Another week goes by...

This week flew by! Rachael's class went on a field trip to Sutter's Fort. Since we were there a few months ago with the Cub Scouts we did not take many pictures. It was neat that they fired the cannon while we were there. They put a styrofoam ball in it, but it would have been a 4 lb metal ball that could travel up to a mile away. Since the capital is within a mile they figured a styrofoam ball was a better choice. On Friday we went to see the movie UP and thought it was a cute movie. Saturday we went to a Rivercats baseball game. In between things we worked on the yard. Finally our pond is a pool and we can swim in it again.

Lucky

Happy Memorial Day weekend! I hope everyone had a good weekend. We drove to my sister's house to celebrate Cody's graduation from High School. We had a great time! I will post more pictures as I get them from my mom and sister. This is a picture of Lucky their Desert Tortoise. He just ate some lettuce.

Cub Scouts Bridging Ceremony!

Last night Ethan "bridged" from Wolf to Bear at the Cub Scout meeting. He worked hard and had a lot of fun completing the requirements needed to earn his Wolf patch. They have a really neat bridge that the boys get to cross over to receive their Bear hat, kerchief and slide (the slide is what holds the kerchief in place). The red vest has patches from different events and things he has done. Hopefully I will have the stack from this year sewn on by the Family Camp Out in June. I need to teach Rachael how to sew her own patches on and maybe get her to do Ethan's too...

Busy Weekend

We had a busy weekend. On Saturday Rachael went with her Girl Scout Troop to the Science Museum in San Francisco and had a great time. All night we heard this and that about the different things she saw. We went last year and there were a few new things. While she was having fun in San Fran we were working hard to turn our pond back into the sparkling pool we love. It was 100 degrees on Saturday and Sunday! Sunday the kids and I went to the last day of Religious School. There was a fun Sing-A-Long at the end and Popsicles for all. Tonight Ethan helped me make dinner. He peeled the cucumber for the salad...

One Serving...

Today after school Ethan asked if he could have some Nilla Wafers. I said "yes". He looked at the box and it says one serving is nine wafers so he was happy he could have nine of them. An hour later I grabbed the box to eat one... There were nine left in the box!!! I read the label to him. NINE wafers is ONE serving and there are ELEVEN servings in a box! That means he ate 90 wafers!!! He looked at me with a smile and said "I ate that many, really?" This is why when he eats chips I make him put his serving into a bowl and leave the bag in the kitchen. I wonder if he will be hungry for dinner.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day! I am having a great day! Ethan made me a beautiful blue bead bracelet and wrote a very nice letter to me. Rachael made me breakfast, gave me a potted marigold and the beautiful daffodil picture from Open House. Allen gave me funny card. I am a lucky mom! We went to Religious School and Allen worked on the yard. I should show pictures of my gifts, but found the one above to be more interesting. This is what happens when Ethan heats his own Pop Tarts in the microwave oven with the foil wrapper still on... good thing I happen to be nearby and hit "off" within seconds. In Ethan's defense he has heated his own Pop Tart with the wrapper off. He just forgot this time.

Hatched!

The Mexican Jumping Beans that we posted about on March 16th hatched!!!!! At least one did. You can see the shell of the cocoon and the moth. Ethan thinks it is cool. Rachael thinks they are gross. We will not be keeping them.

Open House - Rachael's Room, 4th grade

Tonight was Open House at the kids' school. The rooms were filled with the fun projects they have been working on throughout the year. There are too many things to list and I have hit most of the highlights since October as they happened on the blog. I had not seen the seen the pinch pot Rachael made so there is a picture of her standing with that at her desk. She just drew the picture of the daffodil this week. I also included a picture of Allen testing out Rachael's project I posted about I think last month. We asked her teacher Mrs. Fraser what Rachael should work on and it was hard to come up with anything. Rachael likes school and does really well. We are really proud of her.

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.