Karate!

April brought a Karate tournament and testing for the next rank.  The kids have been in karate for about a year now, through Moutain Warrior Academy of Martial Arts.  They are learning Okinawan karate.  We LOVE the teachers and the experience.  At the tournament they perform a kata, and spar.

Ady placed second in kata.
Caiden placed third in sparring.
Adyson placed 1st in sparring and also earned a gold as grand division champion in sparring.
Great day of accomplishments!

The next week was testing in class.  They both earned the rank of yellow belt with 2 blue stripes.  Congratulations to my hardworking kiddos!

Family Vacation in San Diego

March began with a much anticipated family vacation to San Diego, CA.  We chose to fly (after I found pretty good deals out of Medford, way back in October!)  Ady liked watching the activity on the ground while we waited for our plane.

 Our First day there, we took the kids to the beach for a couple of hours and watched them run in and out of the waves.  Then they got all the way in and rolled around in sand, and played with the forces of motion.

 I finally went down to pose for a picture as proof that I was there, of course THAT was when a large wave came and we got very wet...I guess the ocean doesn't care about posterity.

Randy and Missy came down and stayed with us for a couple of days.  Randy was kind enough to play legos with the kids...Thanks!  They also joined us at the Zoo for a very full day of walking in the beautiful San Diego weather and seeing TONS of great animals.  There was also a fair amount of basketball hoops shot and a bit of "schooling" in the game of horse.  I think the kids will remember their time with Randy and Missy in San Diego.

 Ady got picked to volunteer in the Sea Lion Show, she was definitely Excited!  She got to pet and feed him.

 And then....She got kisses, whisker tickles.....Great Event!  She loved it!

 Another day at the beach, unfortunately, the sunshine didn't cooperate with us.  It was much cooler this day, but Caiden was a trooper.  We borrowed boogie boards at the front desk for the kids.  Caiden loved this activity, the biggest disappointment was that it was too cold for the rest of us to join in!  We did manage to get sunburned this day though...go figure!

Legoland.  Caiden had been looking forward to this ever since we planned the trip.  The kids enjoyed the day, it is definitely NOT disneyland, but also is nice and NOT crowded.  The lego creations are fun to look at and there were a couple of rides that were entertaining.  It was a relaxing day, and walking distance from where we were staying.

Our last meal out for the vacation, before heading to the airport and home.  We ate on the patio and were served huge servings....it was SO delicious though!  A great way to end our stay!!

Happy Birthday ToPapa

Happy 69 to my Dad!  Mom made a delicious Ice Cream cake, so we travelled over the hill to spend the afternoon with the old guy.

This and That in January

Ady is a good saver of money. She has a bank account and tries to make deposits a couple of times a year.  Daddy offered to "match" her in purchasing a kindle fire. She jumped on the chance and we ordered it that night!  She is loving the digital books as well as the games and netflix access. It is one item I can usually count on her knowing where it is. (practically a miracle around here!)

My kiddos love to draw, and it is good for them to try out different styles and methods. We have a pile of drawing books and occasionally I get other art books from the library.  They each set up their own space today and spent an hour or so being artists.

This is our huge timeline for world history. We aren't as diligent about putting dates on it as we should be, so when we do pull it out, we put LOTS of dates in.  Kids are doing some of it, which is great for them to figure out where on the line it goes, plus you can't help but review other dates and events while you plug in new ones. This is a great activity, just wish we pulled it out more often!

 This is a common pose in the evening.  Kevin relaxing, Ady or Caiden playing games on the computer, and vicar, everyone's best friend, nearby.

A friend of my Mother in law gave me several bags of yarn from her stash.  Now I have a large stash!  My first project was a fuzzy lavender cowl.  My current project is a scrappy shawl.  The cat got pretty excited as I sorted the skeins into color groups, I'm pretty sure she was hoping they would all stay and be her friends.  Silly Princess!

Caiden loves to go birding. He has been pestering us to take him to the refuge. So, on a Sunday afternoon I finally gave.  He and I took a drive around the basin, Eagles were abundant in the refuge. We even got to see a pair eating a fish up on their perch.  Here is Caiden trying to get close enough for a good picture with the new camera.

Owl Pellet Dissection

Biology this year.  Owl Pellet dissection it is! The kids and dad gathered pellets from barn owls, from...down at the barn.  I sterilized them in the oven, then the next day...dissection.  If you aren't sure what a pellet is, it is the bones and fur that cannot be digested by the bird, and is spit back up in a pellet.  We are dissecting them to see what the bird ate recently.

 They did smell a bit, but that didn't deter my young scientists. The project is quite interesting. Caiden has the largest bone...the top of a skull. ewww.

 After a night of soaking in a peroxide solution, we dried the bones and they matched them to a chart (I found online) to categorize the bones and determine what animals were eaten.

Thanksgiving at the coast

Thanksgiving at the coast. A two night stay at the Casino and yummy yummy buffet for the Holiday meal.  An afternoon climb up the dunes before heading off to Shore Acres for a beautiful light display.  I LOVE celebrating Thanksgiving this way!

This is also the trip that my parents joined us over there, and unfortunately for them, agreed to adjoining rooms with us.  SOMEONE short sheeted their bed!

Visiting the Steiners

November gave us an overnighter to Manton, CA to visit Pastor Mike and Gayle.  In the morning, Ady helped feed the pet cows.

Then we went for a walk on the flumes, and spelunking in an almost hidden cave.

The gate, that is closed off...what's a hiker to do?  Swing like a monkey of course!  off to the left, with the help of Mike and Kevin, everyone made it, and NO ONE looked down!

 Gayle and I didn't go in. We sat outside and had a nice chat. Unfortunately, some not so nice folks have put graffiti here, I never understand the point of this kind of marking in the middle of natural space. so sad.

Everyone came out muddy and little wet from belly crawling at the bottom.