November 1,2011

After 13 years with us, we had to put Bella to sleep. With in a week, she went from being her usual self, purring and cooing, following us around the house and begging for love and milk to a cat that couldn't purr and barely walk without loosing her balance. She was as loving as any dog and the best cuddler in the world. The boys were sad but didn't cry. Sometimes at bedtime as I do the usual routine of tucks and nose, butterfly and cheek kisses, we'll purr as a reminder of the friend we miss.






For the sweetest cat a family could have we needed to do something special. So we buried her down by the creek under the trees.




We made a special stone to remember her by.

Pumpkin carving and Halloween 2011

Frankenstein and his bride went out on a date this year. They look pretty good for being dead.

The boys were the Grim Reaper and the ghost of pumpkins past (no pictures of Jacob yhis year).

What did our pumpkins from the patch look like. Well here they are. The boys and I got together and looked at some pictures and decided that Jacob's pumpkin should eat my pumpkin and Jackson's would have a belly full of ghosts. I have to say, we out did ourselves this year. Even Aron got in on the action this year.

A little of this and a little of that.........

Just a few pictures to show what we've been up to.

Sad to Say Goodbye!

September 27, 2011, the fort, table and chairs met their end at the curbside of Lynne. The table set had a longer life of the two. With us since Jackson was a baby and Jacob a toddler, three houses ago. It gained fame as the place of a tea party with a bare bottom boy and Mr. Jones Frog in attendance with shade provided by a frog umbrella. The fort was with us since the beginning at Lynne. Several additions and remodels were made over the years but was never completed to satisfaction. It was the place of many tea parties, lunches and swinging. Both sat lonely and abandoned for the last couple years. The fort is survived by reclaimed wood boards providing shelter for chickens not too far away. The final resting place for the fort and table set is at the dump.

First Day of School- there's a new Sheriff in town

I'm having a little fun with Photoshop, hope you don't mind. First day of the 2011-2012 school year. With a new school year comes a new sheriff. As school, homework and soccer practice start up again, I decide this year we'll be more organized, and the boys will have more responsibility.

So, I announce my plan to the boys, "Boy's, there's a new sheriff in town this year and if you want an allowance, you'll have to do all your chores everyday! I'll make up a check sheet so you know exactly what is expected of you. Okay?"

"Okay," they reply.

The next morning as I'm getting my coffee and the kids their cereal, Jackson asks, "Mom, who's the new sheriff?"

Swim Champs

It was another great swim season. The boys should be very proud of how hard they worked to improve their times. A few push ups and dips along with a smattering of short interval runs, helped them with new break through times, especially for Jacob. He went from being in the top 10 simmers and the B relay team to second or third fastest and A relay team. Jackson is still great in the freestyle. He really smokes it, and depending on the day he's the fastest kid on his team, though the competition is fierce for his age group.

Jacob's times this season were:

18.59s backstroke

17.84s butterfly

36.50s 50m freestyle

14.5s 25m freestyle best (split)

20.54s breast stroke

1.30.96 Individual Medley

Jackson's swim times:

16.41s 25m freestyle

20.75s back stroke

20.0s butterfly

38s 50m freestyle

At the awards banquet, both boys received many medals and made it to the finals for several events at Champs. As always, my favorite part of the evening, The Candy Awards did not disappoint me. Jackson got Pop Rocks because he's so crazy and loud. Jacob got a Big Hunk.....I'm sure you can figure out that out. If you do, can you explain it to Jacob because he doesn't understand the meaning!

P.S. Jackson is actually the hunk in the family based on the number of girlfriends he has had. Currently, he likes Stella. She's a cute girl in his class whose very smart. He and Stella had a picnic lunch date at the club during the summer. She made him a PB&J sandwich and brought drinks. Be sure to ask him about her if you see him.

A day with Mom

It's been a while since the kids and I spent an afternoon together, just the 3 of us. First we went with Nonna to see the new Crocker addition. The boys were troopers but after a couple hours, they were board and ready to go home. I wasn't ready to go home yet and thought what excursion would be complete without a little treat. We took a short detour to Rick's diner. Yummo, we shared two slices of cake and were done in minutes with only a few crumbs to show for our purchase. I saw Jacob eyeing his plate, before he could do anything I told him there was no way he was going to lick his plate clean. Ahhhh.

Swim Season

It's been a great season! Jackson's best buddies, Cody and Alex are on the team and were in his class at his new school. Oh and the same goes for his new girlfriend, Stella. The boys have worked so hard at their stroke techniques and quickness. Aron has been a great coach getting the boys to do extra exercises and taking them to extra lessons. Jacob has continued to improve his times at every meet all season. I think he finally has the maturity to understand the work that goes into achieving a goal. Jackson was worked hard too but has not been as consistent- he's only 8 I keep reminding myself. Even at that, he's managed to achieve his goals for most of his events. I think he likes socializing more than anything. I have to say, when he turns it on he's like lightening and everyone stops and watches. He has a beautiful freestyle stroke while Jacob has the power and endurance to help him. Although I'm exhausted, not just from swim season, but waking up at 5:00 am to work out most days before work, I take a mental picture of last night, the annual pasta feed.

Jacob runs up with 3 of his friends, I ask what's up. He replies nothing, we're going swimming and takes off the coolest t-shirt he has and quickly turns and runs to the pool. All 4 boys meet at the pools edge at the same time and all dive in with Jacob being first. This year, all the boys on the relay teams got buzz cuts so they all look the same. I look around for Jackson and don't see him but I'm sure he's 'buzzing' about like he does. As I look around I notice just how many people I know and call friends and still how many there are that I haven't met and will try to get to know next season. It doesn't get much better then that.

It's been a good year. The boys should be proud. All their hard work comes down to this weekend, Championships!

Santa Cruz Boardwalk

For the Forth of July, we got out of the Sacramento heat and braved the traffic to Santa Cruz for the weekend. It was so beautiful and relaxing. It was our first time to Santa Cruz. In keeping with tradition, we had calamari-oh so fresh, yummy. The kids loved the boardwalk. Their first ride was the picture above. They did NOT find it fun! The second ride was the Big Dipper and we all went on it. The general consensus was that it was okay. Aron and I are too old to find it fun and the boys are too young.

What stops a swim meet?

Only lightening, come rain or shine, it's on! Those kids are tough.

May

Strange weather this year. A ton of rain and just when we thought Spring was sprung, it not only rained but hailed, so much that it looked like snow. (We're thinking of re-landscaping with white rocks now so it can look like snow all year round.)

What do you do when it hails outside? You pitch a tent in the living room and have a tea party of course. I believe this would be our third somewhat annual Tea Party. Aron blessed us with his presence for this formal occasion. (I think it was the freshly baked oatmeal scotchies the boys made that did it. They've become great chefs and helpers in the kitchen. I think Jacob may be able to make risotto by himself.) Back to the party, we had Chai tea with milk and honey which we dipped our cookies in. The tent was a tight fit for Aron- I think he felt like a giant with the small tent and tiny tea cups.

April

Easter was nice and quiet. In preparation for the day, Aron passed the lawn mower duties to Jacob who accepted with excitement.

Aunt Gina came for a visit, and we took some time out for some girl shopping, so fun! On Sunday, we decided to skip church and be lazy. We tasted our treats from the Easter Bunny and set took it easy preparing for company. It was the usual, Grandma and pa, Irene, Gina, and us. Unfortunately my mom was sick with the flu so she couldn't make it. I tried a new recipe for coconut cupcakes, yummy. I think these are second to red velvet cake

March

So, I'm a little behind on my updates. Here are some of the things that happened in March.

It was Spirit day at school and the theme was the 80's. Jackson was up for dressing up but Jacob was too cool. He's come a long way from 'Tiara Fridays' at Camp-Have-A-Lot-Of-Fun. It was surprisingly easy to get Jackson dressed and even easier to get him to pose like a professional. I guess some things you never forget.

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It was a rainy month, too. As usual, the yard flooded. Jackson had a blast whipping the waters with his stick. My tulips and daffodils were in bloom, but you could only see a lone, delicate flower barely keeping it's head above the waters.

The Big Chess Tournment

The boys have been in a chess club. This was their second tournament. They didn't do so well, but they may be because we had friends over for dinner so the kids were up until everyone left around 11:00ish.

Construction begins

I thought I'd post this just because I thought it was cute.