A Date with Nature - Part 1

Sat (10/09) was "A Date with Nature"at the Donna O'Neill Land Conservancy - a natural campground just off the Ortega Hwy in Rancho Viejo. There were many booths with animals, organizations and activities, not to mention food and music :) It was a great time with a lot of fun.

Meeting More Family

Joseph and I made a trip this last weekend to San Clemente. Poor Derek had to stay behind to work on some school assignments and he was missed!

But the weekend went well and here are some pics of Joseph meeting my folks and Randy, Staci, Siena & Tegan...

Timeless Questions

J: "Why would Samson tell Delilah his weakness about his hair if she already lied to him once?"
M: "yes Joseph, that is a great question"

Joseph and I were doing reading homework and sometimes he likes to read out of this old-fashion Bible stories for children book we have (old fashion in the sense that the pictures are all curly-haired cherub looking people where it's hard to tell the boys from the girls!). He seems to lately like the stories of Samson and David & Goliath -- but what almost 10 year old boy wouldn't love the strength, fighting, slaying of giants themes!!!! But I chuckle sometimes because Joseph can pick up on things quite quickly - he was totally flabbergasted that a guy (Samson) would share his secret with a woman who lied and betrayed him not once but multiple times (a question I have often asked myself!). And the only answer I could give him was "Samson was in love"... Oh the ways of the world! Maybe I can turn this into a teaching moment in the future if he wants a girlfriend who is less than truthful? Anyways, it's pretty fun to watch the wheels in Joseph's head turn, turn, turn!

Celebration of Flight

Joseph and I trucked out to the small, local municipal airport to "celebrate flight!"
It was a small little event but a fun Saturday morning thing to do

Mmmmmmm....pancake breakfast

Posters

This last weekend was one in which Derek and I tried to catch up with work. Poor Joseph had to amuse himself - which turns out to be kind of hard for him being the only kiddo in the home. He and I did manage to work on some "student council" posters Saturday night which was a lot of fun. We got to use some WordArt and clipart from the computer then did some coloring the next day -- he got 'nominated' from his classroom to be part of student council and so the posters were to announce "new stuff" in the student store and upcoming Costume Day next month.

We are also at the beginnings of negotiating Halloween -- of course, being all boy that he is, Joseph thinks the more gruesome the better. Now I'm all for dress up and play, and I realize that there is that sinister overtone to the holiday - so we're going to try and figure out a plan for some of that without too much -- so far, I'm okay with the werewolf head and vampire teeth, but I don't really want the guy from the Saw movies or swords that have blood dripping from them.

P.S. - Joseph and I also got to go to the theaters for a cheap showing of the more recent Karate Kid with Will Smith's son and Jackie Chan -- it was pretty fun - lots of similarities to the original - but not quite the same without the cool 80's music!!!!!

Starting to Meet Family

The last couple of weekends we have had some family come and visit. It has been great to have Joseph start putting faces with names.

Here he is playing Wii with Garrett and Aubrey last weekned & making some tunes with Kyranda this weekend.

Back to School Night

I got to go to my very first Back-to-School Night - Yay! I got to meet Joseph's teacher, Mrs. Kostal who was very nice. It was fun to see Joseph's desk and classroom :)

Here he is showing off a recent math test!

Rally Time

Go Angels!

Derek, Joseph, and I met up with Mack, Angela, and Little Mack and Mack's friend David and his daughter for a fun afternoon in the sun at Angel Stadium

We had a great time and my stomach still hurts from eating so much. Unfortunately the Angels didn't win this game - but everyone had fun so we didn't mind.

Mexican Dancing

I think we might be seeing a little more range of emotion from Joseph as he settles in -- the last couple of nights I've seen him be a little more negative, pessimistic and frustrated -- I'm going to take this as the "honeymoon" coming to an end. It seems like he can be particularly hard on himself as he expects to color perfectly and always do well on Wii sports. He gets frustrated when he doesn't win -- and Dad & Launa, I'm sorry for all the times I cried at losing a game at this age!!!! I'm sure it doesn't help that it happens at night after the meds wear off. Still, while honeymoons are great - "real" life adds dimension. :)

Another theme I'm seeing more of is reference to culture -- Joseph will often point out others, like on TV, that are "Mexican" like he is. Last night, he demonstrated "Mexican dancing" for me!!!! It kind of reminded me of my days several years back when I took Salsa dancing lessons -- maybe he can show me some good moves so I won't look so stiff on the dance floor!!!!!!!

Mountain Festival 2010

Yay for the annual Mountain Festival!!!!!

Saturday started off with a local parade - followed by visiting the arts & crafts booths

Festival food is always a plus - alas, there was no funnel cake :( and I had been looking forward to that!!!! Don't worry though, the root beer float made things better :)

Here's Joseph watching them cook meat!

And Joseph is somewhere in there! Watch out Kong, Joseph will give you a run for it!

There were some fun carnival rides too......


And then Sunday morning, we went to church at the park followed by the Thunder on the Mountain Car Show - Joseph loved this one! We took many pictures of cars that he's going to find a way to do an album or something with. Here were some of my favs:

Here's a 1930's hearse in the "specialty" category

School Begins!!!

Joseph and Derek started back to school today -- I kind of feel left out because I'm the only one in the house not going to Golden Hills elementary school each day!!!

Joseph had a great day - got a good score from his new teacher, Mrs. Kostal -- and I got to fill out more parent paperwork :) I think tomorrow starts homework -- keeping fingers crossed :)

Finding a New Groove

Many people know that Derek and I have been wanting to be foster parents - it's been about a year since starting on the paperwork/training journey. This last week or so, we met a wonderful young man, Joseph (age 9), who as of last Friday is living with us! So we're all getting to know each other in all different ways and with that is the three of us trying to find that new groove! Old habits of course die hard, and change (even the best of kinds) can be overwhelming and exciting... so for now we are all on the learning curve together and looking to see what the future brings :)

Our Mighty Protector

As he is king of the backyard with Shasta inside recuperating, here are some action shots of Monkey "protecting" us from our "vicious" neighborhood deer!!!

Summer Project

One of Derek's summer projects was installing a new living room fan to give an updated look - doesn't it look awesome!!! He did a great job!

An Inside July 4th

Well, this year's 4th of July was different as we have been mostly stuck inside taking turns watching Shasta who is recovering from her TPLO surgery. But because Derek has been away and with Michelyn's work schedule, it was great to spend time together! So while there were no firework shows on our schedule...we did have some grilled steak, homemade mashed potatoes and fresh corn on the cob for dinner - and that sounds pretty American to me!!!

Tent Trailer is a moving

Derek got to take the tent trailer out on it's first official voyage since we got it -- he and a couple of friends went on their 'man-trip' and it the trailer held up and everything worked -- yay!!!! I can't wait for my turn to use it!

Big Bear Memorial Day Weekend