Aquarium of the Pacific

After whale watching on Tuesday we decided to continue with our sea animal education and visit the Aquarium of the Pacific. Zachary and Scott's favorite part was watching the sea otters play. I found it funny that the sea otters had a little tykes playset in their habitat. Riley enjoyed petting the manta rays. My favorite was the tsunami exhibit where we learned so much about how tsunamis form and the differences between tsunamis and wind waves. It was very interesting and they had hands on displays and projects you could do at home to learn more about energy in water.

Afterwards we got to visit our favorite pizza place in Long Beach, Domenicos, where we get their ground pepperoni pizza that is oh so bad for us, but way too good to pass up.

We survived.

Riley and I went on her second grade whale watching field trip today. I went into this with much hesitation and anxiety. Our experience four years ago was not a positive one. We spent two hours in drizzly, overcast, and choppy waters with children vomiting over the side of the boat. The icing on the cake was that we not only never saw a whale, but we never saw an animal. Not even sleepy sea lions lazing on buoys.
So I have to admit it was difficult to go into this trip with a positive attitude, but I am so glad I went. This was a much different experience. It was a perfect clear blue day with no choppy waves making kids sick. The kids were all so well behaved and we had a great time. We did not see any whales, but we saw tons of dolphins which in hindsight I think were even more exciting than the whales. The dolphins actually swam towards our boat and would swim in the wake of the boat darting in and out of the water. They were playing around our boat for the longest time. I used up most of my memory card trying to catch a picture of them, but the pictures where the dolphins were right under the surface did not come out and the closest I got to a picture of a dolphin jumping out of the water was a photo of the splash the dolphin made going back under. Those suckers are FAST!

We also saw lots of sea lions sleeping on the buoys while the bell clanged right next to them. They were not even phased by a boatload of squealing second graders.

After the boat ride we all walked over to the beach for lunch and a quick class photo and then it was back to the buses for the ride home. All in all it was a great day and Riley had an awesome time.

60 Things You Possibly Didn't Know About Me

Shamelessley stolen from another blog, but fun none-the-less......

1. What is in the back seat of your car right now? the kids jackets

2. When was the last time you threw up? I can't remember, thank goodness

3. What's your favorite curse word? Can't say that I have one.

4. Name 3 people who made you smile today? Liz, Luke (via phone) and Riley

5. What were you doing at 8 am this morning? Walking out the door for work

6. What were you doing 30 minutes ago? Eating cake (shhhh, don't tell anyone).

7. What will you be doing 3 hours from now? Watching Lost with Scott

8. Have you ever been to a strip club? Only when I worked there.

Just kidding. Just making sure you are paying attention. Just for the record... no

9. What is the last thing you said aloud? Riley stole my bath

10. What is the best ice cream flavor? cookies and cream

11. What was the last thing you had to drink? white wine with dinner

12. What are you wearing right now? Jeans and long sleeve Tommy Hilfiger shirt with cake on the front of it.

13. What was the last thing you ate? The cake, stop asking me about it

14. Have you bought any new clothing items this week? no

15. When was the last time you ran? Run? I try not to.

16. What's the last sporting event you watched???? The Superbowl

18. Who is the last person you emailed? my friend Debbi in Texas

19. Ever go camping?yes. A lot as a child, but we had a 40 foot RV so I suppose that won't count for some of you. I have camped twice since I got married and it's really not my thing. My idea of roughing it is a 4 star hotel

20. Do you have a tan? Apparently since I wore a skirt yesterday and my boss asked if I'd been to the tanning salon. Just for the record I don't go to those places. I don't dig the leathery old lady look.

24. Do you drink your soda from a straw? Preferably

25. What did your last IM say? I don't really IM

26. Are you someone's best friend? Yes

27. What are you doing tomorrow? getting our new tv and surround sound installed, grocery shopping and laundry. My life is non-stop glamour

28. Where is your mom right now? In Georgia while I watch her Jack Russel Terrier aka Weasel dog who spends her time excavating my backyard and escaping through the fence to excavate the neighbors yard

29. Look to your left, what do you see? out the back door.

30.What color is your watch? the only working watch I have right now is silver and my mom "loaned" it to me the day Riley was born so I could time my contractions. I guess I am 8 years late in getting that back to her

31. What do you think of when you think of Australia ? Koalas

32. Would you consider plastic surgery? Frequently. I love to contemplate the idea of going in one day and coming out the next with a new body (I know it's not really that easy), but I would never go through with it. I have a HUGE fear of surgery of any kind. So I could never volunteer for it.

33. What is your birthstone? Diamond, there is a reason I was a month late. I had to go for the big one. See I even loved diamonds in utero.

34. Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit the drive thru? I can't remember the last time I went into one.

35.How many kids do you want? I've already got them, thanks.

36. Do you have a dog? Maggie May

37. Last person you talked to on the phone? Erica

38. Have you met anyone famous? Yes, not terribly exciting though

39. Any plans today? At this point.... watching Lost with Scott and going to bed.

40. How many states have you lived in?one. CA gal through and through

.41. Ever go to college? yep.

42. Where are you right now? Duh, on the computer

43. Biggest annoyance in your life right now? My father, good thing he does not have my blog address.

44. Last song listened to? Rockstar by Nickleback

46. Are you allergic to anything? laundry

47. Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time? flip flops of any sort

48. Are you jealous of anyone? I don't think so

50. Is anyone jealous of you? I could not imagine why

51. What time is it? 7:52 pm

52. Do any of your friends have children? Of course

53. Do you eat healthy? I try.

54. What do you usually do during the day? damage control

55. Do you hate anyone right now? no

56. Do you use the word 'hello' daily? Pretty much except when I say "ya, what the H do you want?"

58. How old will you be turning on your next birthday? 29 again

59. Have you ever been to Six Flags? yes. The last time Scott and I went alone and decided to go on all the big rollercoasters... then we decided we were old and went home

60. How did you get one of your scars? hmmmm, the only scar I have is a small one on my knee. I got it as a teenager when an insect bite got infected.

It's all in the shape

What is Valentines day without cupcakes? Apparently it would be a tragedy. Riley's class is having their party tomorrow and nobody signed up to bring cupcakes. Every other item on the sign up sheet was spoken for, but apparently nobody wanted to make cupcakes. So Riley begged me to do it and I caved at the sight of those big hazel eyes staring up at me. Then I noticed it said heart shaped cupcakes. Um, I don't own a heart shaped muffin tin. So I went in and asked her teacher if they had to be heart shaped. Mrs. Jackson said, "oh I have the pans if you are going to make them". Then she proceeded to dig around in her supply cabinets. We found Christmas tree shaped tins, ghost tins, but no hearts. So we are settling on pink cupcakes that are merely your average round shape. I don't think the kids will care as long as they get to eat them. The best part is that we just had to make the cupcakes. The kids decorate them during the party tomorrow. What an easy deal.

Five minutes peace.

Most nights I take a bubble bath and try to enjoy five minutes peace.

I don't think it's a lot to ask. Five minutes to myself after a long day, but just like poor Mrs. Large in Jill Murphy's book it's just not possible. When the kids were smaller I always had Riley coming in peeling off her clothes to climb in the tub with me, Zachary asking questions, Scott wanting to sit on the hamper and tell me about his day. Even the dog joined in and would decide bathwater made an excellent K9 drink.

So now that the kids are older that five minutes peace should be an easier thing to obtain, but alas it still eludes me. It seems that a locked door requires much knocking and door knob rattling. "Mom can I have a snack". "Mom can I (fill in blank)." Nevermind that their father is sitting right next to them. They still feel the need to yell through a locked door at me while rattling the door knob. Scott is the worst door knob rattler around. He knocks, then rattles, then rattles again, then starts yelling some question through the door.

Tonight I'd had enough and announced that unless the house is burning down DO NOT DISTURB MY BATH and for God's sake don't rattle that damn door knob if you value your life. Hmmm, maybe they finally got the message.

My favorite thing about winter

This is my favorite thing about winter. Waking up to the snow covered mountains. I've actually tried for 5 days to get a picture of all the snow we got last weekend, but the mountains have been covered in clouds every time I get the chance. So this is the snow we had left this morning, but another storm is now moving in this weekend and the mountains are again hidden behind the clouds.

The Happiest place on earth!

Last Thursday we decided to surprise the kids with a trip to Disneyland. We did not let them know in advance that we were going so they got up that morning and got ready for school. We then announced that we would be going to Disneyland instead. I think my ears are still ringing from Riley's screams.

We spent the entire day at Disneyland and had an awesome time. The longest line we waited in was 15 minutes and we got to ride our favorite rides several times. We even got to ride the new Nemo submarines, got to see Small World before they close it for 11 mos. and saw Captain Jack on Pirates of the Caribbean. We even braved Splash mountain despite the cold and had a blast. In fact we had such a great time we used our socal twofer pass and went to CA adventure on Friday.

The kids could hardly believe their luck when we told them we were coming back the next day. Of course Riley suggested that we just stay at a hotel. When I reminded her that we had not packed pajamas, toiletries or clothes she suggested we just buy more. Lord I hope that girl becomes a millionaire or marries one. LOL!

So we had a great time at CA adventures also. I even rode the Tower of terror despite my misgivings on that one. A cast member waited with Riley while Scott, Zachary and I rode it. I came off that ride with my legs shaking so badly I could barely walk, but it was fun. Everyones favorite was Soaring over CA which we had to ride several times. Then the kids chose to ride Grizzly rapids, but we declined. So we walked them up and then watched them get drenched. Luckily I had the foresight to buy them each a poncho so they got to ride and have fun without getting soaked. Riley even interviewed the people she rode with each time and told me she met people from Australia, New Zealand and Alaska. I have to talk to that girl again about not talking to strangers!

So it was a great and memorable couple of days. Of course Riley woke up Saturday and asked "where are we going today?"

Picking my battles!

Sometimes I have to remind myself to pick my battles. Like tonight for instance, this is the outfit Riley chose...

We were going to run a couple of errands and then go out to dinner. So why not dress in a new outfit? Notice the lovely scarf, long sleeve shirt with crystal snowflake, denim skirt with matching buttons and adorable tulle on the bottom. So what would be the perfect shoe choice???? Why FLIP FLOPS of course! I reminded Riley that it was very chilly out and that a storm was coming our way so it could start raining. I felt a better choice would have been some warm tights and a pair of boots, but NO the flip flops were staying. So I just told her that if she got cold that she had better not complain to me about it and off we went. So during dinner Riley turned to me and said "mom, I can't even feel how cold my legs are anymore". So did they go numb??? LOL!

AMERICAN GIRL!

We made it to the American girl store today and let me tell you.... I AM HOOKED! I was not really into the whole deal until we got to the store and then I was suckered, big time. Riley and my mom posed for pictures outside and then we were off on our shopping expedition. There are so many outfits to choose from and they all have GREAT accesories. The store is divided into sections with the historical girls section, then the bitty babies and the finally the "just like you" dolls.

Riley decided on a "just like you" doll since Nicki is gone for good. She had lots of fun picking out her new doll even though we were not able to find one exactly like her. The doll comes close and Riley loves her. We ended up buying a ballerina outfit, sporty jean outfit with matching jacket and then a spring outfit. We purchased a matching spring outfit for Riley and it's going to be her easter dress. It's a cute pink skirt and white top. So now we are home and Mimi and Riley are bonding.

I also told Riley that if she takes good care of Mimi and all her clothes that I will take her back to American Girl for her birthday and we can shop and have lunch in the cafe.

Nutcracker

We went to see the Nutcracker today at the Bridges Auditorium at the Claremont colleges. It was my second time seeing the Nutcracker there, but Riley and my mom had not been before. It was a nice girls day out. We went to lunch before the 2 pm matinee and we all had a nice time. Riley was insistent that we purchase a nutcracker to take home and she got a program also.

The boys went to the Bowers museum and saw some mummies, but since we had the camera there are no pictures to share. They had a great time and Zachary earned some extra credit for school.

Zachary's 12th birthday

He had a kind of low key birthday since half the party guests came down with stomach flu last night, but all in all he seems pleased. He has a load of cash in his wallet and what 12 year old boy does not love cash. He got lots of other nice gifts and is loving playing with his new black DS lite that Scott and I gave him. So now I have one year to prepare for being the mother of a teen. YIKES!

Report card day again!

This week was parent/teacher conference week and report cards. No surprises at the conferences which is a good thing. Zachary got all A's and two B's and all 3's (above grade level) which is based on state testing. Here are his teacher comments on the report card... "Not a bad start for Zachary! All 3's and very nearly all A's. Zachary is obviously an intelligent person and excellent student and he can probably achieve whatever grade he desires. I especially appreciate his intelligent contributions to class discussions in science and literature. Let's encourage a goal of all A's next trimester."
Riley is still not on letter grades yet, but achieved all 3's and just needs to work on her patience in class. Here are her teacher comments... "Riley is a fluent reader and her comprehension is excellent. She reads a variety of literature which accounts for her well developed vocabulary. Riley enjoys sharing many interesting facts with the class, especially facts concerning animals. Her STAR grade level reading equivalent is 4.4. and although she reads constantly Riley has only earned 20.6 AR points. She enjoys reading much more than taking tests. Her spelling test average was 99.6% and her math chapter test average was 99%. She has earned the Super Citizenship award this trimester.

We have a new baby in the family

Erica and Ryan welcomed their second child on November 20th. Presley Jane is a healthy little girl and weighed 7 lbs 6 oz. and is 19 inches long.

She and Mommy are doing well after a long labor followed up by a c-section. Big brother Luke is very excited about his baby sister even though "she is too little to play baseball". We are all thankful that they are both ok and looking forward to spoiling Presley just as much as we do Luke.

Wow, sometimes they really do listen!

This week Riley is the star student of the week. She brought home a packet over the weekend to fill out. Telling about herself, likes and dislikes and her family, etc. Then she got to pick some photos, and personal items to take to school to share. She chose to take 3 of her webkinz along and she got to take them out at recess today. So she was telling me about her day and how much she is enjoying being the star of the week, go figure Riley enjoying being the star. LOL! So while she is telling me about her day she mentions that her friend Jennifer throws "lots" of temper tantrums. She said "mom, she throws tantrums all the time. I had to sit her down today and tell her. Jennifer, look last summer when I was throwing lots of temper tantrums my mom told me that I was going to second grade and I could NOT throw temper tantrums in second grade or I would be pulling lots of cards. So you are going to have to pull it together." LOL!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

My little witch was all ready in her costume to go off to school and collect lots of goodies at her Halloween party. Zachary did not wear his costume to schoo, but did wear a Halloween t-shirt, unfortunately he did not collect any cash.

Then this evening with the rising moon, he transformed into a werewolf. Now he is off to a friends' house for pizza and then they are going trick or treating as a group (yes he ditched his parents and sister this year).

HAPPY FALL!

Last night we attended our friends' annual fall/halloween party. We all had a great time. The kids picked out their pumpkins for carving, first thing. The carving became a family effort since both the kids picked out complicated patterns to carve. And of course they did not want to pull the guts out of the pumpkins.
After their carvings efforts, it was on to more fun. Riley had her face painted. They both bobbed for apples and got soaked in the process, but they did not mind a bit. In fact I think that if I want to get my kids to eat apples I need to place a large tub of water on the floor and fill it with apples. Not only did they eat the apples they bobbed for (without complaining about the skin still being on), but they also went back for seconds and ate those apples too.

Then they participated in the donut on a string eating contest, no hands allowed. There was a band for dancing, but Riley chose not to participate in the hokey pokey or chicken dance. When I asked her why she said, "because I don't want to look ridiculous." I told her that she was not going to look ridiculous (what did she think of me out there hokey pokeying?) that it was called having fun. She looked at me very seriously and said "mom, I'm 8 I don't chicken dance". After that they just had fun running around and being kids.

Nine years ago today....

There's a special angel in Heaven,

That is a part of me.

It is not where I wanted him,

But where God wanted him to be.

He was here just a moment,

Like a night time shooting star.

And although he is in Heaven,

He isn't very far.

He touched the hearts of many,

like only an angel can do.

I would've held him every minute,

If the end I only knew.

So I send this special message,

To Heaven up above.

Please take care of my angel,

And send him all my love.

In loving memory of Nicholas Henri Johnson, born into heaven October 21, 1998.

Gone, but never forgotten.

Riley's team won their first game yesterday

Technically they are in a "non-competetive" league, but let me tell you those girls always know which team wins. Scott pointed out, "well they can count and add so of course they know who wins". The girls are great on defense and constantly get the ball downfield, but they just can't seem to get goals so yesterday by the time the team had their third goal all the parents were out of their seats. The girls were beaming and high fiving each other. They were so dang cute. The team mom happened to bring her video camera that day and got it all on tape. I told her it must have been a good luck charm and she had better bring it next week too.
Way to go American Tigers!

Zachary is back from 6th grade camp!

The buses were supposed to arrive at the school today at 11 am. Like all the other parents I was there eagerly waiting for him. The bus arrived 45 minutes late amid rumors of "bad fog" in the mountains and then alarmist parents worrying about the bus crashing. Thankfully, they were just late and everyone came home safe and sound. Lots of the girls were crying when they got off the bus and saw their parents, but the boys had to put on the tough act. Zachary said he had a great time and my normally quiet child has been jabbering non-stop all day about the wonderful time he had and all that he learned. Below are some pictures that he took with the disposable camera that I sent. Yes, he actually remembered to use it!
So all was right in the world for a few hours since I had both my children home, but now Riley has abandoned us for a sleepover at my sister's house.

Busy weekend (part 2)

Today we made our annual trip to Greenspot farms for pumpkin picking, hay rides, horse rides, hay mazes and lots of fun. Luke, Erica and my Mom came and we all had a good time. The kids had fun in the bounce house even though Luke was not sure of it until his cousins got in and started having lots of fun.

Then Zachary took a turn for the horseback rides. Luke wanted to give it a try, but he was too small. Then he told me "I want to ride the pig". What a sight that would have been.

Then we went for the hay ride which was missing the hay this year and instead had padded benches. Bring back the hay!! It was fun anyways and Luke kept telling Riley "hold on Riley, hold on". I told his very cautious mom that she would have been proud. We bought a wagon full of pumpkins including our favorite Cinderella pumpkins which make the best pies and bread. Of course I completely forgot to take a picture of the kids with their pumpkins. So I will have to remember to take a picture of them carving the pumpkins.

Busy weekend

Saturday morning Zachary and I went to our second archery class. We are both really enjoying the class and I love that it's something that just the two of us get to do together. This week we got to spend much more time shooting instead of learning about safety and form. We got to shoot at balloons to pop them and I got 7 bullseyes. Not bad for my second day.

Then it was off to Riley's soccer game. It was a perfect day for sitting outside watching her play and enjoying the view of "our" mountains. Riley got to play defense, forward and then goalie the last quarter. She never let one get by her. She is really becoming quite the soccer player and I love watching her play.

After the game we went to Erica's baby shower. I told Riley the night before that if she wanted to come to the shower then she would have to be on her best behavior. Well, she did a great job and looked so cute sitting and visiting with Kendall and playing with the little toddler girls that came along. She was like a little mother hen to them. She even consoled Kendall when Kendall's mom needed to leave early and Kendall had to stay with her grandma. When Kendall was crying Riley went over and put her arm around her. Then she told Kendall "don't worry, even though your mom is far away her love stretches all the way to you." Awwww.