8/30/2011

First Day of School- 2011

Time for School- the School Bell Rings. . .
I swear we just went out to lunch to celebrate the end of the school year.  Of course, I have the usual "First Day of School" pictures, but I also had to include their 1st day of kindergarten.  Little trip down memory lane. . . .


Junior Year

Stevie got in a bike accident the day before Kindergarten started- Nice.  Love the pulled up Power Ranger socks.

6th Grade
The mohawk was shaved the day before.  He didn't expect to start school with a buzz cut. 

This picture of Chelsea might actually be age 4.  She is just so cute in the pink dress, I had to include. 

4th Grade- Ms. Luongo

1st day breakfast- Scrambled eggs with bacon and cheese, homemade cinnamon rolls, and bacon.

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8/25/2011

Kids Helping Kids Concert

The Sunday evening before school started, we had a "Kids Helping Kids" concert.  The girls from the book club helped to sponsor the event.  We featured the talents of the neighborhood kids.




The girls from the Book Club decorated the stage and made a donation box. We chose to raise money to give a Christmas party to orphans in Bulgaria. The name of the organization is One Heart Bulgaria.



Here are all the girls decorating and setting up.  A little help from Stevie and Big Steve.

 This is one of those things that I was not sure how it would go over and who would come.  We had about 15 families come over with their lawn chairs and watch the exciting show. 

Matt did a fantastic job as the M.C. for the evening.

  The families were so generous, we raised $362!!!  Enough for 6 Christmas Parties!!!  Here are all the children that participated in the evening.


  It was a perfect California evening.

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Tainted Love- 80's Cover Band

One of the funnest nights we have had was going to see the 80's cover band, Tainted Love.


Chad is so cute- "Little Red Corvette"


We danced and sang the whole night.  It was so fun to be a "groupie" in the front row.  Every song takes you right back to high school- it was awesome!!!  It would be so fun to get a large group together to go see the band.




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8/23/2011

How many things do I Love about Tahoe. . . Let me count.

There are so many things we LOVE about Tahoe.  It is so beautiful in the Summer!  We feel so lucky to only be a 4-5 hour drive away.  Here are some of the things we love about Tahoe:

Posing- so your mother can take a picture.  Then posing again because someone closed their eyes.
 Hiking Together- it is so beautiful there!!!!!

Spending day and night with your best friends!!!
 Playing football on the green.
 Celebrating Steve's Birthday.
 Playing in the magnificent blue water.

 Bird Watching. Marky was mesmerized  by the older boy, the phone, and especially how Angry the Birds were. 
 Good Friend Time.

Going down the Truckee River is a highlight of our trip.  I love being in the boat with Chelsea.  We laugh so hard when we go to close to the edge of the river and can't get back.  We always say "Girl Power" before we get down and of course all the boys make fun of us. 


Good Family Time- Nice to be somewhere that EVERYONE can have a great time.

Love going to the Hyatt with Steve!




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8/22/2011

Mountains to Coast in 24 hours

Living in California, we have the luxury to be able to spend a day in the mountains and see snow and the next day bike to the coast.  This week, this is exactly what we did.   After enjoying the splendor of the mountains,  Stevie and  I took a bike ride to Shoreline.  OK, it is not exactly the California Beach,  but the water does feed into the Bay. 


Stevie and I enjoy biking to Shoreline on a bike path that is right by our house.  It is about a 15 mile bike ride there and back.  It was so nice to do this after being in the car for 5 hours the day before.


This is one of the MANY reasons I LOVE living in California!!!!
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8/21/2011

Summer Happenings in July

Ping Pong Tournaments





Swimming at the Robbin's Pool.  Thanks Heather and Matt!!!!!


Beach Evening with the Tamadas at Pajaro Dunes


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Haircuts!!!

Matt decided to develop even more talents by cutting his brother's hair.  So while, Steve and I were gone from the house he thought it would be even funnier if he gave Marky a mohawk.  So, off in the garage he worked and worked on Marky's hair.  Marky said, "I am Boss," after his haircut.



Stevie also got in the mood for the same haircut.  Let's just say that Big Steve was not too happy about all of this.  I got a text from Australia that said, "I wish I had been consulted about the haircut style chosen for the boys."   I guess the boys will be sporting buzz cuts on the first day of school.  For the last few days of summer, they are enjoying putting on the "goods," to make their hair stand straight up.


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8/16/2011

Mother Daughter Book Club

I thought it would be lots of fun to have a Mother Daughter Book Club.  I envision this to be a group that enriches our lives to be the best we can be. Having activities/books that include topics about friends, life skills, service, cooking, crafts, mothers, relationships.  Here is Chelsea getting ready for our afternoon.  She made rainbow cupcakes and cute cupcake toppers. 
We made strawberry jam, for our first "get to know" you meeting,   I hope we can continue to meet because I really enjoyed talking and laughing with the moms.   I loved that the moms were taking an interest in all the girls.  All of the girls are so different and all very talented in their own ways.   We made plans to do a "Kids Helping Kids" talent show in August.  More on that later.
Here are some pictures of our fun afternoon.





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