San Diego

Steven is on vacation this week. A few weeks ago we talked about going to the San Diego Zoo one of the days he was off. It's been almost 4 years since Hannah had been the San Diego Zoo and with Rachel's fascination with animals, we thought it'd be a great outing.

We went to the Zoo yesterday and had a great time. We had a beautiful day and all the animals, with the exception of the polar bears, were active and looked alive. The zoo has a guided tour bus that tours around the zoo, and then you can get on and off that bus as many times throughout the day. We did the tour bus once and then ended up walking the rest of the day!!! That was a lot of walking. Hannah did a great job and I don't think she complained once about walking.

I took over 330 pictures at the zoo, these are just a couple, some more can be found here. All throughout the Zoo, there were these feet massaging stations called "Footsie Wootsies". With all the walking you do at this zoo, a foot massage was much enjoyed. We can't make a trip to San Diego and not have dinner at our favorite Mexican food restaraunt. Over the course of dinner, we decided to find a hotel and stay the night in San Diego so that more exploring could be done today. We found our way to the nearest Apple Store to take advantage of their access to the internet and found a reasonably priced room through Orbitz. Somewhere between dinner and getting to the hotel room, the girls found their second wind. Hannah was so excited about spending the night in a hotel.We woke up this morning and took advantage of the free complimentary breakfast from the hotel. We then headed to the San Diego Port and went aboard the USS Midway, the longest in service aircraft carrier in the United States. Hannah wasn't too crazy about this adventure, but by the end of the 4 hours of exploring, she was enjoying it. After exploring the USS Midway, we headed to the San Diego Wild Animal Park. Admission the Animal Park was included with the Membership that we had purchased at the Zoo. We arrived at the Wild Animal Park five minutes before they stopped letting people in the gates. And then the park was only open for another hour. We managed to hightail it about half a mile to a new attraction that takes you in trams out on the animal grounds, where you are eye level with the animals. A much better tour of the animal grounds than the old railway they used to have. When we finished our tour, the grounds were officially closed and we had to make our way out. We have passes, so we'll be going back another day when we can spend more time there.

We had a great time the last two days in San Diego. San Diego was a place that my family went to a lot on day trips and overnight trips. So it was fun getting to do the same with my own kids and husband.

"I Was Bored"

Hannah went home with some friends after church yesterday. All the girls were having such a great time that Hannah spended the night. She came home this afternoon when we got together for an early afternoon BBQ. The kids had all gone outside, and my friend tells me what Hannah told her on the way to our house...that she had a button up her nose.

HUH??? Apparently Friday afternoon she stuck a button up her nose because she was "bored". Of course I paniced at first, I sure didn't want to go to the ER on Memorial Day afternoon. Let alone the thoughts of things that could go wrong...blockage, traveling up into her sinuses, etc.

Steven told her to blow her nose, and when she did, out came the button. It was about the size of a dime! I gave her a lecture about not sicking anything in any holes - ears, nose, mouth. And the next time she was bored, to come find me I'd give her something to do.

Pool Party

This afternoon one of Hannah's classmates had a birthday party, a pool party! It was a nice day for having a pool party, the sun was out, it was warm, and was just nice being outside. The kids all had a great time. And us parents all enjoyed sitting around chatting and visiting with each other. It was a great way to start off being out of school.

Last Day of the 1st Grade

Hannah's 1st grade school year has come and gone. With a minimum day dismissal of 11:30 this morning, it's official, her 'summer' break has started. She will begin the 2nd grade on Thursday, July 5th.

Hannah got her report card and there were nothing but great marks on it. At this grade, they receive only check marks and plus marks, and not actual letter grades. We are VERY proud of Hannah and her great report card. We are also really proud that Hannah obtained perfect attendance this school year. Her teacher said her attendance was "impecable". She was the only student in her class to have perfect attendance.

Today in Hannah's class was "pajama and crazy hair day", which made for an easy morning of getting ready. Hannah wore her pajama's to school and we did her hair in buns. All the kids participated and it was quite a sight to see. LOL.

Drive-In Movie

Tonight we did something very spontaneous and fun...we went to the Drive-In Movies and saw The Pirates of the Carribbean: At World's End.

We knew theaters had 8:00 and midnight showings, but were suprised to find that our local Drive-In had the movie for opening night. We put the girls into their jamimies, took the back seat out of the van, and headed out. We got to the Drive In and staked out a parking spot, got out our camping chairs and headed to the snack bar. The evening was very inexpensive compared to what it would have been at a regular theater. It was $7 per adult and kids 12 and under were free. And the snack bar was really inexpensive!Hannah managed to stay awake for all but the last 30 minutes of the movie (it's a very LONG movie at 2 hours, 45 minutes) and Rachel fell asleep 30 minutes into the movie. We had such a great time, the girls behaved, and it worked out perfectly and we'll probably try another movie again.

Year End Celebration

With only two days left of school, Hannah's class had thier year end celebration today. The class of seventeen students, the teacher, and about seven moms walked from the school to the city park (over a mile and a 1/4). Myself and a couple other moms were waiting for them at the park with tables set and all the fixins for lunch as well as some games. Hannah said she had a great time, as did a lot of her classmates. We were blessed with extremely beautiful weather - not too hot and not cloudy and overcast, a simply beautiful day for being outside.

Taking a route through neighborhoods,
allowed the class to avoid the busy streets with traffic. The kids had fun playing with Rachel's parachute. I was really excited when I found this in the Oriental Trading Co. catalog. However, there was a breeze at the park that kept knocking the pins over, and the bowling pins didn't stand very well in the grass. I was a little disappointed the game didn't work out better. The kids really worked up an appetite for their lunch. This picture will be printed and put into a frame where I had all the kids sign their name to the mat.
This will be Miss Pettit's class gift on Friday. Heading back to school.

The Party Season Begins...

Including this weekend, and the next two weekends to come, hold parties for Hannah to go to. Today, both Hannah and Rachel were invited to a friends birthday party at Pump It Up, "The Inflatable Party Zone". Both the girls had a great time and came home exhausted!

Keeping up with the big kids.

A Visit from a Friend

This afternoon, there was a knock at our door, we thought it was Emily from next door, but were suprised (I was totally embarrassed...hair in hot rollers, wearing capri jammie pants, a tank top, and NO makeup) to open the door and find one of Hannah's friends from school. He stopped by to give Hannah a friendship gift.

This wasn't just a simple friendship...he had gone to Build A Bear and made her a bunny and bought her two outifits - a karate uniform, because he knew she was in karate, and a Princess Fiona dress and mask, from Shrek the movie. It was a very generous gift, one that Hannah was very excited about and is enjoying very much.

Sisterly Sleepover

Bedtime on weeknights sometimes finds Rachel wanting to stay in Hannah's bed, but because of school the next day, Rachel is forced to go to her own bed. But because today is Friday, we let the girls have a sleepover in Hannah's room. They opted to share the bed rather than make a bed on the floor.

1st Grade Class Performance

The school in which Hannah goes to is a Magnet School that focuses on the Visual and Performing Arts. As part of their curriculum every year, classes must put on a performance of some sort. Last year, Hannah's Kindergarten class did a Christmas program. This morning was this years class performance and they did "A Walk Through Nursery Rhymes". The class sang and performed to six different nursery rhymes, the tune and most of the words were the 'normal' nursery rhymes, but in a few places, the kids had rewrote some of the words, which made the perfomance pretty funny. Hannah had two parts, she was one of the children that went around the Mulberry Bush and one of the yellow ducks.

"This is how we brush our teeth". Mommy Duck and her five ducklings.Hannah has been so nervous and anxious for about the last week. She does not like to perform or be the center of attention like this. This morning she was up and dressed before 6:00am!!! She did a great job at both her parts. She's much better than she was last year at her Christmas program, and tons better than her preschool performances. I'm sure with having to perform once a year as part of her formal schooling, it should just get easier and easier with each passing year.

Some Pictures from Our Day

We spent the majority of Mother's Day at Disneyland, Mommy's favorite place. Here are some cute pictures from our day.

Because of her, I celebrated my 8th Mother's Day today. We usually only go on the non swinging gondolas of the Ferris Wheel, but it's been years since we've given the swinging gondolas a try. We gave them another try tonight. I think we'll stick to the non swinging gondolas. LOL.

To Our Mommies and Gramma

Mother's Day Present made at School

Hannah brought the Mother's Day craft/present home today that she's been working on in school. She was just too excited to wait for me to open it on Sunday, so I got to open it this afternoon. It's a recipe holder, holding a recipe of what I believe is supposed to be my favorite thing to eat.
She first started asking me questions a few weeks ago...what's my favorite color, what do I like to eat, etc. I told her my favorite thing to eat was chocolate. But apparently my favorite food wasn't fitting for what the teacher wanted cause I was summoned for another favorite food. LOL.

The really funny thing is, the recipe in which Hannah wrote, is a dish that up until the last time I made it, she hated!! It's not even my favorite thing to eat, but it's a simple and hearty meal when you're doing Weight Watchers, so I make it from time to time. To read the real recipe, you can check it out on my mom's recipe blog ~~~> Mexican Skillet.

Board Breaking Kicks

Last week at Karate, the instructor brought in some kick boards. From now on, all students must break a board before advancing to their next belt color. Hannah broke the board over the weekend with a kick. It scared her and she did cry. But she broke the board!! Steven has been working with Hannah almost everyday, practicing her form, her punches, her kicks. He's also started working with her on doing proper push ups, whereas she doesn't look like a stink bug doing them. LOL.

School Year Coming to an End...

When picking up Hannah from school this afternoon, we were chatting with the teacher. And I told her how happy I was yesterday to have had Hannah come home with no Homework packet (they had a substitute) because I had had a bad day. She said the homework packets coming home now are just busy pages and review. They are basically done learning new things and the remainder of the last 3 weeks of school will be review, testing, and practicing for their performance. We're all looking forward to the upcoming break. Hannah finishes 1st grade on Friday, May 25th, and is off until July 5th!

Preschool: The Good Old Days

Ever since I went and registered Rachel for preschool at the beginning of March, Hannah has been longing for 'the good old days' of preschool. Preschool was fun. There were lots of crafts and fun things to do. We've been trying to tell Hannah to enjoy where she is at right now, because with each passing year, there is less and less time for "fun" at school.

Needless to say, Hannah was really looking forward to the Preschool Open House tonight. She was like a preschool kid all over again, running all over the place, doing things she once did as a preschooler. She visited both of her old teachers and both could not believe how big Hannah had gotten, nor could they believe she had only three weeks left of being a 1st grader.

Hannah, June 2004, 4 years old.
Hannah, May 2007, 7 years old.
Hannah is looking forward to being able to come back in the Fall
when she is off track and read to the younger kids.
She calls the position a "Big Sister Helper".

A Retirement Reception

This afternoon after school, we went to a Retirement Reception for Hannah's Kindergarten teacher, Miss Cejka. Her and another teacher are retiring this year, and the social committee put on a nice cake and punch reception in their honor. Miss Cejka is retiring after 26 years of teaching and the other teacher is retiring after 39 years of teaching! We were so blessed for Hannah to have had Miss Cejka as her Kindergarten teacher. She really was a great way to start off Hannah's schooling. She was extremely organized and had it all together, and unfortunately left us with high expectations for the teachers who follow her.

These are just a few of Hannah's classmates, as well as one "wanna be big kid" in the red shirt. We're sad that Miss Cejka is retiring this year, we were hoping she'd hold out just a few more years until Rachel got to Kindergarten. LOL.

Hannah's Fridge

Hannah came home with a drawing of the Disneyland castle today with the following story:

"When I grow up I will be some one who works at Disneyland. If I would work at Disneyland I would help children if they were lost in the park. I can't wait to grow up."

Hannah, May 2007