Lasts

Six years is a long time when you're 11. Six years is how long Max spent in school at Oso Grande Elementary. And those are six years he won't soon be missing.

Here is Max on his last day of Kindergarten:


Here is Max on his last day of 5th Grade:


We are so proud of you, Max! You had a fantastic year and we know you are ready for middle school (yikes!) and all of the adventures that come with that.

Check out what a fun day he had on his last day of elementary school last Thursday, June 23, 2011!

Hanging out with his buddy, Jack.


His teacher, Mrs. Haupt. She said to me about a month ago, "I love Max. If I could adopt a child, I would want to adopt him." She made all the difference in the world for him.


The 5th Grad Clap-Out, a tradition for graduating 5th graders at Oso.


We celebrated with sushi for lunch.


The 5th grader's parents threw those kids quite a bash that night called "Midnight Luau," which actually ended at 9:00 pm. There was a DJ, dancing, photo booth, candy "bar", barbeque dinner, cake and general craziness. They had a blast and it was a fun chance for them to be together one last time before all the elementary schools pool into one middle school this fall.


Goodbye, Oso Grande. Well, not quite. We still have two more years with this peanut. Good job in 3rd grade, Lily! Here she is with her teachers, Mrs. Griffin and Mrs. Tonai.


P.S. It was my last day working as a student supervisor at the school. Four years. It was a good run. I won't miss my neon yellow vest.

Sac Town

Always fun to head up to Fair Oaks/Roseville/Rocklin for a weekend. We went over Memorial Day weekend to celebrate Paul's parents' 50th wedding anniversary!

Gelato with Paul's sister Julie and her daughter Alexa:

Alexa is off to college soon! She's going to FIDM in Irvine, so we'll get to see a lot more of her. Yay!

PF Changs with some Slade crazies. Always good to get together, but I didn't get any pictues of cute Sam and Jake.


Sara, my Sara:


Uncle Johnny and Lily bonded:


The anniversary festivities began with a picnic in the park in Fair Oaks. Here are the boys digging up a squirrel hole because a little ball from a game fell down there. They never did get it back. But good times!


Fun with cousins! Ashley and Lily:


Beautiful Samantha:


Sweet Jessie:


That night we had a nice dinner at the Kloepfer's, then wedding cake! How cute are my in-laws?!


They cut the cake with a sword, just like they did at their wedding in 1960:

Happy 50 Years Together, Ron and Connie! We love you!

Then Lily got sick that night. No need to get all the cousins sick too, so she and I spent the whole next day just chilling out at Julie's house with Lily's favorite dog, Junior.


It was a quick trip, but so fun!

Say cheese!

Easter Day, April 24, 2011

What we go through to get a nice picture of these crazies . . . .

I'm Procrastinating

I've been telling myself to go to bed, but I just can't. You see, tomorrow just can't come yet. I'm not ready. I'm not ready for my boy to be finished with elementary school. I'm not ready to watch him say goodbye to the teachers and principal who have been there for him for the last 6 years. He has come so far. From hiding under the table in Kindergarten to writing poignant and humorous prose in 5th grade, from tears of frustration to tears of pride, the changes have come, and they are vast. I am such a lucky mother to have been able to witness and share in his progress all these years. He has overcome so many challenges that life has dealt him, and I am so proud of this young man. But still . . . .

Tomorrow, can you wait just one more day? I'm not ready. Even though he is.

Phew, that was close

Recently, my Mac decided to close it's doors on iPhoto because it was mad at me for taking up so much memory with my pictures. I had no access to the last 3 years of photographic documentation. Panic set in, but the geniuses were there to rescue me. Two trips to the mall and a couple of hours of waiting had us (Mac and I) all patched up. So here are a couple of highlights that have transpired since the last post!

I had a birthday! No need to discuss numbers. It was a quiet affair, just how I like it when the numbers are, you know, where they are these days. Dinner and presents.



Unbeknownst to me, Paul had gotten me something I've wanted forever. The look on my face when I opened the box and discovered a Blendtec in there!! Total surprise. I love that guy.


And I LOVE my Blentec! I use it at least twice a day. Yum, yum, yumminess.


Another exciting event--we had a blowout on the freeway.


Just the kids and I, in Paul's car. Here's how I felt about it:


Here's how the kids felt about it.


Moving on. Max earned his Arrow of Light award!


We are so proud of him! Do we look proud?


It's the good kind of proud. He worked so hard and is a full-fledged Boy Scout now. Awesome. He had the coolest arrow too because his dad made it special.


OK, now I can download the rest of the pictures from the camera since I have enough memory. Let's see if there are any more goodies on there to share.

Reporting in from SoCal

So, we were lucky to get a visit from my awesome sister, Jo Ann (a.k.a. Jo Jo) and Layne this weekend. Love these people! Since she forgot her camera back in the frozen Utah tundra, I told her I'd blog some photos. Motivation! Yay!

We met at an undisclosed location and scooped up Jo while Layne went to do, you know, Layne stuff. Since it was sunny and 70, it was straight to the beach! And by straight, I mean by way of a couple of stops first to Bed Bath and Beyond (what could possibly be beyond bed AND bath?) and Max's fencing lesson.

See? Sunny!







Which means sweatshirt weather for us (snicker snicker).



Did I mention we have a cushy guest bed now? Am I convincing anyone else to come for a visit?? Well, maybe this will help:

Tide pools!



Crazy fun!



Adorable kids!



And this place!



Taco Loco really deserves it's own post. Yum to the 29th power. It's good. It's gooooood. We're going on a 14-year love affair now. And I always get the same thing: blackened chicken quesadillas. PK loves him a good tofu burger there. And the owner's name is Gonzo. 'Nuff said.



Too bad Layne couldn't spend the afternoon in Laguna with us so I didn't get any pictures of him. But this kind of counts, doesn't it?



Kidding, Babo!

Jo Jo really loved this little fountain. She said it reminded her of somebody she knows. Someone who likes fish, and turtles. Someone who doesn't mind water splashing on her face. Someone who enjoys being in her birthday suit. Any guesses?



Come back for more, Jo Ann! And Layne too. And anyone else too. And we'll party it up with you.