Ethan's Classroom - 2nd grade

There was a lot to see in Ethan's classroom. Mrs. Fisher displayed projects from through out the school year so we could see the improvement. Second grade they learn a lot about dinosaurs, fossils, animals and camouflage. I have posted things as they have been doing them so I will not repeat myself here. We are very proud of Ethan and the progress he has made.

Rachael lost another tooth.

I am looking for the camera so I can take a picture of Rachael. She lost another tooth today! Bottom left. I don't know how many more baby teeth she has left. This one was making a gross suction noise every time she wiggled it. I for one am happy it is out!

Camporee or Rainee?

Friday night Rachael's Troop headed out to Rancho Seco for the Camporee. Imagine 150 Girl Scouts checking into the tent sites next to you! Last year it was unseasonably hot. This year it was raining, raining and raining really hard. So to Rachael's dismay they started to pack up after the afternoon activities. What! It is only a little water! She really wanted to stay another night. Maybe the hot pizza I just ordered will make it a little easier to handle. ( you can see Katie in the window excited to see Rachael home)

A days work as a Cub Scout.

Ethan performed the flag ceremony for the National Elementary Honor Society Inagural Induction Ceremony at our school. Here he is waiting to lead the sixth graders in.

Another Cub Scout led the 5th graders in the opposite door. They came down the aisle and up on the stage together with the flags. They sat through the ceremony then led the group out leading with the flags. Just doing his civic duty.

Ladybugs!

Yummy aphids!

The ladybugs are getting a feast on our flowers.

Mitzvah Day

Today was Mitzvah Day at our Temple. A mitzvah is a "good deed". My second grade class baked cookies for the Mustard Seed School and Wellspring. The Mustard Seed School is a place for homeless children to go to school. The forth and fifth grade classes made 600 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for Loaves and Fishes! Families donated fruit and chips as well as the bread, peanut butter and jelly to make the sandwiches. Nice to see kids that normally do not make their own lunch making lunch for the hungry. Allen donated blood and reached his first gallon mark! Between the Creek Cleanup and Mitzvah Day at the Temple we had a busy weekend.

Creek Cleanup Day

Saturday was "Creek Cleanup Day" in Elk Grove. Many people showed up to pick up the junk that litters our creeks. The top picture is of an eagle that lives near the creek that is by our house. I see this bird at least twice a week usually perched on the street light next to the park. It is really neat watching it glide and swoop down into the fields. In the other picture Ethan is pointing out the Poppies that grow in the area. An insect decided it wanted to live on Ethan (tick) and came home with us. We decided to evict the tick and keep Ethan.

Art Impact Day at Laguna Creek High School

Art Impact Day at Laguna Creek High School.

Ethan jumping for the cameras while visiting the photography class.

Rachael showing off her artwork.

Both Rachael and Ethan visited Laguna Creek High for Art Impact Day. They painted, saw many pieces of different art (ceramic and drawings), heard a French Horn, listened to a piano piece being played, saw several girls do their flag routine, visited choir, learned part of a dance routine, checked out the dark room, wowed by the control room in the theatre, and the list goes on. It was a great for the elementary school kids to see what is offered and spark some interest.

Chinese Fortune Cookie

Perhaps you will forget tomorrow the kind words you say today, but the recipient may cherish them over a lifetime.

Marshmallow Dinosaur

Ethan went to a Pack meeting last night for Cub Scouts. The Dens had to build a marshmallow dinosaur with tiny marshmallows and toothpicks. They had a sample dinosaur in the middle of the table to model it after. I think more marshmallows were eaten than used for the dinosaur.

Congratulations Cody!

We are proud of our nephew Cody who will be graduating from High School in May. He was on the track team and also races at Irwindale Speedway (trucks and cars). NASCAR Super Stocks 2009 Season Points Standings he is in 6th place. http://www.toyotaspeedwayatirwindale.com/stand_ss.asp)/

Passover comes to an end.

I found this on Cake Wrecks blogspot and thought it was funny considering Passover ends tonight. A cake for Passover. Moses parting the Red Sea.

Electric Circuits Exam ~ 4th grade

Rachael wrote in 5 questions regarding electricity then wrote the answers randomly on the other side. She then ran foil covered with electrical tape from the question to the answer on another sheet of heavy paper, then stapled the two together lining them up. Then attached the battery and wiring with the light bulb. If she did it right, when you put one wire on the question and the other wire on the correct answer the light bulb will turn on. This was part of her science test on Electric Circuits. Pretty neat!

Rachael ~ 2006

This picture was taken 2006. I really like this picture of her. She has not watched or worn Dora the Explorer in years! How fast they grow up.

Nutter Butter

Today Ethan tried to convince me that Nutter Butter Cookies are actually "peanut butter and crackers which are good for you"... I pointed out on the package it says "Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies". But he stressed that they say "Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies, so there". Uhhh NO! :) Needless to say I will not be packing a bunch of Nutter Butter cookies in place of his "sandwich" in his lunch at school tomorrow. Good try though.

Happy Passover!

Enjoying matzah with melted chocolate and toffee spread on top.

Time to smell the roses.

I went outside and snapped a few pictures of the roses before the rain started. We have had a few weeks of sunny warm weather in the upper 70's. It is nice to have it raining again. You can't complain when the high is in the low 60's and low in the upper 40's.

Miles

Miles was sleeping so I thought I would snap a picture of him, but he woke up... and yawned. I had a blurry picture of him yawning, but most people looking at it did not know what the picture was of, so I took it off.

Last weekend,

We had a busy weekend but forgot to bring the camera with us! Friday night Ethan's Cub Scout Den made volcano's! Sunday Rachael's Girl Scout Troop made tacos and brownies at a local park. The girls were learning camp food safety in preparation for their weekend camping trip. The Thin Mint Brownies were delicious! The kids are back to school today! They have been home off-track for 4 weeks. Now we are getting ready for Passover. Where is the afikomen?

Spring is here.

Ethan

Spring 2009

2nd Grade

Rachael
Spring 2009
4th Grade

Last Summer

Rainbow Falls on the Big Island

Ethan swinging on the vines.

Rachael caught up in the vines.

I was looking at pictures from last year and thought the waterfall was peaceful and the ones of the kids had me thinking about how much fun they were having.

One of those moments...

No picture, but one of those moments. Last night in bed Ethan was rolling side to side listening to the water he just drank slosh around inside. Ever had one of those moments? We could clearly hear the slosh, slosh, slosh as he rolled himself side to side. He was getting a big kick out of it. Oh to be 8 again...

Saturday, March 28th

Today was a busy day. Ethan woke up and opened his birthday cards from relatives that do not live nearby. Here he is with one from his Aunt Karen, Uncle Ward, and cousins Cody and Zachary. Then we had to boogie and leave for Bradshaw Veterinary Hospital to meet up with his fellow Cub Scouts. They got a really neat tour! They were shown around the clinic, saw x-rays, how to sterilize surgery tools, saw an ultrasound on a dog, and learned a lot about the different animals that are treated there. We then went to Red Robin for lunch. Tonight our friend Neola joined us for dinner and a good game of Monopoly. Ethan took second place to Dad who won by a landslide. It was a fun day! Happy Birthday to Ethan.

Picture from the past ~ Ethan Sleeping

Ethan sleeping... Mother's Day 2001

Happy Birthday Ethan!

So I am a day early, but tomorrow is a busy day! Here is the announcement for Ethan's birth. Rachael is 2 years 2 months and 7 days older than Ethan (give or take 14 hours). This is a day or two after we brought him home from the hospital. Yes, that does say 9 lbs 5 ounces.

Ethan and his cake.

Here is a picture of Ethan and his cake. His birthday is March 28th but we are getting a head start on it.

Ethan's Birthday Cake

Here is Ethan's Birthday cake. He asked for lightsabers, picked the colors, told me where to put the "sparks" from the sabers and insisted I take the buttons I put on the handles off. It is his cake. He did let me use blue around the outside even though he originally wanted green for the saber, letters, and trim...

Mexican Jumping Beans

Did you know? I looked it up online and you are supposed to soak the beans for 4 - 5 hours once or twice a month (use bottled water as the chlorine will kill them). So here are they are "swimming/drinking". They still jump around a bit while in the water. Years ago we had one "hatch". Other than that they always died.

Happy Anniversary

March 16, 1997

Vacation

Here we are on Catalina Island with the Carnival Paradise in the background. Between Catalina and Ensenada we saw hundreds of dolphins swimming next to the boat. Several were jumping out of the water together. Out of twenty or so pictures the top one was the best.

Towel Art

Every night when we went back to our room after dinner there was an art piece waiting for us. If you go on the Carnival website they show you how to make towel animals. The guy we had for our room was really good. These are made from our bath and hand towels.

:)

And they say Aliens do not exist...

we went out an hour later and they were back the way they usually are...

Spring Flowers

The sun is out. The birds are singing.

Flowers are blooming. Hello allergy season!

Market Day

Today the 4th grade classes at Rachael's school had "Market Day". They were given play money based on grades, attendance, homework... They could then be just a "buyer" or sell something at the market to make more fake money to buy with. Rachael and her friend sold shrinky dinks, cookies, cookbooks and art that they made. I was subbing but when my kids went to recess I had a chance to go and bum some play money off a teacher. I only had fifteen minutes so it was a quick shopping spree. I bought a few cookies from several different sellers, chips and guacamole, a book and pokemon cards for Ethan, a friendship bracelet and a small salad (Cameron sold cookbooks last market day so this time he decided to sell an item from the cookbook). I also paid to guess how many m&m's were in the jar ( I was way off!). The kids had fun, learned about business (partner or not, what sells, pricing, supply and demand...) and were able to buy some fun things. The kids in my class when I picked them up from the playground thought "it was so not fair" that I got to go shopping during recess. Oh well. They are in 3rd grade and need to wait one more year. I know Rachael will miss this activity next school year. Tomorrow is the last day of the trimester and we go off-track. We will be off until April! I actually like year-round school.

Still Saturday, February 28th

Saturday afternoon Ethan's Cub Scout Den went to the Central Library and then to Sutters Fort. I have many pictures of the different rooms throughout the fort which I will post later. It is a neat place with a lot of history. One of those places that we live near but have not visited in a long time.

Saturday Morning

Here Ethan is helping Rachael load Alli in the back section of the vest. Ready for a fun game of dart tag!