Life is a Zoo around here

To celebrate the first family day of summer, we went out.

What that means is that Hubby and I packed the car with all the needed resources for the day, and off we went for a day of fun. Stop one: the zoo. Annual passes from "Ninong" allows for us to enjoy several hours seeing some of the most beautiful creatures. #1 likes the hippos, #2 likes the meerkats, and #3 - the elephants. Of course, the exhibit wouldn't be complete without the DUNG BEETLE section. The boys were laughing and I was just grossed out.
We spent the majority of our time in the new Elephant Odyssey exhibit. Th kids had a great time watching the massive animals eat and lounge around in their beautiful exhibit.
One of the reasons we like the zoo so much is that we can go over and over and over again and it is never the same. The animals are so close and the kids can learn so much from just walking around and reading about natural habitat and all that stuff.
As I looked around this time, I realized that the zoo really has undergone a transformation in the last 10 years. Plants, waterfalls, exhibits that look less like cages and more like, well, nature. Another reason to love San Diego.


Next stop after the zoo was a quick lunch and bowl at East Tavern in Downtown followed by 4 innings of some good ol' Pardes baseball.

Yup, summer days together. Doesn't get better than this.

Flowers once a week

This week: Red, red roses.

Lucky me. Thanks hunny!

Who's popular??

In an attempt for peace and quiet, I am serving up 100% pure fun while hubby sleeps. One of the challenges this summer will be to keep the volume down while hubby sleeps after having worked all night long. We really like graveyard shift for a lot of different reasons, but keeping the noise level down isn't always easy. Plus for those of you who know how we roll around here, we have kids over all the time. It's loud, the boys are active, and there are toys everywhere.My solution today: junk food,videos, and DSI. Plus the fact that I will let baby play with anything he wants to play with (as long as it is safe) This should guarantee a least a few minutes of quiet.



This will also guarantee that there will be popcorn kernels everywhere, my camera bag is not safe, and the sugar will kick in just in time for hubby to wake up. Oh well...all I know is that right now, I am popular :-)

Ah, summer has arrived.

Jazzy New Habits

If it isn't official yet, it will be. My neighbors will officially hate me because of the new hobby I've decided to pick up this summer.

I attended my very first Jazz Concert this school year and let me just say... I'm in love. I have always wanted to play an instrument, so I started 'hangin out' in the band room to see what I could find. What I found was a great French guy willing to let me tag along with him on field trips and at practices.

Although my #1 guy played the trumpet in the 5th grade band this past year, I decided very early on that an instrument that I had to actually blow into wasn't for me. I just have issues with the mouth piece part. Gross.

So... I decided that I am a percussionist.

My newest purchase to start the summer right is a 5 piece drum set, complete with cymbals. Step two will be to get a coach this summer to teach me how to play it, and step 3 will be to actually be able to play with other people. Maybe if I work really hard, I'll be good enough to play with the 6th grade band next school year.

Yup, my neighbors are going to hate me.

On to bigger things...

Oh my! I have a middle schooler.

Our #1 guy said goodbye to elementary school in a promotion ceremony this week. What a neat experience to see our little (oh well, not so little I guess) guy get dressed in a shirt and tie and walk with all of the other 5th graders to receive his certificate of completion for elementary school.

I've been teaching middle school for 10 years now and I'm so excited to have my guy at school with me everyday. Part of me is a little nervous, but he is such a great kid that I know it will all work out. I just hope that he is able to adjust (after all, most middle schoolers don't want their mom around.) He has told me how proud he is of me and the work that I do, so I'm hoping that my presence with be a source of comfort and pride, not embassessment.

After the ceremony, I took a bunch of pictures (of course) One of the pictures I got was a picture of my guy with his elementary school friends. It reminded me of a picture that I have of myself taken at my 5th grade promotion at the same school. For me, the friendships that I had with most of the children in my picture slowly drifted as we developed other interests in middle and high school. However, Ria and I continued our friendship well into our adult years which is really wonderful.


For my son, I wish him the same kind of lasting friendships.

The Weather is perfect for...

#1 - "Baseball."
#2 - "Playing outside."
#3 - "Donuts and Doorbells."
Mom - "Taking Pictures!"

The weekend before the end of school, the boys and I stepped outside to enjoy the perfect San Diego weather and get a few pictures. Going through the shots, I realized that my little guys are not so little anymore. The other thing that I realize is that I sure am lucky to be their mom.

Just in time for summer

Introducing Mr. Boo's new look!

Who gets to go?

In Toy Story 1, Andy's mom says that he can only take one toy to Pizza Planet.

Well, I'm not Andy's mom.

So... Buzz and Woody get to go whenever baby likes. In fact, he can bring who ever and whatever he wants...as long as he can carry it all. I have to say that both #1 and #2 went through their Toy Story stage, and now #3 is enjoying that stage too. (With all brand new toys, of course) Just in time for the Toy Story 3 movie to come out this month!