Student of the Month

With pride and enthusiasm, Jackson showed off his award to my friend, Michalle.  She read it, "Radical Reader & A Wonderful Writer" and said, "I'd expect nothing less from the son of an English teacher." Haha I laughed because this has popped into my head so much.  This poor kid has had his grammar corrected since birth.  Ok, maybe not birth but surely by the time he was six months.  But in all seriousness, I find it amazing at how we are innately gifted in certain areas.  My grandma, the woman I resemble in so many ways, loves science and history - psh, I can't stand to even think about science and history.  An innate difference!  And so here we are, the parents of a kid that loves to staple a stack of papers together so that he may be able to write a book.  I love it.  I love to write and I love that he does too.  But most of all, I love to read what he writes.  I love that I can read what he writes.  I know this award is not rare and hangs in the homes of many, but we are still proud nonetheless.

*Unrelated to some but in my mind, relevant enough to include here.... Jackson's "spotlight" answers for church:
favorite color: green
favorite food: artichokes
best candy: chocolate
eyes: green
hair: blond
favorite scripture: Nephi
can follow Jesus Christ by: reading my scriptures
I can: ride my bike and I can draw
favorite Primary Song: Book of Mormon stories
scriptures teach me: how to be kind
siblings: 2 brothers 1 sister
Jackson Anderson
May 20th... 5 years old.

Resignation

I have not taught since 2010 and yet, I hesitated to write the letter.  I hesitated to attach the letter.  I hesitated to send the letter.  The fact is, I want to teach.  I love to teach.  I love to work.  I watch Glee and I yearn to be in the classroom yet again.  BUT, I need to be home.  Because I can not live two lives, I had to choose.  It is rare these days, these days in California especially, that one can choose to stay home.  And yet here I am, opting to do so.  It's not easy.  And in no way is it comfortable.  We're hanging on barely but we are hanging on and so, with that said, I have resigned.  After two years of leave, it was time.  Hmm, maybe I should change my "email signature" before I hesitate yet again.

Dr. Dan Stepenosky

Deputy Superintendent

Las Virgenes Unified School District

February 27, 2012

Dr. Stepenosky,

Please accept my resignation as high school English teacher at Agoura High School.  At this time I find it necessary to stay home with my children and therefore cannot teach full-time at Agoura High School.

I have truly valued the last seven years I have spent with Las Virgenes Unified and I hope to one day be able to return.  My peers have taught me a great deal and I know I will take those lessons and apply them into my everyday life.

If I can ever be of any assistance, please let me know.

Sincerely,

Rachel Arrietta-Anderson

Cc:  Larry Misel, Principal, Agoura High School

Happy 79th, Juana - La Golondrina at Olvera Street

Things have been very busy around here and I can't even recall with what.  Life, I suppose.  I wanted to reorganize the pantry, thanks pinterest, and the kids wanted to make a gift for ita, thanks birthday season.  The kids have wanted to play in the front yard, thanks California, and friends have invited us to the park, thanks Cali... again!  Well, that was until Ryan got sand in his eye and begged to go home... I guess it was a valid request considering he fell asleep immediately after leaving Oak Springs Park.  Crazy.

 But back to Juana.  We were excited to have an outing planned out of Canyon Country mid week.  I knew there was something grandma loved about a certain restaurant on Olvera St. as we have taken her there for her birthday before.  But this time around I found out it was because, "Sam & I actually worked there when we were dating. I was 16 and he was 17. Boy how time flies when you are having fun," in Chicago" Hee,hee. :-)".

We arrived early and were very grateful to our family for making the journey to LA considering it was much closer than Corona is to us.  The kids had fun walking around and then jumping around in the restaurant.  *I assure you they were in no one's way and in no way were they out of line.  My pet peeve!

 As soon as the birthday girl arrived, the kids wanted to give her the gifts they made.  I love that they love the gift of giving!

 And really, how can you not love the gift of giving.... check out her face as she opens the Nook, her gift from us all.  Notice how the Flan came during the opening of this gift and she can barely take her attention off the Nook.  It's priceless, really.

This woman is so very loved and is truly an inspiration to us all.  When I need a logical, non-biased opinion, I know I need to call her up.  She is always there to listen and offer advice but never in a judgmental or condescending way.  I am grateful for all she has taught me.

Now in the honor of our birthday season:

I am... 79.

My best friend is, and this sounds corny, but... Sam.

My favorite thing to do is... read.

My favorite color is... black.

My favorite food is... enchilladas, even though I don't eat them all the time.

With my family I like to... travel or go to restaurants.

My favorite toy is... the Nook.

When I grow up I want to be... an engineer.

What makes me happy is... Everything.  Flowers, birds, stars, the moon, nature.

What makes me sad is... when I get sick.

My favorite TV show is... at this time, The Mentalist.

My favorite book is... what I am reading right now.  I never re-read a book so it's whatever I am currently reading. (I now have my own answer for this question!)

I love to learn about... science and history.

My favorite thing about my birthday was... family and food and the attention.

I love to go to... museums.  Although I don't go enough.

My teacher is... Mike. O.

My favorite treat is... although I don't eat it anymore, cherry pie.

Before I go to bed I think about... getting a good night sleep.  Being safe and not staying awake.

A famous person I would like to meet would be... George Clooney.  I'm serious!

My favorite birthday gifts were.... from my children (Nook and eye brows).

Kid Friendly Vegas

When Andrew's parents started talking about their February visit, he thought it would be nice for them if we met them in Vegas.  They come out every month so he thought this would be a good break.  It became stressful and I am starting to realize just how much that is this stage in our life.  But, despite the stress, we headed up Thursday after Jackson got out of school and after Andrew returned home from work.  I think it was about 4 which was bad timing.  The kids were beyond exhausted because of no naps, it was an hour before dinner, and we weren't able to fix our car DVD player.  Bad combo.  Most passed out immediately but only to wake up whining and complaining in Victorville.  So whether we liked it or not, we were stopping there to eat dinner.  The rest of the drive was OK, well, irritating but manageable, and so I "flew" to Vegas.  I think we arrived around 8pm and the kids were sleepy.

Everyone came down to help unload and then we made our way to our room to unpack and put the kids down.  Papa and Gramma Nette then stayed with the kids while Andrew, Curtis, Tristan and I headed out to the strip.  I am way disappointed I didn't get a picture that night but I guess I was too baffled by the lousy TI Pirate show.  BTW, "lousy" is being kind!

The next morning we were left to entertain ourselves.  It was chilly and Andi was sad papa missing papa, but they were very pleased when they saw the TI Pirate ship (luckily for them that lame pirate show was not in action).  Then as we walked out onto the strip, they were amazed by the large buildings and what not.  It was nice, at 9am, the strip is relatively clean and empty.

So we took the kids out to try to see the Lion Exhibit - turned out it didn't open until 11am AND it was $18 a person.  Oh my, I don't think so!  Being 9:30am, there weren't too many options so we walked and walked.  The kids were entertained so that was good.  It was nice having that time to just enjoy our family.  We stopped at the McDonald's so Andrew and the kids could have a snack and once we finished, the trashiest Mickey Mouse parked himself right in plain view of our kids.  They were so excited and wanted a picture because none of them realized his "white" gloves were filthy and that his change bucket also held his Heineken.  Jackson was taken back when "he took off his head" but he didn't ask any questions.  Hmmm, weird.  So glad Andrew gave the kids money to tip the dirty man - ugh!  Things got better though when we made our way into the Venetian.  Well, that was until we had to tell the kids that we weren't going to pay $18/ea to ride the 10 minute "boat" ride.  Thanks a lot, Vegas!

Curtis and Tristan met up with us in the Venetian and the kids were so excited to see them.  It was nice to have some company for the last little bit.  We then headed back because we planned to meet everyone for lunch at 11, but we detoured in the arcade for a bit.

Lunch was delicious and I could so have some Canter's this very minute!  After lunch we went up to the room, changed our clothes and then headed out to the pool.  Andi was not in the mood the swim, Jackson was upset I didn't bring his fins, Ryan was a swimming stud and Cole was the happiest, splashing baby ever.  When papa joined us, Andi quickly attached herself to his hip.  Shay, Weston, Curtis and Tristan came out to swim with us too and we were all pleased with how nice it was.  Cole went from happy, splashing baby to sleepy baby.  He seriously fell asleep on me in the jacuzzi - tough life, eh!

The pool was so relaxing the few hours we were there but once the kids started getting restless, we knew it was time to move on.  We changed and got ready to tour the Ethel M. Chocolate Factory in Henderson.  Hahaha, yeah, that was lame.  It wasn't running and so we walked through in 60 seconds, got our teeny sample and headed out to the cactus garden.  Memorable, I am sure :)

 But then two exciting things happened, Cole enjoyed riding facing forward for the first time - yeah big boy!  And two, we were able to hit up Down East and Andi scored a "fancy" pink purse for like $3.  Pssh, why can't my stuff be that inexpensive?

We rushed back to the hotel to try to make the 6pm cut off for our buffet vouchers.  The line was long when we arrived at 5:45 and I was doubtful... but we made it!  It wasn't the most enjoyable evening for myself, but everyone else seemed to have fun.

Cole and I ate some pesto pasta and then went back up to the room to put the sleepy man to bed.  All three cuddled with me on the bed for a bit before everyone else finished eating and were ready to head out.  Cosmo came to watch the kids and this time Shay joined us out on the strip.  We tried to hit up a piano bar but I think Andrew and I were the only fans.  So we roamed and just enjoyed the freedom until about 1am when we headed to Curtis and Tristan's room to play Phase 10.  I couldn't hang like the rest of them so I went back around 2am I think.  Maybe I'm off.  (mind you, I had already come back to the room once and released Cosmo.  So while we played, we had the phones on speaker - aka, hotel baby monitor!  Sweet).  Andrew returned back to our room around 3:30am after winning back most of the money we spent on the trip.  Nice.
Saturday morning we took our time getting up and out.  I think it was about 10am when we sent the kids off with papa and we packed and loaded our stuff.  Being hungry and ready for a long drive, we thought it'd be nice to stop at CPK before heading out.  The wait was ridiculously long but the kids didn't seem to mind and neither did I.  The food was delicious and just what we needed before making our way home.

The drive home was better than the drive up there.  We still wish we had the DVD player fixed because it makes such a difference.  But the kids slept about an hour and a half which was nice.  We stopped at Target in Victorville because everyone was awake and needed to stretch out and so we finally made it home at about 5:30 I think.  Or somewhere around there.  They were so very happy to be home which is why I think the drive went better going home.

We had a good time and made some great memories.  But, in the future, we will be saving our Vegas trips when it's warm enough to live at the pool.  The cool thing is Tristan scoped out a cool mall and fabulous playground for our future visits.  This one was so super fast we couldn't have checked it out if we wanted to.  And the next time we go we have to see our dear friends!  So, here's to next time, Vegas.  OK, maybe I should go get those suitcases out of my living room!?!?  Yes, we're all still adjusting to being home.

Happy FOURTH Birthday, Mr. Ry

How old are you? Four (with excitement)

What is your favourite color?  Blue and red

What is your favourite animal? Hmm, giraffe.  I like the ocean.

What is your favourite food? Tofu and tofu sauce, chicken nuggets, and rice

What do you want to be when you grow up? A firefighter

What is your favourite book? Pirate ones with a ship

What is your favourite song? My Jesus song

What is your favourite TV show? Cinderella (oh boy, he spends a lot of time with his sister) and I even like our new shows that grandma got us (grandma shopping bought some VHS's for their bedroom)

What is your favorite holiday?  Halloween

Where would you most like to go for a holiday? Las Vegas (I'm assuming because we just left there)

What is your favourite thing to do? go to the sushi place, go to the beach with my friends and I like something special for me that Corinne and Missy won't get it

Where do you like to go for dinner? Sushi, sushi, sushi

Who is your best friend?  Gagey and Gunner and someone else I don't know

What do you like doing at home?  Play my football game

What do you love about your sister?  She plays with me

What do you love about Jackson?  He helps me to get all the water in the hole at the beach

What do you love about Cole?  I like him to color

What do you love about school?  um, paint

What do you love about church?  don't play

What do you love about mom and dad?  kissing, I just like pretend kissing (it's hit and miss, sometimes he likes affection, sometimes not so much)

Wednesday morning went like every other week; my mom came to take Ryan to speech and I went to work in Jackson's classroom.  We cleaned and prepared for the evening.  Ryan was so very happy it was his birthday and that he was turning FOUR and that dad got him his Woody pinata!

What do you want to do for your birthday?  Sushi and golfing

To honor his wishes, we headed to Sushi California for Happy Hour because really, that's the best way to do sushi!  The little man was in heaven.

From there we headed to the glow in the dark golf because it was freezing outside and because we have an awesome friend that hooked us up!  Andi was so excited she jumped out of the car and got her jacket on all by herself.

There's nothing like celebrating your birthday with your best friends!

Once all was said and done, we headed home for cake.  No, I did not attempt that lame giant cupcake.  And no, we did not have a chocolate cake.  Ryan likes red ice cream, aka Red Velvet, so I tried red velvet cake to see if I could actually get this kid to eat more than two bites.  Really, I only force cake down his throat for his birthday!  Well, he liked it and I think got down three bites.  Oh well.

Ryan I don't know what we'd do without you.  Your strong character attributes amaze us each day.  Ryan you are the perfect example of Christ like love and we thank you for reminding us all to think of others before ourselves.  We need you, we love you and we thank you for blessing us with your beautiful heart.  I only pray you may always remember who you are and where you're going.  Don't let anyone take you down.  Happy Birthday, Ry!

Love is in the Air

Friday night Andrew took me out - Andrew arranged for a night out.  What!?!?  Do you know how huge this is?  We went to dinner at Wokano and then roamed the patios.  Of course we ended up in Children's Place because we're that lame.  Next I so wanted to see the Vow but we left too late which meant dinner was too late and the next showing wasn't until 10pm ish.  Uh, no way.  I had an 8am meeting the next day and I was beat from the night before (thanks, Cole).  So instead we went to rent a movie and guess what, we both fell asleep about half way through.  Big night, huh :)  

 Andi and Ryan have been feeling the love for sure.  They have always played well together but lately, they are doing SO well.  We have had very little TV on lately and it's nice.  Their imaginations are running wild and they truly are each other's best friend.

Monday night was a long one.  Andrew ended up working until close to midnight and that changed all my plans for the evening.  I was so glad that Michalle entertained my children with a craft and watched the three older ones while I ran to Target with all the rest of the losers to purchase the kids' Valentine's for school the next morning.  There was some drama and yelling but the cards symbolizing love were eventually finished.

Valentine morn began as usual.  Jackson and I got up and I made waffles (ok, not norm but breakfast is).  I wish I had red dye but oh well.  We ate and got ready while the others snoozed.  Sort of.  Ryan was whimpering and Andrew told him to lie down and go back to sleep.  Ryan was complaining that his head hurt, but he's often complaining so Andrew didn't think anything of it.  Before Jackson left for school, he went in to hug Ry and Andi.  He came out to tell Andrew that Ryan's head hurt.  When I got home from taking Jackson to school, Andrew informed me of the drama... he went to lift Ry off bed and the entire bed pulled up with him.  Yes, Ryan was stuck to his bed - he really meant it this time when he said he couldn't get out of bed.  The boy that cried wolf actually saw the wolf!  Poor guy!  FYI, baby oil gets silly putty out of hair!

Did anyone else find FB to be rather annoying on Valentine's Day?  Ugh, keep it to yourself is what I thought.  And Pinterest, man I love you but you have really raised the stakes this year.  I mean, the possibilities are endless.  No one knew this until you came around.  So, in relation to what I viewed on FB, our evening was mediocre but if you ask the kids (or us for that matter) it was fabulous.

We had a family candlelight dinner which was so very beautiful.  Lasagna (hehe Jenn) because I craved it but let's say because it's red.

Now brace yourselves, here comes the highlight of the evening!  We created a pink and white marshmallow trail which lead to a little goody for each kid and one group gift.  It was quick but it was fun.

Finally, before bed, the kids opened their Valentine's gift from Grandpa grandpa and grandma shopping.  They were so excited and yet so obedient when we told them they had to eat them in the morning.

I feel blessed to have so much love in our life.  It's tough at times but every single night I think about all the people in our lives and I realized just how wealthy we are.  I wish I could give you all a Valentine just to let you know how very important you are to each and every one of us.  It was great that despite a great distance, I will still able to celebrate Valentine's day with my family while I mopped my floor.  Oh Facebook chat, you made our evening :)  (hehe Rob, Sharon & dad - good times).

Surprise Breakfast

6am came and no one but Cole and Jackson wanted to get out of bed.  Lying there in bed I heard commotion in the kitchen but it wasn't alarming so I continued to lie there.  When my 6:40am alarm went off, I decided to get my lazy butt out of bed so I could help my 5 year old son get ready for school.

He had gotten Cole out of his crib and the two were getting along just fine.  When Jackson saw me he was a bit disappointed, "Oh man, I was making a surprise breakfast for everyone!".  Ry had recently joined him and was assisting in the assembly line.  We all had to take our seat before we could enjoy our butter with a side of toast.  It was way cute and I couldn't break it to him that he was making himself late for school.  The next morning he wanted to do it again - I'm not sure when he's going to realize we don't all eat toast for breakfast.  I'll never tell him!

 Andi probably will though.  She likes her toast with no jam, just butter.  She let her brothers know she wasn't pleased.

 Can you believe it was hailing today; for a good half hour too.  And yet, here are these darling pictures from two days ago - check out the summer wear!  This little man has been playing on his own very well these days; especially when I am loading or unloading the dishwasher!

The other night we were invited to celebrate Talia's birthday at BJ's.  Well, actually, Andi and Ryan were invited but Jackson and I tagged along :)  It was so fun and yummy.  Thanks, Talia!

Is any post complete without including a Pinterest accomplishment?  No!  So here it is - this ruler has been in my garage for some time now and it has finally made its way onto our wall.  These pictures don't do it justice but the idea really is adorable.  On their birthday, we will be marking their height each year.  This way, we can take it with us from house to house.  Love it. 

Last night we did our bed time routine as usual until I was about to walk out of their room.  At that point I decided to add something new.  Not because it was such a blissful day; no, quite the opposite in fact.  I decided to tell each kid something I loved about them or something that made me happy.  Why?  Because all day I was telling them what they were doing wrong, which was a lot.  But now I'm thinking, this really should become part of our normal routine.  Here's to hoping I enforce it!

Disneyland

Saturday morning life was life - Andrew worked and I did the mom duty.  Saturday evening we took a step out of our reality....

At this point in our lives, Disneyland is a far off dream; that was until the Wise's made that dream come true.  I mean really, we are talking Disney :)

Walking through downtown Disney, Jackson turned and said, "Thanks mom, thanks dad... for bringing us here!".  We made our way into the park at about 6:00pm and Andrew was so very giddy.  I was afraid the kids might not feel the "magic" being dark and all, but no, the second Andi saw that castle, the joy was overwhelming.

When we took Jackson for his third birthday (Ha, let's pretend this trip was for Andi's 3rd and Ry's 4th... and why not, Cole's 1st birthday!) we decided that the next time we came back, we would go straight to Mickey's Toon Town.  Our first stop was Mickey's house.  Jackson wasn't too familiar with the Disney characters last time but it was so much more fun this time around having three kids familiar with the characters and everything else.

Ryan wasn't too thrilled to meet Mickey; he didn't want to hold his hand.  Andi on the other hand was beyond thrilled - I think you can see that in her body language!

From there we took the kids to the large roller coaster in Toon Town.  We thought Jackson would be excited - uh, nope.  He was crying off and on in line and we told him he didn't have to ride.  I stood in line with them so I could take off any kid that freaked out.  Jackson and Cole went across with me while Andi, Ryan and Andrew loaded up.

Once Jackson saw them all in there, he decided he wanted to ride with Andrew.  Can you believe our three year old's went in front!?!?

Andi's smile didn't last long.... Andrew heard crying on the ride but wasn't sure who it was.  Of course the assumption was Ryan, but nope, not this time.

Haha, don't worry, she recovered quickly. 

By now it was nearing 7pm and we knew we had to feed them.  We left the house in such a rush that we didn't even bother to feed them after naps.  $18 dollars later, we had two pizzas to share.  The good news is the pizza was actually tasty.  The kids ate and then continued to play in Toon Town.

The other ride we went on in Toon Town, is it Rager Rabbit??, I don't know - anyway, they all enjoyed it so much they were then dying to go on any ride we came across.  Cole was so into it all which was nice considering his bed time had come and gone.

The timing of it all was fabulous because as we were making our way out, they were starting to shut the gates.  Whew!

It's A Small World - always thought it was lame... until now.  Ryan said it was his favorite, Jackson said it was awesome, Andi's face said she loved it.  They loved seeing Nemo and Arial, and a different Ito.  And despite how late it was and how tired Cole was, he loved it.

The kids wanted to go on the "caterpillar" ride and so they got in line and Cole and I went to get our spot for the fireworks.  Once I heard they were cancelled for the night, we headed back over and we were able to see them load up into the green one!

Andi had to pee after this ride and so I got in line for the tea cups with the other three.  Luckily Andrew came back just in time to give me Andi and to take Cole.

9:00pm we decided to start heading back.  Cole was very sleepy and wanted to be held and we knew the others would soon follow suit.  On our way out we grabbed some hot chocolate and cotton candy.  Andi was so delirious by the point, she was hysterically laughing at the cotton candy.  Cole fell asleep and transferred into the stroller.  Downtown was still buzzing so we took our time.

But then, the fun came to an abrupt ending.  I carried a whining Andi, Andrew pushed a whining Jackson and we made our long journey to the car.  We did PJ's and some cried more than others but once we were in the car cruising out of the parking lot, 3 out of the 4 knocked out.  Jackson noticed this and observed but after getting gas and hoping onto the freeway, he joined the others.

Andi was so tired she didn't even notice her seat had shifted during the drive home.  We were beat but so very grateful for this serendipitous trip to Disneyland.  Next time we'll have to go in the daylight and with grandpa grandpa and grandma shopping because they were dying missing out.  We can't thank you enough, Wise Family!

"What was your favorite thing about Disneyland?"

J: Everything!

R: The pink, soft, candy (cotton candy)

A: The rollercoaster (I guess she forgot she was freaked?  Can we say, "childbirth")

C: (my guess based off his reactions) the lights, the people, the rides... everything