Science Fair

Jenna came home with a flyer last week for a science fair at Golden West College.  She was actually really excited about going, so we put it on the calendar (and gave her teacher another mark for a job well done).  Jenna's teacher is the district science coordinator, and she loves teaching science, and I'm sure her enthusiasm sparked the interest in Jenna.

We met our friends, the Hansons and Petersons, over at the college and had a great time.   We visited a natural gas demonstration, a room with microscopes to view bugs and tadpoles, a human bones room where the girls checked out the placement of their bones and tried to guess which bum bone their friend broke, a slime-making room, and the Home Depot table where they kids built a bulletin board.  On our way out, we ran into the girls' teacher.  That was great fun since these girls love their teacher so much.  We took all these photos for "evidence" that we visited the fair, but running in to teacher was evidence enough.  We liked the fair so much, we may even visit the one at Orange Coast College next month.

Birthday Sunday

As of Sunday, I am officially half of a right angle.  That's what I told Jenna when she asked me.  It took her a few minutes to work it out.

Kelly made us a wonderful breakfast before church with waffles, hash browns and bacon.  After church, he and the girls worked in the heat to turn 2 ribeye steaks into...Shepherd's Pie!  I was so impressed.  We found out our oven was broken, but Kelly pulled it off using other cooking methods.  The girls were a big help, and I was not allowed in the kitchen.

After dinner, I opened presents and cards that had been waiting for a few days.  The girls made their own cards on the computer and assembled gifts from things we had around the house.  I loved all of my presents.  The biggest gift came a few days before my birthday...

It is the new Canon Rebel T4i.  I wasn't sure about this expense right now, but I figured by the time we could comfortably afford it, the subjects I wish to photograph would be off to college.  That sealed the deal.  I love this camera!

I sat on the floor and snapped this shot of Winston looking at me.  I'm going to have a lot of fun with this.  My birthday was so wonderful, mostly because of all the good wishes and thoughtful gestures.  I felt so loved.

Busy Saturday

It was a hot, busy, but very fun Saturday for the Peterson gals.  Dad was away on a Scout trip having his own fun in the heat.  Jenna had a 9AM soccer game, and she played really well.  It was humid and miserable, however, and we were all a little shocked that there wasn't so much as a breeze to cool us off.

After soccer, I met my friend, Angie, at the Boudin Bakery for a birthday lunch.  It is always a treat when she and I get to hang out.  She brought me a beautiful pumpkin basket with at fragrant spice candle inside.  Awesome and totally me!

After lunch, I picked my girls up and we headed down to Huntington Beach to see our friends, Daisy and Grace, play softball.  Daisy is Angie's daughter, and we met in our teaching credential program, graduated and had our first babies with in a month of each other.  Grace is Sheryl's daughter, and we met as mommies on the Kindergarten playground.  Small world when the daughters of my two dear, long-time friends end up on the same winter ball team together!  Daisy pitches like a madwoman, and Grace is a powerful hitter.  It was great to see them play!

Pilar, Heather, Daisy and Grace

Kelly and I were able to get out for a quick dinner at Super Mex.  I didn't care about a big birthday celebration because my birthday present was so awesome.  More birthday in the next post.  

Walking, Lunch and Sunset

Friday started out with a walk on the beach.  Shea and I took a power walk from Beach Blvd to the end of the pier and back.  It was a beautiful morning, and it was fun to see all the set up for the Pro Beach Volleyball tournament taking place this weekend.

After the walk, I met Michelle and Sheryl for an extended birthday brunch.  I love spending time with my friends, and it was a treat to do so in small chunks today.  It affords one the opportunity to really connect during small gatherings.  I don't know why I didn't have the waitress take a picture, but I do have a snapshot of the book Sheryl gave me.  I was so in the mood for a new book to get lost in, and I really like this author.

After school, we weren't doing too much.  Kelly was off on a scout outing.  Heather had been home with a stomach ache for three days, and she fell asleep around dinner time.  I was restless, and Jenna and I tried playing a video game together (I am not a video game person--they make me nervous).  She told me I was doing better than Daddy (ha, ha), but I was so restless while sitting there (I blame caffiene) that we stopped and grabbed Winston to go for a walk.  We walked over to the Holbrook's stopping on the water tower to look at the beautiful sunset.  Michelle and Sarah happened to be outside, and we stopped to visit for a bit.  We stayed so long that Michelle drove us home!  It was really a fun day.

Soccer, Sauna, Swimming

It was 99 degrees in Huntington Beach when Jenna's team took the field at 1:00PM.  The girls did pretty well considering, and they won their game.  I had some ice water towels for them at the half, and the promise of being able to pour the melted ice water over the coaches head if they won was very appealing.  The coach was a little shocked, but very cooled off after the game.

There wasn't much to do after the game except recover from the heat.  I took a break in my bedroom under the ceiling fan hoping to stay cool.  The bedroom temp was 84.  It was like a sauna in the room! This is really unbelievable heat we've had.  

Sarah came over for a bit, and the girls swam in the pool, played with some Play-Doh, and then grabbed Heather for a little night swim.  They would rather have an in-ground pool, but they weren't complaining at the refreshment received in our blow-up.

Calendaring, Budgeting, Yada, Yada

On Tuesday morning, I spent a good hour going over our calendar.  I've been forgetting things or forgetting to tell Kelly things...not good.  We have just entered a period in our lives where are girls are both going to have sports practices aside from their music lessons and church activities.  We're not over-scheduling, but the activities definitely have to be listed so we know what's going on.

Organizing rule of thumb #72, have only ONE calendar in a central location.  I've had one on my fridge forever, and then there is the one in my purse.  I know I've been breaking this rule for awhile, but how else can I have my fridge calendar with me?  Well, I can with the iCal app on our phones, but I can't part with my pencil yet.  I did, however, update all 3 calendars because Kelly only uses iCal.   I was very proud of myself, and I will try to use the iCal app to see if I like it.  Old habits die hard which is why, even if I have the fortune to have an iPad, I will still love my pretty, papery, solid books over ebooks.  Does this make me 'old' being this set in my ways?  I think not, but I'm sure my kids will think it as they get older.  Oh well.

If we are ever going to begin making the repairs needed to our house, I have to get a budget together.  And then stick with it.  This store will be my most challenging budget buster.  Budgeting will kind of be like going on a diet.  Target will be the chocolate I'll need to give up (or use in moderation) if I want to lose some pounds (or save dollars).

I got this great gauzy fabric in the Halloween section today.  See what I mean?  Target is so awesome.  This is gonna take some major willpower.  Instead of thinking, "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels," I'll just have to think, "Nothin' looks as good as my new updated, non-moldy bathroom feels."  Okay, well, I'm trying.  I can do this, right?

New Soccer Season

Jenna's soccer season began today with their first game.  She is playing in U12 now, and the play is different.  We thought it would be more challenging, but it isn't really.  We've heard that by this time, the girls that have a lot of skill either got to the Flex team or Club teams.  The girls Jenna's age that we know have gone this route, and I haven't seen any other familiar faces.  I think she'll still have fun this season and get to practice playing a new position which will be good for her, and it might be nice to learn without all the pressure.

Grandpa catches Jenna's games when he's in town, and we drag Heather along too (under green towel).  Check out the coaches below...there is an assistant coach who might look familiar.  No one else took the position, so Kelly signed up for it.  He hasn't played or coached soccer, but he understands the game, and he'll be good for the girls.

First Day of School

We're on to 5th Grade and 8th Grade! Where has the time gone???  And weirdly, it was raining as we left for first day drop off.

Here, Heather shows how she feels about school...but really, she did look forward to seeing her friends, being in Yearbook class, and to the great teachers she would have for the year.  Mr. White worked diligently last year to make Heather's first year at Fulton a great one, and he made sure this year was set before he left to take a Principal position at a Westminster school.  I will miss working with him; he really understood what we wanted for Heather, no long explanations needed.   Heather is really doing well in spite of the challenges she deals with.  We are really, really proud of the young woman she is becoming.

Jenna started her first day at Gisler Elementary.  She knew three people, one well enough to try and look forward to her day.  After finding out that there was not any possible room for the only 5th grader on the waiting list at Courreges, Jenna decided to give Gisler a try.  We weren't too sad about being turned away at Courreges mostly because of the bursting-at-the-seams phenomenon going on over there.  We are happy that Jenna will be at a smaller school, and she has an amazing teacher who has already wowed the Peterson family, and we've only been in school three days!  She will give Gisler a go for a solid month before we discuss doing anything else.  There was anxiety this week along with tears on the first day, but we're hoping as each day goes by, the anxiety will lessen.  Let me just say that I don't want to see any quotes in the press from our District Office talking about the seamless transition after the school closure.  These kids have suffered, and although they are resilient, lets not forget that change is hard at any age.  

Friends Ellie, Grace, Rachel, Jenna and Camilla (surprise from church!)

Vernon, Arizona

It's been two years since we made a visit to Aunt Kathy and Uncle Chuck in Vernon.  As we finished our hiking and beach camping this summer, the girls said, "Can we please make trip to see Aunt Kathy and Uncle Chuck?"  We did some thinking and planning, and we were able to plan a long weekend from Friday to Monday night.  We rented a Hyundai Santa Fe (a free upgrade from the standard size we reserved) and made the eleven-hour drive on Friday.  Oh yes, it's a ten-hour drive when you don't travel with a dog.  But we took Winston, and he did great.  Aunt Michelle, Joanna and Kasey and Cole met us on Saturday.  Thanks to Aunt Kathy and Uncle Chuck for their hospitality, their patience and most of all, their love.

Here are some photos of our trip...

The scenery and weather on the way

Walking Winston out in the open (he didn't make it very far on the rocky road and high elevation)

Homemade pizza without sauce, and accident that turned into a tradition

View from the front porch

The girls and Kasey playing with the dogs

The sky after a monsoon

Yummy barbecue

Winston doing his thing

Picnicking with Aunt Michelle

One of many sunsets

Cousins - Michelle, Joanna and I

Quad rides, a favorite activity with all the land available for riding

Mountain sunflowers

Aunt Kathy's roses

The gang

The gorgeous sky on the trip home (which was scary at times with rain and lightening)