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Happy 50th Anniversary, Hope Lutheran School!

Hope Lutheran school celebrated their 50th anniversary of the school being opened. The principal, Don Simpson was the guest of honor. Mr. Simpson is in his 80's and is a sharp as ever. He was quite the talker and caught us up over the last few (ha ha) years. I graduated in 1983 as an 8th grader and had not been back since I had left. Our family went to the reunion and attended the church service the next morning. It was so strange to be sitting in the same sanctuary I worshiped in a child. That church has so much history from my baptism to my confirmation in 8th grade. The months prior, I had found many classmates recently through the internet and Facebook.
Myself, Brain Huntington & Deborah Johnson represented our class of 1983. It was fun to reconnect with everyone as well as visit and meet with new people. That was a time in my life that seemed ages ago.
While we were in Glendora we got to visit my old home on 146 North Country Club Road. The new owners has changed it quite a bit. We didn't get to see any of our old neighbors because they were not home, but it was a fun visit nonetheless.

Happy 4th of July!!

This morning started out to be a fun one for the kids. We had a parade in our little community and the kids got to parade around to patriotic music & visit & play with their friends afterwards. They also got to enjoy a red, white and blue Popsicle. Sophia was so excited to eat a Popsicle after breakfast! It has been pretty warm and muggy so this afternoon we ventured off to TARGET to keep cool as well as to get some things for our trip to Palm Springs next week. We made a little side trip to get a snack at taco bell and found a wallet in the bathroom. We turned in into the workers there right away. A lady frantically came back to look for the wallet she left in the bathroom while we were still there. She unloaded all the cash she had in the wallet and forced it on us as a thank you....we just told her to pay it forward. No reward necessary. She said she would pay it forward,... but wanted us to have the money as well. Just so glad it ended up happy for her & the kids could see how gracious & appreciative that some people are and that it is always good to do the right thing. So, all in all.....a nice 4th & now we are off to some friends for a BBQ as well as some fireworks this evening.

Last Day of 2nd grade

Joshua had a wonderful second grade year. He was in a little classroom with 22 students and an amazing new, cute, and devoted 2nd grade teacher. Mrs. Jackson was a lot of fun and the kids just adored her. What more could a little boy ask for than for a teacher that liked him just as much as he liked her? It was fun for me as well as she asked me to sub in her class when she could not be there. It was great to get to know his classmates & get to teach them.
Joshua is a very likable kid and had many friends. His very special friend is Ben Garduno. He enjoyed playing tether ball with him at recess as well as spending his lunch with him.
Joshua also spoke fondly of Lucas, James, and Erica.
The last day of school was sad, yet fun. I got to be there with them as they watched a movie and ate pizza. Mrs. Jackson wrote them all personalized cards and gave that to them along with their report cards...we will cherish the note she wrote to Joshua forever.
We are already praying for the perfect teacher for Joshua for 3rd grade. We know it is in God's hands and He has it all figured out.
On a side note, it was difficult to let go of Marissa and let her be a middle schooler. She had a great year.....but I wasn't invited to her end of the year party....well, maybe because they just don't do that anymore. LOL!! I think I'll just stay in elementary school a little while longer! Oh and in regards to Sophia...I'm just going to keep her home as long as I can. After all....she's MY BABY!!!

PandaMania VBS

The kids had a great first night at PandaMania VBS at our church. This is one of three Vacation Bible Schools that I have signed the kids up for. They always have their VBS in the evening which is nice because it is cooler.... and on the VBS nights we do not have to worry about dinner. There is a wonderful group of volunteers that makes the dinner before it starts so the kids and parents are nice and full before the festivities begin. This year Marissa is helping. She truly enjoyed it. Marissa's favorite animal is a Panda, so she is in 7th heaven with this theme.
The parents have the option to stay and attend their own bible study as well. Last night we did not stay because it was Kevin's birthday. So we decided to go out for his birthday dinner...just the two of us. What a nice treat that was. We went out for Mexican Food at Mi Guadalajara in Escondido.
Night one was a HIT! They cannot wait for 4 more!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Wishing Kevin a very Happy 43rd Birthday! We had a very nice birthday weekend complete with a picnic at the beach on Saturday and a nice family day on Sunday. It was very nice having dad's birthday fall on a weekend.
The kids were happy to have dad home to love and spoil. We put up our traditional birthday flag and sign above the garage. Birthdays around here are very festive and lots of fun!

10th Completed Project at Lowes

The kids have been enjoying working at the Lowes Build and Grow Workshops for the last 6 months. We haven't missed one workshop since January... and they are all always so excited to get their completion certificate and patch!
This also gives me a great excuse to get out my sewing machine so that I can sew on those patches. Oh, how I love to sew...however there is never anytime or space to lay it all out and just create & sew away. Their apron is getting full of their little achievements and they cannot wait to wear it to their next clinic!
So far their favorite projects have been the race car, the mother's day vase, the window birdhouse....and the pin ball machine. The kids can hardly wait to build the Tow Truck at the next clinic. I just love that even my little Sophia loves to hammer away and the BEST part for me is that they do not charge for the clinics....they are FREE!!!