Readers Digest- May/June 2009

May 2009:

There is a long story behind this new television. Since this is the Reader’s Digest version, I’ll just leave it at this: Bought an old CRT TV at an auction for $180.00; Found out there was a class action lawsuit associated with it; Got this beautiful plasma TV at no extra cost to us. Best deal ever!

Hunter designed and made his last pinewood derby car- a Lego racer.

Check out the helmet and the Webelos logo on the top. Impressive!

Celebrated for Hunter’s birthday at Disneyland/California Adventure. This was when they drained the lake to build a new Fantasmic-like show.

Everyone loves the teacups… Except Mommy. I hate them.

June 2009:

Hunter became a candidate for student body office…

and ran a fun, clean campaign. (He won too!)

Hunter in his birthday-boy crown

Me and Hannah- We just loved going to Ruby’s Diner

Rob, Emma, and Sabrina- When we would go to Ruby’s we would always check in next door at the Barnes & Noble too. We love both milkshakes and books!

Hannah starred in her first how-to video.

Hunter left behind Cub Scouts and was welcomed into Boy Scouts.

I spent a week at Girls Camp (Here’s me with the other leaders). We were supposed to pick a source of light to go along with the theme, and the girls chose Lava Lamps. Groovy!

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Readers Digest- Mar/Apr 2009

March 2009:

Hunter’s grade did a Colonial Day where they spent all day doing things like they were done at the beginning of our country’s history. I worked this station helping the kids with calligraphy.

Here Hunter is putting together a corn husk doll. They also whittled soap, made wooden hand games, did square dancing, quilted, punched tin, and some other things I can’t remember now.

I borrowed this dress for the occasion, and tried to make myself look old fashioned.

Emma took her first acting class, and played the baker in “The Gingerbread Boy.” She was fabulous dah-ling!

I took this picture to do a post, and then never did it. The gist of it was this:  How do you manage the socks in your house? I have one laundry basket filled with non-matched socks, and every couple weeks I pay the kids a nickel per pair to match them up. All of the matched ones are mixed together and kept in the same basket. Seems to work ok, but any other ideas?

Emma dressed up for a biography report at school, and was just beautiful.

School Jog-A-Thon Day

Sabrina agreed to model for Emma’s first fashion photo shoot. Emma’s got an eye for photography already.

This is one of my favorite photos Emma took that day.

April 2009:

The kids had fun with this April Fools joke: Try to pick up the coins- They’re really stickers!

We got Hunter to smile in a picture- Happy Birthday to me!

Rob surprised me by arranging for Nana & Papa to take the kids while we spent the weekend at Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego. Who knew that in six months we would be moving nearby?

I was called into the Young Womens program and got to spend time with teenagers doing stuff like this. I loved it!

Sabrina started a preschool/playgroup we called “Princess Academy.” Hannah got to join in sometimes too.

Hunter gave ice hockey a try at the Discovery Science Center.

The girls took a “ride” on the Magic School Bus.

We made tie-dye cupcakes for a Girls Camp fundraiser. So yummy!

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Reader’s Digest Version -Jan/Feb 2009

I wanted to recap the year in one post, but since this year was not the best blogging year for me, I think I’ll do it in little condensed issues. So here is our January & February issue:

Hunter, Emma, and Mom all auditioned for Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach. Behind the kids are examples of the artwork in the show.

An “Emma & Mommy day” at the American Girl Place in LA. It was like going to heaven for her!

Rob tried out a new look, and so did Sabrina. Twinners!

Hannah celebrated her birthday wearing her pirate costume on the “Pirates of the Caribbean” ride. Cutest pirate ever!

I changed the look of our bedroom by getting a new duvet and dying our lilac colored bed skirt a chocolate brown.

Rob took a business trip to New York city and made a new friend at the Carnegie Deli.

We drove to Logan to visit all of the family there. Lots of fun, cousins, and food!

More cousins, snow, and sledding!

Uncle Gary made sure the kids all got a good ride.

Estee and Hannah with their Valentine kisses!

We thought we would have to leave Utah without ever seeing it snow. But on our last day it did, and we got to build snowmen.

Sabrina got her piggy cake for her birthday…

and a throne to sit on as she opened her presents!

Hannah and her pre-school friend Krista were ready for the whale watching  trip!

We saw many dolphins swimming next to our boat…

and we even saw a few whales! They’re harder to spot because they don’t jump out of the water like the dolphins.

And last, we went to a Valentines Day 80’s dance that was so rad! The kids had their own little party while the adults went crazy and reminisced the past.

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Christmas in Five Minutes

There’s something magical about Christmas, and every year we take a ton of pictures and video to try and capture it all. We rarely go back and look at the videos again though because it would take hours to get through them. This year Rob decided to put in several hours of work and consolidate the highlights of the day into five minutes. Before you watch this you should know that we like to make up names for who gave the gifts so that they aren’t all “from Mom & Dad.” It’s a tradition that started with Rob’s Dad and we have openly embraced it. (Don’t worry though, if you sent gifts, we didn’t make up names for you. The kids know who really sent them!) So pull up a pillow, and don’t blink or you’ll miss something. Rob did a wonderful job:

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aG7d5m4UjrA

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Halloween ’09

Because today is Friday the 13th, I think I am justified in posting some Halloween pictures even though it is long since passed… We were able to celebrate the holiday in both Orange and San Diego counties. Hannah was able to squeeze in one last field trip to the pumpkin patch  before the move, and also had a costume parade with her new class. We went to the church trunk or treat and did some trick or treating around our neighborhood, which turned out to be a great way to meet a lot of our new neighbors.

Emma had plans for being Hermione from Harry Potter since she fell in love with the series over the summer. She came up with the costume all on her own- even making herself a wand from a stick with some real wizardish personality. We never did end up getting her the Hogwarts robe because I was too distracted with the move to make one, and too cheap to shell out $30+ for a store bought one. Lucky for me Emma looked perfect with her semi-frizzy hair, time turner, plaid skirt, v-neck sweater and suede boots.

Hunter had wanted to be a man eating shark- literally. But we weren’t able to track down a shark for him to be eating, so he came up with this costume on the fly- a pirate king. (We’re all fans of the song from Pirates of Penzance.)  The shirt he is wearing has little skulls and cross bones on it, and with the regal robe, he looked great!

Sabrina was set on being Belle from Beauty and the Beast until she got the adorable candy corn skirt from Aunt Korby a few days before Halloween. She loved the skirt and decided to be a Candy Corn Princess instead, and was adorable. Sabrina is destined to open a Bath & Body shop one day because she loves all scented things. Most specifically: candles, lotions, and chap sticks (aka lipsticks). She has a beloved candy corn candle and once she got the skirt, she wore the skirt and carried the candle everywhere!

Hannah is now a huge fan of fairies. She loves the Tinkerbell movie and books that we have and her favorite fairy, other than Tinker Bell, is Silvermist the water fairy.  So Hannah was Silvermist for our trick or treating nights. At school she wore a more school friendly costume that she got from her Aunt Jeanette  which was from another of her favorite movies, Barbie’s Princess and the Pauper. She was lovely in both costumes!

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Guess What I Am?

I finally got my photo gallery caught up through May, and came across some fun things that I haven’t shared. One of them is the game Guess What I Am. It really is “hilarious fun for everyone.” We love this game because even Sabrina can play along without having to team up with Mommy or Daddy, and we can play it really quickly in just one round when we’re short for time, or do several rounds and make it a full game. It gets you thinking and sorting in your mind because you are trying to figure out which person or animal you are by only asking questions, but it doesn’t feel like learning because it’s so fun. We all highly recommend this game!

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