It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

The holiday season has been of course CRAZY!! However, my holiday decorating is done...thanks to the Holiday House Tour. Yes that's right, I being the crazy lady that I am agreed to have my house on the Holiday House Tour which was the weekend after my last week of school. So, I was a little busy this last week. However, everything is done and over, I completed my final assignment on Friday and by Saturday my house was clean and decked out for Christmas. The house looks great. We ended up with three trees. It's kind of a funny story. We have been going to this place called Wiley's tree farm where you cut your own tree. I have to admit they are not the prettiest trees (I prefer Nobles)however, the kids have a lot of fun when we go. Mr. Wiley is very nice, he gives the kids tractor rides, hot chocolate and best of all they get to cut down their own tree. This year I wanted a noble tree because it would be prettier. Well the kids weren't having any of that, they wanted to go to Wiley's. So, we made a compromise, I would get a Noble for downstairs and they would get their Wiley tree for upstairs. Then they thought it would be fun to make their tree a John Deere tree. However, when we got the tree home it was too bushy and it had ants (yikes). So, we put clear lights on it and put it out on Sydney's balcony. Problem solved right? Wrong..they still wanted to have their John Deere tree (we couldn't put ornaments on the tree outside because of the wind). A friend gave us her old fake tree and ta-da we had three trees and everyone was happy. The John Deere tree was a big hit on the tour. I'm sure this has started a new tradition of having a "kids" tree upstairs. Aubree already has plans for a pink princess tree.

Halloween Fun

We did the usual carving of the pumpkins. Of course Aubree thought she could do it all by herself. She did most of the work except for the carving. She drived right in and cleaned it, didn't get grossed out at all. It took me a while to come up with a costume idea for Liam, since his idea was to be a center pivot (don't ask)and get this...Aubree could be his booster (it's a farming thing). Finally, I thought since Aubree was going to be "Dorothy" he could be "Scarecrow". Sydney wasn't going to dress up...you know she is too cool for that now. However, a friend of ours had a good idea that she and her cousin Brooke could be beauty pagent queens. Brooke was "Miss Beverly Ct." and Sydney was "Miss Spreckels Rd." So, that was settled. We went trick-or-treating then ended the night at our friends house for a Halloween party.

A Lot of Catching Up to Do!

Well, on Friday the 12th I completed the CalStateTEACH program and now have my teaching credential. I am already enjoying my newfound free time. So, needless to say the story of my life for the past three months has been that I have had little time to do anything other than work, take care of family, and school. Even though it is December I am posting stories and pictures as far back as our trip to Borchard Farms to get pumpkins. Jennifer and I found this place when we first moved to King City and it began sort of a little tradition for us. Borchard Farms is just outside of Salinas and they have every kind of pumpkin, gord, and squash you can imagine. This of course includes the GIANT pumpkins. The kids love it and we always have a lot of fun. This year we went during the giant pumpkin weigh off. They had a haunted house, corn maze, and jump house. Lots of fun for all.

Liam's First Soccer Game

When Liam started school this year he told me that he wanted to play soccer. Imagine my pleasant surprise when my son told me he was interested in something that did not involve tractors. So, we signed him up and practiced started last week. Well, basically I paid 25 bucks so that my kid can pick dandelions and watch the ball as it goes by. He actually has a really strong and accurate kick, however, there is one little problem. My son being just a little OCD likes to have everything just so. As long as the ball is situated just right he has no problem kicking the ball. So, you can see how this is a problem seeing as it's SOCCER and the ball is in constant motion. I know this is all very new to him, but I don't know how many more times I have to explain that he has to run AND kick the ball at the same time. The most important thing is he had fun and we got quite a laugh watching all those little guys running after the ball. I was also relieved that I wasn't the only parent that spent 25 bucks to watch their kids pick flowers. It was actually about half and half. Half the kids seemed to have an idea of what to do and the others well, let's just say they're learning. We ended up winning 2-1.

That's My Boy!!

Well, Liam is on a roll. First, he got stuck in the laundry basket on Sunday. I was doing laundry and had all the clothes and baskets out. Of course Liam was goofing off (I know hard to imagine) and he decided to have a seat in his laundry basket. I didn't see him and I kept calling him to come in my room and he never came. Then I heard him asking for help. I came out and this is what I found.

At first I thought, "Oh, he's just playing, he's not really stuck!" He was. I had to lift the basket and turn him upside down to get him out. Next, (this is good) he took a shower in my shower last night. It's kind of a privelage to take a shower in "mom's shower". Well he finished and got dressed and I was so proud of him for cleaning up, getting dressed, the whole sha-bang all by himself. This morning I got in the shower and noticed that there was a lot of hair on my razor and I thought it was strange because Will wouldn't use it but hey ya' never know. So, I didn't really think too much about it and completely forgot that Liam had been in there...until I saw his head. Yeah, that's right, he has a lovely little bald patch right in the middle of his head. Isn't it amazing how those razors just accidentally land on your head like that? At least he still has his eyebrows!!

Welcome to our new home

Our New House

After careful planning and much consideration, Will and I decided it was a good time to buy our own home (pictures are on the slide show). We wanted a four bedroom so the kids could have their own room. We looked at homes around town. Houses are way cheap right now, but it was hard to find a four bedroom in our price range. Before the housing market crashed some new housing developments were built. They were beautiful homes but back then were selling for well over 500,000. When we weren't finding any four bedrooms that worked for us, we decided (just for kicks) to check out the available houses in one of the new developments. To our surpirise the new houses were in our price range and included some four bedrooms. So, the realitor showed us around and we found one we liked. It was originally a three bedroom, but they made the loft into a fourth bedroom at no extra cost to us (they just want to sell the thing). The bonus was it was completely ready to move in and fully landscape. Will and I have come to terms with our anti-yard work attitudes. The kid's rooms are all upstairs and the master bedroom is down stairs (nice). We have a garage, which Will is determined to only put the cars in. Best of all, I have a closet!! For those of you that don't know, we converted an extra family room into a fourth bedroom at our old house. Needless to say there was never a closet built. So, I am very excited that I no longer share a closet with Liam. We moved in back in July (right in the middle of school and everything else). It was hectic, but we have a great new house. Oh, and Liam (for reasons I dare not ask) has decided that he is going to buy the available house next door. He's obsessed and even told me that he was going to get in there somehow and switch the available sign to the sold side so no one will buy it. I told him that when he grew up, finished college, and got a job maybe he could buy it someday. Well, that was not good enough because he wants to be the first person to live there. Someone came buy the other day to put a sign on the lawn and he came running downstairs and asked why was some lady putting that sign in front of his house. I guess I should hide the hacksaw. I don't want him going out there cutting the dang thing down. Don't laugh he has been known to do odd things like that!!

The First Day of School

I know, I know. It has been a while since I have last blogged. Without going into too much detail, I had a very busy summer. Not the "going on a vacation" busy either. I was in school and going to Salinas 2-3 days a week to "observe" in a fifth grade class. We moved into our new house (yeah!). That's another post coming soon with pictures. Anyway, I am on a break from school until Sept. 2. The good news is this is my last term and I will finally be fully credentialed in December. Now that I am getting back into the routine I will be (hopefully) posting more in the future. So, we had our first day of school yesterday. Liam is in first grade and Sydney is in eighth grade. It is kind of neat having Liam in the same grade level that I teach. He is not in my class but I see him on the playground and during P.E. Poor kid, he won't be able to get away with anything. Everybody (all the teachers and office staff) know him, plus his Aunt Jen is the Vice Principal. I thought he would be shell shocked having to go back to school. However, he did really well. Although when I asked him how everything went yesterday, he put his head down on the table and said, "Good, but it was a LONG day". Then to top it all off, we had a little mishap in the evening. I got home with the kids sometime after 5 o'clock. I was on the phone when Will came and said, "Bye, I am moving some equipment and I am taking Liam." I just waved and kept talking on the phone. Well, I made dinner for Aubree and myself (Sydney was at a meeting), cleaned up and started getting ready for bed. Will and Liam got home soon after and Liam took a shower, got jammies on, and I put him to bed. At about 8:45 Liam came walking into my room and said, "Mom, you most certainly forgot to give me dinner." Oops!! Apparently, mom had a long day too!!

The Year in Review (since July ' 07)

We are the CHAMPIONS!!

Major Fair Update!!

I can't believe it!! Sydney's pig won 4-H Grand Champion Hog, then went on to win Grand Champion overall at the Salinas Valley Fair. Another bonus, her cousin Brooke won weight champion in her class too. I had to work today, but I took my class to the fair. Syd was in class 11 (second to last). I left the fair to go back to school at 1:00 and she had not gone in yet. We estimated that she would probably go in around 2:00 (school gets out at 2:05). While I was at school I get a text that Brooke won weight champion. Then at around 2:00 I got another text that Syd was in and her pig got penned (that's a good thing). She won weight champ in her division. So, Brooke and Sydney both went in for champion drive for 4-H. I made it to the fair just in time to see them. Syd won and we were all so excited. Next FFA had to get judged to determine their grand and reserve hog. So the grand and reserve hog for 4-H competed with the grand and reserve hog from FFA for Grand Champion. Syd won it!! It was great and everyone was there. We got to take pictures with the judge. She got a big belt buckle and a nice duffle bag. Let's not forget the BIG purple ribbon and banner. It was a great day for all of us.

It's Fair Time Again!

Well, today we weighed in Sydney's pig. It weighed 253. The nicest thing this year is that Sydney is old enough and been doing it long enough that I don't have to be at the fair 24/7. Liam is excited about the fair for now. By Friday he'll be over it. Of course you can find him at the Kubota and John Deere exhibits. We already had to put out an "Aubree Alert". I found her in the bathroom. I guess the good thing is everyone knows who the little "curly top" belongs to. Tomorrow I am taking my class of first graders on a walking field trip to the fair (yippee). So, the rest of this week will be busy, busy. In addition to the fair, I have my first set of assignments due for CalState TEACH this Friday. GOOD TIMES!!

This is so my family

I love this commercial! I had to post it. Be sure to pause my music before you play it.

Something Interesting

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 170 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

-There are 54,713 people in the U.S. with the first name Dianna.
-Statistically the 748th most popular first name.
-More than 99.9 percent of people with the first name Dianna are female.

-There are 945,324 people in the U.S. with the last name Taylor.
-Statistically the 10th most popular last name.
-Famous people with the last name Taylor:
Charley Taylor
Christine Taylor
Don Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Finn Taylor

Such an adorable family

Welcome to the Blog Family

Hi Di and Di's friends/family:

Hope you like her new blog. Di - I think you will have so much fun with it, it came out so cute! (Thanks T.J)

For those of you who might not know me - I am Dianna's best good friend, Amy, and I thought it was high time that she started keeping in touch and join the blogger world. So this is my way of forcing her into the technological age of Internet and blogging. She is so busy I knew that this would probably never happen without a little help.

Well Di, I got you started and now it is up to you to keep it going. Don't worry I will remind you to update often. Have fun. I love and miss you!

Amy