Hi, my name is Sheri and I am addicted to overalls.

Seriously. I am a boy mom. And is there anything cuter than a little boy in overalls? I buy overalls for every baby shower. Boy or girl. Because, I love overalls.

So tonight, Jacob wanted to look at his scrapbook (which is WAY out of date, but that is not the point). I had him sit on the couch with me and we looked to together. I started out pointing out how cute he looked in overalls.

At ONE month old

THREE months old
FOUR months old

FIVE months

SIX months

No overalls in this one, but I love it because it has Joshua and Shawn (when they were both still shorter than me).

First Birthday

Second Christmas (this page is not done, just photos in the sleeve)

Second BirthdaySecond Birthday

No overalls here either, but I love this one too

Jacob's Third Birthday. Look, he and Nate are both in overalls!

These are only the "occasion" photos. His scrapbook is full of overalls! So, OK. Maybe I am a little obsessed. Then along came Nate who, "no like oberalls." Broke mommy's heart.

4th grade history: California History.

In California, 4th graders all study the California Missions. For those who are not versed in California history, the missions were churches established by Spanish priests throughout California before it became a state. The missions were supposed to help the native populations by teaching them to farm and by converting them to Catholicism.

Part of learning about the missions for many 4th graders includes building a model of one the 21 missions. I remember building mine out of sugar cubes back in the day... Now, I have a 4th grader of my own building his mission model. He chose Mission Santa Cruz.

The first buildings of Jacob's Mission Santa Cruz

The roofs of missions were build from hand made tiles. This is still a popular look in California. But, how do you get the look on a small scale? Manicotti. First you boil it until it's just soft enough to cut in half. Then you let it dry again to get the lovely half circle shape. Each one is a little different, giving it that handmade look. Then you paint each one.

Close up of the pasta, before and after painting.

Assembly of the roof, one tile at a time.

This became a family project.

The back yard of the mission. They farmed a large area around the mission. They also had lots of animals.

Jacob's fountain

We visited the actual Mission Santa Cruz. (more about that in a future blog) This is the real fountain at the current mission site.

The finished project.

The real (replica) of the mission. The original was damaged and moved a couple of times over the years. There is only one original building still standing. (More about that in a later blog too)

Consider googling Mission Santa Cruz. It has an interesting history. I am much more interested now than when I was in 4th grade. Watch for more from our trip to the mission, coming soon, when I find time...

Jacob's backyard camp out birthday party - part 1

We decided to have a sleep over party for Jacob's 10th birthday (which is actually Monday). So, we talked about themes and he decided on a camp out. I have never done anything like this, so I turned to the internet. There were some great ideas that I borrowed for Jacob's party. The party started at 6:00pm, just in time roast hot dogs for dinner.

A couple of Jacob's classmates, and his cousin.
Then we made s'mores!

Next we divided into teams, one teen and two younger kids on each team, and went on a photo scavenger hunt. I will post this in part two, hopefully tomorrow. The kids really enjoyed this.

After scoring the scavenger hunt, it was time for presents. Jacob opened them on the hood of the car, because Brian insisted on having the fire pit on the driveway.

Jacob got a set of water guns and they all enjoyed them.

Here they are all ganging up on Jacob. He was a good sport.

Jacob's school friends.

Looks like Jacob is the target again.

Shawn and Raymond

My masterpiece. Way too much chocolate, but oh so yummy. It's a "dirt cake." Chocolate cake, chocolate pudding, oreos, and chocolate "rocks." I used the rocks to create a campfire, with all 10 candles together. A paper tent was the best way to show that it is a birthday cake.

Jacob is ready to put out the campfire. He really blew them out.

Several rounds of "glow in the dark tag" before bed. Each child had a glow stick that they used to tag each other. You can't really tell because of the flash. The porch light was on so it wasn't completely dark. But, the glow sticks were a fun touch.

Not sure who was "it."

Jacob and Raymond are "frozen."

Jacob get "untagged" by Devin.

Nate blowing bubbles (just thought this photo was neat)

The girls' tentGoodnight girls (yeah right)

The boys' tent

Goodnight boys (yeah right)

For at least an hour, we heard "Jacob, are you still awake?" from the girls. And, "Devin, are you still awake?" from Jacob and the boys. It was so funny. It was nearly 12:30 before it got quiet out there. Brandi is supervising the girl tent. Joshua and Shawn are supervising the boys. So, I don't have to sleep outside. One of the many perks of having older kids too.

Check in soon for part 2 - the scavenger hunt. It was so much fun. We are even talking about doing it again later in the summer, just for fun.

Hi bloggy friends. I am up for air. Here's a bit of a flashback for you. Because some thing you have to blog. Better late, than never.

I don't think I shared the events in the week preceding our cruise, because, quite frankly it was an exhausting week. All good, but exhausting. I was SO ready for a vacation when the time came, but I was seriously packing THE NIGHT BEFORE.

June 8th: My oldest son Joshua graduated from high school. I could not be more proud of him (well maybe when he graduates college). Doesn't he look studious here? He started his college program in July, and in October will be moving three hours away to live in a dorm and be a semi-grown-up. Where did the years go?

June 10th: As if seeing Joshua graduate didn't remind me how fast they grow, My BABY graduated kindergarten two days later. Kindergarten was a tough year, for Nate, for his teacher, and for me. We have come a long way. Nate was diagnosed with ADHD (finally) and after a couple of months we found a medication does that changed his school experience. I couldn't be more proud of Nate than when I saw him on stage, PARTICIPATING with his classmates in their program. YAY NATE!

June 14th: Graduations mark the passing of time; so too, do birthdays. Jacob had to get in on the action. He turned nine years old. It was a pretty low key celebration this year (wonder why?). We let him choose a couple of friends and took them to see UP! It was actually a nice break in our crazy week. Check out my fancy M&M cake decorating. There's talent! LOL.

Three kids. Three celebrations. One week of wonderfully exhausting chaos. Three occasions to realize just how fast my boys are growing up. Three chances to see what amazing young men they are becoming. Three chances to cry happy tears and hug my boys and take pictures. One week of wonderful memories.

June 18th: Yes, FOUR days later, we flew the coupe!

Friday was an awesome day for Jacob. In the morning the school had a quarterly awards assembly, where Jacob received FIVE awards! Way to go Jacob. He received achievement awards in both Math and Language Arts. He got a citizenship award and awards for both perfect attendance and no tardies. As if that was not enough. Jacob was chosen by his teacher as Student of the Month for January and on Friday they had the SOM awards and lunch. The SOMs get to eat lunch on the stage in the cafeteria, provided by a local fast food restaurant, and parents are invited to have lunch with them.

Here the kids are watching as each student gets their SOM medal and the Vice Principal reads the letter that the teacher wrote about that child. Don't they look excited?
Here the VP is reading the letter Jacob's teacher wrote about him. The character trait for January is Fairness. Coincidentally, Jacob got SOM in January last year also, for Fairness. He is such a kind and gentle boy (most of the time).

This is what his teacher wrote:

Jacob (last name) is Room 34's Student of the Month for January. Jacob is an excellent example of our character trait, fairness. Jacob always follows our classroom rules. He tries to help other people when they are having a difficult time doing the right thing. On the playground he is a model fair play and cooperativeness. Each morning I look forward to seeing his bright and optimistic smile. I am so proud of having such an extraordinary young man in Room 34.

2nd Grade

Mrs. J

Here is Jacob and Mrs J. We are happy to have her too!

My dad and I went to have lunch with Jacob. Here is Jacob and Papa.

I am so proud of Jacob and his achievements, both academically and in his character. He truly is an awesome kid! I love you Jacob!

Did I mention that Jacob was tested for the Gifted and Talented Education program? He was invited and will be attending the school for gifted students this fall. He is a smart kid, and he knows it. I wonder when it will hit him that the other kids at this school are just as smart as he is...

The tooth fairy was doing double duty at our house last night. Just as Jacob was getting ready for bed, his second front tooth fell out. He had been wiggling it earlier and we knew it would come out anytime. He was humored by the fact that he could no longer whistle.

All I want for Christmas is my...wait, that's a long time to wait. Here is Jacob sans his two front teeth. You can also see that we are going to need some orthodontic work on those bottom teeth.
We have an old pill bottle that has been decorated with stickers that we put teeth in to put under the pillow. It is easy for the tooth fairy to find and a rolled up dollar fits nicely into it. If you look closely, you will he in his left hand his pearly white tooth.

Well after Jacob's tooth came out, this inspired Nate to get busy wiggling his loose tooth, his second bottom tooth. And lo and behold, it fell out too. So here is Nate sans his two front bottom teeth. They really make a cute pair now.

And since we didn't have two tooth fairy pill bottles (who would have thought we'd need two the same night?) Nate got a plain bottle that I tore the label off. Good thing I had an extra. I think I will let them put their names on then now, lol, and Nate can decorate his. If you look closely, you can see Nate's itty bitty tooth in his right hand.

The tooth fairy was quite generous last night too. Maybe it was because she saved gas snagging two teeth at one house. Or maybe, it was just that there were two boys and two teeth, but she gave them each two dollars. They were both very happy this morning. Now, a question for you: What does the tooth fairy do with all those these?