Last Week of School Surprises

Looking ahead to the last week of school, I had our little check off list in mind. Now, there is absolutely nothing wrong with a check list; they often help me get through life! But, there is a problem when that is all that you can think about! Fortunately, my classroom teacher brain kicked in just in the knick of time. In a regular school setting, there is not a lot of book work being done during that last week. It is full of parties, yearbook signing, fun crafts, cleanup, etc... Why couldn't we have a taste of both? So...surprises were planned for each day. Once the boys were finished with their school work (very little I might add), I would announce what the surprise of the day would be. This is what we did...

MONDAY: Opening game of the Outlaws' season...since A was dressed in his little league uniform, our family was able to get in for free! Unfortunately, I did not take enough pictures! A was able to go out on the field and give the Outlaws players high fives as they were introduced before the game. Too cool! There was facepainting, bounce houses, and so much more! This picture is of Little B after she saw Miss Jenny, our friend, the face painter.

TUESDAY: A ride on daddy's bus downtown to enjoy rootbeer floats at Old Town Rootbeer Company and a look-see in Powell's candy shop. Unfortunately, I did not remember my camera, but I took a few pictures with my cell phone...not great quality, but you still get the idea.

WEDNESDAY: A Picnic at the Park was on the agenda. We packed a lunch, played baseball, and enjoyed some time on the playground. We had too much fun!

THURSDAY: Pool Party through CORE Paradise. We do not have any pictures because we were TOO busy swimming! This was also our very last day of school work. Each week when the boys were finished with their school work on a Friday, they would take their assignment sheets and rip them up and toss them in the trash. On this last day of schoolwork, the boys made a very dramatic go of the ripping ceremony. They were filled with SO much joy as they ripped and tossed.

FRIDAY: Our final meeting with Teacher Patti. We then headed to Glazed Creations for some painting and then home for a run through the sprinklers. Little B enjoyed many of these celebrations...is that fair since she didn't do anywhere near the amount of work that the amazing boys did? :)

Drama, Baseball, and a Big Girl Bike...

We have had a very full May! I wanted to be able to "show" you what we have been doing, although it is just a TINY glimpse of our crazy month!

The following video is an excerpt from Z's performance as Geppetto in the Pinocchio performance at Chico Christian School. He had so much fun participating in this class and then performing for the entire school during chapel and then again the following night for parents and other family members. I was one proud mommy sitting in the audience. Little B has watched it on video at least 20 times since.

A's life has been all about baseball it seems. Now we are at the end of the season and cannot believe that it is almost over! He only has two games left. He has enjoyed his time, but is ready for it to be over. The following video is of one of his hits at his game this evening.

We finally decided that it was time for Little B to have a big girl bike. She was practically doing tricks on her tricycle. So we broke down and purchased a bike with training wheels and we have not been able to keep her off of it since! We often take walks around the neighborhood while Little B rides her big girl bike (yep, it is what she calls it too). I sometimes have a hard time keeping up with her! The following video is a little clip of her riding with great joy.

Spelling Bee Sweetness

Please excuse the length of this post, but I wanted to give you as many details about our weekend as possible.


The California State Spelling Bee was one of the neatest experiences that we have ever had as a family. Z and I decided to make Friday (the day before) a fun and relaxing day. No studying, no preparing, just fun, fun, fun. He deserved it! Z had practiced EVERY day leading up to the spelling bee. He was as ready as he was going to be. :)


So...we drove to his first mommy's house on Friday morning to sing happy birthday and to give her a few gifts. Then we took A and B to my grandparents' home to stay for the weekend. A did not think that he would be able to sit for four hours listening to sixty kids spell words...and I KNEW that B wouldn't be able to sit through it. So, they had a fun weekend with great grandma and grandpa in Chico.


Z and I left town at 9:45 and headed to Vacaville to eat lunch with my dear friend, Jen. We ate at a fun little restaurant and Jen and I sat and caught up with each other. My sweet Z sat SO patiently while we sat and talked. I was blown away at his patience because I knew that he was excited about what was coming next...


SCANDIA!!!!! We drove another 15 minutes to arrive at Scandia a Fun Center in Suisun. We did bumper boats, go carts, and laser tag. Z also enjoyed some arcade games. We both agreed that laser tag was our favorite! I couldn't believe how much exercise it was! We had a blast!


This time when we got into the car, we knew that our destination was Rohnert Park - our hotel and the site of the State Spelling Bee. We arrived at our hotel about an hour and a half later. It was supposed to take 45 minutes, but the traffic was out of this world! I explained to Z that the traffic was one of the reasons that we choose to live in CHICO! :) When we arrived at our hotel, Z's jaw dropped to the floor! It was a very nice place! They gave us each a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie upon our arrival. If you know Z, you know that the way to his heart is through his stomach. He was in heaven. After getting settled into our room, Z and I drove to Sonoma State University to see where the theater was where he would be competing the next day. We picked up some dinner and then went back to the hotel to swim. Z had been looking forward to this all day! He made friends with quite a few fellow competitors. It was fun for me to chat with their parents and to realize that we were all in the same boat. Nerves were high and not knowing what to expect was common. On the way back up to the room Z kept saying, "This was the best day of my life! Thank you, mommy! I have had so much fun!" I was so thrilled that we were able to make a possibly stressful day so enjoyable!


M joined us late that night. Poor guy had to work until 7:30 driving bus and then delivered a safe on the way. He also found that one of the roads that he was supposed to take was closed after 10 pm - although Caltrans did not report it on their 800 number. Bummer! He took a 45 minute detour and finally arrived at 1 am. Needless to say, I did not get a lot of sleep that night. Z slept like a baby fortunately!


The next morning, we arrived at Sonoma State University at 7:30. We ate a continental breakfast, checked in, and waited and waited and waited. :) Ok, it just felt that we waited and waited and waited. I was so nervous for my little guy. M took this picture of us and laughed! He said that it showed perfectly what each of us was feeling right before. Z was goofing around having a good time (he really was) and I was a nervous wreck playing with my fingernails (I really was)! M was a cool cat. He usually is in situations like this. Finally the doors opened at 8:40 and we were blown away by what we saw inside! Unfortunately, my camera did not take great pictures inside. The lighting made everything look red (as you can see from the videos below). They had a cowboy theme. It almost looked as if they opened up a prom decorating catalog and ordered everything. There were horse balloons, a cowboy made out of balloons, a cowboy background, a little campfire that looked as if it were lit, bull horns, etc.... It was amazing! Z loved it!

They introduced all of the kids and began talking statistics. Z was one of only six fourth graders. The superintendent of Sonoma County stated that there are 463,932 fourth graders in California. We only have six of them here! Wow! That was an amazing number! He went on and on congratulating the finalists. He told them that they were already winners no matter what happened at the spelling bee.

Then the spelling bee began. I was so grateful to have my husband sitting next to me. I would have been a nervous wreck without him. I couldn't believe how calm and cool Z looked up there. There were 60 students competing. The nerves were high in the room. Z's first word was cried. He smiled as he spelled it, but first followed his Grandma Goodie's advice and asked for the definition and to hear it in a sentence. He made her proud! Z spelled it with ease as well as his second and third words (variety and disturbance). During the fourth round, Z was given the word perceptible. I wrote it down on my piece of paper p-e-r-c-e-p-t-a-b-l-e. Z asked for the definition, the sentence, wrote the word down on his paper and then spelled it p-e-r-c-e-p-t-a-b-l-e. I almost shouted out loud. Woo Hoo! But to my surprise, he was told that he had spelled it incorrectly. She spelled it for him and informed him that it was i-b-l-e. Z was able to come and sit in the audience with us. He was very disappointed, but handled it so very well. I was so proud of him! At the end, all of the spellers were asked to come back up on the stage for pictures and gifts. Each speller was given a gift bag full of goodies. One of the items was a letter from the governor! Z thought that it was very cool to get a letter from the governor of California! The videos below show Z each time he was given a word. Feel free to watch if you would like!

Exhausted and hungry, we headed out to the parking lot. M looked on his GPS to find the closest Red Robin (my most favorite Redding restaurant). He found one and said that it was on our way home. It would only take about a 1/2 hour. So Z and I munched on some of his trail mix (something that he found in his gift bag). So we drove and we drove (following M with his GPS) until we reached a cute little town. Looking around I could not imagine finding my Red Robin, but M told me that the GPS said that it would be there.

We were looking for this Red Robin...

...but found this one.

So, we ate at a very nice restaurant called Fabrizios. Z was in heaven again. It had white tablecloths, multiple pieces of silverware and delicious food. We felt that this was the perfect place for a celebratory meal. (Even if it wasn't Red Robin.) :)


So, now we are home and so thrilled for the opportunity to have this experience. Z has such fond memories of his time at the State Spelling Bee. His favorite part? "Now I do not have to study anymore!"

Fun with Little B

Another funny conversation...I thought that Little B was sneeking some chips into the living room (a big no-no). When I questioned her about it. She walked over to me with a juice cup in her hand and said, "No, it was just my juice talking."

This video was taken yesterday. It was M's day off and he had "special time" with each of the kids. I heard out of control laughing coming from our room and ran in with the video camera. This is what I witnessed.

A Happy Mother's Day...

My husband does such an amazing job in making Mother's Day a special day for me. Last year he surprised me by suggesting a road trip to Grass Valley after church. We had such a great time last year that we decided to do a return trip, but this time invite my wonderful grandparents along for the ride! (Well, it turns out that grandpa drove and we rode.) :) So, we went to early service at church and then headed out shortly after. The drive is a pretty one, but the destination is even better. We arrived and walked around for a little bit until we decided where we wanted to eat. Boy, did we make the right choice! We ate at an amazing restaurant with patio seating and a delicious buffet. A man was outside playing music. It was perfect. We then set out for some more walking and a little shopping. Little B got a pair of sunglasses so that she would not continue to "steal" mine. What a fun start to Mother's Day!

When we returned from Grass Valley, we went to pick up the boys from their "First Mommy's" house. We came home and had a great heart to heart chat. I shared with my wonderful boys how I prayed and prayed for a long time that God would bless me with children. I told them that I couldn't understand why God wasn't answering my prayers more quickly. Then, after many years, I met daddy and you! I then knew why I had to wait so terribly long. I told them how blessed I am to be their mommy. Of course I said this through many, many tears, but they listened anyway and gave me big hugs. After our tearful conversation, Z ran to M with a great idea. I was soon ushered into the house to receive a surprise. My wonderful boys gave me a pedicure! They were so cute! Here are a few pictures from my surprise. Just precious...just like my boys.

May Flowers...

I am really enjoying the act of crossing tasks off of my list as we venture through the month of May. Let's see, Renaissance Fair: check, baseball games: check, and so on. I have a few things still on my list begging to be crossed off. Next on my list is the State Spelling Bee in Sonoma next Saturday. Z and I are heading down a day early to spend some special time at a Scandia Fun Center. Laser Tag anyone? I am also helping out with some of the homeschool testing at Chico Christian School. I am looking foward to helping out!

The last "big" event on my list is Z's Pinocchio performance at Chico Christian School. He will be performing during chapel on Wednesday, May 20th and then again on Thursday evening at 6:30. This is a free show if you are in the area!

A continues to have baseball games so our Saturdays and some weeknights are at the field rooting him on! He is having a lot of fun this year and has improved a lot!

B loves to play outside in the dirt or inside with a coloring book. Her new love is for her three little babies. She wants to take them everywhere. She often has conversations with her babies as we are driving down the road. It is too cute!

M is still riding his bike everywhere. He really enjoys using less gas and burning more calories! I am so proud of him!

I still love my life. Homeschooling was God's best plan for our lives. The boys and I were having a conversation about that yesterday. It was so cute to hear what they have loved about this year. They realize that they are able to do more than they ever could have imagined. Although I love it, I am ready for a break from it all this summer. We will not have lessons, classes, or school work. A few VBS weeks and a week or two at the coast in Brookings. Ahhhh...I'll enjoy the change of pace. I think that my kids will too!

Another Cute Conversation

It seems like I have multiple funny conversations with little B throughout the week. This particular one happened today.

I noticed that B was writing on a small piece of paper that had come out of M's Bible. I asked, "B, what do you have?" Her reply, "It's an email from JC Penney!"