DONE!

Well, we did not take the Librarian's suggestion and make her mission from scratch using a gingerbread recipe - nor did we use sugar cubes. Yes folks....Michael's is a dangerous place, and inside you will find model kits for making 4th grade missions, with all the little overpriced details to go with it. This actually turned out to be a good thing because it was kid-friendly and Naomi was able to do mostly all the work by herself with a few suggestions here and there. Like everything else, I wish we'd had more time....but I think it turned out really cute. I heard somewhere that taking pics of your kid's projects is much easier and realistic than keeping them around for years and years while they collect dust in basements or on shelves. We will keep it around for a while - until the next big project.Under construction
Done! I didn't get around to taking pictures while she was adding the finishing touches. I will admit I was trapped in my room studying - leaving her to her own devices mostly. You should see the mess. Lovely :)
Cheers! It's only water...

4th Grade Mission Project

Naomi is gung ho and so excited about her Mission Project. She already completed her report and is chalk full of information regarding Nuestra Senora de La Soledad, of which she will randomly spout off facts at any given time of the day. She was not too happy about going to bed tonight without being able to add any details to her model yet. "Tomorrow sweetie....mom's tired." I just love watching her put so much time, effort and thought into something. Luckily I am nowhere nearly creative enough to even try to be one of those parents that takes over their kid's projects. More pics later next week of the finished project.

Vacation.....the end :(

On Tuesday night we ended up in San Rafael at Aunt Jani's house. My mom has 4 sisters and one brother, so there is a lot of family to cover. Naomi had a blast with her new friends Christina and Marcos (13-year-old twins) .

And of course, the last leg of our trip - driving through San Fran, and crossing the Golden Gate Bridge - our favorite part. All in all, I racked up one ticket bypassing a toll at a private bridge up in Vacaville - and spent a small fortune on new tires and a brake job just to get there, but oh well...what can you do? Oh and note to self, when leaving for a 4 hour drive, don't fuel up on 3 cups of coffee.....I had to stop 3 times on the way home!

Vacation Part III

On Easter Sunday, we went to Carl's new church up in Vacaville, All Saints Episcopal Church - where we got to watch him give the Easter sermon. I abstained from taking pictures during the service.....ha ha

Naomi's Easter dress looks like a tablecoth.... I love it :) Carl's dog Baby....my new best friend and sleep mate. She snores
This handsome devil is my cousin Robin's baby boy Aiden, I've been waiting 15 months to meet this little guy. He ALMOST makes me want to have another baby. ALMOST They made us wear lame hats during the tour at the Jelly Belly factory. Embarrassing, but totally worth all the free jelly beans. And of course......Marilyn in Bean form. I was looking at the picture up close and said..."Why are there white jelly beans on her lips amidst all the red ones?" Yeah, I was tired.

Vacation Part II

Saturday night, we headed to Aunt Becky's for an early Easter dinner and egg hunt. Naomi got to meet all the new baby cousins. It was really our first holiday where she was able to play with other kids, as on her dad's side of the family, there are no babies yet! Here she is with her 2nd Cousins Tarika and AngelHalf of Tarika, (oops) Arjen, Naomi, Aiden, Elliana, Easton and Angel - I am one of the youngest of 15 cousins on my mom's side, and they basically all just started having babies a few years ago. Naomi had a blast helping out with the younger kids. And yes, that's a tree.....for Easter. Why not?
That's my cousin Zack, Nay, Angel and Aunt Judi, hamming it up. (Aunt Judi is my mom's sister) My brother Carl made it in the picture too apparently. He's probably wondering why nobody ever took the tree down last Christmas.Candid pics are the best

Our Mini Vacation

Road Weary, this is Naomi and I after getting home. The only picture of me.....I am always behind the lens it seems. Basically we first drove up to Vacaville, which is a suburb of Sacramento. That's where my brother Carl lives - in a very nice house, which I forgot to take pics of but nice nonetheless with all the amenities of home.
Naomi and her cousin Emma, (Carl's oldest daughter). These were taken before our trip, but we had to get Emma in :) Don't look at my messy Kitchen!
Too funny

Adorable

Rejected Children's Book Titles

1. You Are Different and That’s Bad
2. The Boy Who Died From Eating All His Vegetables
3. Dad’s New Wife Robert
4. Fun four-letter Words to Know and Share
5. Hammers, Screwdrivers and Scissors: An I-Can-Do-It Book
6. The Kids’ Guide to Hitchhiking
7. Julie Was So Bad Her Mom Stopped Loving Her
8. Curious George and the High-Voltage Fence
9. All Cats Go to Hell
10. The Little Sissy Who Snitched
11. Some Kittens Can Fly
12. That’s it, I’m Putting You Up for Adoption
13. Grandpa Gets a Casket
14. The Magic World Inside the Abandoned Refrigerator
15. Garfield Gets Feline Leukemia
16. The Pop-Up Book of Human Anatomy
17. Strangers Have the Best Candy
18. Whining, Kicking and Crying to Get Your Way
19. You Were an Accident
20. Things Rich Kids Have, But You Never Will
21. Pop! Goes The Hamster...And Other Great Microwave Games
22. The Man in the Moon Is Actually Satan
23. Your Nightmares Are Real
24. Mamma’s on crack and I don’t care
25. Eggs, Toilet Paper, and Your School
26. Why Can’t Mr. Fork and Ms. Electrical Outlet Be Friends?
27. Places Where Mommy and Daddy Hide Neat Things
28. Daddy Drinks Because You Cry
29. There Was an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Pill
30. I'll Give You Something to Cry About.....

Ha ha

Haircuts, Road Trips and Laundry......

I have been fretting over my hair lately. Just when it starts to get REALLY long it starts to look haggard, so I go in for a trim and I feel like I'm back to length one again. I am proud to say though that I didn't chop it all off, as I have in the past out of frustration, and I still have long hair, albeit a bit shorter but with less split ends. Naomi went full boar and got a cute bob cut, courtesty of our friend Edith, who is amazing with a pair of scisssors!

The past couple of months have been a bit rocky, I am happy to be getting out of Dodge for a few days, as we are off the Bay Area to spend some much needed time with family and friends. Alas, before Nay and I set out on our adventure I have a butt load of laundry to do....ick.

Pictures of lots of cute babies to come!