Another park trip

We met the Grandparents at a park for lunch!  Soccer was on the menu, some bike riding and a yummy picnic.  Ya gotta love Southern California winters.....

Piano Keyboard Grant

A teacher that I work with (who is also a private piano teacher) and I wrote a grant in December to acquire 15 keyboards for our school.  We found out last week that we won!!  So excited that our hard work paid off and that our students will get keyboard as part of the music program!  They held an award ceremony to recognize the winners.  Here are some photos:

New Glasses for Ash!

What do you do when glasses break on a Sunday afternoon?  Well, first you try to fix them yourself until you accidently super glue them to your finger.  Then you admit defeat and run over to the local Walmart and find some replacement frames.  That's what we did and our big boy looks so grown up in his new glasses!

Valentine's Day fun

We had a very nice Valentine's Day!  Derrik got me flowers, the boys treated us to breakfast in bed and we went out for a very nice lunch together.  Ethan and I finished off the evening playing a little "Heart and Soul" together on the piano.

Old photo from 2011 that I turned into a valentine photo.

The boys each got a box of chocolates from us
 

Chuck E Cheese Fundraiser

We spent Thursday night at Chuck E Cheese for a school fundraiser.  The two younger boys went (Ethan was not going - are you kidding me?) and had fun with their friends.

Both boys also got to take a turn in the "ticket blaster."  You can hear me coaching Ashton during Cameron's video.  He was not sure it was something he wanted to do.

 

Mother-Son Dessert

I was invited to join Cameron and Ashton for a dessert that their boys group at church offered.  Such a fun night!  I felt so honored....I have very special and thoughtful boys. 

They listed things they appreciate about me.

What We're Up To

We had a busy week last week!  Here are the headlines -

Ashton had a play date at his friend Brett's house.  Their activities included doing some "rappelling" on the hill in the backyard and playing with Brett's new kitten, Marbles.

 

Ethan uploaded his second album onto iTunes! 

His creativity and talent continue to grow and amaze us.

 

 

 

 

 Cameron and a few other 6th graders performed recorder with a group of 4th grade students at the Parent Teacher Meeting.  He did a great job and is getting so good!

Saugus High Orientation Night

Cameron with the Centurion mascot

Saugus High School invited 6th graders to their campus to get a feel for what the high school is like.  So we took Cameron and the family there to look around.  They had several classrooms open with displays to see.  Ethan was proud to show off his school! 

Derrik with the cat dissection (Ethan on the right)

Ashton checking out what's under the microscope

The highlight may have been the Forensic Science lab where the
kids had to collect evidence at a crime scene.  (No students were harmed!!) 

Crazy Hair

The younger boys had Crazy hair day on Friday!  Even I tried out some color, just for fun.  It was the first time Ashton chose to participate - he's not a fan of sticky things in his hair.  We did wash it all out the moment he got home! 

Park Day in January

 The weather has been amazing and we spent last Sunday at the park getting rid of some energy!  The Grandparents joined us and Dad shot some hoops with the boys. 

Gungor concert

 

 I got to join Derrik and Ethan at a concert in north Hollywood last night.  We saw a band called Kye Kye (Ethan's favorite) and the headliner, Gungor.  It was fun!  I love seeing music performed live.

Oh, how he wishes he were taller to see
the stage better!
 

 

 

 

Cameron and the Rocket Launch

Cameron's 6th grade class designed rockets out of 2 liter bottles and then had an event where the bottles where shot into the sky.  He and his friend, Taye-Jon worked hard on theirs!

 

 

Ashton's 9th!

Where did my baby go?

Ashton had, in his words, "his best birthday yet!"  We had a nice celebration at home for most of the day and then we joined some friends at the bouncy place and then dinner.  He had so much fun!



These 3 saved my sanity by being my assistants
during the party.

Our last celebration was Sunday with Grandma and Grandpa Hubbard!

He said he didn't need to make a wish before blowing
out the candles - that his wish (for a great birthday)
had already come true!  :)

My new piano student

Over Christmas break, Ashton and I tried a piano lesson.  He got through three pages in the beginner book!  He wanted me to make a little video of him:

Favorite Moments from AZ

 The Headbandz game that Ashton got for Christmas turned out to be a real hit on the Arizona trip.  The Decker's even got in on the fun!

A selfie with Daddy  :)

Now, Cam isn't that much taller than me but he is a tad taller. 
It was fun to have him on the hike with us again this year.

We haven't been to a K-State game in over 10 years.  The atmosphere
was something we wanted to share with the boys.

A fun trip with Suzanne!  Thanks for hosting us and hanging
out with us!  We love you!

Arizona: New Year's Eve

Lots of dancing

We crashed Suzanne's friends (Val Berry) house for her New Year's party and had a really fun time!  Cameron and Ashton danced, and Suzanne, Derrik and I tried to play Trivial Pursuit from the 80's.  Lots of snacking and fun!

We had to sniff the real tree!

More dancing

And more dancing

A cat found Ethan