Clothes for warm weather?

It was over 80 degrees this weekend, and what did Payton want to wear?

Shoes for Bear

On the way to Sandy's this morning, the little miss and I have this conversation.

"Mama, do you think my shoes are cool?"

"Yes, I love them."

"Mama, do you think I could share my shoes?"

"Sure, who do you want to share your shoes with?"

"I want to share them with Bear. He doesn't have any shoes?"

"Oh really?"

"Mama, I don't have enough shoes for Bear. He needs 18 shoes because he has a lot of feet. I need some monies for the shoes."

Here's a picture of the shoes she wants to share. Do you think Bear will like them?

The Cost of Life

Our weekend was a fun, busy, and expensive one. I felt so frustrated by the cost of things this weekend, mostly gas. We spent $72 to fill up the Kia, and $40 to fill up the Civic. It just seems criminal that we pay this much money to drive out cars. I told Jon that when gas hits $4 a gallon we aren't driving anywhere! This is just crazy. After spending the money to fill up the cars, we then move into spending money at the following places: Costco, Trader Joe's, Safeway, Stride Right (shoes for her) and Target. I pride myself on how we shop (always buying things on sale) and we very rarely purchase frivolous things. It's amazing to me how much one can spend on food, diapers for two, and just small household items. The gas and the food are just killing us! It really upsets me that people have to work so hard just to provide their families with basic necessities. So... in answer to those of you that asked about the weekend, there you go! I know so many of you understand where we are coming from. Hope you all had a great and CHEAP weekend.

Our little artist

She calls these her "beautiful pictures". Thank goodness Sandy has an endless supply of paper!

For Sunday

Happy Anniversary, Liz and Juan. We love you so very much! I bet you wish you were on a warm tropical island now.....

Also, Happy Birthday Matt P. You are a wonderful guy, and we are lucky to know you. We hope that you enjoy your day.

Security

We are getting an alarm system put into the house. We were excited, now it's a disaster. Let's just say Jon's missed two days of work, he's been on the phone for countless hours... and the police have been dispatched to our house.... twice. (Of course, without us setting off the alarm off). We received a letter from the Elk Grove Police department saying that you get two free false alarm calls a year. After that, you are charged- and it's not cheap. Can you even guess how much? Starts at $200............. and we've already used our free calls in three days.

Sweet Sam

He's growing so quickly! His sister hasn't been that into the camera lately, so we have a bunch of the ever changing little boy.

A Delayed Weekend post

Hope everyone is doing well this week! I feel like I haven't posted in quite a while, even though it's been less than a week. I spent the night down in Imperial with Erica and Hector this past weekend, marking my first night solo away from the kids and Jon since Payton has been born. I flew into San Diego on Saturday afternoon, and left on the last flight Sunday night. Jon held down the fort so well, I may have to go away again....
The top 5 things about my visit to see Erica and Hector:
1. Being able to see the new, beautiful house! They've done such a nice job with getting everything together.
2. Spending some time with Hector's family for dinner on Sunday. It's so great to see them all together, and to know that Erica and Hector are close to them now.
3. Chatting about life with the two of them... we had some great talks!
4. Watching TV on the 52 inch massive system..and seeing a Blue Ray DVD.
5. Teasing Hector about drinking blue water.

Thank you for the wonderful visit, Erica and Hector! Can't wait to do it again.
Other than that, this week's been pretty uneventful. We are looking forward to the weekend for sure!

Education

It's official! We are a California Distinguished school! Here's a link to the article if you'd like to read about it: http://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/ne/yr08/yr08rel45.asp. You can click on the link to see what schools received the honor.

On a lower note, the budget crisis is starting to hit home as our district prepares to make cuts. Our dear friend Lani just let me know that she is being placed on an involuntary transfer list and will be moved from the site that she loves next year, due to her seniority (or lack thereof). I feel so horrible that she has to go through this process. I still feel the pain of when it happened to me three years ago, and know how upsetting it is. I know that she is very grateful to still have a job in this crazy time, but it doesn't take away how much it hurts to leave a school site where you have a great team. I feel very lucky to have a job, but wonder constantly about this field of work in all of these uncertain times.

5th place is just as good as first!

I know that you will all laugh, but I am proud of my 5th place finish in the March Madness pool that Jon and I entered, along with his Dad. I won't admit that I knew nothing about the teams (ssh!) and picked Kansas to win the whole tournanment. I was right! This pushed me up to a noteworthy (I feel, that is) 5th place finish. Placing fifth didn't win me any money, but certainly deserves bragging rights. Go me!

Naptime Post

I thought that I'd post a few pictures that were on the City of Sacramento's Council page of Jon's last egg hunt. You can see just how excited the kids were in the top picture. In the bottom, Jon's to the right of the golden ticket egg basket table, while Phong (his wonderful co-worker) is handing them out. On the actual website, the council thanked Jon for all of his great work! Yeah for him!

On a side note, my new increase in exercise has left me with some major right knee pain. It's getting to be a bit frustrating. I am finally moving at a good rate, and I haven't been able to run since Wednesday since I have been in so much pain. I am actually limping. Everyone keeps telling me that it is normal with starting up with a fitness routine, but I am not so sure. If anyone has any ideas for me, please let me know.

We were at Target this morning and I handed Sam a toothbrush to hold on to that I was going to purchase. In pulling it away from his mouth, I found that his two bottom teeth have cut through, and his top right one is as well. When the heck did that happen? I am not ready to get rid of the toothless baby grins!

So glad that it is the weekend- hope everyone is doing great!

Forgot the picture....

Just a small picture of the community center Jon will be at today. It's going to be such a neat place for the families in that area.

Groundbreaking Event for Jon

Jon's doing his first groundbreaking event for a community center in Sacramento. It is a major extension of a facility in an area that can really use a nice community center. You can check out a brief description here: http://www.cityofsacramento.org/parksandrecreation/recreation/single.cfm?eventid=2354
I am so proud of him! We decided that the worst possible thing that could happen would be if the PA system went out. I know that it won't happen and he'll tell me good news later. Keep your fingers crossed for him!

They are gone!

Our dear friends Erica and Hector have just moved to Imperial, CA to be closer to Hector's family. Erica had just sent some pictures of the new house, and I can't believe how big and beautiful it looks! I've posted a picture she had sent below. We are so excited for them- congrats, Erica and Hector! (For those of you who know her, doesn't her hair look great?)