Young Grasshopper Presents

Here's a funny short video of Jackson showing off his mad skills. And to think he's had no technical training-it's amazing.

Going Green

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Jackson would like to tell you about some naughty leprechauns that came to his class last night. Over the weekend, some kids concocted traps for the leprechauns to see if they could catch them and get some gold. Yesterday, they set the traps in class and here's what happened....

Little Explorers- Blazzing Trails

So, now that the yard is expanded, the boys just love to go outside and explore. Here's what they found today. I hope this works...I'm exploring putting videos on for the first time.

My Little Picasso

The boys started taking an art class at our gym. I think they enjoy it. It's only been twice that they have gone. Now, I haven't seen Jackson's work since his teacher is saving it for the art show at the end of the year. Jacob, is more shy about his work and opted to bring it home. The first one is a self portrait. He was happy with it except for the size of his feet. I'm not sure what the meaning of the other one is. Jacob seems to be more abstract in his art. Enjoy!

Spring Time Means Work Time

February 28th, We embarked on a great undertaking......moving our fence to make the most of our yard. Since last summer, we have attempted to kill the grass and landscape by the creek. Our progress has been slowed by the menacing prison fence that divides the yard.

The land on the other side of the prison fence is it's own resort that we call the courtyard (named so by the kids when we first moved in). It's shady, peaceful, and full with the quiet sound of nature. A place we rarely travel to due to the forbidding prison fence. Even Shasta enjoys going there. There's grass to nibble on and ducks, or if lucky, a crane, to chase.

After finding a deal on fencing at my favorite place to shop, Craigs List, we bought plenty of your standard black wrought iron fence. Boring, I know, but when your yard is as big as ours you need to make compromises. This gave Aron the bug, and finally last weekend we all worked together to tear down our own Berlin Wall. The boys helped dig holes and mix cement. They also filled a trash can full of weeds, and Jackson made us lunch. They were the best helpers and very affordable, too. Jacob made a whole $1.00 and Jackson made $3.00. They were paid according to their work effort- Jackson was focused and pulled weeds for a good 5 hours while Jacob, well, if he got paid for day dreaming he'd be rich. Their favorite part was mixing cement and didn't even want to go to Grandma and Grandpa's until all the cement work was done for the day.

This weekend, we tore down the prison fence that divided our yard and cut down an old lemon tree. It was sad to see it go, but it really opened up the yard. We are making progress but still have several weekends to go to finish. I'll keep you posted. (The last 2 photos are of the yard before. )

Harlem Globe Trotters

February 19, 2009

We took the boys to see the Harlem Globe Trotters with their Cub Scout pack. Both boys seemed to enjoy it but Jacob having a better developed sense of humor enjoyed their sophomoric pranks more. The most memorable stunt was when a player from the opposing team was pants when he went for a shot. As for me (as thought anyone who tunes into this blog cares about my thoughts on the event)..... Oh how I wanted to see the Harlem Globe Trotters when I was kid watching Saturday cartoons. All these years, I thought I was missing out on an American institution, almost a right as a kid to see them. Let me count the ways I was wrong. First, there's three teams that travel the world! Second, the players were phoning in their performances. Third, I don't think their routine has changed at all in last 30 years. And if you try to look up their history, it's hard to find how they came about.

But the kids enjoyed it and that's what it's about.

Pretty Kitties

For Christmas, Aunt Gina brought back paper mache cat masks for the kids to paint. Here is the finished product. Aren't they pretty kitties~ they purr when you scratch their bellies. The little one stood up to the big, brown dog and took her spot away... and now they sleep in her bed.