School's IN

This was the first week of school and as a tradition that I started when Damien was probably in the 3rd grade (once his brothers started sleeping through the night and I wasn't so tired) I make a yummy breakfast which usually consists of pancakes, eggs and bacon. This year I added blueberries to the pancakes, which were a HIT! Since it was Dad's first week back too, he wanted in on the action too, so I woke up EXTRA early for him. To Damien's dismay, I took a picture of him eating his first day of school breakfast...silly Mom :) In the past, for fun, I would carve an H into the pancake standing for Heaton (the school Damien goes to). This year I forgot...oh well, he didn't seem to mind. So from here on out it is cereal and milk, or breakfast at school.



And here's the big 6th Grader Class of 2017



Then, FINALLY Thursday rolled around and it was First Day of School take two....and not just cause I have twins :) So today was an extra treat for Max and Jesse cause Dad took some time off of work to see Max and Jesse off on their first day. In case you are wondering where a picture of Jesse in the classroom is, well, I didn't want to take a picture of him pouting in the corner. I wasn't mad, just know sometimes it takes Jesse some time to get used to new situations and people, especially large groups. Max washed his hands and sat right down and grabbed a book to read, while Jesse was uncertain of this whole thing. After a few minutes of him sitting off to the side, I said to him, "Why don't you go sit next to Max." He looked and found his safety. So for now, looks like it might be a good thing for them to be in the same class. Glad he didn't cause a scene. Next it was time to see who was there, and the teacher would hold up a strip of paper with a name on it, she would spell it out and hopefully the kids would recognize their name. First name up, was Max, he looked at the strip, then down at his name tag, and smiled, realizing it was HIS name. Then a few names later the teacher held up Jesse's name, took him a bit longer to realize it was his. Then after that, Dad and I left. Took Dad to work, and I went shopping...IN PEACE!!!!




And here are the big Pre-schoolers Class of 2024



So, for the record, Sunday night I had my mommy moment. Thankfully I had a caring husband who let me unload on him. He listened as I cried, and talked about my boys growing up, all between breaks in tears. I don't know if other Moms out there are like me and can't wait until their little ones grow up and move on to new things and then go and cry about it, well I am one of them. No more diapers, toddlers, park trips in the morning, burping babies, naptimes etc...etc... This, IS a good thing, and as a teacher and Mom, I am excited about all the things they will be learning, me running errands without help, and going to the Temple to name a few. However, they are "out in the world" now, where everything good we are teaching them at home really comes in to play. And hopefully soon Jesse and Max will learn that they have to CLOSE the bathroom door when they use the Preschool bathroom. During hand washing time, I saw another Mom come out and close the door, and I knew it was because one of MY boys just dropped their pants to go pee. And for the first time ever, I was able to WALK to my child's school to pick them up. Every year Damien's school is always far away, so I walked to pick them up, and they were a little shocked that I didn't have the car. Seeing that our neighborhood is off a busy street this was a BIG test, and I really didn't want to show up to Preschool with a stroller, even though they still ride in one so I can keep track of them in public places. So, Max cried all the way home, and thankfully Jesse took this new experience in stride and walked ahead of us. 10 minutes later we were home. They tried to tell me about some of the things they did, but the only things I gathered were playing outside, and eating. Two things these two love to do. And playing with toys was the first thing Max asked about when we got to Preschool, and I told him he was going to have to wait and see what the teacher says. Well, I am excited about all the new opprotunities this brings, field trips, volunteering in their classroom, watching them learn and being excited for them as they master a concept. So stay tuned for me bragging about my SCHOOL AGE children :)

Summer 2010...In review

Well, Summer 2010 is coming to an end and last night Michael and I were listing all the fun things that we have been able to do as a family and I thought for the record I would list them here.

1. Island Waterpark - having seasons passes was a great investment, lots of good memories, especially Damien conquering all of his fears by going on "scary" waterslides, and sometimes it would be AFTER his brothers went on it themselves. We had fun staying until the last possible moment going on new "favorites", and leaving after only a few hours and it not being a waste of money. However, I do not like the sunblock routine, and getting everyone ready, and loading up some food to take BLAH! If we could fast forward past all that, it would be awesome, nevertheless that is part of the whole experience...RIGHT?
2. Millerton Lake
3. Pismo Beach
4. Library trips - My favorite were the ones where the kids were rewarded pizza coupons for reading. Loved eating yummy pizza with my boys.
5. Bike rides
6. Free Summer movies - The last one we went to was Cliffords' Big Movie and the boys LOVED it.
7. Trips to Oso de Oro park
8. Picking tomatoes from our garden - the boys ask to do this A LOT.
9. Watching fireworks from Buchanan and then coming home and doing our own
10. First trip to a Home Depot Kids Workshop
11. Michelle and her family came to visit! Lots of good times with them.
12. My Hubby's experimenting on the Bar B Q! We've had yummy chicken, tri tip, hot dogs, even pork. He loves trying out new seasonings and tasting the final product after it grills and mingles with the mesquite smoke. And to top off the delicousness we have corn on the cob and my chunky potato salad.
13. Max and Jesse completed two weeks of swimming lessons. They've come a long way in the water. Now they are little fishes. They can jump in, and aren't afraid to put their faces in the water. This has really helped at the Island Waterpark. They love to go on the bigger waterslides with a pool at the end, and they don't freak out, they kick their legs all the way to the steps. They do have assistance of a lifejacket, we aren't THAT proficent yet.
14. And in the midst of it all, I've scored some great deals too :)

How truly blessed both Michael and I feel to have done the things we have done this summer. So many good memories. August brings a new school year and semester in our home, then my birthday, then Halloween, Thanksgiving, then our party month... December. Yikes!

Can we fix it....Yes...we...CAN!!

So after years of waiting...waiting for the boys to be old enough, I finally took them to a Home Depot Kids Workshop. This is where kids can build a selected project, take home an offical Home Depot apron, plus a pin to put on the apron showing completion of said project. I took Damien to a few of these when he was younger so I was excited to enter this new phase as they are getting to be so big and sometimes mature. Special thanks to Dad for coming, or I would have royaly messed up everyone's school bus pencil holders, and bent all the nails. Damien was able to build his all by himself! Quite a contrast from the last time I took him and I was building his project, oh how did we do it?! 25 min. later 3 completed projects and no meltdowns, hurray!! These are of course free, and once a month. So stay tuned for some more Mejias building adventures in the future.

Who's your Hero?

Thanks to a generous friend from Mike's work we got a bag full of clothes for the boys to grow into plus this Incredible's costume that fit perfectly. So we looked through our stash, teamed our forces and this is what we got. For clarification purposes Max is Supermax and Jesse is Mr. Incredible.

Lake Fun

Today our family headed over to Millerton Lake for the first time as a family, and for me, the first time in my 30 years of living in Fresno! Yes I know, crazy! The weather was in the upper 90's, so not too bad for Central Cali. This was an Elder's Quorum activity so we had access to two boats and toys, this was an added bonus, since we don't own a boat. So, Max, Jesse and Michael headed out on one of the boats right after lunch and I stayed behind due to 1. the boat was full and 2. I didn't think my stomach could handle the waves. Max and Jesse strapped on some life jackets and Michael hopped on to a floatation device/water toy for a ride. He had a blast, even Max and Jesse gave it a try. They came back with big smiles on their faces, then headed out a little while later on the second boat, and this time I went, ***CAUTION** those with squimish stomaches should not read this part, so after a few rocks of the boat, swirves for the enjoyment of those who were trailing in the water, I got nauseous and I tossed my lunch over the side of the boat and fed the fish in Millerton Lake. ** SAFE TO READ** It's probably safe to say that there are no cruises in my future unless I am heavily sedated or covered in anti-nausea patches :) We stayed longer than any of us planned, but all had fun, even me. I enjoy getting out with the family, where we all have fun, and today we got to try new things thanks to some nice people in our ward. We told ourselves we need to do this again. Here are some pics from our day on the lake.

Pioneer Spirit

Today was Pioneer Day for our Stake and the kids had fun doing all of the various activities. There was cotton candy, Max and Jesse had some for the first time, a dunk tank (Max and Jesse both got to try to dunk Damien and they succeeded), there was kettle corn, a yummy pancake breakfast, and waterslides. All three participated in the parade. Thanks to some research my family has done, I was able to include a little bit of family history info. on our entry to the Primary Children's parade. It was so neat to read about my family's history and that I had ancestors that were pioneers and traveled to the Salt Lake Valley. Another of my ancestors on my mother's side Daniel Garn, was an amazing man, while reading through some of the history about him I found out that he was one of the first to be baptized into the Church in the year 1830. He was baptized by Hyrum Smith and confirmed by Peter Whitmer. Some of the other things I learned was that he was a warden of the Utah State Territorial Penitentiary (must have been a tough guy, but had a strong testimony), opened the first Mormon Church in Hamburg, Germany, lead 484 emigrants, and converts across the plains to Utah, he was married and sealed by Brigham Young, and served for a time as Joseph Smith's bodyguard. Soo amazing! His story as well as the many unwritten stories of my ancestors. So today we celebrated our heritage, and what a wonderful one we have, I look forward to meeting these courageous individuals some day. Wonder what my posterity will say about me?

Here's Michael and I in the photo booth that they had at Pioneer day. I think the pics came out good. Michael said while looking at the pictures, "We adore eachother." I think so :)

Damien was barefoot in the parade, like some Pioneers probably were along the trail. 20 minutes later.....Cotton Candy Here's Damien and Jesse on the very WILD waterslide

Here is Max and Jesse having fun trying to dunk their big brother

Couponing Bliss

So, by request I am posting one of my latest couponing adventures. Today I headed over to Vons for their cereal promo. This is always a great time to stock up. With careful planning and the assistance of some wonderful couponing blogs, I printed some coupons, loaded my e-coupons to my Vons card and awaited my super savings. And I was not disappointed! Before coupons and a $1.50 catalina I got from my 1st transaction, this would have all cost over $30, I got it all for $4!! What is cool about saving money at Vons is that you don't see the sale prices and e-coupons until you swipe your Vons card, so with one swipe you get to watch the total dwindle right before your eyes. I know, I am crazy :) Just the almond extract alone was $2.49! Oh, and to clarify there are two boxes of Cheerios :)