Finally!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well it's been something I have been hoping for and it finally happened. I was just promoted to Criminalist in the DNA section of the laboratory. Yipppeeeeeee. If I seem a little bit excited, it's because I am! This is the exact job I have wanted for so long and I'm finally past all the stepping stones. There is certainly a lot for me to learn, but I can't wait for this new chapter to begin. I guess hard work really does pay off and I guess allllllllllllll that college really was worth it.

Lately I am terrible at posting on this blog, but I will try to make a better effort.

Proud Parents of Great Kids

May 29th was Shelby's last day of Kindergarten. She was excited and sad all at the same time. That morning she woke up and got dressed all by herself to surprise me. Wow, she told me she was trying to act like a first grader. Now don't get me wrong, she usually dresses herself, but I usually have to ask and then beg her to not whine about what she is wearing. This day was a new beginning!
This is Shelby with her best friend, who she says she misses everyday. Shelby is really going to miss Mrs. White, what a great teacher. I'm so happy Shelby had her. She doesn't believe a word John or I say now, she only believes Mrs. White.

Well, I knew we had a smart girl on our hands but wowieeeee. At her awards ceremony I kept waiting to her her name and it was all the way at the end. Her award was for Academic Excellence which encompasses all areas ( as you can she she is extremely proud) and so are we. Her other award is for competing in the Governor's Fitness Challenge. We logged her excercise habits for a few weeks and she received her award. Additionally, she received an award from the district, a ticket to the county fair, and a ticket to Six Flags Marine World! We couldn't be more proud of this precious girl!

And then we have our little buddy Brandon. He had so much fun playing tee ball. On the last day he received an award for participation and a coupon for a free Round Table personal pizza (yum)!

If you take a close look at his hair you will see John has it gooed with gel and spiked. It was crazy day on the last day, with a cute kid like Brandon, it's hard to look crazy, everything just turns out cute.

We are certainly blessed to have these gorgeous children. We wouldn't trade them for a thing and we are looking forward to all the adventured we will have together over the years. Both kids are in swimming lessons right now and are doing awesome. Shelby is so close to swimming I can't believe she was the same girl who cried about getting her face wet three weeks ago. Brandon is jumping in and smiling the whole time. I guess it's time to save up our money for a pool.

Shelby's Kindergarten Performance

Since I'm a little behind on posting I will try and catch up. In May the morning kindergarten class put on a performance and it was the cutest thing I have ever seen. The sang songs about bugs and dogs, it was completely adorable.

Shelby sang her little heart out. It was fantastic that she was in the front row and right in the center we could actually hear her little voice.

I hope this video works, it's my first time trying to post one.

My Three Brothers

Recently, I have been very busy (wait I'm always busy)... but the recent activities have centered around my brothers. It's nice to have a large family, but it's very rare to have everyone in the same room.
This is Jonathan (8 years old) and absolutely adored by Brandon. Johnny is one of the funniest kids I have ever met, he's quite a character. I am so glad Brandon has him to play with. This is Benjamin (18 years old). As you can see he recently graduated high school and I was extremely proud to be able to attend this important day. I know he will go on to do great things, he's always been extremely bright.

And Christopher (30 years old). He was married yesterday and I was so happy that my Dad performed the ceremony. It was great to see them standing together.

Creative Inspiration

When you first have a child in school you want to help out in many ways. I'm one of those people that is a glutton for punishment and will always want to help out. So I joined the PTO at Shelby's school. I was the chairman for Staff and Teacher Appreciation which was a lot of work, but really turned out great. It consisted of a luncheon, breakfast, and four other various gifts.

The main project was to make thank you books for all the teachers, yes all 45 teachers. Anna luckily helped me figure out how to accomplish this project without spending a lot of money and going crazy. I took her ideas and fit them for my project.

My supplies:

-Colored paper cut in half (please use a paper cutter and do not cut all 1000 pages by hand like I did)

-Scissors, Ruler, Hole Punch (again all punched by hand, Anna recommends drilling the holes, but I was too scared to do it. I thought the pages would disintegrate).

-Twine for binding, which worked really well. (The pencil was to hold the holes open).

The finished product x 45. I used class photos for the front cover and laminated both of the covers. I was very happy with the finished product and got excellent reviews from the teachers.

The hardest part of the project was to find another parent from each class to coordinate the kids making their pages. Some of the parents did an absolute fantastic job. Although, the books turned out really great, it was a lot of work, and I will not be doing it next year.

For now, I have been elected the Secretary for the PTO and will attempt to keep the rest at a minimum. ( Really, how much can one person do?)

Thanks to Anna for all her inspiration, I will probably look to her in the future for more project ideas.

Let's Play Ball

Brandon had his first day of Pee-Wee T-Ball last Thursday and it was an absolute blast. He had so much fun, I love watching him give his all. Shelby and I cheered for him and John was his assistant. (All three-year-olds require parent participation).

I love Brandons giant smile, it is certainly contagious. We play for four weeks, so I will post more pictures later.

A Very Happy Easter

As you can see below the kids had a great Easter. I love Shelby's tulip basket, the Easter bunny brought some really great stuff this year.

So how did all the eggs get cracked? That's kind of a funny story that I don't have pictures for. I was in a rush to hide the eggs and didn't see the chicken wire in the lawn, the next thing I knew I was flat on my stomach. My arms and back were killing me for over a week. So, why the chicken wire in the lawn, apparently it keeps the turkeys from eating the freshly seeded areas, who knew? John's Aunt did apologize for the mishap. The lesson I learned: always look where you walk, and remember the easter bunny hops, not runs.

C upcakes Anyone?

This is the time of year that I start planning for the Birthday parties in July. Last year I make ice cream cone cupcakes and they turned out great, but it seemed like I could do better. I couldn't pass up this Giant Cupcake Pan made by Wilton. They retail for around $30, but if you watch sales and have coupons you can get it for around $15.
This was my trial run with the cupcake pan. The cake was great, the decorating less desirable. I'm going to need a little more practice before I can serve one of these.

And this is the ice cream cone molded cupcake pan I found at LakesideCollection.com. This magazine has all kinds of random items for really great prices. These I have to say turned out really good. It was a lot better than having a cupcake shoved into a stale baked cone.

Shelby told me I diod a great job on all the cakes. She's so sweet, or maybe she just wanted some cake :-)

Little Ballerina

Shelby began ballet lessons in March. We started on a trial basis for one month. She loved it so much we are continuing through the summer concert in June. It is always a challenge for her to try something new and it takes a lot of convincing on our part to prepare her. She does make a beautiful little ballerina.

Snow in El Dorado Hills?

This morning we woke up to snow falling and already covering the ground. It snowed here three years ago and ever since Shelby has asked when it will snow at our house again. I remember when I was a kid, snow is sooooooo exciting. I think Shelby feels the same. I will admit our snowman looks a little like a bear. But he's still cute.

Brandon was just a baby the last time it snowed here, so this time he really enjoyed himself.

Happy 8th Anniversary

January 21, 2001 was a day we will never forget. It was the day we began our life together.

I just wanted to say how very much I Love John and how lucky I am that he is my Husband. I cannot believe how fast the last 8 years have past. I know we have many more memories to make and cannot wait to see what the future has in store for us. Thanks making the life we share together amazing.

I will try to post a photo later, I will have to scan some in since we got married before the digital revolution.

100th Day of School

I cannot say how proud I am of Shelby and us. She has just finished her 100th day of Kindergarten and has no absences or tardies. Yeah, Shelby. (Now I'm going to knock on wood so I don't curse us). Shelby was assigned a project for the 100th day. Her assignment was to find a collection of 100 (something all the same) and display it in a unique way, not just in a baggie. John had the idea of using colored cheerios and making a picture. I really didn't want to use a food item so we used buttons. The mascot of the school is the Gator so here we have our 100 button gator. I think it turned out really cute. School projects can be a lot of fun, especially when you get to be creative.

Sorry about the quality of the picture, I just couldn't eliminate the glare.

Christmas 2008

Where should I start, when the kids woke up at 5:30 am, when I burned my thumb, or when I threw away Shelby's Student ID card? I guess I will just start at what I believe is the beginning of the season. This is the "stocking tree" I was fortunate to get from Raley's so long ago. It was used as a display for ornaments and I saved it just as it was going to be thrown in a dumpster. I just love having my stocking tree because I think it is a unique idea. A few years after John and I were married we didn't want to bother with a tree (I know... bah humbug) so we just used this tree. It's a little Charlie Brownish and I'll have it forever. Next, we went to the tree lot and choose this cute 6 foot tree. In the past we have had trees that are nine feet but I opted for a little smaller this year. It was absolutely perfect.

This is my Mom's angel. I begged her for it because she wasn't having a tree this year and I said my tree has never been the same without it. My Grandma made it, so I grew up having this angel on my tree. It really was a nice addition.

Every year since I was born my Mom gave me an ornament that had to do with something I like or was into from that year. I have continued this tradition with Shelby and Brandon and found these adorable Precious Moments ornaments this year. Shelbys is a collector of Cinderella and her Prince.

Brandon's is a cute little boy holding his blanket and sock monkey. I couldn't resist since he says his blankie is his best friend.

Now it is actually Christmas morning and boy did Santa deliver, that guy is amazing. Shelby received her Pink Princess Vanity with her favorite princesses and even got princess perfume.

She was just a little excited Santa gave her a wallet filled with money.

Then we have the five hundred army men. That's right, I said 500, 250 green and 250 tan, with a pump tank and jeap for each side. THIS MEANS WAR.

Brandon is ready for battle. Luckily Santa brought the tote to keep the army men indise of otherwise I would be stepping on them all day and night.

This was an amazing Christmas. I am sorry it took me so long to post about our adventures, but this year I'm trying to have a little more fun.

Going to See Santa - 2008

We'll, I tried to post these pictures two weeks ago but they wouldn't load. Yeah, this time they worked. Here is Brandon with Santa. His request was for army guys, pump tanks, and guns. I think I might have a soldier on my hands.

Shelby was very excited to see Santa this year. Her request was for a princess vanity with Cinderella and Snow White (her favorite princesses), and for make-up, and money. I don't know where kids come with what they ask for. It is always a suprise to the parents as well.

I love this picture of Shelby, just being herself. She is such a sweet little girl (most of the time). After Santa we went for an Ice Cream cone. We definately enjoyed ourselves. I love my family.