My Great Nephew - Van

My New Haircut

Halloween Eve

Strong, Dark, and with a Snap of a Finger...He Does Just What I Want Him to Do...What more could I want from Life?

Isn't he just beautiful! I bought this new little guy to tide me over until I can get my "real camera." This little guy has so many wonderful features. He's shockproof, waterproof, snowproof, light weight, and you can carry him almost anywhere. You'll see how wonderful he really is, soon.

Four of My Twelve Nephews

Dinner at Jewels New Place

Jewels moved into a new place with a couple of girls about a month ago. She had me, Mom & Dad, and her family over for a tasty dinner. She made a nice bow tie pasta dish. Jani brought home-made guacamole and a yummie fresh fruit salad, and Jena brought a crisp green salad with tomatoes. Everything was wonderful. I love being with my family...they are the BEST!

My Sunday Baby

Several months ago a gal in my ward asked me if I would be willing to hold her baby during church. Hello!!! Did she come to the right person or what? I miss having little ones around. I told her, "Holding babies in church should be my calling for the rest of my life." I love them!

Canning Tomatoes

Mom, Linda, and I put up 12 quarts of tomatoes today. We had a lot of fun. The boys shot the BB gun and bow and arrows with grandpa while we were slaving in the kitchen. Later in the evening, we went swimming at Kevin's parents pool.

Jen O Turns the Big Four Zero

Tracy threw Jen a big 40th birthday party. It was an 80's theme. Most dressed in the 80's style and it brought back so many memories...the hair, brightly colored jewelry, tons of makeup, etc. It was so much fun seeing so many people that I hadn't seen in awhile.We played a game to see who knew Jen the best. Much to our surprise sister Zierenberg won. Who wudda thunked it?

Right to left (Jen, Kylie, me, Tracy)

New Friends

Ventura County Fair - 2008

Today I went to the Ventura County Fair with Tracey, Russ, and their kids. It was dollar days, so we got in for only a dollar...Such a deal! We met Phill and Norma (Tracey's dad and his wife) there. The parking lot at the fair grounds was full, so we parked at the Holiday Inn parking structure and walked to the fair. It was a beautiful day, the ocean breeze was simply delightful. We started off by getting something to eat because that's what you do at a fair. (There are two things that I always eat when I go to the Ventura County fair...roasted corn and soft serve ice cream...it's a tradition, so I can throw any and all dieting out the door.) Then, the kids wanted to go on the rides, so we spent a lot of time on the fairway. We saw Michele Pilimai and her sister Beth Homberg with their children. I also saw Stephanie Taylor (her maiden name, but I don't know what her married name is anymore) It was fun! Carly started to feel ill, from one of the rides, so she used the rest of her money to play the dart games. Sierra rode a few rides and then played the dart game. They both won a stuffed animal! Way to go girls! Ian rode the mechanical bull and did quite well. We all had a wonderful day at the fair.

Girls Night Out

Coleen and I went out to dinner at Acapulco's in Northridge and had a very nice dinner. I had tortilla soup and she had a salad. I will definately get the soup again...it was yummie! Afterwards, we went to the Granada Hills dance and we had a real fun time. There were not as many people there compared to the Westlake dance, but we still had a good time.

Our Day out at Lake Piru

On Tuesday, July 29, 2008, we took Kevin's boat out to Lake Piru. What an adventure! We launched the boat and it went pretty smoothly. A few of the kids and my mom jumped in the boat and sat down. My mom noticed that there was water in the bottom of the boat. She said something like "Is there suppose to be water in the bottom of the boat?" Kevin asured her it was just fine and said that it was probably because of the extra weight from the boating supplies. The boat kept taking on water so Kevin tried to see where it was comming from. Someone asked if the plug was in the bottom of the boat and Kevin said that he indeed did put it in, but he had and extra one. Yes, there was a hole that was missing a plug (The hole just under the engine in the picture). We quickly pulled the boat out of the water and let it drain for about 20 minutes. We laughed the whole time.
We finally launched the boat again, and...the boat wouldn't start. I ran up and got mom's car and we used the jumper cables to get it started. All ten of us boarded and off we went to the middle of the lake where the boat lost power and wouldn't start. Again, we all laughed and this time we were praying we would make it back to the dock. Brennen quickly went to the back of the boat and pumped the gas bulb. The boat finally started and we went back to the dock where most of us got out of the boat.

The boys went fishing with grandpa who helped keep the hooks on the line and the poles in the water. Thanks Dad!

Family...with a Few Missing

We tried to get a picture with the whole family, but Amber and Mike were not able to be there when the picture was taken.

This is more like us than the picture above.

A Post to Our Schools Website about My Class

The students in room 5 are currently studying Water, Water Everywhere as part of their English Language Development Program. The class planted Dyanthus plants outside the main office and kindergarten classrooms. The boys and girls learned how to prepare the soil, properly prepare the plant and water the area so that everything can grow. This project has given the class a hands on opportunity to see water in action. The class was required to do an THINK PAIR SHARE AND cerate a writing project using thinking maps to organize their thoughts. Students had fun while they learned and beautified our school.

Our School Receives Two New Playgrounds

Since 1997, Ann and Kirk Douglas have donated playgrounds to needy schools in the Los Angeles area. Over 390 playgrounds have been donated to date. They are going to stop donating when they reach 400 playgrounds. The school has to come up with $25,000 and then the Douglas's match that amount. Less than 10% of the schools receive two playgrounds. Our school received two because it really needed them. They put one in the kinder yard and one on the main yard.

These playgrounds are probably more important to the students at our school compared to many other schools. We have about 1,100 students and most of them are not permitted to leave their apartments (they can't even play in their apartment complexes) because it is not safe for them. Can you imagine never being able to to go outside and play...I can't.

Handmade Wooden Word Blocks

During the spring of 2006, I did my first semester of student teaching at Nevada Street Elementary. Mr. Betancourt, my master teacher, was extremely creative and always looking to find new ways to challenge his kindergarten students. As we talked, we came up with the idea where students would roll two wooden blocks to come up with new words. I decided to make them...aren't they just the cutest?