Catching Up

I'm getting there.  Be sure to scroll down ... I'm skipping around and there are 5 new posts in June!!  Off I go to get ready for work.

Fun in the Hood

The trampoline has been a huge hit with the neighborhood kids and I love having them over to play.  It seems like each weekend (and some weekdays), the kids are either over at their houses or they come over to ours.  Mason and Jake often play catch or ball of some type out in the front yard too.  It's great to see kids being kids and playing outside ... my kids would choose that any day over TV or video games.  :-)  Tina, our neighbor, and I have been known to have a few glasses of wine or margaritas in the front yard while the kids play.  Last night our new neighbors, across the street even came over for the front yard festivities.  They aren't officially moved in yet, they should be in on October 15th and we couldn't be happier.  Super nice, fun, friendly and they have 3 small kids.  A 4 year old and twins ... all boys.  More kids ... yes!

The girls bouncing the boys and those boys were cracking up laughing.

Just craziness. 

Such a great group. 

My newest hobby ... Goodwill Stores

I went to the Goodwill for the first time the other day and I can say I'm hooked.  I was looking for a fireplace screen and can you believe I walked into the Folsom Goodwill and it was sitting right there?  What are the odds of that and that it fits?  I thought I might need to paint it but I rinsed it off with the hose when I got home and it's absolutely perfect.  Score!

Goodwill ... $9.99.

Pottery Barn ... $249.00. 

I'd been looking at these handy-dandy beverage dispensers at Home Goods and Pottery Barn for some time now but didn't want to pay big bucks for it.  Found this one at Goodwill ... it's bigger than it looks and heavy duty.  The spout thingy is real metal not the fake plastic metal on the ones at Home Goods.  Love it.

Goodwill ... $6.99. 

Pottery Barn ... $79.00 

When I first walked into the store, my initial thought was that there was a lot of junk.  I was right, there was a lot of junk but I also found some great items.  The fun part for me is the hunt for a great bargain and knowing that I got a deal.  I got a serving dishes/bowls for entertaining, tons of chapter books for the kids at $1.49 each, a brand new Hardback Children's Dictionary for $2.49, a jacket for Kyla (I'll wash obviously) for $4.99 and a few Halloween decorations.  I can't wait to go back.

Sick Girl

Kyla came down with a fever and sore throat last Tuesday.  She was a little puny and had a temp on Wednesday so I kept her home from school.  On Thursday, her throat became so sore that she basically stopped eating and drinking.  She was even spitting into a rag/cup because it hurt so bad.  At one point, she told me, "I think I'm dying!"  Yep, that's her ... my little drama queen.  I couldn't help but giggle a little bit at that one (but didn't let her see me).  Throughout the night on Thursday she woke up crying in pain several times so on Friday morning I made her an appointment.  We saw her doctor at 10:00 am (I love Kaiser) and he took a throat culture and said we'd wait until the throat culture came back.  Saturday morning, Kaiser called me to let me know that she had Strep Throat (like I said, I love Kaiser).  Poor thing, no wonder she'd been so miserable.  

I sure hope I don't get it.  Brian was working so I basically spent 3 days with her confined to the house snuggling and taking care of her and getting breathed on.  She'd follow me room to room and want me to cuddle her ... needless to say, I didn't get much done around here but I did enjoy spending time with her.  She's growing up so quickly.  She is truly a wonderful girl.

I think dogs truly know when someone is sick.  Roscoe stayed right by Kyla's side most of the time.

UPDATE:  She's feeling much better today after 2 days on Amoxicillin.  She played with the neighbor kids today, caught up on 7 pages of homework (without complaining) and went fishing/kayaking with Brian/Mason.  She caught 3 fish today ... reels them to the boat herself!  Mason caught 2 also - the biggest one.    

Funny Kyla story.  She's says things out of the blue that just make me laugh hysterically.

KYLA - "Mom, I think that when boys are 10, they should just wear white underwear.  That's what Mason should wear when he's 10 years old."

MOM - "I'd look pretty funny in cartoon underpants wouldn't I?  What kind of underwear should you wear when you're 10 years old?"

KYLA - "Hmmm, I guess just polka-dots or something."

Where does she get this stuff from?

Happy Birthday Brian

We celebrated Brian's birthday last weekend while his parents were in town.  His only request was that we get his favorite dessert, German Chocolate Pie from Marie Callendar's.  I could only find 2 candles in this house ... good thing because if I would have put the actual number of candles on there, we may have had a house fire.  39 and holding.

Happy Birthday Honey ... We love you! 

Quick trip to Apple Hill

This kids and I were craving Apple Donuts from Apple Hill and since we live so close now, we threw some clothes on and headed up there.  Our plan was to get donuts and come home but once we got up there we decided to hang out for a while.  Believe it or not, I didn't even take my camera so these are all from my iPhone.  Believe me, next trip up there, my camera will be in hand.  

Yummy.

"Mom, my mouth is full, I can't smile."

See you guys later.

We have pictures of Mason on this tractor every year.

Jabber

So, I can't decide what to do ... do I continue to try to catch up and keep working on posts from July and August or should I try to keep current now and work back?  I think I'm going to start now and try to keep current.  I want to start telling more stories and posting what the kids are up to.

SCHOOL -

Mason - He's loving his teacher.  She's been teaching at LeGette for about 13 years and is an older lady but seems very passionate about teaching.  He doesn't talk about her as often as he did with some of his other teachers but he's getting older.  The teacher he has now is more of a no-nonsense.  If you don't turn in your homework, do it incorrectly (for instance not showing your work or incomplete sentences) she will give you 'Lunch Club'.  That means staying in the classroom during lunch time ... BORING.  She expects the kids to be responsible for packing their water, snacks, homework and folders.  She encourages us not to nag the kids about doing their homework ... leave it to her and they'll get lunch club.  He's been doing a great job getting his homework done and is making friends quite easily. He doesn't seem upset about the move or leaving Westlake.  Both kids adapt to change well.

Kyla - She has 2 teacher's this year.  They teach 5 days on and 5 days off and luckily she likes both of them.  She's been reading like crazy (even some chapter books) and is doing so well.  She's just started getting homework and sits right down and gets is done right when I ask ... it is very easy for her though.  We'll see how it goes when school starts getting a little tougher.  She has a new friend that she loves and plays with each day ... we met her dad recently and are going to set up a play-date soon.


SOCCER -

Mason plays on the Piranha's this year and has been loving soccer again.  He loves the practices and games and has been playing a Mid-Fielder which means he plays offense and defense ... he gets to be involved in most of the action and does a lot of running.  He always gives 100 % which makes me so proud.  He's the youngest on his team this year but gets equal playtime (which I love).  Coach is super-fair and patient.

Brian is coaching Kyla's team ... she's on the Lightning Dolphins.  For the first time, she's started playing goalie and because of that, is liking soccer much more than she did last year.  I didn't get to see the game yesterday because I was at Mason's but I guess she blocked 12 goals!!  Go Kyla.  Coaching has proven to be more work than Brian thought it was going to be so he's retiring after this year.  I can't wait to actually get to see her play.


Brian took the kids fishing on the American River today while kayaking down.  Both kids caught a fish.  Kyla caught 2 fish (one got away before she brought it up) and a shoe!  Brian said, she did it all herself ... casting, reeling the fish in ... because he was paddling.  She was so excited, she exclaimed, "It's like a dream, I'm so excited,  I can't believe it."  She was almost in tears she was so excited and remained giddy with a smile on her face for the rest of the trip.  Too cute.  Mason caught 2 fish also.  He didn't get them all the way up into the boat but we say it still counts.  He loved it and already wants to go out again.

Funny things they say ...

I was explaining something to Kyla the other day and she said, "OK, Queen of Wisdom!"  Ugh, that girl.  She's 98% Good Girl though, the other 2% Watch Out.

Kyla - "Hey Mason, I need to work with you on how to act with girls so you can get a girlfriend."

Mason - "Kyla, I definitely don't need that."
The girls chase him around the playground everyday.  They love him.

Scandia for Drew's Party

Drew invited the kids to his birthday party at Scandia.  I never realized they has so many fun things to do ... I thought it was just miniature golf and batting cages.  Mason had a blast seeing some of his old friends, we didn't even see him all day because he was running around with the kids.  It was a great time.

Brian and Drew in the Race-Cars.  I loved these things and took the race very serious ... even passed a few teenage boys.  Crazy woman driver.

Water Bumper Boats - The kids got drenched and Mason kept trying to get ME wet.  Stinker.

Kyla in the batting cages.  She was able to hit a few.   Mason didn't do it because he was busy playing with his friends.

Go girl.  Foul ball.  This may be where she almost took me out.

Oakland A's Game

Brian got tickets for a night game ... A's vs. Red Sox.  Kyla couldn't have been more excited because this was her first night game and she realized she was going to get to stay up late.  The weather was great, seats were awesome and we had such a great time.  The A's kicked booty.  Excuse the low quality iPhone pictures.

Crazy K.

Just look at that score!