90

Last week we had the extreme pleasure of wishing my Grandma a Happy 90th birthday. Her story is one that I treasure, since her story becomes our heritage. Born of immigrant parents who spoke only broken English, at their best. They refused to let any of the 10 children speak anything BUT English, so that they could "Be American". My grandparents were the rebels by moving WAY out to the west coast when my grandfather got transferred. The rest of the family still lives in the original 5 mile radius, in New York. She was the adventurer, the one who took risks, challenges when they came, and was always looking for the fun in a situation.

She is now the oldest of the siblings, and is the one who has lived the longest EVER in her family. We had an absolute wonderful time, being with family, eating, laughing, eating some more, and celebrating her. Then we ate again. Hey, we are Italian, it is what we do! Her youngest brother came out from New York, as did my cousin. It was magical having us all together for a couple of days.

Happy Birthday GG, we love you!!!

Drivers Start Your Engines.................

The Official Logo for this year's VBS experience

My two race car drivers!

This week has been filled with Vacation Bible School! Oh how I love it!!! Since our church is in the middle of building our own building, and before that never had our own building, we visit the neighboring church and are invited to their VBS. Every year it is AMAZING!!! The stage that they transform to the coordinating theme.........The volunteers that dress the part, everyday. The work and effort that this church puts in is truly blessing to those they serve. This year 1100 kids are attending. They had to finally turn away some, for that age group was full. This church serves our community, and knows the definition of hospitality. They also have a gift for serving and teaching our children. I for one, am extremely thankful!

Goodbye Ol' Friend

We bought this chair 10 days after Bubba was born. It instantly became my favorite chair, and most treasured baby item. Something about gliding, reading, singing, or just sleeping was soothing for us both. This is the place where I first read to my kids"Goodnight Moon", " Where the Wild Things Are," and "The Napping House". We have said countless prayers, sang a billion songs, and slept more hours than I can count in this chair. This chair became a haven for both of my kids as a safe calm place.

But alas, all good things come to an end. Now, when we read to Missy in the chair, her feet almost touch the ground. It isn't as comfortable with a "BIG" kid in the chair with you with long arms, long torso, and just long. So the chair has sat in Missy's room for a little over a year, being a haven for her babies and stuffed animals. But now it is time to move on. Both kids were kind of sad to see it go, for they have as many found memories as I do. However, a couple at church is expecting their first little one, and need a chair. So we said good-bye. We showed them where the treasure secret pillow can hide, making the chair THAT much more comfortable. It is good to bless someone else with a need, but there is part of me that is sad to see my friend go and be reminded that we don't have little ones anymore................

And the Winner Is.......

Testing being done

Official Judges

New or Original.......Which would win

The other day while shopping for snacks to take to the beach, the kiddos found these NEW Oreos. This presents a conundrum in life. To have something NEW, usually is expanding on the old, or changing it. These (although you can't see the middle) are inside out Oreos. The cookie is vanilla and the center is chocolate! We thoroughly enjoyed them at the beach, but without the original to compare to, it left us wondering on which one is truly better.

Hence, today while giving the kiddos a snack, we had impromptu Taste Test. As you can see each "Judge" was given equal amounts of cookies and flavors, and the tasting began. It was funny to me, that although blindfolded, they each picked the New one first.

The Winner: The NEW Inside out Oreo. They both said that it was close, but the new ones aren't quite as sweet. Although an Oreo consumer for many many years, I have to agree. The 98 year old cookie, may have met its match this year.

15

This is us before the Michael Buble Concert that he gave me for Christmas!

Fifteen years ago, I married my best friend. Back then I wasn't sure what real love was, because I think I was too young, and too dumb. We were "in-love" and that is all that mattered. Now, years later, I love this man more than I did back then. Except for now, I really truly LOVE him. We are on a roller coaster of life, and I am SO glad I am strapped in with him. I am still "in-love" with him, and LOVE him, which is that much sweeter. Happy Anniversary Babe!

A Job Well Done........

True love with Build a Bear. She is my adventure Queen!

Of course his car is green ~ his favorite color. He was able to pick every accessory that he wanted for now, and customize his own car.

Sadly, you can't even see the TRUE soaking that happened. This is a teaser really.

My kids have worked REALLY, REALLY hard this year. When I went back to work that was adjustment #1. Going back to school, adjustment #2, and for Missy, going to school all day for kindergarten, was the biggest adjustment of all! Well, I quite honestly didn't know what to expect for this year according to grades. 3rd grade at our school is a HUGE jump from 2nd, as a Mom I was concerned for Bubba. How would he do, what could we expect, there was a lot of maturing that was expected and required from him. Then there was the start of kindergarten. Because we had already done this once, I was at peace with Missy going, but not sure how she would adjust. She is different from Bubba academically.

However, my kids shined!!! Yes, I am taking this moment to brag on my kids. They each learned the meaning of perseverance this year. They learned what it meant to really work, respectively on their own. The final report card for each of them was GLORIOUS!!! Truly I was amazed and proud of both of them.

So, Hubby and I decided that they deserved a bonus for all of their hard work. We took the kids to California Adventure, and let them make ALL of the decisions. They chose the rides, the shows, where and when to eat, EVERYTHING! I love days like these. It is fun to see them come up with compromises on their own, decide things together, and know that they have the run of the park. This meant that we rode on Grizzly Rapids ~ TWICE!!! WE go SOAKED!!! We played in the Redwood forest for a long time, just enjoying the play area. We ate pizza, popcorn, and indulged with Cotton Candy. Most important, was we laughed ~ a lot.

Then came the fun part.......Shopping!!! Bubba really wanted a remote control car that he got to build himself at Ride Makerz (think Build a Bear for boys). Missy split her money between Build a Bear and then saved some for American Girl store (future post to come). It was an incredible day spoiling our kids for all of their hard work.

Welcome Summer

Ah Summer is officially here! Not only is it officially here by the calendar status, but it is also here because school is FINALLY over. This has been a year of growth for all of us. Yet, we have successfully finished Kindergarten for Missy, 3rd Grade for Bubba, and College for me. WHEW!! Now, we can relax, look forward to the days spent at the beach, and as of today get assigned new chores.

My Mama is a smart lady! Here is one of my tricks I am stealing from her. When we entered school, our primary job was school. So although we had chores, there were some that were lessened, or forgotten during the school year because our focus was school. Then came summer. With summer came extra responsibility so that we ALL could play. In her wisdom, there was NO need for her to be doing the primary share of the chores, when there were helpers who could help and who wanted to do fun things. So alas, every summer we either learned a new chore working toward independence or regained a chore that was set aside during the school year.

This summer Missy is learning to make her bed. She was very excited this morning when lessons started. It is going to be interesting to see her progress since she is the littlest member of the family with the tallest bed in the house. What a hoot!

Bubba is going to learn the domestic lesson of loading and unloading the dishwasher. Now because of the design of our kitchen, there may be some I have to help with if I want any dishes left at the end of summer. But for the most part he should be good, and able to reach.

I am looking forward to days spent by my brother's pool (since we don't have one). Setting up the slip and slide, going to the beach, having picnics in the backyard with the dog. We are attempting to have a movie screen set up in the backyard for nighttime showings of fun family flicks, with neighbors and friends. I am looking forward to friends coming to eat on the patio, and listening to the sweet music of our children playing. I need summer in more ways than one, and am very excited that it is finally here!