My New Toy

Hi there! Last spring I misplaced my camera. I still can't find it. I know it is not in the house and I moved classrooms so I am pretty sure it is not there. It's not in the car or the van so I officially gave up on it. It wasn't anything fancy, but it took care of my school needs. We have wanted to get a new camera, a "big kid camera." You know, the one that will take action pictures of water polo and soccer. The one that will actually zoom enough that the kids look like more than a speck. Well today was the day. We got a new Nikon. We had time to shop today because there were no water polo tournaments and Jason had a bye for soccer. Now I wish they did have soccer and/or water polo because I want to try my new camera out. I took some shots of the dog and the kids, but I want to take some real shots. Hopefully now the blog will be full of beautiful pictures that I took all by myself. In the meantime, here are my practice shots.

18 Years Together

18 years ago tomorrow I married my best friend. Over the years we have learned to live together and grow together. We have developed as individuals as well as a couple and a family. We have not always had an easy time of it, though the easy times seem to WAY outweigh the difficult ones, but we learned to work our way through the difficulties. We learned how to be a united front for our children, even when our opinions may have differed. There were a few times that I wanted punch John in the face, but I never did. Even when I felt that way, he was still my best friend who I wanted to come home to at the end of the day and tell about my day at work, ask about how to handle a difficult co-worker, or listen to his day and his unusual student stories. I cannot imagine my life without him and I am so very thankful for the life, love, laughs, family, and support he has provided me. A wise co-worker once told me that, "You fall in and out of love with the person you are married to several times throughout your relationship. The important thing is that throughout it all, you are married to your best friend." That I am, and for that I am eternally grateful! I love you John, with all my heart, mind, and soul.

Spring Break

We had a friend come to visit for Easter weekend, so the kids and I started our spring break a day early. (John was already on spring break.) On Friday we showed Ethan, my good friend since middle school, Kirsten's son, around Torrance. We went down to the beach, walked to the Redondo Beach pier, ate at Steve's and checked out the local liquor store for Takis. Saturday saw us stopping by Busy Bee in San Pedro to pick up sandwiches before heading down to the tide pools at White's Point. John pointed out the ocean life to Lauren and Ethan while I enjoyed the sun. Easter Sunday was a fun one. We fell into an old tradition from when the kids were younger, and went to Knott's Berry Farm. That evening, we let Ethan and Lauren take the car and check out the sunset at the beach. They brought back milkshakes from Foster's Freeze to top off our wonderful bbq dinner. Ethan went home on Monday and I found that I was sooo tired. I feel like we put a whole week's worth of activities into 3 days. We took Monday pretty easy. Tuesday, we were off and running again. Lauren is asking for a trip to Laguna today, I will let you know how that goes.

Finnegan!!

We got a dog! We got him from our friends the Rectors, and technically, I guess he is still their dog, but he lives with us. We are so happy to have him, as he is a real joy to us. He is a Cock-a-poo, and so soft. I think he is now used to us and our unusual, loud ways. He has really taken a liking to Lauren, but is learning to like the rest of us, except Jason. They are not best friends yet.

A Quick Update

I know we have not updated the blog for a long time. I guess I just don't think about doing it. We have had a lot going on though, Soccer, water polo, swimming, musical performances, honor roll assemblies, awards, birthdays, etc. etc. etc.

By family member, here goes. Lauren finished the water polo season with a 50% shooting average. She had 10 goals this year, and has set her mind to make it way more next year. Her soccer team finished well this year, but the last games were on the same day as a water polo tournament, so she was not there. Now she is on to swim season. At the first meet she competed for the JV team and took 3 first places and one second place. She enjoys backstroke, but his good at almost all the strokes. I think we will be seeing her in a lot of IM events.

Jason just had his 11th birthday! The above picture is him with his Lego cake. He got cash so that he could buy his own laptop. He has been saving up for this for a long time now. He now spends his weekends in his pajamas playing computer games. His soccer team was not quite as successful as we hoped and they did not qualify for regionals, but he had a great year with a fabulous coach that really taught him a lot. He has decided he is not playing baseball this year and wants to take golf lessons. He got golf clubs for Christmas and enjoys going to the driving range with John and I. He still plays the piano and even lets me request a song from time to time. Jason has been a proud member of the honor roll since going to middle school. He is doing very well. He was named Math Student of the Month recently.

John is life guarding on the weekends when it is not raining. The high school water polo is over, but he really enjoyed his first year of being a referee. I enjoyed watching him ref. We are still trying to figure out a way to get him to coach, but that darn work schedule! John had a car oriented birthday and Christmas. We got his windows tinted and a new stereo put in. He thinks it was for him, but Lauren thinks it is for her, as the car will be hers in about 2 more years.

I am plugging along. I just received the Honorary Service Award from my school. John got it last year, so I guess we are keeping the award in the family. I am trying to keep my mind off of the miserable state of education if California, so I have taken up cooking. I am trying a couple new recipes a week, and digging out old favorites that we have not had in a while. Keep in mind that I do this in between games, meets, tournaments, and practices. Really I am very lucky since John does most of the practice pick ups. I can't wait until Lauren can drive herself to the pool every day, especially those early morning practice days.