Maybe we should start now?!

Jackson presented his Mission project to his class and received an A!!  Isn't that awesome!  His teacher liked it so much she WANTS TO KEEP IT!  I'm sorry, WHAT????  The plan was to reuse it again when Griffen and Avary are in 4th grade.  Now what are we going to do, make another one, maybe even two more?  I am really thinking maybe we should start now.  Work on it a little on the weekends?  It probably isn't a bad idea.  Either way we are super proud of the tears, I mean hard work that he put into getting it done in a scholarly (GATE word:)) way.

Jelly Belly Factory tour!

After all these years living in Northern California, we have never taken the Jelly Belly tour, until today!  We met our friends Matt, Blythe and their two girls there and had a great time!  We learned all sorts of cool things about candy, but the most important thing of all was that they stop production on holidays.  Yep, there was absolutely NO candy being made.  That might have been the reason we only had to stand in line for about 10 minutes.  Luckily our kids didn't even notice.  It is amazing what a few jelly belly samples can fix ;)

Production line or not, it was a lot of fun to hang out with the Deines family :)



 One of the three reasons my belly is jelly!

 Reason #2!

 And reason #3!

The wonderful Deines Family

Matt, Molly, Blythe and Emma

Be careful of what you wish for Avary Grace.....

Avary wants glasses so bad.  I was the same when I was little. 
Now look.... 

Monthly tap dance class dues + super tacky outfit + 2 1/2 minute performance = TOTALLY WORTH IT

 Avary and Caitlin!

Our living, walking, breathing Goodwill bag!

It cracks me up how I put things in the donation bag and SOME HOW they find their way out!



My homemade Valentine from Jackson

Made out of legos, of course!



Have you ever wondered what would happen if you let a 4 year old pack your socks?

Craig learned the hard way. 

And the black tip goes too......

Jackson has started karate!  He just earned his black-tip, which means he is on his way of earning his first colored belt!  He has been working very hard and is really enjoying it!

Hi-Ya!

Griffens newfound love is Karate!  He is so strong, it's a perfect fit.  He just earned his yellow belt.  We are zooper proud of him!

Mission Impossible, so I thought!

So, not growing up in California I didn't have to do the 4th grade Mission project....until now!  I must admit, I kinda enjoyed it.  I think Jackson and I both learned quite a bit.  It all started with us all driving down to Sonoma.  Craig dropped Jackson and I off at the Mission San Francisco Solano, Jacksons chosen Mission, and from there Craig, Griffen and Avary headed to the train park.  With a camera in each of our hands Jackson and I went for it!  It was neat to see what he thought would be important things to take a photo of.  I must say, he did a great job.

 There were 4th graders everywhere.  You could tell who was there doing a project :)

Drum roll please.......
Mission Complete!

 After weeks of research, and many hours of hardwork, TA-DA!!  The finished product!

 I must give credit to my dad for helping Jackson build the structure.

There was NO WAY I would have had the patience for that.

 If you look closely, you can see that Jackson had the idea to put a photo of the inside of the chapel in the mission so you could see it through the window!  That's my boy.

Craigs Birthday Celebration!

 Yep, you are reading that right!  38 years old this year!  He ages well doesn't he?