Weekend Fun

As usual our weekend was filled with fun. Saturday started off with Zach's baseball game. Yesterday marked the first game of the second half of the season, which low and behold means they start implementing more “real” baseball rules. Now, they start counting outs… in the sense that if a kid gets out while they are running between bases, the kid has to return to his/her dugout, however there are still an unlimited number of outs per inning it seems. Zach’s coach and one of the assistant coaches weren’t going to be at the game due to previous commitments. They were looking for a couple of parents to fill in as coach for the day, I asked my dad if he wouldn’t mind volunteering for the job, my dad was ECSTATIC and Zach was thrilled for him to be there. He was so excited to be a coach for the day that he got to the field 45 minutes early decked out in his Red Sox hat, jersey, and cleats! Cleats!!! … To coach T-Ball!!! Lol, if you’ve ever wondered where I get the dork part of my personality, it’s from my dad. :-) Papa filled in as first base coach and Zach was lucky enough to play first base, his favorite position. They both did a great job!

Saturday afternoon continued with my niece Amanda’s 8th birthday party. It was pretty low key, but some highlights included a last-man-standing hula hoop competition… (No, Selina, I did not participate in this one...), potato sack races, and bubble making. There was a little boy that came to the party, who Zach seemed to really hit it off with. The little boy is cute as can be. He has his whole future planned out. He wants to be a science teacher when he grows up. So, naturally, he and Zach spent most of the afternoon finding dead beetles, pulling off the legs, cracking the bodies open, and examining their insides… GROSS!! While my son was busy being a boy, I had the opportunity to chat with this little scientist’s mom for quite a while. We really hit it off, and drum roll please… I invited her to church… I only mention this as being significant because just the other day I was talking to some friends about the fact that, since everything hit the fan at church, we had just stopped inviting people. I was feeling really guilty about it, but, why invite someone into our drama…? But it just felt right, and I’m so excited about that, just that it felt okay and natural to invite someone again. Praise God!!

Today was really low key. Juan Carlos Ortiz was speaking at church. I wasn’t overly excited about it. I certainly didn’t expect an old Hispanic dude to fit my idea of “cool”, but I REALLY enjoyed him. He was a great speaker, gave a great message, and had a very funny delivery. After church we enjoyed eggs benedict and other breakfast goodies out on the patio. It was great to just be together as a church enjoying each other’s company. This afternoon we just spent the day relaxing at home. I opened my mother’s day gift from Zach. He (with some help) got me two Cricut cartridges and Mario Kart for Wii. Guess who played Mario Kart all evening… nope, not me…Lol! My sister and her family came over for a little while, and we ended the day with food from one of our favorite restaurants, Veracruz.

He Is Risen ... He Is Risen Indeed!

Our Easter weekend officially started on Thursday. The kindergarten classes at Zach's school celebrated Easter with an Easter egg hunt, peep relay race, and picnic lunch at a local park. It was a fantastic day, complete with a visit from the Easter Bunny!!








Every year, on the Saturday before Easter, Revolution throws down with a HUGE egg hunt and pancake breakfast. But this year it just didn't seem possible to pull off such a major event, but that didn't stop us from having a great time!! Selina and Tiffany planned an awesome day at the park for families.









Sunday morning started off with a scavenger hunt that I made for Zach. He had to read and follow the clues which would lead him to the next egg. All the eggs were filled with Hotwheels and other things that 6 year old boys think are cool. After the scavenger hunt, we went to church, which was an awesome service. The drama, the message, the worship, all of it was amazing. After church, we came home to change clothes and pack up the car to go to my Uncle's house. Easter is by far my favorite holiday to spend with the whole family. Every year all the kids hunt for eggs in their designated color, and the adults even get to join in on the fun and hunt for golden eggs filled with various denominations of money.

T Ball...

I have come to the conclusion that T Ball is even funnier to watch than soccer!! But Zach has such a great time. Today was his second game of the season, they played against the Angels. I never knew this, but T Ball is a very watered down version of baseball. I always thought the only difference was the tee. The game is 1hour 15 minutes long which consits of about 2 innings, everyone bats each inning, there are no such thing as outs, they can only take one base at a time, and the most difficult part of all... Parents are strictly prohibited from "coaching" (or even suggesting to their child that they stop kicking dirt and keep their head in the game.) from the sidelines. Anyone who knows me, knows that this is so hard for me. :-)



Zach at bat...



Running to first...



Coop gets ready to steal second...





Downey's very own Boston Red Sox...

Judy Berge

Judy,

I don't know if you'll ever see this, but I just saw your comment on my post from last October. I have no idea when you left it, but I've been without internet for months. I have been searching for you for ages!! I would LOVE to get back in contact with you. If you ever read this, please leave me a message!! I think about you all the time, I hope you're doing well.

Jeannie

In Other News...

We finally moved into the new house. When we moved, our networking had not been completed. There were a few snags getting it finished, so we were without internet or phone for several months. Anyway, that's why it's been months since my last post. In all honesty, our network has been up and running for the last 2 months, I've just been avoiding it. It seemed like there was so much to blog about. So I just gave you the last 4 months in pictures.

Lessons...

One thing that I’ve learned over the last few days is that anger is a heavy burden to bear… I am exhausted physically, emotionally, and spiritually, which is the reason I decided to do my daily devotion on the subject of forgiveness.

These are just a few of the places that God led me to this evening…

Luke 6:27-42
27 "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
37 "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
39 He also told them this parable: "Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.
41 "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 42 How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.
NIV

1 Peter 3:8-10
8 Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. 9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.
NIV

Ps 34:12-16
12 Whoever of you loves life
and desires to see many good days,
13 keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from speaking lies.
14 Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous
and his ears are attentive to their cry;
16 the face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
NIV

I know that forgiveness is process, but I believe the promise of God, that when a person is ready to forgive and give it all over to Him, a blessing will be ours to claim.

Easier said than done…

As I was praying tonight I was reminded of Job. To be quite honest, the book of Job has never really made it into my list of favorite books of the Bible. I’m a fairly analytical person, I like cause and effect. I hate it when bad things happen to good people, and Job is just a 42 chapter reminder of that not-so-pleasant fact of life. But I have to admire the guy. Although he questioned God in his effort to understand why he was suffering, Job never turned his back on Him. This has been a good reminder for me today. Sometimes the WHY is simply not for us to know, and it won’t do any good to obsess over, we simply need to accept what God has allowed to happen in this season, and stand firm in our commitment to Him.

Our Weekend

Saturday started off bright and early with Zach's soccer pictures at 7:30 am Getting nine 5 year olds to pose for a team photo is quite a challenge (and pretty funny too). We finished our pictures just in time for the boys' game at 8:45. Zach did a great job and didn't even score any goals for the other team this time. The Tornadoes won 3 - 1 Hip Hip Hooray. It was pure chaos trying to get out the door, so I completely forgot to put the battery back in my camera, I was so mad.

Later in the afternoon, we went to my sister's in-laws' house in Lakewood to celebrate my new nephew's 10th birthday. Zach and Michael get along so well. Michael is so sweet to Zach. The boys played in the backyard feeding the goldfish, swinging on the swing, and sword fighting. The highlight of the evening was when we gave Michael his birthday present. We bought him an air hockey table. Michael (and the girls) were totally stoked!!

Our weekend ended much the same way it began... with a trip to Disneyland. Our friends David and Laura hosted an event in their home, so Zach and I had the privilege of bringing Emerson with us. Emerson is one of Zach's best friends, so Zach loves hanging out with him. Zach is already planning a sleep over as soon as the house is done. Emerson is about nine months younger than Zach but they are almost exactly the same size, so Zach convinced Emerson to ride Indiana Jones but when we made our way over to adventure land, it was closed. Bummer! We ended the evening with dinner at Rainforest Cafe.

No School

Today Zach and I reaped the benefits of his first teacher work day and went to Disneyland for a few hours. I was surprised that it was as crowded as it was, but none of the lines were more than a 20 minute wait (except Nemo). All in all it was a pretty great day. The weather was cool and cloudy, perfect Fall weather. We rode our new favorite, Indiana Jones, Big Thunder Mountain, and Space Mountain, just to name a few.

Pumkin Carving Contest

My friend Christopher is hosting a pumpkin carving contest. I was so excited, I ran out bought my pumpkin, and carved away. I chose to carve a spider because I knew how much Christopher would love it. Here is my entry into the event. :-)

Budding Artist

My little man drew me this picture yesterday. I thought it was so cute that I had to post it. The edges are all cut off because it was too big for the scanner, but you get the idea. He described the picture like this... "A man went to the animal shelter to get a dog. On the way home his pick-up truck got a flat tire. Superman came to the rescue and saved the day." Kids are so sweet!!

Rained Out

Last night and this morning it rained like crazy, so all soccer games were rained out. The rain and cold weather really make it seem like Fall. Zach was a little disappointed, he was looking forward to his game, but he requested a rainy day activity that I couldn't resist. He thought it would be a good idea to curl up on the couch with popcorn and hot chocolate, and watch all four Harry Potter movies on DVD. We've been going at a crazy pace since Zach started school, so it was really nice to just have a day to chill out and be lazy. Zach has seemed sneezy and sniffly all day, so I'm not sure what the rest of the weekend holds for us. We are supposed to see the LA Galaxy play tomorrow night, but we'll have to see how he feels.

Join In The Fun

All the cool kids are doing it

Crazy Fans

So, my last post got me thinking about some of the highlights from this year's race. It was a chaotic Tour with lots of drama, but sometimes the crazy spectators provide more entertainment than the race itself. Take this guy for example...



and theres this guy... (I couldn't find any clips of it, but it's a picture with audio of some random guy talking about it)

Dogs Vs. Bikes

We are huge cycling fans, and one of the things I love most about summer is the Tour De France. (Yes, I realize I'm a dork) This year was especially cool because the constant coverage of the Tour in our house, inspired Zach to take off his training wheels and learn to ride a two wheeler!

Most people also know that I'm a big sucker for animals. But, here are two examples from this year's Tour De France, demonstrating why dogs and bikes don't mix. I feel a little guilty, but I think these clips are very funny.

Pure Perfection

Pure perfection is coming to a store near you this November, in the form of the Nikon D3. If I had an extra $5,000 dollars laying around, this thing would be mine.

Boys Will Be Boys...

..I hate that statement. First of all, I feel like it excuses bad behavior. Secondly, I don't think it's true. I've always believed that a child's behavior reflects the way the child is raised. Zach has always had a quick lip, and a very smart mouth, but other than that, he's a very good boy. He's never been the aggressive type. If anything, he's the pleaser and the peace maker with his peers. He'll almost always compromise what he wants, if it will prevent another child from throwing a tantrum. A couple times last week I got to school a bit early and saw a couple little boys that would stay in the back corner of the kindergarten playground and fight. Zach was never a part of it, but I asked him if he'd seen those boys, and reminded him, that kind of behavior is unacceptable. He knew that it was wrong, and assured me that he would never act that way. Fast forward to Monday at soccer practice. Zach was dribbling the ball down the field. One of his team mates got in front of him, started playing defense, and blocked his goal. Imagine my shock and horror when Zach pushed this little boy to the ground and sucker punched him!! Naturally I was out on that field so fast letting him know the error of his ways. I made him apologize to the other little boy, and to his coach. But can you guess what came out of my mouth later that night, when I told my mom what he did... you got it..."boys will be boys." Ugh...

Practice Pays Off

Practice paid off for the Tornadoes, they practiced hard this week and it showed in the way that they played. The score was tied 3 to 3. Despite the fact that Zach scored one of the goals for the 'Lightening McQueens', he actually did a very good job today. He was right in the action the whole time. Several times, he stole the ball away from the other team, took it all the way down the field and set up one of his team mates for a goal!! Great job, Zach attack! My mom, sister, and two new nieces came to cheer on the team. After the game we went to Mimi's to celebrate a job well done. Zach isn't the only one that's tired after the game, I think we're going to curl up on the couch and watch King Kong this evening.

Friday Fun

Fridays are spirit days at Lee. If all the kids in a class wear red, the class earns points to a party given by the PTA. The kids really get into the competition. Dropping off or picking up kids is like looking into a sea of red. After school, Zach and I met with Miss Majors for our welcome conference. She asked if I had any questions for her, or anything that I wanted to discuss. I was glad for the opportunity to ask her if she could help Zach determine when it's a good time for him to wear his glasses. He keeps a pair in his cubby, but he doesn't know when he should use them. She asked if I would be able to be "room mom" for the class. Basically my job will be to act as a liaison between our class, our parents, and the PTA. I will help organize events like our booth at the end of the year carnival and our basket for the auction. After Miss Majors spoke to me, she assessed where Zach's skills and abilities are. He did a great job and seems to be ahead of the game. He knew all his letters, letter sounds, rhyming words, and numbers through thirty. After our conference we met Jake, one of Zach's new friends, and his mom at Rossmoor Park. It's about two blocks from Lee and it's really the heart of the neighborhood. The boys have become very good friends at school. It was fun for me to see them interact and nice to chat with another kindergarten mom as well.

Meghan Aileen Photography

If you're ever in need of a photographer, she is amazing. Meghan photographed my sister's wedding this summer and the pictures are stunning. I love her style and she's a super sweet person. A couple people have asked me about the pictures from the wedding, and I've unknowingly been giving out the wrong address (oops)! So if anyone is a sucker for wedding photos, feel free to check them out at www.dougandloriswedding.com and check out Meghan's website for more of her work www.megfoto.com

Six Years Ago

I remember it like it was yesterday. I was five weeks pregnant with Zachary, I was at home in Fairfax, Virginia, getting ready to go to an eleven o'clock class. Before I got in the shower, I flipped on the tv, so I could watch some local news. It was just before 8:50am when the station broke to cover the first tower being hit. The commentators clearly didn't know exactly what was going on, they were speculating what exactly could have happened to cause the plane to become so drastically off course. They clearly thought it was some kind of freak accident. I called my mom at work to tell her about the news, I was on the phone with her while I watched the second plane crash into the south tower. I sat on my bed, in my towel all day just watching the coverage. I watched as flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon just miles from my house, I watched the chaos ensue at ground zero, I watched countless people jump to their death out of desperation or perhaps defiance, choosing to die on their own terms. I watched flight 93 go down in a Pennsylvania field thanks to the heroic efforts of the passengers on board. I watched the towers collapse into a cloud of dust and debris. My world changed on this day... And yet our government still refuses to secure our borders, It amazes me.

Our House...

...Is almost finished!! I just wanted to share some pictures. Most of the outside is done. We still need the gates for the driveway, the tile inside and out, the interior paint, cabinets, etc. We should be able to move in by the end of October. I can't wait!!

Game Day

Today was the long awaited opening day for soccer games. My mom, dad, step-mom, and sister all came out to cheer on #5. Zach has been looking forward to the opportunity to play a real game for a while. The Tornadoes and the Dragons faced off this afternoon. Our boys played well, but the Dragons were too much for them. After the game, the coach huddled the boys up and asked them what they thought they needed to work on during practices. One of the boys said "we should learn how to score goals!" It was pretty cute (and very true). Their loss didn't seem to phase them though. They all had a great time, which I'm told is the most important thing...

I however, am voting for going to a 5 a week practice schedule. :-)

New Friends

Zach and one of his new friends, Jack, walked out together when school was dismissed. Apparently Jack had invited Zach (and me, by default) to his church carnival. After some discussion between myself and Jack's mom, I said that we could probably go. I think friendships are so important for school age kids. Even though Zach is a super outgoing kid, I feel like right off the bat he's at a slight disadvantage because he lives so far away from most of his classmates. Because of this, I plan on being very intentional about encouraging every opportunity that he has, to develop those relationships. All afternoon, all I heard was, "when are we going? when are we going?" We got to the carnival around 7 o'clock this evening, immediately I wished that Jack's mom and I exchanged phone numbers or something. We hung out on our own for close to an hour before Zach and Jack (literally) bumped into each other. The rest of the evening we spent with Jack and his mom. The boys had a great time sword fighting and spending lots of money on games that resulted in lots of useless junk, but that's what being a kid is all about, right?!?! The way home was really cool, he was so happy! He couldn't stop talking about school and "his new best friend". He says that he can't wait for Monday to come, so he can go back to school. I wish a got some pictures of the new friends, but you'll just have to take my word for it.

First Day of Kindergarten

Both Zach and my mom predicted that I was going to cry. They were right... I did get pretty emotional when I was driving him to school, especially when he asked my to pray for him. I was very proud of myself however, that I kept it together quite well once we got to school. He's been so excited for this day to come. My little leopard has had his 'first day of school' outfit picked out for over a week. I don't know much about his teacher, Miss Majors, but our friends from church had her as a teacher last year, both mom and son really liked her. She's young, sweet, and very pretty. I think Zach already has a little crush on her. This is going to be a good year!

Last Day of Summer

Zach starts kindergarten tomorrow, so today was our last day of summer. As our last hurrah before school, we decided to spend the day at Disneyland with the idea that it wouldn't be very crowded since most school districts have already gone back. We were right, every ride had a wait of 10 minutes or less, except for Nemo which was still 90 minutes long, despite the light crowds. The main purpose of visiting the Mouse today, was so Zach could ride Indiana Jones for the first time. He finally made the 46" cut. He has been wearing shorts and flip flops all summer long, which I guess is the reason that I hadn't noticed how much he's been growing. I started to suspect a growth spurt right about the time of my sister's wedding at the end of July. He was measured for his tux and shoes about a month and a half before the big day. When we picked it up, his feet had grown so much that he couldn't even get his feet in the shoe. He was a size 11 shoes in June, and in July he measured at 12.5. geesh!! Indiana Jones was a big hit. We rode it three times. Zach says it's his new favorite ride. What a fun day!!

Puppies

People often ask me about the puppies. Nikki and Fiona are now 7 months old. Fiona weighs in around 110 lbs. and Nikki is about 95 lbs. They have really been suffering through this heat since the rental house doesn't have A/C. It was over 100 degrees today which means that the house felt like a sauna. We spent the day in the backyard playing with sprinklers, hoses, and a baby pool to keep cool. The girls are so funny. Nikki LOVES anything to do with water but Fiona is far more reserved and much prefers to bite the water coming out of the hose.

Go Tornadoes!!

This has been a fun couple of weeks. Zach's soccer season started last week. He's LOVES it. The kids are hilarious to watch. They started off not even knowing which way to run but they're getting better with every practice. I love watching him learn and grow in his first team experience. His first game will be on September 8th. I can't wait!!

Here We Go Again...

I tried the whole blog thing before, but I wasn't really into it. It's been so long since I've posted that I don't even remember my login information. So I just decided that it's time to start fresh. Wish me luck.