Lucky

I just got back from visiting my parents in Las Vegas. We had a lot of fun. I was down to my last $20 in gambling money and was feeling sad that I couldn't play any more after that money was gone. I was playing nickel poker next to my mom. She switched to dimes and so did I just for fun. ( I usually play quarters but was trying to be conservative.) I was asking how much a royal flush pays on that machine and was jabbering about how I had only had 1 royal flush in my whole life and yada yada... I got dealt the king and queen of hearts and held them and I pushed the button not expecting it and the other 3 cards jumped in there and VIOLA, a royal flush. I won $400. I was so happy. The lady next to me said, " I just heard you talking about how you've only had 1 royal in your whole life and now you've got 2... Congrats!" I was very excited. I really needed that since I don't get paid now until the END of September!!!

So, now the luck continues. I went to Kohl's to get some clothes for Sammie for school. I found a TON of adorable horsey clothes and they were having a sale so that was great! When I went to check out, the saleslady handed me a scratcher card to save an addtional 15%, 20% or 30% off my total purchase. Well, the clothes totalled $240 and I scratched a 15% card. I made a joke to the lady that the cards were probably all 15% right?? She handed me another card and said, try another one. I scratched it and it was a 30% off so now I saved $75.00 off my puchase! Yahoo! That was so nice of her. I got like 18 items for Sammie and now it cost me $165 instead of $240. Awesome! Thanks Kohl's. ( and nice lady) Here's some of the cute finds..

I just love this top. It has tiny little flowers and apples put together to make a horse. It totally reminds me of doodlebug embellishments ( if you are a scrapper you know what I"m talkin' about) Anyway.. I am totally going to make a scrapbook page replicating this horse!! Sammie LOVES her new clothes and can't wait to wear them.

She sure enjoys dressing up and looking cool. Here are her new "bling" sunglasses and a new "Las Vegas Rapper" look.

We went back to the Lied Children's museum. It is such a wonderful museum for kids. (and adults) We had a lot of fun visiting the different exhibits. They had a giant "operation" game this time to teach about bones and organs in the body. Sammie got chosen to participate in the chemistry show. She helped the scientist mix chemicals. Then we went to the grocery store exhibit and she played "cashier". It is adorable. There are fake foods, fruits, meats, veggies, cans, boxes, etc. and you shop and then check out. There is a real cash regsiter that makes noises and the drawer opens and fake money is inside. Fun!

Our Tuesday nights are pretty busy now. Sammie has soccer practice, then a horse lesson and then we usually head to 31 flavors for dollar scoop night. She still loves "Wild and Reckless" which is that crazy green, blue and purple ice cream on the bottom. She complimented it with rainbow sherbet which made for a very colorful cone! I loved how it looked and of course, have ice cream scrapbook paper!! Hmmmmm..

Loved this pic of Sammie and Joey. He is such a good horse. She has been taking lessons with Joey for a year now.. She is really learning some good riding skills and loves it so much. Victoria her trainer just got back from Sweden and brought her some horse stickers so she was really happy!

Check out the scrap it foward blog for a fun "blog candy" prize. There are some cool goodies from Summer CHA just waiting for a good home!

Vacation Fun

We just got back from a trip to San Diego. We had a nice time. We went to Sea World and Lego Land.

Sammie's favorite "Sea Animal"... The Anhueser Busch Clydesdales at Sea World.. That's what you go to Sea World for right?? Shamu who????

This trip was a lot of fun for Sammie because she was finally tall enough to ride the "big rides". She was only 40" tall last summer and now she is just over 42". We rode Atlantis at Sea World several times.

She had fun at Lego Land too. She rode the roller coaster and other "big kid" rides.

This is still her favorite ride though!

We volunteered through Pony Club to help in the Maternity Barn. We worked a 4.5 hour shift in the barn helping the horses and talking to people about the horses. Brad even cleaned the stalls.

Sammie and I were in the stall with the Miniature horses. Mama is "Lady" and baby is named "Princess". They were so cute until Mama got protective and kicked Sammie and then baby walked up to Sammie to nuzzle her and then bit her on the tummy! OUCH!
Brad even got a love bite from the baby horse he was taking care of. Volunteering is hard work and semi-dangerous!!


In other news, Sammie did awesome this year in her swim lessons. She learned to hold her breath under water, swim with her face down, float, and she jumped off the high dive again this year!! I was so proud of her!

At our most recent pony club meeting, Sammie learned to tie up Patches the pony, put on her halter, and lead her all by herself.

We did make it to the circus this year again. We have gone for the past few years. They have changed it and then changed it back. It was pretty good this year. ( a few years ago they made it very "show-y" instead of the traditional circus) I still can't believe how over priced it is! The concessions are more expensive than any thing else I have attended. $12.00 for cotton candy?? Unreal!!

It was fun to watch all the different acts perform.

I have been enjoying summer vacation and am sad that it is now August. Once August hits, the days go faster and faster and then reality sets in that it is time to start thinking about the upcoming school year!! I am not ready to have the "school brain" yet let alone the school schedule!!! I LOVE summer!

What happened to summer??

The last time I posted it was JUNE and now it is mid/late July and the summer is going by so quickly! I love summer! I love hanging out, having fun, going away, and keeping busy and being lazy all at the same time! We are always on the run and I love it!

Sammie started swim lessons and is enjoying it. She is doing better each time. When I took her swimming at my mom's pool, the first half hour she spent saying "Mommy, don't let go of me" and the next half hour was "Mommy, don't touch me!" She basically taught herself to swim and is now very comfortable in the water. She is working on the mechanics of swimming now. (floating, kicking, arm circles and face in the water) She is going to jump off of the high dive on the last day of class. She did it last year too!

July 4th we had a family BBQ and then went to the neighbor's house to visit and watch fireworks.

Sammie's preschool went on a field trip to the park and I was able to join them too. We had a fun day. We ate lunch there and the kids played. Guess what was her favorite thing to play on??

I cleaned and organized my scrappy stuff and although I have a LONG way to go to be done, it felt so great to make a little progress on it. :) Here are some recent pages I did. Oh and by the way, I WON the challenge on Kristin's blog. I am so excited! YEA! Thanks Kristin!

We got together with Jen and Julia and went to Tanaka farms for the watermelon tours. It was a fun trip. We rode on a tractor pulled wagon and tasted some fruits and vegetables. ( onions, corn, beans, carrots, tomatoes, watermelon). The girls each got to pick a watermelon to take home. YUMMY!

I love this pic!! Nice melons!

I got to see Duran Duran at the fair. It was so exciting! What a great concert. I used to love them back in the 80's... eeeekkk time sure flies!! They still look the same and I loved watching them play and of course, singing along!

We have been to Disneyland a few times. Sammie loves to ride Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, and the Matterhorn. We drove the Autopia cars which was fun.

We stopped to buy tickets for the circus and the animals were out front. It was really cool to see them just hanging out before the show even opened. We spent the most time at the horses and we loved this one. It is a Norwegian Fijord. ( no, I didn't know that until Sammie asked the attendant) What a beautiful animal. He has a cropped white mane with a black stripe down the center. There were several other horses there too. We also got to see the elephants, tigers and zebra.


We went to the circus on Friday night. It was a good show. Very expensive but fun to watch.

My parents were in town so we all went.

So that's my recent update of what we've been doing. I am trying to enjoy each day. Of course i have a huge list of projects to do while I'm off and I am slowly starting on that, but I always manage to find something else to do instead. ugggghh

Scrappy Fun and Happy Birthday Naomi

Here are some pages I made for scrappy challenges. This one is for a pagemaps sketch challenge on Kristin's blog.




I had fun doing this page too. This is also a pagemaps sketch challenge sponsored by Becky Fleck and My Little Shoebox, one of my favorite scrappy product lines.


There is also a new challenge on the Scrap It Forward blog. Come and play along!
Oh, and today is my doggie's birthday! Happy Birthday Naomi!


I have been super busy, enjoying my summer. Be back soon with a recap!

Blue Ribbon!

Sammie participated in the Yorba Linda Country Riders Horse Show on Sunday. She got a blue ribbon and was so proud! She rode Western in the lead line class on Snort. Snort is a Palomino horse who belongs to the daughter of a girl I teach with. Her name is Ashley. They had a blast doing the show together. Sammie is definitely hooked and was on cloud 9 all weekend. She clipped the ribbon to her clothes and didn't want to take it off. She loves horses and loves riding and it is a wonderful thing for her. We are very proud of her.

I think this is my favorite pic of the day!

Here is a picture of the "Pony Princess Party tent"!!

Here is a little peek inside to see the pony tea party.

After they have their tea, ( I mean Sprite and broccoli) all of the ponies lay down to go to sleep.

Here is a recent picture drawn by Sammie. It is her riding Joey, the horse she rides in her lessons. He is eating hay and that black bag next to him is the bag that holds his brushes.

Sammie had her Open House at the preschool. It was awesome!! Her teachers, Mrs. LynnMarie and Mrs. Vivi, did an amazing job. There was so much to see and Sammie was so proud of her work. It was great to see the progress she made from September until now. She couldn't even write her name or draw very well and now she has a much better understanding of letters and number concepts. She is definitely ready for kindergarten!!

Her teachers made a video of all the kids throughout the year and we each got a copy of it. What a treasure to have her entire preschool year on a DVD. I was able to help in her classroom this year and see some of the things they did but to see a weekly review of her preschool year and her friends and all the fun events is priceless! Thank you Mrs. LynnMarie and Mrs. Vivi for your hard work and dedication to the kids in room 3.

In other news, we raised Painted Lady Butterflies and they all hatched. We let them go and be free. Sammie enjoyed learning about life cycle and watching the tiny caterpillars hatch into butterflies.

We also saw this movie. It was very good. A little bit sad in some parts but a nice story and very cute. We really liked it and would recommend it.

I am so happy it is June. It is always so busy winding down the school year and packing up my classroom. I have been sick for a week now with a cold and then sinus infection, and am finally on the mend. I had a class play, 2 field trips, report cards, which really sucked the life out of me. I still have to pack up and move my classroom and finish off the school year. I am excited though, I will be teaching KINDERGARTEN next year. YIPPEE! It is my favorite grade.

Well, I'm off to rest up a bit. I am so excited about summer vacation starting next week. It will be a fun and busy summer. Be back soon.