Sheila's NEW van!

Well, it finally happened, I got my first NEW car!  The insurance decided to total out the old van, which worked to our advantage since we got more out of it than we expected and we put that money into a down payment for the all new 2012 Odyssey!  We ended up driving down to Folsom last night to get it, but they were willing to negotitate with us and even got the color, celestial blue metallic, that I wanted!  Donald spent a lot of time emailing and calling the lady down in Folsom to make sure that the van was exactly what I wanted and that it would be ready in time.  Like always, he treated me like a princess and that I deserved only the best!  I know it seems like "everyone" has a van or SUV that has all this stuff, but it is all new to me, so I'm going to brag!  It has leather seats, a moon roof, automatic doors, a DVD player, navigation system and back up camera!  The middle row seats extend out, width wise, so all three kids fit in the middle row, leaving us free to car pool or at least pick up friends!  I can't wait to drive it all the way down to Southern California in November!  I spend so much time in the van driving kids or sitting and waiting for kids, I really feel like I am in a state of the art command center!  Thanks, Donald for all of your support and help getting the van!


 

Walk, walk, walking to school!

I have always loved walking to or from school with the kids.  We have been lazy since Elizabeth was born and haven't done it nearly enough.  Last year, when we were deciding whether or not to move Sarah to the GATE school, I cited being able to walk as a reason to keep her at Shasta!  This year we have walked to school nearly every day.  I LOVE it!  The kids love it!  It is good exercise for us and such good bonding time.  The kids sometimes run ahead of me and then they are so proud of their speed, or other times they enter their own little land and talk and imagine together and I have to almost grab them to cross the street because they are so caught up in their imaginings.  Sometimes they walk with me and just chat.  They tell me things they have forgotten to mention.  They ask me questions.  I talk to them about safety- bike helmets when we see a kid riding with out one, cars failing to stop at a stop sign, people talking on phones while driving- and they can see why all of these things are a problem.  I feel like as we walk and talk, I am having an opportunity to instill my values about life to them.  I find out what is happening in their lives, offer praise for good choices and suggest other ways to handle situations at school or at home.  I feel like I am capturing these little moments in time that will soon be gone as they get bigger and we have to drive all the way to the jr high and rush, rush, rush on with life.  Walking causes us to slow down, even if we are running late, we are still moving slower than we would in the van!  On the way home, I go even slower.  Elizabeth gets out and walks and runs.  She shows me sticks and leaves and bugs and dog poop!  I am forced to pay full attention to her and be in her three year old world!  Today, she was singing on the way home.  A lady across the street was walking her dog and watching us and just smiling.  I thought, "I bet she wishes she was so happy that she just has to sing as she walks!" 

This week I was especially glad that we have been walking all year.  We found out yesterday that they are totaling the van.  The motor mount is broken and the insurance guy said he wouldn't recommend driving it.  I will still have to drive it a bit more, like to get the kids to piano today and Elizabeth to the doctor tomorrow, but at least getting to and from school, we can walk!  and the kids aren't complaining about it becasue it is a normal part of their routine!

So many people have seen us walking and commented on it.  People who I see every day at school, but never talk to.  Now I have a connection that we have something to start a conversation about.  They wave to me now as I walk.  Some people I don't even know, but see every day have started waving to us!  I feel like I am back in Iowa where everyone is a neighbor and you just wave!

I know it is a simple thing, but it has made a big difference in our lives over the last month.  I hope as the weather changes we will be able to start walking home instead and when the rains come, we won't completely forget the magic that a simple walk to school brings to our family!

Elizabeth earned her yellow ribbon!

Elizabeth is doing great in swim lessons. She has a little friend in her new class, Nathan. She looks forward to going and seeing him each week!

To earn her yellow ribbon she needed to be able to do the following: jump in and return to the wall with out help, climb out of the pool, swim the length of the pool, and float on her back for 10 seconds. She could easily do everything on this list for the last month or so, with one exception; she couldn't climb out of the pool! She struggled each week and just couldn't do it. Yesterday, she figured it out and she climbed out about 5 times! She was so tired by the end of class! I am so proud of get and feel like she is that much closer to being water safe!

Family bike ride

Donald was the early guy at work today and he had the idea of taking a family bike ride to McDonald's!  Sounds fun, huh?  Well a large portion of the trip is on the bike path, but to get to the bike path, you have to go on the street over the freeway!  It was 5:00 and everyone was in their way home from work and there was massive traffic!  Sarah was terrified!  We finally made it over the freeway and started down a residential street to the bike path and we hear WHAM!  Yep a car on the street behind us got rear ended!  We didn't see it, everyone was ok and other people were helping, so we headed on!

  This is the good part of the ride!  The bike path!  We had a nice ride there, a nice dinner and did slightly better on the way home when there was less traffic. Still, I'm guessing Donald doesn't purpose any family bike rides for a while!  And, yes, he did have Joshua on the tag-a-long and Lizzie in the bike trailer!  

Sent from my iPhone

WHAM!!!

I got in my first car accident yesterday. I know it was very minor, but it was super scary for me! I had Joshua and Elizabeth with me and we had just left school to take Joshua to piano. I was sitting at the light on the Esplanade to turn left onto Eaton Rd. I was completely stopped and WHAM! The lady behind me got a tickle on her foot and moved it. She must have hit the gas pedal because it was a hard hit. I then hit the lady's car that was in front of me. Not too hard, she just had a scratch from my license plate. My tail gate is all messed up, it won't open and close. My dashboard is warped and there is a strange sound under the van. Elizabeth was terrified, but not hurt. Joshua was super calm and helpful, getting me paper and a pencil. I was shaking like crazy!

So, we have to figure out the cost of the damage and the value of the van, but I'm already leaning toward getting a new van. We wanted to get something new in the next year or two, but it seems like it might be safer to do it now!

We have had this van for 6 years and it has been great! It was my first accident (not bad for 22 years of driving!). I am sad about both and feel sorry for the older lady that hit me. I could tell she felt really badly. I already called our insurance and now have to return a call from the other insurance company. I hope it isn't too much paper work and that we can find a van I like while still staying in our budget!

Peanut Butter Palace

Elizabeth has a new "school".  Once a week, I am taking her to Peanut Butter Palace so that I can go in and work in the big kid's classes.  The last few years we have been able to manipulate Donald's schedule or trade babysitting so I could help out, but it was getting so complicated.  This year, she is getting to go to her own school.  I was so nervous to take her, but she was excited to start and she had a good first day. 

When I went to pick her up at the end of her first day, they were outside.  I know it is far away, but she is sitting in front of the playhouse playing in the rocks.  She didn't want to leave when I got there!

Elizabeth's 3rd Birthday

Would it surprise anyone that Elizabeth wanted a princess party?  First she said she wanted a Sleeping Beauty cake and I was dreading it, then she said she wanted a cake with all the princesses on it.  I was so happy to make this simple cake and stick her toys on the top!  We had all the princesses already, so I didn't even have to buy any!  She also said she wanted a pinata.  I'm not sure where she saw or heard about a pinata, but it took us forever to figure out what she was asking for.  Donald found this great castle one with Cinderella right in the center. 

 We decorated with pink streamers and pink heart balloons and princess balloons.  She dressed up like a princess and she was so very happy to have her little party!

 Here is Elizabeth with her friend, Campbell.  Aren't they cute?

Elizabeth made it very clear that she wanted Matthew (Matt-phew) at her party, even though he is a boy.  He was a good sport wearing a Buzz costume to the princess party!

Once all the kids arrived, they set about decorating crowns, wands and for the boys, pirate hats.  I think Sarah enjoyed this activity more than the little kids did!

Here is Charlee with her mom.  She got in the spirit by wearing a Barbie princess dress.

And, here is John in his decorated pirate hat.  He really loved the foam stickers and had them about 6 deep on his wand!

After the craft, we played pin the crown on the princess.  The kids seemed pretty overwhelmed (or bored?) by the activities.  They were all really quiet and subdued! 

Joshua wasn't about to dress up like a princess either.  He came as Batman!

Here are the kids doing the pinata.  Elizabeth ended up getting the "magic string".  How perfect is that?

Here she is with her bag of loot!  We had candy rings and bracelets inside the pinata. 

She just loved when we sang Happy Birthday to her.

She really enjoyed her pink cake!

I just love this picture of Matthew!  Ta-da!

Here she is on her actual birthday.  Donald had to work late, so we opened presents in the morning before church. 

Donald picked this out for her.  It is a stuffed pumpkin that reverses into Cinderella's coach!

Joshua with the doll he got her.

Sarah with the doll she got her.

Me and my "baby"!

Happy Birthday to my special three year old!