First Quarter Break!

I don't know why it is not a mandatory rule that all school districts have some type of break at the end of each quarter of school.  For students, it is a great way to regroup and prepare for the next quarter.  For teachers, it is a necessary time to regroup so that we don't enter a mental facility at the end of the year.  It's a win-win really and more school districts should adopt this model.  (Say all teachers everywhere)

The first part of our two week break we headed to Disneyland.  I know...shocker.  My husband was especially a Bitter Betty this entire trip because our passes expired on our last day and we aren't going back for a while.  Every once I put my foot down and make a request for an actual vacation that I don't have to wait in a line...unless it's at the swim up bar, then I am a little more understanding and patient.  So next year we venture back to a big kids vacation and I couldn't be more excited. 

Same smiles, just one year later!!

Snow-Bros.  Love this picture!!!

Teacher and former student pic!  :)

This is Halloween!  This is Halloween!!!!

These two!  I love that she just walks up and grabs his hand and never gives him a reason not to.  When she was young she used to crawl up into his lap and just sit there.  I loved it!

Did someone say poolside bar?  Oh, okay.  Because the weather was HORRIFICALLY HOT, we spent most afternoons at the pool.  The first day was here at the Locke's hotel.  Very fun water slides and the kids had a blast. And the drinks were tasty. 

Lynn and Diana.  I love this lady!  She went on every ride!!!!  The ones I was complaining about going on, she was sitting next to me not saying a word.  She said, "I can't have my grandkids thinking I can't go on these rides."  Hilarious!!!!

Oh yeah....here's Bitter Betty.

 

 The bet payoff.

Poolside the next day at our hotel.  I could have slept for hours out here.

Last day with the Locke's on Radiator Springs.  That poor guy in the back!

We got the photo pass again this year. When I get the CD, I'll share ride pictures...those are more entertaining!

Last lunch together.  So much fun and such a great trip again!!!!

After we said goodbye to the Locke Family, we went back to our hotel and slept for three hours.  They had to be just as tired as we were.  That night when we headed back to the park and just walked around.  FYI...in the third cozy cone in Cars Land, they sell high octane drinks.  Just sayin'.

UGH....Turkey leg. 

For Aunt Noelle.

Teddy and Bear's Trick of Treat bucket.

Fifteen minutes out of Anaheim. 

After we got home, we had two days to regroup, do laundry and pack for Tahoe. 

It was a Mom and boys trip to Tahoe!  Not going to lie...driving to Tahoe at night with this kid as my co-pilot was hilarious and fun.  He was schooled on when it was appropriate to use high beam lights, when to pass in the passing lane, who should be in the right lane at all times (as he yelled that at truckers all night), and why his mother should work on being a more patient driver.  Ryan helped too...keeping us entertained by singing and requesting songs.

Other than my Ryan, those are all former students.  How weird do you think it was for them to see their teacher walk around in her pajamas?!?!  It was a mom and kids only weekend, so they did their part to stay as far away from us as possible.  Hopefully that helped!

Some serious horseshoe games going on.

And to end our last night of vacation, we headed to the Gallo Center to watch Spank---A Fifty Shades of Grey parody.  Absolutely hysterical!!

 On to the second quarter!  Next break is Christmas and it will be here before we know it.  I can't wait!

Sports and School catch up!

 

So, catching up on the happenings in Casa de Marini.  We are still knee deep in sports.  Just to catch you up, we have two kids and currently they are participating on three different teams.   To say I am looking forward to having my Saturdays back is an understatement.  I miss our weekend trips to Tahoe or Carmel or outlet malls.  They are nonexistent at the moment and I will welcome them back with a vengeance soon.  And right when I get all giddy and excited, basketball season starts and the cycle starts again. 

 

Biggest soccer field ever!  It's hard to watch the amount of acreage that needs to be covered during the length of the  game.  Matt is a fullback, so he is pleased that his area is a limited space.  However, playing at night under the lights is fun to watch!

And it was Take Your Teacher To The Game Night!  Or, he just begged her to come watch.  She is an actual soccer player and it was necessary to explain to her that going into this game with any expectations was just setting herself up for disappointment.  Matt's team...they are such sweet boys...stinks.  Like, they are on game number 8, and they have scored 1 goal.  Just one.  And when that ONE GOAL was scored, our cheering section basically exploded as if we were in Brazil at the World Cup.  The kid who scored kicked it from the "30" yard line and it wasn't actually a shot, it was just a shot to move the ball up the field and he got lucky it lined up with the goal and went over the goalie's head.  That's the only goal so far.  Last week we scored our second.  Again, crowd went insanely wild, to only have it taken away due to off-sides.  So now any time we get anywhere near the "40" yard line, we all just start yelling SHOOT THE BALL!!!!!!!!!  We have had about five shots on goal all year.  Painful.  Just painful to watch sometimes.

Mrs. Leach and Matt. 

Ryan's flag football team.  Go Bengals!!  (He's the one with the bright yellow shoes off to the right)

Ryan was so pleased last Saturday because he was able to play goalie.  He loves playing goalie!  But, he loves winning more.  One of the first games of the season his team was down like 0-3 and they put him in at goalie when he came into the game.  He lasted about five minutes before he called the coach over and said..."Get me out of here."  He then proceeded to score three goals, tying up the game before the end.  Last Saturday, when his team had a good lead, he headed back to the goal and loved every bit of it. 

End of the first quarter awards!  Ryan got a Lifeskill Award for Responsibility.   He was so proud, as were we.  And again, hope these character traits make an appearance at home sometime soon!

 

Matt's award for High Honors. 

I absolutely adore this group of kids! They run up to me daily and throw themselves at me for a hug.  I have known most of them since their first day of kindergarten and what will I do when they aren't on campus anymore next year?!?!?

And listen....we (meaning you and I) are going to begin a campaign for a new camera.  Are you feeling like this pictures should be MUCH CLOSER so you can actually tell what is happening???  I am doing the best I can people!  My only tool right now is my phone.  And clearly it's not cutting it anymore.  So, I have started the campaign.  And you know this takes time, people.  There's research.  There's comparison from fifteen different websites.  There's purchase anxiety because he believes the minute he hits the "Buy" button, it will be found on some other website for 7% cheaper, which is the equivalent of the internet cheating on him.  All of this takes time, people.  I have thrown the gauntlet and challenged him to a Christmas purchase.  I even included my birthday in that as well to make it sound more appealing to him, "one gift for two occasions".  I am actually doing him a favor, right?  So, join me.  Explain that the quality of pictures that have appeared on this blog have decreased to an embarrassing degree and unless you have a magnifying glass next to the screen, you are just guessing at what our kids look like now.  And they're cute...so you are missing out.

Wildcats

Road Trip Sunday!!!

On Sunday, my besties and I headed back to our old stomping ground...Chico, California.  Now, we didn't go to school together, in fact we were all there at separate times, but the one thing we had in common was our food and drink places.  So on our little trip down memory lane, we decided to do a food and drink crawl to commemorate one of the best times of our life.  We had planned this trip around going to the BMU (bookstore) to get shirts for college day at school because every Tuesday we have to wear college wear at school, so we used that as an excuse to go.  Say it with me....business trip.

What started out being a "business trip", soon turned into "Heather needs to forget about the email she read from a parent on Friday night" trip.   It was ugly.  U-G-L-Y.  I guess that's the plus side of contacting your child's teacher over email is not having to rant and make accusations to their face.   You can simply do all of that from the comfort of your home and not deal with the implications of your words.  Sooooo, with that being said...Sunday's agenda changed for me in a good way...toasting the day away with friends who will tell me off to my face if they needed to.

Matthew said to me before I left..."You going to that Chico University?"  He's ten.  He's cute.  He'll learn the university/state school logistics later.  But I quickly corrected him and explained the correct pronunciation of the college.  He wanted pictures of a college campus that wasn't UOP and I was happy to oblige.

Our first order of business was lunch.  Back when I was living dollar to dollar, dinner out was a splurge!!!  And this was the place I usually saved my money for.  Madison Bear Garden.  AKA...The Bear.  The chef salad used to be $5.95, which hello...was five times the cost of top ramen, making this the equivalent of steak to me.  On Sunday I paid $9.99.  My first thought was...who can afford this???  And then I proceeded to watch the four girls in front of my pay by Visa or American Express.  I felt so old.

Heaven in a bowl.

Business trip complete.  Now truth....I am a teacher on a teacher salary, so I waited until we went to Wal-mart and got two shirts for the price of one.  This just confirms I have been living with my husband for way too long.   

And the apartment.  University Village.  I so wanted to run up the stairs and knock on the door and ask to look around, but then I would have been one of those people and so I got back in the car, settling for a stalker picture. 

Food stop number 2.  Jon and Bon's.  Quite possibly the best frozen yogurt ever.

A drive through Kelly's old apartment complex.  The funniest part of the day was driving through town listening to Kelly and Lynn name all the different places they have lived.  I believe we learned that Lynn lived in SIX different places in TWO years.  Really, I have never laughed so hard turning on all these random streets and someone saying I lived down here on the corner.

Gone are the days where random volleyball games are started with shirtless boys running around.  That's all.  Just that little observation.

On to the good stuff.  Operation: What Email?

Best. Bar. In. Chico.

Confession time....we spent the most time here.  We had no place to be and it was happy hour.  When you can get a "tea" for $3.00, you sit down and stay a while.  And let me say that I don't condone drinking in the middle of the day...ever.  I believe there are twelve step programs that target that exact problem.  However, I made an exception.  A big one.

Toasting time.

MGC.

See that drink right there in front?  The rootbeer tea?  That one had a name attached to it. 

 

 

 

Remember that time we drank during the day and forgot we were middle-aged women with children?

 

And finally...dinner.  Hula's.  Was not leaving town without coming here.

I miss this place and wish we had one close by!

 

 

What a fabulous day.  Much needed break time and these ladies know how to make me laugh, period!  Perfect day.