Ella is onto a new chapter!

It's now official.  Ella's preschool career is over. It's so sad. But it's also a happy time.  

Wednesday was Ella's end of year preschool party at the park and it was a bittersweet time for us all.  We have been attending the preschool out at Shasta College for the past 3 years (2 years with Ella and 1 year with Jacob) and have enjoyed it so much.  We will miss everyone out there.  I must say though, Ella has been ready to move on for quite a number of months.  I don't know if she's been bored mentally or academically but Kindergarten will be a welcome change for us all, if not a bit scary! 

What's on the horizon beyond that?  She has just informed me she'd like to be a fashion designer. And I now have a stack of pictures showing various clothing she has designed.  She is asking if we can go to the fabric store tomorrow so she can make some of them.  Ella amazes me everyday with what she can do. 

Click here for some pictures from the party.

The Lego Mystery

So the other day Jacob came home from school and was in his room scratching his head thinking and saying he thinks he may be crazy.  I asked him why and he said because he thinks that maybe he woke up in the middle of the night and put together one of the Lego toys he received for  his birthday and he's bewildered that he can't remember any of it.  There sitting on his desk is a fully completed Lego car that I know I never saw him build.  I found out later, that that morning he even accused Aaron of putting it together without him.  I then was totally confused.  Jacob does have a history of sleepwalking, but sleep Lego building? 

It wasn't until later while the kids were eating their after school snack, that the mystery was solved.  Ella leans over to Jacob and says, "I put together your Lego car last night."  What?  Apparently Ella woke up in the middle of the night (sometime between midnight and 6:30am), couldn't sleep and decided to open up and put together one of Jacob's Lego 165-piece Lego toys!  There were 38 steps in the instruction manual and she followed them perfectly on her own, in the middle of the night unbeknown to all of us.  That girl never ceases to amaze us. 

Hip Hop Dancerella

Included in another Etsy Treasury! Love the theme...

So happy to be included!
 

New Rob Video Out!

His new album will be coming out this summer so that means publicity tour is soon to come as well as concert dates...you can bet you'll hear all about it here! LOL!

http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:uma:video:vh1.com:380630

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Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day...I love you Mom!

Today was another good day...but I gotta say Jacob's birthday weekend always falls on Mother's Day and it can be exhausting!  I got to sleep in a little bit (7:15 or so)...after lounging around the house for a bit, we went to pick up Grandma and Uncle Jeff and cruised (in style again in the VW bus) to Win River for their brunch.  Really good food...half breakfast food, half seafood.  So we definitely knocked out breakfast and lunch and pretty much also dinner.  We then went back to her house to lounge for a bit before shopping for some patio stuff.  Then back home for a little outdoor work and more hanging poolside.  So happy the weather got nicer for this weekend. 

Jacob turns 7....woooo!!!

Saturday Jacob turned 7 years old and it was a crazy, fun day!  He woke up at 6am completely excited...6am on a Saturday is not cool, I don't care what is happening!  I managed to stay in bed for a little while longer though and heard him finding his annual "Birthday Bucket" and the dozen donuts left for him on the kitchen counter.  We did something a little different this year and got him 7 presents that we gave him throughout the day...the trick was in order to get them he had to do a variety of scavenger hunts and answer different questions, puzzles and even some math problems to find where they were hidden!  He really enjoyed that and says he wants that to happen every year.  Yeah, me too...I want 30-something presents on my birthday too....I'll gladly solve clues to get them!  

In the afternoon we had a birthday party for him at our house.  It started with a Wii Mario Kart tournament, game of laser tag, followed by swimming in the pool.  Everything was a great success and everyone was sorry to go. 

That evening we went to Hometown Buffet for dinner, Jacob's choice.  His meal consisted of jello, pizza, and bread...followed by 3 or maybe more trips to the desserts for ice cream.  The day ended with a game of Battleship and a movie.  I think Jacob had a great and memorable 7th birthday!
Click here for more pictures from the day!

Ashley Furniture SUCKS

So in order to get on with my life, I need to tell this story.  Redding's Ashley Furniture Store SUCKS and this is why...

• January 25th we purchased furniture to complete our family room...a sectional couch, coffee table, pub table w/4 chairs, and a new TV stand and shelf to complete our existing entertainment center (previously purchased from Ashley).  We were told 6-8 weeks for delivery. 

• At 5 weeks out we called--were told they have been busy and delivery has been running the full 8 weeks.

• At 10 weeks we were told they would call to set up delivery for the week after Easter. That didn't happen. We were then told that portions of the couch have been backordered.  They have the other pieces but they can't deliver them separate (huh?)

• At 12 weeks we demand that what they have be delivered immediately. "Oh yes, oh yes, we'll get it sent to our distribution center for delivery."

• We are now at 14 weeks.  We call them on Tuesday and they say they have everything available but a section of the couch and that they can deliver everything else on Saturday (today).  That section is still in no where's land.  Fine give us what you have. 

• Friday afternoon-they tell us that they've got the WRONG TV stand and they have to order another one.  Aaron goes in to find out what the heck is going on and to pick up the add'l shelf for our entertainment center that has been waiting for us.  First off-it ends up being the WRONG shelf.  Oh and then with a whole other big screw up related to the TV stand (complete other story), they eventually say they'll order the correct stand (which they claim will take about a week) and shelf and that the wrong stand won't even be on the truck. 

• Saturday-Delivery guys come, kids are excited--we will FINALLY have a place to sit! It's pouring down rain so as they're delivering the pieces I'm wiping them down.  They go to deliver the TV stand-yes the one that was supposed to be canceled and not even on the truck-have to do a whole refusal process.  They then go to put together the pub table and chairs...they are the WRONG ones...the saleslady put in the wrong order number so all this time we have been waiting for the wrong table and chairs to be delivered.  I go to call her on her 'oh so special personal cell phone number she gave me in case of ANY problems from now on out' and guess what?  Goes to a voice mail box that says I can't leave a message because it's full. I call the store--goes to voice mail - the same voice mail that "NO ONE HAS EVER RECEIVED ONE OF OUR MESSAGES" ON. 

Current status--still waiting for the middle portion of our sectional couch, the pub table and chairs need to be swapped out for the correct ones, and we still are waiting on the TV stand and the additional shelf for the entertainment center.  Oh and I won't even go into the damaged coffee table....

In all these instance WE CALLED THEM, no one has called us. They have made excuse after excuse and will say whatever they can to get off the phone or have us leave the store.  The manager of the store Peter something or other is NEVER in the store and has NOT returned any phone calls. Customer Service should be everything to a business and is extremely important to us.  

When we purchased the furniture our saleswoman said that if we received the furniture within 6 weeks she'd be a hero, 8 weeks a heal.  What does it make her now that's it been 14 weeks and counting? 

Pink Tutu

Inspired by a pink tutu Ella recently got, we decided to do a quick photo shoot in the fields by our house! 

Click here to see more...LOTS MORE!

Big Day for Aaron

Wish him luck on his Captain's interview!

San Francisco Vacation

Spring Break is just about over...Ella's back at school tomorrow, Jacob has one more day.  We took a little mini trip to San Francisco for a few days and today (Sunday) we spent the afternoon outside enjoying the 90+ degree temperatures.  We did a lot on our San Francisco trip...here's some of the highlights:

Day 1

• Chinatown - had some of the best Chinese food ever, fun shops, saw how fortune cookies are made.  Jacob thought we were really in China!


• Pier 39 - Sea lions, merry-go-round--Ella LOVES the sea lions


• Fisherman's Wharf - dinner at a sourdough factory (bread bowls...mmmm), street performers

Day 2

• Lombard Street - fun walking up and down the STEEP streets of San Fran

• Ella had a picture drawn of her


• Playing on the beach near the Golden Gate


• Getting 'lost' on the other side of the Golden Gate, ending up in a one lane tunnel and on a beach with surfers 'on the other side of the world' in a situation much like the show LOST! 


• Exploratorium - Jacob wouldn't leave!


• Dinner @ PF Changs...unfortunately memorable for Lisa


• Swimming in the hotel

Day 3

• Ikea shopping


• 'Touring' Oakland


• Bead Show - Tax Write-Off!


• Jelly Belly Factory Tour

Click to see pictures from our vacation

Another day of exploring

We're in San Francisco

Chinatown to be exact!

Ella & Daddy video

Click here for a fun video (had to do something with all those pictures!)

Happy Easter 2009!

We had a beautiful day today!  My Mom, brother and the Nostrands joined us for brunch and an egg hunt.  The kids even got some swimming in! It was an absolute beautiful and fun day.  

Click Here for our Easter photos!

Saturday Spring Fun

Saturday morning we headed to City Hall for an Easter egg hunt for City employees.  Probably one of the harder Easter egg hunts I've witnessed!  The kids were lucky to come away with about 7-8 eggs each and that was with our help. They still had fun, it was held at the City Hall Sculpture Park which is always neat to walk through. 
(Click photo to make larger)

Saturday afternoon Jacob and I headed to Brayden's birthday party at Oasis Fun Center.  Unfortunately Jacob was feeling a little under the weather so we ended up leaving early.  He did get a round of mini-golf in before leaving,  though is bummed he didn't make it to the bumper cars. 

Saturday evening Aaron and I went out with my Mom to the 2nd Saturday Art Hop.  It is a really fun monthly event where you get to see local artists work displayed at locally operated business around town.  This month's theme was children's artwork and Alicia was hosting at one of the venues and her kids had artwork displayed.  We made sure to visit her first!  After spending a few hours indulging in the complimentary wine/cheese/desserts offered, seeing some fun art and meeting a lot of cool people-we went to dinner at Jeff's restaurant Vintage.  We enjoyed a delicious dinner and listened to some good music.  It was also a treat and rare occurence for Aaron and I to go anywhere with my Mom without the kids!

Just could not resist

Easter Egg Deco Time

Past Couple Weeks

Again I'm forgetting about this blog...geesh...considering this is where I write my life happenings which eventually gets printed out for me to refer to when I have Alzheimer's (how's that for a run-on sentence?), I'd better get at it.  Well let's see what's been happening?  The usual dance, souting, appts...in school news--Ella had Kindergarten round-up and got to meet all the Kindergarten teachers as well as check out the classrooms.  She was very excited about that!  Jacob had Open House which was fun and scary at the same time.  Scary because that means his 1st grade year is quickly coming to a close!  Here's a few pics from that...

 

Funny thing about this silhoutte...I immediately thought it looked like Aaron as a little boy.  I still don't see Jacob in it! 

 

Showing off his Flat Stanley project.  He sent it to Grandpa Ron in Pittsburgh.  So fun to see the adventures Flat Stanley had there!  Some of the highlights were visiting Fort Ligonier, the Sony Plant, Heinz Factory, Lenox Glass Factory, PA Fire Station, and a covered bridge. 

 

Hanging with his best buds.

Let's see what else....dinner club this month was a night out.  We hit Chevy's for dinner and then Johnny's for playing pool and a little dancing, finished the night out at Vintage. 

 

The next group of pictures were after we were all introduced to Lion Bars by Lisa (one of our 2 special guests to Dinner Club and Karen's sister).  Somehow we then all became spokespeople for Lion Bar and were filming a print ad campaign for them!

 

OK, I'll end this super long post with a picture of Jacob who recently lost his second tooth.  The tooth fairy brought him a dollar but he was upset because he was expecting $100.  Yeah, right. 

Pinewood Derby time!

The highlight of the year for the Cub Scouts is the Pinewood Derby event.  You purchase a kit (consists of a block of wood and some plastic wheels) and then construct it into a cool looking car and try to win the race.  Jacob and Aaron had a lot of fun making the car and went with the theme....wait for it....wait for it....Star Wars.  Of course!  Tonight was the big race and Jacob was in 2nd place in all of his races so unfortunately he didn't get to the finals but he did manage to get voted "most unique" car and won a big trophy!  He was so excited to race
and really, really wanted a trophy.  He kept saying he was so excited and afterwards kept saying he was "freaking out" that he won a big trophy.  To celebrate his win we went to McD's and to visit Aaron at the fire station.
 

Way to go Jacob!  We are so happy for you and proud of you!!

I'm Rob Thomas's Favorite...

Ahhhh.....long story short--I'm on Twitter, Rob Thomas is one of my Twitter friends, he likes to do this photo scavenger hunt thing, I've been giving him a hard time about it but today decided to play, sent him a picture of me in my Mrs. Joker costume, got a response from him (nice.) AND MOST IMPORTANT he put it in his favorites.  Yeah, he loves me. 
 

Bottom line...when I run off with a rock star I'll be sure to write!  I already ran it by Aaron, he's totally OK with it. 

Interview with a 5 and 6 year old

There's a fun little questionnaire going around Facebook I thought I'd share. I interviewed Ella (5 years old) and Jacob (6 years old) and here are their answers....

1. What is something mom always says to you?
(E) - Be nice to your brother.
(J) - To behave

2. What makes mom happy?
(E) - Giving her presents
(J) - Kissing her

3. What makes mom sad?
(E) - If I am mean to her.
(J) - Seafood

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
(E) - Being silly
(J) - Saying funny stuff

5. What was your mom like as a child?
(E) - She was just like me.
(J) - Just like me

6. How old is your mom?
(E) - 12 years old
(J) - 35

7. How tall is your mom?
(E) - 10 inches
(J) - 60 inches

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
(E) - Make some jewelry
(J) - Work

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
(E) - Makes some jewelry and talk on the phone too.
(J) - Take Ella to fun places

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
(E) - Bookclub
(J) - Singing

11. What is your mom really good at?
(E) - Making some jewelry
(J) - Work

12. What is your mom not very good at?
(E) - Doing some art, maybe clay.
(J) - Starting fires

13. What does your mom do for her job?
(E) - Makes some jewelry and gets some money.
(J) - Jewelry

14. What is your mom's favorite food?
(E) - Seafood
(J) - Seafood

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
(E) - Helping you make jewelry
(J) - Work

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
(E) - Maybe a dog.
(J) - Godzilla

17. What do you and your mom do together?
(E) - Playing
(J) - Watch movies

18. How are you and your mom the same?
(E) - We both have polka dot dresses.
(J) - Nothing

19. How are you and your mom different?
(E) - Both of us have different hair.
(J) - We don't have the same hair.

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
(E) - Cause she gives me kisses when it gets dark.
(J) - Because I kiss her.

21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
(E) - Going to her Mom’s house.
(J) - Hawaii  

The main themes seafood and me working.  The seafood is interesting because I'm really not a huge fan.  And apparently I work too much with my jewelry!  I'll have to do this every couple years to see how the responses change as they get older.

It's been awhile!

Again, I keep forgetting I have this blog...oops!  The older the kids get, the busier it gets around here.  We've been doing a bit of house redecorating too and that's kept us busy with cleaning and researching/browsing the stores for future household purchases.  We've been in this house for 9 years now and I'm finally getting to the point where I'm loving just about every room and feel it reflects us and fits our needs....just took close to a decade years and gutting and remodeling just about every room of the house we watched being built! 

I wanted to share about a new blog I found through my recent fairly 'Twitter' obsession. 
It's a brand new blog that launched this week.  It's called Parenting Tips Daily and you can find it here. Today she is having the first giveaway (a cute children's book) and it's the first of what I would imagine be many giveaways.  Please go check it out!

Birthday Ski Trip

Saturday was my birthday (oh and the 2nd day of Ella's as she frequently told us) and we headed up to Mt. Shasta for the weekend.  My birthday wish came true...my whole family can now ride the chair-lifts and ski/snowboard down the mountain!  We had so much fun...the Nostrands joined us for the weekend also and in addition to skiing we hung out eating, drinking and swimming at our hotel.  Such a fun weekend! 

Click here for some photos!

Here's some videos....

And this last vid shows Jacob skiing off the main trail. It's his new favorite thing...not too sure how I feel about that. I'm thinking I don't like it.