Mother's Day - time to blog

Hey, I actually have time to catch up! Dale is grilling and cleaning. We even got to play some scum! Jaden has been begging to play for weeks now.

Easter was lots of fun with many more boiled colored eggs this year and less candy eggs. I believe we had 9 colors in all and Daddy has a great time making a mess while coloring eggs with 3 children. I should have got a picture. We don't know how she did it, but Beka got a most gorgeous brown colored egg. We held our egg hunt after church on Sunday and enjoyed lots of egg salad sandwiches.

We were lucky enough to have spring break the week following Easter. It was nice to just hang out at home without schedules. Dale took Nathan at the end of the week to Yosemite National Park. They found a hotel in a small town about 25 miles out and were able to enjoy a couple of days of hiking without hauling all the camping gear and putting up with bears. I hear that the bears there have no fear and will remove car doors to get what they think might hold food. They had a great time and forgot to take the camera into the park! Yosemite is so beautiful - what a shame.

We thought it only fair, because the big boys got a trip, that Jae and I have some time alone. We went drove to Monterey last weekend leaving after school. We stayed in a small hotel and hit the jacuzzi as soon as we got there. Very relaxing in the quiet, dark and warm. We enjoyed some TV and snacks before sleeping. What made our stay unique was our non functioning toilet. One of the newer low water deals with a black tank inside the white tank. The desk clerk came to take a look and got it to work. She said if we have more trouble lift the tank lid and push the white button down. That never worked the next morning. Oh well, something to laugh about now. The next day we went to Fisherman's wharf to poke around some. It is pretty small, so I think we looked in all the shops. Jae did find an earring she liked. We had some delicious clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl. We were so full we didn't even stop for dinner on the way home. Although we did stop for ice cream and later roadside cherries that were very good. We drove the scenic 17 mile drive along the coast and stopped at the beach for Jae to do some rock climbing. We drove back to Gilroy in the late afternoon for some outlet shopping. We had a great time together. =)

Other tidbits: Jaden lost his two first teeth in February. The little boys took a 12 week soccer class at the park. Beka loved going to play. We are now trying a indoor class with a new sport every week. And Nathan is now a volunteer at the library once a week.

January Happenings

We always start the new year with a bang - Justin's birthday on the 9th! Such a cute 4 year old. Justin fell in love with Walle over Christmas, so that was our birthday theme, cake and all. He received the movie and the biggest box of snacks he has ever seen from Tamara. He got exactly what was requested. Overheard at Christmas was Spencer and Justin making plans to attend each others birthdays once they realized they are the same month. So sad to live apart.
Justin's birthday also fell on the night of the high school's winter formal. So Jaelyn was off to dinner and the dance with friends. She was able to find a nice dress in Arizona. I think she tried on half the dresses in the Junior department. She almost picked the same dress as her friend up here. We talked her out of it because of length and coverage. They all had a great time and looked beautiful. I worried about getting Jae out the door because she kept saying her dress made her look fat! hah! She is stunning in red.

Dale had Martin Luther King day off of work so we had a family picnic. After Christmas, Dale purchased a gas grill. We decided on a camping one so we could use it at home and be portable. He was excited to take it to the park and try it out on the go. We went to a large park with a lake and small train in Los Gatos. Unfortunately, the lake was about dried up and the train not running, but we brought bikes for the little ones and no one was disappointed. It was a very busy day at the park, but we got a nice spot by the playground. A hike was involved for the bathrooms. After lunch we played bean the monkey in the middle with a play ground ball and then a round of kickball. The little ones liked this better. We gave them just one base to run to. Dale likes to take that grill everywhere. He took the kids to the park a week ago, while I got my hair cut, and cooked them up some hamburgers. Nathan is a pretty good sport and goes along to play with his little siblings. Lucky for me, Dale has tomorrow off! President's day landed on my birthday. He will grill at home because we are finally getting lots of rain.
On a side note, Justin and Jaden are now soccer players. We signed up for the once a week classes back to back. They seem to enjoy it and get lots of running in. Beka gets a couple of hours at the playground right next to the field. I have even gotten to know some of the other moms. People are so interesting. One little boy is also in Justin's preschool and his mom is from Egypt. It is fascinating to hear about that part of the globe and how she came to the Bay area. I will leave you with this final picture/commercial ad for 'Got Cheese?' taken by Tamara. One little girl did not want wait for mommy to finish exercising. Helping oneself is much better!

2008 catch up

Whew, I am a bit behind. Thanksgiving was a semi- quiet affair with just us Miles. We went on a hike in the morning at Rancho San Antonio. We brought along a toddler pack for Beka, but she didn't like it so only spent 5 to 10 minutes in it. We were amazed at our energizer bunny. We stopped at the farm that is one mile in and looked at the animals and ate snacks. Once we were refueled we started on the gentle uphill trail to make a big loop. Beka outdid her younger brothers; they would get tired and complain and she would say "No! I walk" She did have a couple of rides courtesy of Nathan. The best part was getting passed by two horses and their rides. Beka was very excited, so when she started lagging we would say the horses went this way, let's go find them. Well, our hike was a least 3 miles and took a couple of hours with little legs, but we worked up a good appetite! We went home and cooked up a storm with lots of pies for dessert.

This is a picture of Grandma and Grandpa visiting us in mid October. We had a great time with them. This is outside the new Science and Natural History Museum in San Francisco. We had an interesting time finding it without specific directions in Golden Gate park. Their roads aren't well labeled. Our favorite was the South African penguins that loved following children back and forth in the water.

December 9 was Jaelyn's birthday! We had a family party with her boyfriend Christopher and her favorite dinner and cake. Jaelyn and I had a private party the Saturday before when we went to see "Twilight" and have lunch together. See received tons of snacks from her friends plus came home from school with an armful of cake, cookies, brownies and balloons, crown and boa. If I couldn't find or hear the little ones I would know they had snuck into her room to get into her large box of snacks!

I know that I jumping around randomly, but as I find pictures, I am reminded of events. Matthew came for a visit the week before Thanksgiving. He was attending an Anthropology conference in San Francisco. He did very well navigating Cal train and Bart everyday and would get home between 7 and 7:30 so we had a little visiting and movie time. The kids loved Uncle Matt swinging them about. On Sunday we drove him to Sacramento to visit Bobo for a couple of days. We took dinner to share with him and managed to keep little ones out of trouble. Lets just say no child proofing and a pool out back. When I find my camera cable I will upload pictures of my two December birthdays. Sadly, we left the camera home over Christmas by accident, so all we have are mom's film. I have to figure out how to get them in the computer.

Anyway, Nathan's 18th birthday was on the 11th. He had about 5 friends over on that Saturday for a gaming fest. If you can imagine two games systems, two TVs and one computer, you have it. I guess they were able to link the two game systems and battle each other. There was plenty of pizza, chips, sodas and cheesecake. Plus they got some quiet time while we left for our ward Christmas party. Maybe someday soon our "adult" son will get a job and a license to drive. We are still in permit mode. At least he was able to help drive home from Arizona.

We had a fabulous time with both families. Lots of new toys, a car loaded to the top with acquired goods, and wonderful memories of time spent with cousins. We had a trip to the zoo, to the park more than once, Temple lights where Jaden got lost in the crowd and gave his mother a heart attack, pony cart rides courtesy of Aunt Sandy and Heather. Dogs and cats to pet and pester - by Beka and cookout with Beka's birth family. We fell in love with Wall E and played lots of card games. Dale is fun to play with when playing scum. Read some books, talked lots and rocked a baby for a day. Only one sick child this trip! It was a treat to get to hold her uninterrupted - my busy toddler. Dale took the boys on a hike for the day and watched lots of football! Well that is a pretty good summary. Tell later...

October Birthdays

Oct 5th was Beka’s second birthday. We celebrated with a family party. Because it was a Sunday we were able to invite Tamara and the missionaries for dinner and birthday cupcakes. Beka was quite happy with her doggy faced cupcakes. She made quite the mess. Beka received a dolly stroller from her family, a brown and pink sweat outfit from Grandma and a lap top alphabet toy from Tamara. She was a happy girl. Just after her birthday, we had a funny incident happen, which I am sure is very rare for any child. Tamara and I were exercising one morning, and Beka walked in with some toast. She promptly dropped some pieces next to Tamara. I asked her to pick them up and place them in the trash. Of course I heard a defiant NO. So I asked the dumbest question in the book. “Beka do you need a time out?” To our astonishment she said yes and promptly marched and sat down in the spot where she has seen her brothers go. I quickly set the timer and after her “time” she picked up her toast. Of course now staying in time out for two minutes in almost impossible, especially since two seconds in she starts saying “sorry”.

Jaden’s birthday was Friday, Oct. 24. He was able to take fruit snacks to share with his class and because it was Friday had early release which left us some time to do fun stuff. I talked him out of a party and into inviting one friend and going to Golfland. We picked up Truman around 3 pm and all three of us played golf. I think that was the fastest I have ever played. The boys moved very fast and if a ball wouldn’t go in the trap door they would just drop it in and the scoot the ball into the hole. I think Jaden make one hole in one and I actually can claim two or three. We went into the arcade afterwards and played three games – a dollars worth and then headed to 7 Eleven for slurpies before taking Truman home. We went out to dinner as a family, minus Jaelyn who was cheerleading , to Red Lobster. I had asked Jaden if he wanted me to fix his favorite dinner or go out to eat somewhere, when Nathan comes in and says Jaden remember Red Lobster and the cheese bread? We came home for cake and presents. Jaden wasn’t too happy with the cake, he asked for chocolate/ chocolate frosting and of course changed his mind after it was made. He received a build a light saber, money from Grandma’s, and glow in the dark moon and stars, plus art set from Tamara.

Is it Fall yet?

Here we are at the end of September already. Leaves are starting to turn, but the only thing cooler is the nights. Days are still warm with an intense sun in the afternoon. This has been good for Dale's tomatoes - the last of them are turning red. Problem is we have an unknown night time tomato eater. We have yet to figure out what kind of critter is coming in the back yard. The possibilities are: possum, raccoon, rat, or squirrel. It must not be to big because it has not gotten one from the front planter boxes that are higher of the ground.

We have finished all back to school nights. Dale and I have to split and each take a child and attend their classes. I am always amazed at the really great teachers we have at the high school. It isn't easy to live on a teacher salary here. I attended Jaelyn's classes and feel the majority of her teachers are a good match for her and will help her succeed. The only class I got to attend for Nathan is his AVID class, which he has had all four years. Nathan also has Mr. Wong for AP Gov./Econ class. I am so glad he has AVID. They will help us with college application process and financial aid process. I am thankful not to have to figure this out alone with everything else there is.

Jaden has a good teacher and is settling in to the routine. One more week and they start all day kindergarten. So one more lunch to pack. But my day should also be less chopped up. I won't have to rush through the grocery store so we can hurry to pick up Jaden on time. No matter how hard I try to keep grocery shopping to once a week, (not including Costco) they always eat through all the fruit before the week is over, so I usually have to make a Saturday fruit run.

On a tennis note, I don't have the trophy because I haven't been able to play with an injured muscle in my right forearm. :( At least it is not tennis elbow - that would take forever to heal.

On a moral note, Did I write about Dale and I walking a precinct door to door in favor of the Defence of Marriage Proposition on our ballot coming up? I was scared having never done anything like this before. I was glad no one was rude to me. Dale finished up with phone calls after spending most of a Saturday walking. He will be doing more calling this week with a new area. The First Presidency has asked every California member to help with this cause because the consequences are far reaching. The concerned is not only with morality, but the probable collision of church and state; with the state trying to enforce the law even in churches, if this doesn't pass. Needless to say in this area the proposition is not popular as it is seen as an equality, or civil right of everyone. Could get interesting when yard signs go up. Every one's prayers are needed as we watch the last days unfold.

Start of School

The crazy schedule of school has begun. ( A few weeks of ago) I am finally getting it recorded now that I have adjusted to the new semi routine; I died the first couple of weeks. Nathan and Jaelyn head for seminary every morning at 6: 15 am. We are blessed that Nathan's friend Ryan comes and picks them up and brings them home. If Nathan had a license he would be able to drive himself - oh well maybe later in the year. I do try to be up by 6 am so Jae can have some breakfast the mornings she goes straight to school. Jae doesn't have a second period class, so on Tues and Thursdays she has almost three hours off in the middle of the morning, so she comes home. Our high school has a Monday schedule with all classes, then an A or B schedule the rest of the week, with Wed. and Fri. being late days. So I have a revolving door. Nathan only has 5 classes being a senior, so everyday is a late start for him, not having a first period. This is actually helpful, because I can leave the little ones home with him everyday but Monday, while Jaden and I ride bikes to school together.
Jaden's school starts at 8:15 am and gets out at 11:35 am until full day starts in Oct. This gets interesting as Justin's preschool gets out a 11:30 am on Tues and Thurs. Luckily, there is one other girl from our ward that is at Ellis in Kindergarten. Her mom picks up Jaden and watches them on the play ground 5 to 10 min. until I can get there. I am also working in Jaden's class every other week, for an hour on Thursdays and Jaelyn is home to watch Beka.
We purchased a bike trailer to carry Justin and Beka back and forth to school. Parking is almost impossible at the school and kindergarten parents are expected to stay with their children until the bell rings and to pick them up from the teacher afterwards. They don't have any yard duty for them, so it necessitates parking and getting two toddlers out to the door. I decided it would be easier to ride bikes every morning and for pick ups on non preschool days. When Jaden goes to full days pick up will be just as bad as morning, so I will have to bike. Walking would take to long and we would be late. We will see how it goes in the winter. Jaden's school is growing to the point they are building a new wing for the third grades, because they ended up with 8 kindergarten classes this year.
Justin loves preschool and asks to go everyday. I think he is much happier, he has school time plus some time without Jaden to pester him. So I am starting to see more playing together and a little less teasing. I hope it continues to get better.
Here is also a picture of Beka roping "Noma" into reading to her. She reads a ton everyday plus improving her singing and exploring skills!

The story of the 3 yr old biker and misc. Miles activities

Since this format is now our family journal, I am trying to record our events of each week, plus recent things I have missed recording. Justin is the highlight of today story. He is my only 3 yr old to ride a two wheel bike with no training wheels. Justin received his big boy bike earlier this year when I found a good sale. He was very excited to ride everywhere. This lasted a short while until the training wheels moved some making him less stable; then he would tell me it was too scary to ride. After a little more time, I noticed one wheel was missing - just a stub still attached to the wheel. (courtesy of Jaden) At this point Jaden would ride the bike to tease Justin at the same time trying his best to keep the stub from scraping the ground. Justin would attempt riding now and again but the stub was frustrating. In June, Dale took matters into hand and removed both training wheels. He told Justin he can ride a two wheeler because he balances so well on his big kid scooter. Dale took him out a few times before vacation where Justin got the basics. Since coming home he is an old pro and is learning to go down hills very fast and still be able to stop.

The two little boys are at a perfect age for outings with Dad. Two Saturdays ago, Dale took them to Rancho San Antonio - a nature preserve with hiking and biking trails and a small farm. This was Justin's first big hill on a bike. Dale thought for sure they were headed for the ER because he didn't know how to brake. Justin just thought it was great fun. I think everyone on the trail held their breath watching him. ( I am glad I wasn't there - heart attack) Friday night, Dale took them camping to Camp Lehi for a ward service project. They took their bikes and had a great time. The little boys did not want to come home. All I hear about it camping!

This week was also our last week of summer. Justin and Jaden had three last swimming lessons. Jaden is swimming with rainbow arms across the pool. I think the one on one lessons paid off for them both. Lots of progress in a short time.

Now to the trophy. Tamara and I have been playing tennis on Saturday mornings for the past 6 to 8 months. She has talked about getting a trophy for the winner to display each week for a long time. Well, here it is. I have had it displayed since it came for two weeks. But alas, it was lost yesterday morning. Till next week.