A New Beginning

I am beginning a journey, that I cautiously hope turns out well.  Everyone has heard 'forgive and forget', and how bad it is to carry a grudge.  Now, I'm a pretty good grudge carrier, and feeling very 'once bitten, twice shy'.  However, I am also hoping that what I am trying to salvage was true, and that in the long run, I will look back at it as a bump in the road.  Maybe I'm just a sucker.  I almost always look for the best in people, and never think of the bad stuff first.  I hope that doesn't come back to bite me.  Only time will tell, and I really hope they work out positively.  Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me.  So here goes, wish me luck!

Jr. High all over again!

I had the pleasure of joining Janelle on her 8th Grade trip to Sacramento and San Francisco!  It was exhausting, and a ton of fun.  It was great getting to spend that time with her, she is growing up so fast.  We were kept very busy the entire 4 days, and I really enjoyed it.  All the chaperones got along splendidly, and I think we found every Starbucks in the Bay Area.  Can't believe she graduates Elementary School in a week and a half!  Here are some highlights of our trip!

Oh yeah!  We both went on the Screamer at Scandia in Sacramento!

At the Hysterical Walk of the Dead in Old Sacramento.

Janelle and her buddy Sasha.

The Giants game was a highlight!

Janelle really enjoyed the ballpark.

Ice Skating in San Mateo.

We walked the Golden Gate on the last day.



That barely shows everything we did.  The Jelly Belly Factory, the Exploratorium and the California Academy of Sciences were awesome too.  So glad I got to go!

Emma's Ballet Class

This last week was one of the Parent Observation days at Emma's dance academy.  It's always exciting to see what new things they've learned, and to wish I were as flexible as she is!  Here are some of her amazing feats!  The lighting was bad, so sorry the pictures aren't fantastic.

Makes me hurt just watching!

The "Torture Chamber"

Oh no!!!

So right after prom, Andrea started not feeling well.  She ran a fever on Sunday & Monday, so she stayed home from school.  Tuesday she felt better, and no fever, so she went to school.  Wednesday she is completely MISERABLE as soon as she gets up, so I take her to the doctor that afternoon.  One look at her and the doctor says she has strep throat.  UGH!!!  So we started antibiotics that day.  David & I went out of town for Friday and Saturday, and when I call home on Friday night, my mom says she thinks Andrea is worse and should go back to the doctor.  She took her in Saturday morning, and they said she has mono!  Oh man!

Mononucleosis

Of course, this is the weekend she is confirmed into the Catholic Church.  A big deal, so say the least!  She rested and rested to be ready for those two hours on Sunday.  She got up this morning proclaiming to be feeling better, but I thought she was still pretty pale.  Let's not push it!  She got dressed, and looking very pretty, off we went to church.

Andrea and her sponsor/Godmother Tammy.

We were halfway through the service, and Andrea, her classmates and their sponsors were sitting towards the front of the church.  I took a peek at at her and noticed she had turned a horrid shade of grey!  I just knew she was going to faint.  Luckily, Tammy knew she wasn't feeling well, and was right next to her.  She grabbed her and made her sit down.  Tammy got Andrea to get her head down, and that seemed to do the trick.  David checked on her a few minutes later, and she was still really pale, but wasn't seeing spots anymore.  Yikes!  Made me realize if that's what an hour and a half of church did to her, imagine a day of school!  So much to her dismay, she will NOT being going to school tomorrow.  She goes back to the doctor on Tuesday for a blood test, and we'll get a doctor's note for the school.  Guess who's not doing P.E. for the rest of the school year?

Andrea and the Bishop

Thanks to Grandma, Papa, and Auntie Leslie for the yummy lunch, and for taking care of the cake!

Prom

Andrea had her first high school prom on Saturday the 14th of May.  She really enjoyed getting dressed up and going out with her friends.  They rented a limo, had a yummy dinner, then danced the night away!  Here are some highlights!

Getting ready at Grandma's

 

Andrea and Walter

The back of her dress

Janelle and her buddy Sadie had a good time taking pictures of their sisters.

Taking a break under the HUGE tree.

Receiving her beautiful corsage.

Cute couple

The whole gang.

Into the limo!  Can you PLEASE stop taking pictures now?

Dinner at Babetta's.

They had a great time!

A long night

Poor Emma had a nosebleed at 2:30am last night.  David & I were both woken up, though he was very kind and was the one that got up with her.  He got it stopped, and her all cleaned up.  Luckily, it wasn't a very bad one.  Trying to fall back asleep afterwards proved much easier for her than for us.  It actually took me several hours to get back to sleep, and I felt HORRID this morning.  David & I dragged ourselves through the day, and I foresee an earlier bedtime for us tonight!  I'm glad Emma had an easier time going back to sleep!

She did have another minor nosebleed today at school, but we were prepared for that.  I was having flashbacks to a year ago, when she had seven nosebleeds in 24 hours.  NOT fun!  Hopefully tonight will be less eventful!

SIX FLAGS!!!!!

We wanted to get away during Spring Break, at least for a few days.  Preferably warm, and not too much driving.  We decided to head to Santa Rosa, where we had a great visit and BBQ with my cousins.  We stayed at their house, which was super fun as our kids all got to spend some time together!  The next day we stole my niece Madison, and headed to Vallejo!  The girls had been counting down the days, and we were all very excited!

We arrived about 10am and caught the tram heading into the park.  It was a beautiful, sunny day!

On the tram!

 As soon as we got through the gate, we made plans to meet up at the first show, and off went the teenagers to the roller coasters, while David and I took Emma to scout out the animals and find the Butterfly House.  Emma loves butterflies, and that's what she was most looking forward to.  We ended up going through it twice!

A just hatched butterfly dries its wings in the chrysalis box.



This butterfly was as big as a bird, and landed on Emma's shoulder!



So many colorful butterflies!

OMG!!!  A butterfly is ON MY FINGER!

Next, we met up with the big kids and watched the Pirate themed sea lion show.  Very entertaining!

Next, we went to the whale show, where we met Shouka, the Orca.  We made the older kids sit in the Splash Zone, and they were drenched by the splashing whale.  We had a good laugh at their expense, but really, how many times do you have the opportunity to be splashed by a whale???

Madison, Janelle, and Andrea - all wet!

Next, we went to the bird show.  The talking birds were a lot of fun, and the vultures and bigger birds were interesting!

The big kids went off to ride more roller coasters, and Emma got the chance to ride a few herself!  She went all through the kid area, and actually rode a pretty big roller coaster!

This slide was super tall & I was shocked she went down!

A refreshing stop at the fountains!

We had a few more shows to catch!  The tigers were tough to photograph because of the chain link fence, but the dolphins were awesome!

The girls then took a turn with Emma so David and I could try a coaster before the park closed.  With both enjoy roller coasters, so we chose to ride Medusa, and a classic wooden coaster, Roar.  Both were exhilarating!!!

Medusa

Roar!

We had a fantastic time, and the kids LOVED Six Flags.  I highly recommend it to any family looking for something fun that isn't too far away.  Pack your lunch though, the food is pricey!!!!!  I think we'd like to go back again sometime!