Justin turned 11!

Eleven years ago my heart was healed when my second child was born. I had a miscarriage before being pregnat with Justin and was afraid I wouldn't have any more children, but God blessed us with Justin. He is so creative, so full of life, has so much character and always keeps us on our toes. He wrote the book on being the middle child. I'm the baby and so is Bryan so we don't really understand this middle child thing and we don't tend to be too compassionate to his cause which probably just adds to the situation. I see so much of myself in him and I am constantly reminded that I still have a lot of work to do. He is rarely satisfied with what he has, always wants more, is always asking for more, wants a better explanation, wants it done his way. See, I told you he reminds me of myself.

He comes up with these great characters and will dress up and act the part. He does get shy when I try to take a picture or record any of it. I just want everyone else to share in the joy. He makes me laugh so much when he's in character and he constantly amazes me with his artwork and creativity. He can be very resourceful when he needs to be and often times he'll come up with some pretty cool costumes that he designs and makes out of cardboard, duct tape and paint. He loves to play with his legos but that seems pretty common among boys his age. He'll get a lego set, come home and put it together in record time. It'll stay that way for a while and then slowly migrate to the lego bin. Eventually he'll create something new out of the pieces. He loves to get the lego figures and found a website where he can order all the little accessories for the figures. That's what he wanted for his birthday so he made a list after spending days online perusing numerous websites. He also wanted a rubix cube cake. Sounds simple enough right? No. It was so hard to frost because the colors kept running together when they would touch. I accidentally added too many lines but everyone liked the cake, especially Justin and that's what matters. We just had a small party with the kids from our writing co-op since they were going to be here anyway on his birthday. They had a great time but of course it wasn't enough.

Marcus turned 14!

Yikes! I have a 14 year old! That went amazingly fast and I know the next 14 years will go just as fast if not faster. Marcus is a great kid who is very creative and loves to have fun. For his birthday this year he wanted to go to Universal Studios instead of having a party. That was fine with us so on his actual birthday we had donuts for breakfast (his favorite) then Bryan took the boys to see Ironman2. Breanna had speech therapy so I took her to that and then we went to the mall, just the two of us girls. She really wanted a pillowpet so we purchased one and I had to stop at Gymboree to see what was on sale. I love that store and all the matching clothes. It makes my heart happy. After a fun time at the mall we came home and so did the boys. Justin and Breanna had Outdoor Explorers at Sienna Ranch in Lafayette so we had a very quiet afternoon to just relax and do what we wanted. My dad picked up Breanna and Justin from the ranch so we took Marcus out to dinner. That was funny. Marcus used his birthday money to get an iTouch so he was on that, I was on my itouch and texting on my phone and Bryan was on his Blackberry. From the outside we looked like a very distant family who doesn't communicate. What those outside people don't know is that we interact with each other all day long every day. Bryan has been home from his job for almost 6 weeks now since his company was bought out. We're enjoying having him home and it's like Saturday everyday. I actually lose track of what day it is and it always feels like the weekend around here. We've adjusted quite well since this is the third time we've done this. The kids and I do school in the morning and then we head out for our afternoon activities every day. Bryan will help with the driving if he's home. He's also been working for another company on a contract basis since while they can't afford to hire him full time. Every little bit helps. Anyway, back to Marcus' birthday. After dinner he wanted to rent Where the Wild Things Are because he wasn't able to see it in the movie theater. That's a very strange movie. We spent the rest of the evening just hanging out taking it easy. Overall a very nice day for everyone. Way less stressful than putting on a huge birthday party at our house. Now Justin will turn 11 in a few weeks and we'll see what he wants to do for his birthday.

Pixar

So we had an opportunity to tour Pixar Studios in Emeryville and we would have been just plain dumb to pass it up. What a chance of a lifetime and perfect for all my boys (Marcus, Justin and Bryan). The tour was exciting from the moment we drove up to the gates that say Pixar. We parked and couldn't believe we were actually there. Both my boys and my husband love to make movies, watch movies, review movies, talk about movies, if it has to do with movies, they love it. Just walking up to the entrance to the building was fun since they had the big desk lamp from the very first short that Pixar ever did and the huge bouncy ball. The lobby had Buzz Lightyear and Woody made out of legos and it was lifesize. There were pictures of Toy Story all over the place, huge wall size watercolors. It was all decorated in Toy Story since Toy Story 3 is coming out soon. Upstairs was all decorated in Up since it just won an academy award. We were able to go in a screening room where they show the families of Pixar employees the finished movie before the public sees it and we went into a working room where the artists bring what they've been working on and show it to the director. It gets picked apart so they can then go back and work on their piece. We were able to see all the art that was upstairs too. It was all Up artwork and we could see how the artist was portraying a certain feeling or mood depending on the colors, shapes and tones used. After the tour we had lunch in the Pixar cafeteria while we asked questions of our wonderful tour guide. So fun. So cool. So amazing.

Spring Break 2010

Since we homeschool we take our Spring Break when it works for us, not according to someone else's calendar. We weren't sure when it would happen or if it would happen but we decided this week was the week to take some time off of school and let the boys go to Universal Studios with Bryan. It's very expensive, almost as much as Disneyland but it's where Marcus wants to go for his birthday and they've never been before. The boys have been working really hard and if the boys are working hard that means I'm working really hard too. I figured we all deserved some time off to do the things we want to do instead of the things we should do. Today we slept in, well, the kids slept in a little but still early enough to get a few hours of video games in. I got up early because animals don't take spring break and they needed to be fed. I love to be up early anyway so it was nice to get an early start. My big project right now is sorting through five bins and four boxes of paperwork that I've saved for a family of five for eighteen years. Every thank you note, birthday card, Valentine's Day card, anniversary card, wedding invitation, graduation announcement, you name it, I saved it. Oh and all three of my kids draw all the time and I had saved every drawing they ever scribbled on every scrap paper. I also saved every piece of schoolwork they've ever done. I sorted through the boxes so that things were separated by person and then I let that person go through their pile. The rule was you could keep anything you want and get rid of anything you want but the box has to close neatly. The boys did really well but they both still have a pile to go through. In the middle of all the paper sorting I wanted to take a family bike ride. I wanted us to do something as a family that we don't normally do. We got all the bikes out, brushed them off, found the helmets, pumped up all the tires (after a trip to Target to get a new tire pump) and after an hour we were ready to go. Our destination was the donut shop that's five minutes away. I figured we had to keep it short and simple and fun. We rode down there, had a yummy donut and then rode home. It was fun and I'm glad we did it. I know the kids will remember it and that's what counts.

The Hardest Thing About Having Pets

The hardest thing about having animals is when they die. We've lost several pets over the years but it's always so sad. The hardest part for me is what do you do with it once it's dead. The kids always want to bury it but I think it would be more traumatic if another animal were to dig it up and the kids were to walk onto that scene. We've always placed them in the waste receptacle in a very respectful, discreet manor. The problem is that when I go to take the garbage out I feel horrible until it's garbage day. Sadly, this week we lost one of our guinea pigs and one of our frogs in a matter of two days. Justin and I cleaned out the guinea pig cage last weekend and I could tell Isabel wasn't quite right. Her eyes weren't bright and she whimpered when I put her back in the cage. She was gone the next day. The frog was the same way. He was laying upside down one day and I thought for sure he was dead but when I had Bryan go to get him out he flipped over. Surprised us. I could tell he wasn't good though. The next day he was gone too. The kids seem to be doing fine but Justin always takes it the hardest. He doesn't always show how he feels but I know it bothers him and I know he kind of blames me. A few weeks ago I decided to move the guinea pigs and the frog cage out to the classroom. The guinea pigs were in the garage but they were so messy, smelly and noisy and we hardly ever use the classroom so I thought it would be best to put them out there. The frogs just don't look too appealing so I moved them as well. The problem is that the temperature is so random out there. It can be really cold in the morning and night and then really hot in the afternoon. That can't be that great for animals. I did move the remaining living frog into the house because I just didn't want to see Justin's face if we lost another frog. I decided to keep the guinea pigs out in the classroom because the other two, Bugsy and Flower, seem to be just fine. They are both full of energy, have bright eyes and their coats are very shiny and healthy. Our chickens are doing well, laying an egg almost every day. They're done molting so they're feathers are very fluffy. I call them fluffy butts. The bunnies seem to be doing fine as well. The gecko is fine and so is the cat. Good thing.

Bunnies, chickens and cats, oh my!

My chickens accidentally got out of their caged area but they looked so happy to be free and feel the sunshine on their feathers that I didn't have the heart to put them back. They immediately went to a sunny part of the yard and starting taking dust baths. If you've never seen a chicken take a dust bath, well you should sometime. It's a funny thing to watch. They do it to get rid of the mites that try to live on their skin and you can tell it feels good to them to roll in the dirt and lay in the sun in funny positions. Even our cat came over to watch. Gabby is about thirteen years old and almost as spry as a kitten. She still plays and does funny things and she's very talkative. Good thing we named her Gabby. The chickens were good and stayed out of the bocce court so I let them roam in the yard for a while until it started to get dark. Bryan doesn't like them in the bocce court because they dig in it and make huge holes that he has to fill in later. I understand. Our bunnies love it when I get them out of their hutch and they can eat grass in the bunny run. Patches likes to dig though so we have some very dangerous booby traps in our lawn that the boys need to fill in. You could really twist an ankle in one of those holes. I can feel spring in the air. The sun is warmer and brighter and things look so green and fresh. The garden yearns for her seedlings but I'm working on preparing the dirt so it's just right to receive our precious plants that will bring us such joy every morning when we harvest our little bounty of goodies in a few months. Gardening teaches me so much about life. Weeds, like sin, are so easy to remove when they are small and haven't grown roots but if you let a weed grow it becomes very dangerous, almost too dangerous to pull with regular gardening gloves. I have to use a special tool to get the root and then sometimes I have to get both hands around the root, steady my feet and pull with all my might. They don't often come up with the first tug either. I have to be determined to removed that darn weed. That's what happens when we let things that are not good for us grow in our lives. It's sometimes easy to just ignore it but it's getting bigger and stronger every day and soon will require special tools to remove when we could have simply just gone over even with bare hands and removed the little tiny weed. That tiny little weed could be an attitude, unforgiveness, selfishness, ungratefulness, bitterness, you get the idea. I want to be quick to remove things when they're little and managable and not wait until they require extra effort and even some injury.

Science Camp

Last week we went to science camp for the first time up at Alliance Redwoods in Occidental. If you don't know where that it is, it's near Sebastopol. If you don't know where that is, it's near Napa, well kind of. It doesn't matter. What does matter is that we went. I have been meaning to go to science camp for a long time. At least 5 years now. I finally got my act together, packed our bags, piled us in the car, set the GPS and headed up to science camp. My wonderful in-laws graciously agreed to pay for the camp which helped immensely. The forecast said rain so I tried to be prepared. Have you ever packed three kids and a mom for four days taking into account that it may rain all four days and you will have no washer and dryer? We also had to bring all of our own linens-sleeping bags, pillows, towels, etc. When we arrived it was raining so hard it seemed like it was night even though it was only 1:30 in the afternoon. I was not impressed. After checking in we walked back to our cars in the rain to lug all of our stuff to our cabin which luckily was very close to the lodge. The cabin was adorable and had recently been updated. New floors, new paneling on the walls, new sleeping mats, a wall heater. Very nice and cozy. The bathroom was very close too. I wore my cute Ug boots up there but quickly changed out of my wet socks and put on my trusty rain boots to keep my feet nice and dry. Well, come to find out my not-s0-trusty rain boots had a hole in them and in a matter of minutes my second pair of socks were soaked. I only had two dry pairs left. Uh-oh. Then I put on my tennis shoes thinking surely my feet would quickly get wet in those. Surprisingly they kept my feet relatively dry. It's amazing how uncomfortable you are when your feet are wet and cold. Okay, dry, happy feet. I can do this. That's what I kept telling myself. We all headed up to the meeting room for our orientation. Since it was raining so hard we were all completely soaked by the time we reached the room. We all shed our soggy jackets and tried to dry out before the meeting started. Then the councelors announced that we would be doing an acitivity-outside!!! Get on your wet raincoats and get out there!I quickly found a faster way to complete the project without running all over in the rain. Justin was my runner and I wrote down all the information needed. Mission accomplished. We then had a nice dinner in the newly renovated dining hall, had a short devotional time and then headed to bed. I got the kids settled and nestled all cozy in their beds. Then I went to the lodge to check my email while they fell asleep so quietly in the cabin. Not! When I returned an hour later they were all wide awake making flashlight puppets. I should have known better. I then settled them down again and after a while we all went to sleep. Luckily the next day we woke up and it wasn't raining! Yay!!! I'm not sure I could have done four days in the rain. For the next two days we had beautiful weather. The kids were able to do so many fun things, almost all of them involved a harness and a helmet-a boy's dream. Both boys did great. Breanna was able to hold her own on the hikes and in the afternoon she went into a class for her age group called Puggles. I believe a puggle is a baby platypus. They did some of the same things as the older kids but on a different level. She loved it. I was able to have some free time in the afteroon when all the kids were in their classes. The lodge had free wi-fi so I brought my laptop and checked email, played on Facebook and followed my blogs. The kids all loved the classes, the counselors and the food was actually good. I know, camp food good? Yep. It was very yummy and I actually went for seconds a few times. I'm so thankful that it stopped raining on those two days. By Friday the rain had started up again so we opted to head home instead of to the beach. We made the right choice. We love going on trips but we also love coming home.