Our Ride on the Polar Express

Thursday, Dec. 11th we went with our charter school on a field trip to the RR Museum and a ride on the Polar Express.

The morning started out very productive. Jon and I made it over to the DMV to renew our licenses, take our vision tests and pay our 28 bucks each. It went quickly and I was glad that Jon could come with me and that he didn't have to take time off for souch a dull errand. We got home before 9am and had two hours before we needed to be in Sac for the Polar Express but the kids wanted to leave right away so we killed some time at Sam's on the way.

The first part of the day was spent at the railroad museum. Sarah and Bekah spent their time looking for trains you could walk through. They were afraid of the train that feels like it is moving(the sleeper car). We got to see the really big Cab Forward which is one of my favorites and I also got to see the dining car with all that beautiful china!

Our next stop was Round Table for the buffet. It was pretty good but busy. The field trip we were on really increased the demand for plain cheese and pepporoni pizzas!

Finally, it was time to board the Polar Express. It was jam packed there. Our field trip coordinater had our tickets so we only had to wait in line to board. The trip was great. Our family took two of the bench seats that face each other and we had the sweetest lady seat us(on the North Pole side!).

We had our tickets punched and then it was time for the Hot Chocolate which was just the right temperature for little children. YAY! Next came the cookies and a reading of the Polar Express.

Sometime in here the hobo came through our car and asked if we believed in Santa. It was very cute and he had a lot of personality. In fact, everyone on the train was GREAT and really cared about the kids.

We arrived at the "North Pole" and I had to admit to Bekah that we were at a pretend North Pole. She is six now and guessed the real North Pole is nowhere near the Sacramento Zoo! Santa came onboard and gave everyone a bell from his sleigh just like in the story.

The hobo came throught again to ask Santa why his bell didn't work and demanded a present. Santa gave him a bag of coal! The kids loved that!

By that time we had made it back to the station and we headed back to the train museum to finish up our day playing with Thomas trains and catching a few last exhibits.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We spent Thanksgiving at our house. Jon was on call so we had to stay home. Luckily my Mom, Vinnie and his family, and Ross were able to come up to our place. We had a delicious dinner all together and lots of snacky things. We even had potato chips and onion dip. I love that! Mom made her awesome corn and bean salsa and I love that too. After dinner we went on a walk and then back for some Safeway Fruit Tart which I highly recommend! I am so grateful for my wonderful family and friends.

Our Halloween

We are having a great Fall, lots of learning going on at our fabulous home school. This Halloween the kids carved a couple of pumpkins with their dad(while I worked from home). Here are their creations


For Halloween night, we went to our church for Trunk or Treat. The kids dressed up as Dorothy(Wizard of Oz), a snow princess, and a pirate. I was a pirate too because we ended up with an extra pirate hat. Some people said I was Capt. Hook because of my coat. My snow princess was afraid her hoop skirt would keep her out of the donut eating contest but in the end I proved to her that it would not and so she agreed to wear the costume. Thank Goodness! A good time was had by all and the kiddies didn't eat all that much candy(just a couple of pieces and a sugar cookie really).

Our trip to Safari West

I have been having trouble uploading pictures so I had to go with this small one. Jon and I took the kids on a field trip to Safari West in Santa Rosa. We had a great time. It's really like being on a safari and I highly recommend it. You can even spend the night there.

cute things

This morning Bekah was very distraught and insisting she needed to return her Halloween costume. Why? Because it has a hoop skirt and she thought it would get in the way during the donut eating contest!

For the last couple of days, whenever my two year old Sam wants attention, he brings me some sight word readers and announces, "I can read". He then points to a word and says "what this word"? After I tell him he starts reading. Each sentence has a picture and when he gets to it he stares at the picture and then with great pride announces what it is. I guess you just have to see it. Adorable!

And not to forget Sarah, my 8 year old. Today she asked me whether Santa Claus's birthday is on Halloween or Easter. That's a little random. Cute though, just like my Sarah.

unsettling week

So I had been thinking about how lucky I was to have such a great street, full of generally nice people. The house that was foreclosed on down the street had been purchased and the new neighbors on the other side of our house seemed nice too. Things were going well. THEN...I found out a guy across the street and a few doors down is on the Megan's Law Page and that was creepy. So I went to tell my favorite neighbor, the one who lives next door to me and(this is the really short version) found out they had lost their home to foreclosure. She was too embarrassed to tell me. They had gotten a bad loan about 8 months ago and the bank wouldn't work with them to get a new loand(it went up 3%). I mean, this is a family where the husband has a good job and they are super nice. Bummer for me, the neighborhood, and our wonderful neighbors. The kids and I will miss their cats and holiday decorations.

Bekah turned 6

and since then she's been zipping around on her birthday skates. Really, it was a great birthday. First, she wanted me to make her a stack of pancakes with a lollipop on top and frosting. We started this tradition when I saw the IHOP version on TV. Much cheaper and easy to make right at home

As I was saying, Bekah got the skates she was dreaming of and the new Barbie Movie(The Diamond Castle). She also got the Barbie dolls from the new movie. I think she really wanted the movie. She only mentioned it at every store we stopped at! Nana gave Bekah the Cinderella dress from Build-A-Bear for "Magic" the Bunny and Ross gave her the glass slippers. Bekah then pointed out that she suspected they were not really glass! Silly girl.

Jon took the day off and we spent her birthday(which was on a Friday) at John's Incredible Pizza Company. It's the 2nd time we've been there and I highly recommend it. Very fun and not too expensive if you do it right. Sarah and I rode the little rollar coaster together! Jon is very good at the games and helped score us a ton of tickets so everybody got a prize that they liked. Sam got a little alligator head on a stick and he's enjoyed chasing his sisters around ever since!

Oh, and more good news. I got a new work at home project with the company I contract with. I haven't started yet but hopefully this will be a good fit for our family. I am very grateful for the opportunity and excited to get started!

I forgot to add, I tag Alie and Louise

and give Megan a little reminder nudge that Kristy tagged her too!

Tagged

So Kristy, I finally got to this. Here goes...



Name?

Venisa. I was named after Venice and Venezuela(where my dad is from).


Favorite food?








1st job?







Nickname?
Befisa
This is what my dad called me growing up and how I said my name when I was learning to talk.


Born?













Bad habit?









College Degree?














Liberal Arts A.A.

Where I want to go?

Vancouver Island, BC

Favorite Place?







Camping.


Favorite Color?









Favorite Animal?








Past Love?









I wanted a wolf dog.

Doing now?







Where I live?








Favorite object?

Grandmother's name?

Age?

Sarah is baptized

This past weekend our oldest daughter Sarah was baptized and became a member of our Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Sarah and her cousin Jessica both were baptized on the samed day. We were lucky enough to have lots of cousins and Aunts and Uncles come for the baptism. Some from very far away. Sarah looked so beautiful. The baptism went very well. Sarah was a bit worried about being "dunked"but she came through like a champ. Her dad confirmed her and gave her a beautiful blessing. Sarah is such a sweetheart and I am so glad she has such a great Daddy to help me guide her as she learns about the gospel. Sarah loved her new scriptures from Mom and Dad and got quite a few presents from relatives who came.

Sarah also learned to ride a bike on the day of her baptism. She started off pushing herself around with her feet and balancing. She was off and riding in no time. Yay, Sarah!

Especially for Lisa, here is a picture of what my daughter wore on our morning walk yesterday

I have to admit I love her little imagination. Bekah loves to come up with creative things. This is an example of a creative outfit. She also frequently renames herself and her dolls with VERY creative names. By the way, we already know the name of her first daughter but it is a secret between Bekah and I, so I can't tell you. Sorry. On the flipside Bekah does have quite the temper and we have several fits everyday. It's mostly because Bekah's life is pretty unfair ;) Anyway, Lisa I saw the picture of your little girl after she got ready for the day and I thought you would get a kick out of this. Enjoy!

Sam has awesome fashion too! Both of these pictures are of the same morning, LOL!

We went camping, started school(homeschool) and now we are sick

So the camping was very fun. There were lots of cousins there. Jon got to stay for 2 days and 1 night and then had to go back to work and I stayed for 2 additional days and nights with the the kids. We had a blast with the rafts and picking blackberries. Sarah and Rebekah learned to play a card game called Scum. Sam made friends with the camp dogs and was dressed up like Snow White(one of his favorite princesses). All the kids enjoyed hanging out with Grandpa Jim, that girl(Grandma), and Auntie Karen.

Thursday was the first day of school and it went well. Friday was our first "Friday fun day". We had a picture scavenger hunt to find things that tell time which everyone seemed to enjoy and even Sam got to take a picture. Then it was time to start our copy work. I had a fun poem called "My Daddy is Extremely Tall". Sarah got right into it but Bekah started complaining she was sick, Bekah complains a lot so I told her she could do her work or go to bed. She thought about it and chose going to bed. I still wasn't she if she was really sick...until she threw up and then I threw up and finally Sarah threw up. We spent the rest of the day miserable and waiting for Daddy to come home and save us. Sam told us he was Daddy and for the rest of the day whenever I would call him he would quickly appear and say "Here I am, Mommy". So cute! The kids stayed up late with Jon. Isn't he wonderful? I went to bed early, even foregoing the end of one of my favorite television shows, "Psych", because I felt so bad. I feel tons better now though. Hopefully the kids are on the mend too.

What people don't know

When they call me at my hotel reservation job is that I, along with all of my coworkers, have been dropped. We are contract workers so we are not really "laid off" Bummer, right? I guess it's the downturn in the economy combined with sending call center jobs overseas. It's too bad, I'll bet the company we contracted with will miss us. Our customers hate not speaking to someone they can understand or being ont he phone and having none of the friendly chit chat. Anyway, I am working and being professional.

Growing up

Yesterday, I dropped Sarah off for her 2nd Activity Girls meeting and she told me that I could drop her off at the door and she would find her way to the meeting. Yikes. When she was 18 months old and I thought she was so big I was frustrated that she wouldn't go to nursery like the other kids. I was also worried because she was a late walker and talker. She hated being dropped off and we would have to battle it out many times. I just wanted her to be like the other kids and be happy, and maybe I needed a little break too. I remember dropping her off at preschool at age 3 and thinking being frustrated in the same way. Eventually, she did adjust to preschool and yesterday was Aactivity girls. She is 8 now and she really is growing up. I didn't think that would happen. To quote her exactly she said, "Mommy, you can just drop me". It was cute and I am glad she is feeling confidant with this group but I'm not ready to "drop her"(that's just the way she talks). I guess now I know, she is growing up.

Our trip to Discovery Kingdom

We participated again in the Read to Succeed program through our homeschool group and earned free tickests to Discovery Kingdom. We had a blast. We even were able to meet up with one of our homeschool friends later in the day. It was just a coincidence that we were there on the same day but it was great for the kids. Sam LOVED all the animals. We saw lots of shows and Sarah went on the Boomerang. She is our rollar coaster girl! Poor Jon had to take her even though the Boomerang makes him really dizzy. Bekah takes more after me and enjoyed the animals and tamer rides.

My favorite part of the day was feeding the Lorikeets. We went to the earlier feeding and they were all over us. Last time we went to the 4:30 feeding and all the birds would do is sit on the fence and maybe drink from your cup. We also rode an elephant and that was great. Although I have to say, an elephant is not the most comfortable way to ride(unless you have one of those seats) and Jon and I were both very sore the next day. It was worth it though.

Oh, and Sam had a few bug bites that gradually appeared during the day. I don't know if he was bitten at the park or at home. He had one little bite I could see when we left home. By the end of the day his eye and ear were very swollen. We took him to first aid and the paramedic gave him some bite medicine which relieved the itchiness it seems.

As we were leaving, Jon and Sarah decided to go on Monsoon Falls and got soaked! It was a fun day.

Oh, and we left our(11 month old) puppy in the backyard and he didn't escape. That was good too! We have had trouble with her digging under the fence when we had another puppy living next door.

our mini family reunion

My mom, two of my cousins and their kids, my brother Ross, and my kids and I all got together for a bar-b-que and fun times. It was a blast! My kids loved my cousins' kids who are teenagers and totally spoiled them with attention. It is so sad we don't live closer but we definately could see them more often! Sam really liked the cat, Snickers, too! Snickers sort of liked Sam. It's hard for any cat to really love a two year old though. The kids captured Angelica and got her to swim in the pool with them for what seemed like HOURS. She was great! I can see why she is a good kids swim teacher. We had great hamburgers and tons of fruit and then we had some berries and cream over pound cake for dessert. Yummy! I chased my Sammy around because he was just generally loving all the new sights and trying to get into a little trouble. My cousin Tina showed Sam how to pick lavender and smell it. He loved that! My kids loved all the beautiful plants and the secret little spot with the bench that are at my cousin's house. We even stopped at Pezzini farms to get our favorite, artichokes. It was a good day.

Horse camp

The girls had a great week at horse camp. They loved being around all the animals, the counselors were all so great, the crafts were fun and of course they loved riding horses. Jon and I even got them boots. They have been taking lessons for a while and we figured it was time. They didn't get to ride on Thursday because there was just too much smoke in the air from all the fires. We were lucky that wasn't the case on the other days.

Off to camp

The girls are gone. They went to camp about an hour ago. I was so nervous, I ended up driving back to make sure they were able to get their water bottles if they needed them(somebody put them in the lunch fridge). When I got there, I saw that they had them and luckily I don't think the girls saw me. I just get so nervous. Will they remember to wash their hands before they eat? Will they wear their own helmets? Will their new boots hurt their feet? What if something happens and I wrote down my emergency contact phone number wrong? What if something happens and they are hurt? Man, I never thought I was a nervous mother before but maybe I am. Sam is even down for a nap so I hardly know what to do with myself! I sure do hope the girls have fun.

Sam, always on the go

Isn't he cute? He had Daddy's keys, my sunglasses, Sarah's baby, and Bekah's boots on. Guess he's all set! Wonder where he is going?

My Bekah's made herself up

Well, our Bekah is a bit of a drama queen. She is the type of child to ban you from her birthday party, promise to never visit you when she grows up, or tell you she doesn't love you anymore(lovely, huh?) at the drop of a hat. She is also the type of girl who wears princess outfits or at least dresses almost every day and who loves makeup. She dosen't have make up of her own besides lip gloss so sometimes she uses mine. She isn't supposed to though. This time she decided to use a red marker and colored her eyelids RED. The whole eyelid! It was lovely, especially as it soon faded to a dark peach color and made it look like I put my daughter in heavy eye makeup to take her to Walmart! Couldn't get a picture, sorry.

Sarah is 8

I can't believe how time has flown by! She has turned into such a wonderful young lady. She's learning to read and she helps take care of her brother(she loves babies). She's a cutie too! She got a red wagon for her birthday that she just adores! She also got Pippi Longstocking on DVD and hasn't stopped watching it since. I love that movie too. Let me see if I can find one or two pictures.

The recital

The girls(Sarah and Rebekah) had a recital on June 27th, the day before Sarah's 8th bday. They did great and looked very cute! At one point I wondered why they had changed the demonstraters(older girls) solo part to include some of the younger girls and left my girls on the sidelines until I realized that it wasn't planned and the others girls were doing the wrong thing. Actually, my girls told me which is one of the great pluses of having talking children!

Tea for Two

Here are some pictures of the girls at dance class picture day. Jon took these, hopefully the "real" ones will turn out just as good!

Happy Father's Day

I love you and miss you Dad. I will post a picture if I can.

My little cowgirls

Sarah and Bekah are getting pretty good at riding horses. They can navigate around obstacles, like cones, and over some, like bridges and small logs. They can also get the horse to stop and go and love to play red light green light on horseback. It is so amazing to watch them. Bekah is a pretty good at trotting too. Today, I was watching Sarah and I was so happy. She was so confidant and had such a nice posture on her horse. Her horse was the one that was a little more difficult to control but she did great. Here are some pictures of the girls today.

The girls did great at their goat show!

Here they are showing their goats and then getting their ribbons and tshirts. This is the Colusa County Fair Primary Member Walk-on show. The girls did so great. Luckily, they had smaller goats this year. These goats are not ours, we are lucky to know a breeder who lets the kids use her goats. Sarah's goat was a little feisty but she handled him like a pro. There were lots of questions from judges and the kids had to wait with their goats for a long time. They sure earned their awards!