Field Trip Thursday

So we haven't had a field trip Thursday in quite some time. I usually have lessons and so that makes it a little difficult to get away. I didn't have any piano until later so we were able to have some fun. It was the perfect day!

We met up with our dear friends, the Shoff's, and picnicked at Jerabek Park. After that we headed up to the pool and swam for a few hours. The kids had a blast and the moms were able to relax, just a little. It was a win/win. The kids are all tuckered out now.

We also had open house at school this evening. Damon was working last so I flew solo through the throngs of people. We were able to find both Noah and Adam's art work and went to the classrooms to see all the fun stuff they have been doing all year. I am ready for school to end.

Oh what a weekend!

The Sone Afualo Family!

It seems like I haven't been posting often enough. More time elapses between each post. Let's not even bring up journal entries. That is even sadder. We have been so busy, but what else is new. I really need to stop saying that. Here is what has been going on in our family.

Nana was with us all this week and we all enjoyed it. She took the boys out on a "date" on Thursday. They went out to lunch and went to the movies. They saw the second "Night at the Museum." They both said it was great!

Friday morning Damon and I were able to go on a bike ride. It was great. We rode from our house to Lake Miramar and back. It is about 12 miles. It felt wonderful to be out and about on the bike with Damon struggling on his heavy mountain bike behind me. Hopefully he will have a road bike soon so he can keep up with me.

The kids woke up to a surprise Friday morning. Papa was here. Actually that was a bit of a surprise for all of us. For the adults it came late Thursday night. He can down to for the family reunion early, but decided to drive a little bit further South to see us a day early. The kids were so happy.

Friday afternoon we drove up to Riverside to start the Afualo Family Reunion. The theme was "Following in the footsteps of our fathers". It was a nice reunion and the kids had a blast. Damon's whole family was together for the first time since we've been married. Friday there was a dinner and entertainment. Saturday there were workshops, games, kid's crafts, flag making and "Afualo Idol". Lily got up on stage and sang "Popular". She did a great job. The boys did a magic light show with glow in the dark rings which was pretty funny. The reunion ended Sunday morning with a morningside and a Father's Day tribute. It was lovely.

Sunday afternoon we headed back to Mortensen Manor for Father's Day dinner. It was quite yummy. Adam got up really early and made chocolate pie with Uncle Brent. Damon had a Luau Show in Corona Saturday night and asked if for Father's day he could take a nap. How could I say no to that. We enjoyed a fabulous meal and desserts. We love all the Father's in our lives. They are wonderful examples to follow. My kids are so lucky.

The Spa, Baseball and a Recital. Oh My!

The end of the business. Now we can finally relax. Ya right. Until the next stressful period, but it is nice to know that there is a bit of a breather right now. I really needed one. Now if school would just end. 4 more weeks!!

Friday the girls headed off to the spa to get mani's and pedi's. Lily was in heaven having her feet and legs rubbed. Then she got flowers on every single finger. She looks like a flower garden. We did some shoe shopping after that and then some clothes shopping. We called Damon to see if he wanted to meet us for lunch. So he joined the girls day at Soup Plantation. Lily couldn't wait to show her daddy her toesies (as she calls them).

Saturday we busy running around getting last minute things for the recital. Adam was given the sportsmanship award for his team so he had to attend closing ceremonies. He also won some gloves and got a medal. He thought it was a great day.

The piano recital was great. Our theme this year was musicals. All the kids worked hard on learning one song from any musical. Adam learned "Spoonful of Sugar". Noah learned "Edelweiss". They both did a great job. I took the easy route and played "Music of the Night". I played that in a recital back in 1992. Right before I started to play a fire alarm went off. Fun stuff. It was eventually shut off and everything finished on time. I am glad this recital is behind us and I don't have to think about it again until next January. Unfortunately we don't have any pictures of the boys playing the piano. I will try harder next year. Much thanks to Damon who continues to help without complaint during recital time. I sure do love him.

Now it's time to start planning for summer.

One More thing.. ... YEA LAKERS!! CONGRATS! Fishman you are the best

Is it over yet?

This is the never ending week of stress or stuff or both. I am so looking forward to a nice tropical vacation with my spouse and a good book. Unfortunately nothing like that is on the horizon.

Tuesday was Lily's preschool party. They had a great time. We went to Chuck E. Cheese. Yum. It isn't about the parents right? It was a fun year for the kids and I hope they enjoyed it. Tuesday night was cub scouts and boy scouts. Fun scheduling pick ups and drop offs.

Wednesday Nana came with my dad. It is great to have Nana here. She is very calming. The kids have loved every minute of it and we are loving her spoiling all of us. My dad was here to help with arbitration, which was today. What a nightmare that was, but it is out of my hands now and I really just am glad. Hopefully we can move past this accident that happened two years ago. I was really happy my dad was able to help out with everything.

Wednesday night I went to Super Science Night and the school with Adam. We learned about sound vibrations, water filtering, some little shrimp and sand that repels water. Adam had fun. I am really burned out on school functions right now.

Next up...Recital and closing ceremonies for baseball

What a weekend

Well the weekend has come and gone and is not quite long enough to satisfy me. The weather is so temperamental it is driving me crazy. Here is a look at our week in review.

Thursday I had to take the jeep in for an oil change and found out something was wrong when the coolant was leaking out. Yippie. So Thursday and Friday were spent dealing with that. This is a warning for you, please do not by any Jeep cars unless you plan on keeping them for less than 50,000 miles. It is just to stressful and expensive. We thought the problem was fixed Friday night, but it wasn't so now the car needs to go back in on Monday. oh yea. The green stuff in the picture is not supposed to be there.

Friday I went on a field trip with Adam's class. We went to the zoo. Lily was able to come with us. It was fun. We haven't been to the zoo in a long time and they have made some really great changes. The hill up to the polar bears is still dreadful, especially when pushing a stroller, but we made it to the top. We only managed to get lost once.

Friday night we had Ranch Round Up at school. The kids loved the Inflatable's Zone. We just let them run wild in that for a couple hours. The kids played games and we had dinner. I hope the school made a lot of money.









Saturday we had Noah's playoff game. They were winning until the very end. I can't say that I am terribly sad that they lost, but the boys were. They had a great season and Noah had 3 outs just in this game. We had the team party right afterwards at the park. Now we are all done. YIPPIE! Damon also put in more new lights in the kitchen. I am so happy about that. Oh, and I found out my next door neighbors are painting their house a sage green which is the color we wanted to paint this one. Rargh!



Right after the party we went to the boy scout fundraiser at church. It was a spaghetti dinner. Damon was in charge of the decor (which means I was) and some of the entertainment. The boys did the Haka and did a pretty great job. They didn't scare any of us, they aren't to fierce, but their dancing wasn't bad. The kids enjoyed seeing their friends and I enjoyed not having to cook for the 2nd night in a row.



After we got home I got the kids in bed and turned on the tv. Titanic had just started and it's been about 10 years since I have seen that movie. Needless to say by about 12:30 am I wished I had those 3 hours back to get some sleep. It would be a sad movie in any case, but it is even sadder because it's based on the truth. Speaking of movies if you haven't seen the trailer for New Moon go see it. It looks great. I am so glad they did away with the blue film cover. That was driving me nuts.

Next up for this week... mother in law coming (good because we love her, bad because I have to clean really well) arbitration and the piano recital.