiian style" and was held in Texas with all the usual faces as well as some new ones. Word of mouth from past years events created such a buzz that this years event was expanded to include friends and co-workers.
There were numerous events to keep the campers occupied that included the Hula Hoop ho-down and the bubble blowing brigade.
There were also team events that pitted friends & loved ones against each other such as the water balloon toss and the spoon water relay.


We were awarded prizes for all sorts of things including the best decorated flip-flops and hats.




















It was such a wonderful day filled with crafts, playing, eatting, and making new friends because let's face it, that's what camp is all about right? We even finished off the festivities with a mentos and soda extravaganza to thrill the crowd. We can't wait for next year!

Well, he did it! And did it with GUSTO!

We attended Deven's 6th grade graduation/achievement ceremony this week and were pleasantly surprised at his awards. Ok, well, honestly, it was more like totally caught off guard & floored!
The video camera started to give the low battery warning 10 min into the program so we shut it off so we were sure to catch that critical name call and hand shake moment. We weren't too worried because although he's been doing much better recently, he's a struggling student with C's and D's. So now we were taping just the announcing of the award and then shut it off quickly (to save the battery) if there was not a chance that it would be for him.
So then they start with "These children put heart into practicing hard to be the best that they can be. They pay attention to detail and are willing to spend the time needed to get it right..." "Oh Please" Harv and I roll our eyes and give a collective "Phfffffffffft, yeah right, save the battery." "DEVEN DEARING" What the??? Did he say??? We were scrambling to get the photo. Wow!! We did have time to compose ourselves (and have cameras at the ready) when he was awarded "Perfect Attendance" because we knew that was coming as I was at the pizza party for all the "Perfect Kids" (Sierra included) the day before, but the rest of the evening we were content to turn off the camera and politely clap for other peoples kids and their writing awards, math awards, etc. In fact when they got to the honor roll we thought we should change the batteries in the digital camera so we wouldn't miss the big moment coming up next when (you guessed it) "DEVEN DEARING" Was that??? You're Kidding??? Oh my God! Our Son?? OUR SON!!! AAAAAAHHHHH!!! "Way to go baby!!!" Deven was just as floored as we were.

It's finally over!

The last day of school was Thursday June 5th. Woo Hoo!!
The last month of school is always crammed with all the end of the year field trips and class parties as well as all the last minute things that have been put off or just plain forgot about till the end. And with 2 kids I have to do double duty! It's been getting progressively harder to split my time between Sierra's and Deven's classes and I have had to miss one's field trip or party due to being at the other's. Well enough of my woes and on to the year end round up.
Sierra ended the 4th grade with a bang! She received 3 certificates at their awards ceremony for:
*Serving on the Student Council
*Perfect Attendance (this included a trip to the local pizza parlor for a party)
*HONOR ROLL!!!!!! (all A's and B's)



That's My Girl!!! Way to go Si Si!!!!!

Mission San Buena Ventura

This time it was Sierra's turn to do a Mission project. She decided to go with the more traditional "cardboard" construction rather than the "gingerbread" approach that Deven took 2 years ago. (Thank God) She did however choose the same Mission that Deven chose previously in hopes that since the real one was down by our friends in Southern CA. that we will be able to visit it (and them) over the summer.
Sierra (and I) worked really hard on it and it turned out great.
The Mission San Buena Ventura has since been demolished and parts are being used to cover the ground in our garden to keep the weeds from growing. Who knew this project would be educational as well as environmentally friendly.

One of Deven's last big school projects was to make a model of an Egyptian pyramid. They learned allot about ancient civilizations such as how they lived, the goods they traded, and obviously, how they dealt with their dead. They also learned a bit about hieroglyphics (Spelling?)

1800's Adventure

We have news of yet another school field trip to share.
This time it was an adventure for the whole family! We got to participate in the "Yosemite Environmental Living Program" where Sierra's entire class of 4th and 5th graders (as well as Deven and a few of us adult chaperons) went to the Pioneer Yosemite History Center Village in Yosemite National Park to live as the settlers did in the 1850's. We were all given names of actual people from the time to research and portray while we were there.
Harv and I were Alex & Catherine Black who owned and ran the Black Hotel, (also called the Lower Hotel) one of the 1st hotels in Yosemite.
Deven was Dr. Lafayette Bunnell, part of the "Mariposa Battalion" who were the 1st people (other than Indians) to enter the valley. He was also credited with naming it "Yosemite".
Sierra was Lady Constance Frederica Gordon Cummings, a rich artisan who was famous for her books of watercolor paintings of Yosemite.
We dressed the part, cooked on the wood stove, chopped the wood, as well as carried buckets of water that we pumped from the well for drinking, cooking and dishes. We did crafts from the time period, made a triangle dinner bell from steel at the blacksmith forge, learned what it was like to be a stagecoach driver and got to take a ride in one! We then topped the night off with a barn dance before retiring to the log cabins to sleep on the floor in sleeping bags.
We made a hearty breakfast in the early morning and after cleaning up we had a town meeting to discuss how the different groups of people felt Yosemite should change (or not). The hardest part was the set up the adults did to keep the illusion of 1850 alive. Everything (such as milk, butter, bread, spices, etc.) had to be taken from it's original packaging and put into metal pitchers, mason jars, and baskets. Refrigerated items had to be stored in wooden barrels with blocks of ice to keep it cold.










We got home exhausted, filthy, and looking forward to our 2008 version of pizza, a shower, and a warm bed. What an adventure!

Do you agree?

These meters analyze facial features to decide who the child looks more like, Mom or Dad. I think considering the amount of work I had to do to get them here, the scale should be tipped in my favor!

Mariposa History Lesson

On Friday Sierra's class went to the Mariposa Museum & History Center. Being that we live in the Sierra foothills, most of our history revolves around gold and gold mining.


It's really interesting to learn about the various ways they got the gold from the earth. The kids of course, are more interested in the gold panning and how much their haul is worth.

Off to visit with G.G...

Our kids were very excited to learn we would be going to visit G.G (Granny Grissom, Harv's mom, who lives in Texas) over Easter vacation. What I neglected to tell them was WHERE we would visit them. So when the plane landed in Florida instead of Texas and "Mickey's Magical Express" (not G.G.) picked us up at the airport, they were totally floored to discover that the "visit" would take place at WALT DISNEY WORLD!!!
The kids are at the best age for it, where they were tall enough to ride all the rides but not yet totally mortified to hang with the family.
We stayed at one of the Disney hotels called "The Pop Century Resort" that had memorabilia from the 60's through the 90's all over the place. A Giant Big Wheel, Rubix Cube, & 8 track tape surrounded the resort.

One of my favorites was this huge Mickey phone. I still have the 1 I got when I turned 16. (it's a bit smaller though)
The giant people lining the sides of the photo are part of a massive fooseball game as well.

We spent one day at the Magic Kingdom where Deven was made "Prince for the day" because he pulled the sword from the anvil! This got him a round of applause from bystanders & got his whole family a behind the scene trip to the front of the line at the ride of his choice. (saving us 110 min wait at Pirates of the Caribbean)






The next day was Epcot where you can easily spend 1 day just visiting the countries but we managed to fit in quite a bit more. We even ran into some vikings from Norway before stopping for dinner inside the Aztec pyramid in Mexico.


The last day of our whirlwind vacation we went to Animal Kingdom where we went on a safari and saw lots of interesting animals. We even ran into a Yeti on our expedition to Mt. Everest and we took a trip back in time on a really cool dinosaur adventure.

Even the dinning can be entertaining at WDW. We had 2 meals at a family restaurant inside the Wilderness lodge where they would have impromptu pony races on stick horses around the tables with the spectators whirling napkins over their heads and cheering them on.
If you ask your server for ketchup be prepared... They will turn around and yell to the entire restaurant "Hey, this guy wants ketchup! Who's got the ketchup?" this is followed by a mad dash from diners from around the room bringing you armfuls of ketchup bottles netting you a table full of ketchup! By the time you coax it out of the bottle someone else has made the request and you have to recruit help to get all those bottles to another table quickly before you're accused of holding out on everyone and are visited by the sheriff.

We had such an amazing time! It was a fast paced vacation full of fabulous memories that will last a lifetime! Thank you G.G and G.P!!

On February 29th Harv and I had our 4th wedding anniversary.
It may not seem like a big deal to most people but it's taken us 16 years to do it!

Student of the month

Sierra has done it again! This month at school she was recognized as a Student of the Month. She received a bookmark, a certificate that reads ,
"In recognition of a positive attitude, good character, and responsible citizenship."
As well as a bumper sticker for her Mom & Dad that says "I'm a proud parent of a TERRIFIC KID"
Way to go baby!!
Now if she could only keep her room clean...

Challenger Space Learning Center

Deja vu' you say? Isn't this already on the blog?
Well Deven went last year so now it was Sierra's turn.
Sierra was the Data officer and sent messages back and forth from the space shuttle to mission control.



She was also very instrumental in saving the shuttle from near disaster when they encountered a carbon dioxide overload and only had seconds of air left!

Finally!

Just after Thanksgiving I got a huge early Christmas gift. New Counter tops!
We were going to have them put in before we even moved in to this house but life got in the way and it got put off for a while. (3 or 4 years)
The old tops were tile (which I loathe!) in a cream color with a dusty rose accent stripe and tan colored grout (well, in some places anyway). The grout was a dingy gray in most areas because no matter how much scrubbing, bleaching and resealing we did it would not look clean.
The new tops are Corian, in a blue/gray speckled (like granite) color. It was a big expense especially because we have allot of counter space. About 30 feet actually, which includes a desk area as well as an island in the middle. In fact, it was kind of an ongoing joke because each time a new person would show up (starting with the salesman) they would all say "Wow, you've got allot of counter space!" which was kinda scary coming from people who remodel kitchens for a living.
It is beautiful, all one piece, no seams or groves, and no nasty germ ridden, e-coli hiding grout! It took a week for the demolition, blueprinting, plumbing and reinstall to be completed but it is FABULOUS!