First day of School



It has been a whole year since I've posted. Where has the time gone? After a fun and busy summer, the kids are back into the swing of things starting today.

I'm so excited for this year. Nicholas has a teacher that is new to our school but has experience at the middle school level which means she will have him ready for 6th grade. I know its a year away but I always want the kids to be prepared! He's excited about school this year too which also makes it nice.

Isabella has always been my school lover. She started counting down the days to go back to school at 63 days! She loves homework, her friends, and this year, she LOVES her teacher.She couldn't wait to get there this morning!!!

Now my sweet Gabby seemed excited this morning but when it was time to separate from her sister, me or Jeffrey, she wasn't real thrilled. Her eyes welled up with tears and when I left her sitting in her big desk with her name tag and purple play doh, she was a little sad. I'm just hoping it dosn't take her til Martin Luther King Day to stop crying (like her Kindergarten year)!!!

I didn't get many pictures of Nicholas this morning because he started his first day with Safety patrol. He was with the Vice Principal at 8:05 and helped the parents and students navigate the school yard and find their classrooms. My big responsible boy!!!

Bella on her first day :-)

Gabriella on her first day :-)

Can't get by without a funny face pic :-)

Jeffrey and the kids!

Time

I'm not sure where time goes but it sure does seem to go fast. Before I know it, so much has gone by and most of the things I wanted to write about are already forgotten.
The summer has flown by for us. Nicholas on a traveling soccer team, everyone swimming every chance they get, the girls just relaxing on days where there are no particular plans, and a lot of camping out in the back yard. I guess it qualifies as "lazy days of summer."
All too soon, the kids are going to be back in school. Nicholas heading to the 4th grade, Bella to 3rd, and Gabby starts Kinder. The school clothes have been bought, the rooms have been cleared of a lot of toys and readied for the school year, backpacks are purchased, and everyone already knows which outfit they are wearing the first day. This is going to be an exciting year for everyone :-)
While we try to fit in as much as we can in the last 13 days, the days keep ticking by at a high rate of speed.
Summer of 2011 keeps dwindling down....

Down to 2 wheels

Gabriella has been facinated with her bike lately. The kids ride from one side of the backyard to the other, through the grass, on the cement, through the patio, wherever they want. Jeffrey took off Gabby's training wheels and she has been practicing for a few months now. First Isabella tried to hold on to her bike while Gabby tried to balance but when she would fall over, of course it was Isabella's fault. Sisters:-) I took over and little by little she got it. One day she would be able to just go in circles until the turns got to sharp to make or she would run into the fence. A few days later, she would be able to go straight for a bit until she felt the need to turn. She would get frustrated when she would go in the grass because the bike wouldn't go (yea, the bike's fault! Not her needing to pedal harder!)
Now, after months of practicing, she is as free to go wherever and how fast she wants. Just last night, Jeff took her off the little 12" bike she learned on and put her on a slightly larger one. She hesitated at first but then realized it was the exact same thing, just a little larger.
Not long ago, Nicholas, Isabella, and I rode over to Jeff's parents for dinner and Gabby went in the truck with Daddy. When we finally made it, Gabby was so upset with me because she didn't get to ride. I just think she needs more practice before taking her out on the city streets for 2 miles. I was able to save face with her by promising to pick her up early from school the next day and take JUST HER for a ride.
So, I did! I picked her up early, took her home, and she rode in the cul-de-sac for an hour. I sat in the chair with my camera and video and took pictures of my little girl that is growing WAY to fast.
No more training wheels in our house!!!!!

Yosemite

Over Spring Break, the kids and I took a day and drove into Yosemite National Park while Jeffrey, unfortunately, had to work. We woke up early, packed the car with snacks, sandwiches from Port of Subs, water, and each had their own backpacks full of coloring books, journals, and whatever else they wanted to pack to keep them occupied for the 90 minute drive through the mountains.
Upon entering the park, you continue to drive for about 5 minutes and you are immediately staring at Bridalveil Falls directly in front of you. This particular time of year, the snow is melting and the waterfalls are overflowing and beautiful. We parked the car and decided to hike to the falls. Great short hike/walk but this particular day was raining too. I got some pictures but was afraid to have the camera out of my jacket for very long for fear it would get water damaged.
Managed a few good shots...
Bridalveil Falls

Hiking up to the Falls
Gabriella
Isabella
Nicholas
Thank you to the complete stranger that offered to take my camera and got this shot!
El Capitan
We had our picnic lunch in the car and a good sight seeing day!!! Despite the rain, everyone enjoyed their first trip into Yosemite :-)

Easter

Easter was the end of the kid's Spring Break. On Saturday, Nicholas had a soccer game in Fresno (tied 0-0), and then it was off to Friend's Easter. For each holiday, we pick a day close to the actual holiday and spend it with our group of friends. We have Friend's Easter, Friend's Thanksgiving, and Friend's Christmas where we are able to celebrate with each other and then we are with our families on the actual day. Great memories that the kids will have as they grow up!
Friend's Easter was at Tracy's this year and although we got there a little late, the kids were still able to swim, have great food, Jeff was playing horseshoes, and I hung out and played photographer :-)
The Kids

Sister Love

Daddy and his girls



Easter at Jeff's parent's started with a brunch for the family and a big dinner for extended family. The kids went on an egg hunt, played with each other while Aunts, Uncles, and parents hung out.

What Easter would be complete without the beloved CHOCOLATE BUNNY?? A few fun shots of the giant Chocolate Bunny at Grandma's house :-)

Wedding Bands

Shamrock half

Looking back on March of 2010, I realized I hadn't written about the half marathon this year. Not that it's memorable or that I did outstanding but next year, I'll read this again and want to remember.
The 13 mile race usually translates into a weekend away with our family, a couple of our friends and their families, a hotel, a great dinner, lots of laughs, and oh yea, the run. This year seemed completely different for me.
The same:
1. There was a hotel room.
2. There were great friends.
3. There was a great dinner.
4. There were some good laughs.
Different:
1. Some of our friends weren't able to go this year.
2. You had to run the entire 13.1 this year because the relay was taken away due to construction in downtown Sacramento.
3. I went alone. Jeffrey wasn't feeling well, the weather was cold and windy with a great possibility of rain, and for the 4 of them to wait for me to finish while standing in bad weather just didn't seem like a good time for anyone.
After the run, I really started to feel bad. I always feel that I push my body to the limit sometimes but for the first time, I felt like my body was pushing back. Age? Not training? Low blood sugar? No sleep due to bachelorette party directly across the hall? No breakfast? Who knows?
What I do know is I texted Jeffrey at mile 11 and told him I was never going to do another half marathon. I felt beaten!
My goal was to beat my first half marathon time. I told myself where I needed to be at each mile marker in order to keep myself on track.
At mile 9 I was 5 minutes ahead
mile 10, 3 minutes ahead
mile 11, 1 minute ahead facing an uphill
mile 12, 2 minutes behind
at the finish, a whole 4 minutes behind my goal.

Overall, not a good race for me but at least I finished. SEVERAL times during the run, I had to talk myself out of just walking back to the hotel. "NO, keep going and finish this crazy thing you started." "This is your last one, just finish it!"
Well, finish I did. Although I swore I was done, the next day while resting on the couch, I researched half marathons and tried to find another one.
I now have a new goal....I gotta beat my original time.
Better start training :-)

Isabella, the Real Original

Sat morning was spent with all 5 of us treading down to the post office to get Isabella her first passport. The plan was for all five of us to get them done but with each child being $110, Jeffrey being $135, and mine being renewed for $110, we decided to space them out a little bit. Since Isabella will be the first child to go on a trip, she gets hers done first.
Bella has been invited to go with Steve and Carol (Jeff's Mom and Dad) on vacation this summer to Washington state and visit her Aunts, Uncle and cousin. She has a few months to think it over although right now she is super excited. Getting her passport photo and the passport itself, she wanted to tell everyone where she was going. Knowing Isabella, the excitement won't diminish!
At any rate, I filled out all of the paperwork and there we stood handing over a check and her birth certificate. When I realized that I wasn't getting the birth certificate back, a moment of panic overcame me. After the govt checks everything out they will return it by mail but I didn't want to mail it away and risk the possibility of not getting the original back.
It was then that real and true PANIC hit me (along with a slight outer body moment). If I'm feeling this way over a piece of paper, how will I feel when Isabella (the real original) goes?
OMGoodness, she's going on a trip!
OMGoodness, she's going on a trip without me!
OMGoodness, she's going on a trip without me and leaving the country!
Before I let it my emotions get the best of me I reminded myself that she'll be with her Grandparents and the crazy boat that is my mind, safely came back into harbor. The sanity rope that had all of my crazy thoughts was reeled back in and my mind was returned back to the room where Isabella was asking the passport lady if she had processed Grandma and Papa's passports too.
She is excited.
I'm excited for her.
It will be a fabulous trip for everyone.
And where it will take 4-6 weeks for the passport to come in the mail, Isabella will only be gone for 2.