Horseback Riding

Nicole's friend, Madison, invited her to visit a family friend's ranch to ride their rescued horses. Notice, there are no saddles or stirups. Next time they are going on a trail ride. Needless to say, Nicole has inherited her Papa Joe's (my Dad) LOVE of horses and country. She was absolutely thrilled and was non-stop chatting about it all evening. I'll have to dig up some old movie footage when my Dad was a young man and he would trick ride on the horses by standing on their back and swinging his body from side to side.

Band Performance At LP Arts in the Parks

Lake Pleasant Arts in the Parks

Tuesday, the 20th, Nicole's school hosted their Arts in the Parks. Again, we were entertained by the band and choir. Nicole and her friend, Madison, had their Japan Travel Poster on display and the third graders entertained us with their square dance.

Band Performance at PUSD Arts Festival

This Band combines both Nicole's school, Lake Pleasant Elementary, and her former school, Vistancia. Nicole is at the bottom left playing clarinet.

PUSD District Arts Festival

I just noticed I haven't posted since Easter. As we approach Summer, our calendars begin to fill up with school, family, work, sports, and community events. Add to that, my computer has reached it's hard drive capacity, so I've been unable to create slideshows.

On Saturday, the 17th, Peoria Unified School District (PUSD) held its annual Arts Festival at The Peoria Sports Complex. All the Peoria schools participated with their Artwork, Choir and Band Performances. Nicole is in both Band and Choir and Mrs. Carlson and Ms. Comber, respectively, do an excellent job!

More Easter Fun

Easter 2010

Had a wonderful Easter with Great Friends and Food! Nicole started the day solving clues hidden in eggs that lead to her Easter Basket which was in the laundry dryer. Good thing I didn't have to use the dryer or there would've been hot chocolate instead. Attended CCV's Service with The Sidaway Family. Pastor Don delivered an inspiring message about being Fearless.

After the service, the smell was overwhelming coming off of CCV's outdoor grill. So we ate an impromptu lunch, and relaxed while the girls, literally had a BALL. Came home and Dan and I cooked together in the kitchen. Dinner menu came out awesome. I have to admit, it wasn't a very traditional "Easter" menu. Spinach salad, asparagus w/hollandaise sauce, roasted garlic mash potatoes, bow tie pasta w/alfredo sauce, chicken pomadoro, rolls, carrot cake, and pecan Pie (thanks for the yummy treats Kristin:)

Afterwards, taught the kids and grownups how to play the card game "spoons". It was the girls' idea to use plastic eggs instead of spoons and to spell the words "Happy Easter" for each letter that you lose the round with. We had lots and lots of giggles during this game.

I truly feel Blessed!

Happy Easter to All!

Quarterly Lake Pleasant Silver Hawk Awards

A Mother's Bragging Rights:
Last week, Nicole's principal sent a letter home to certain parents. The letter was asking us to attend an assembly for yesterday, April 1st, for those students that have been nominated by the teacher for the Quarter for showing Excellent Effort, Character, Improvement, and Citizenship. This was a surprise, as those students that were nominated did not find out until their names were called during the assembly. Unfortunately, I was out of town in Los Angeles for work and couldn't attend. Dan was able to go and took the following video. On top of that, Nicole received an Honor Roll Certificate for her 4.0 grade point average. She is still able to pull that grade even though she tutors 2 students during her math period and arrives 15-20 min. late in math because of tutoring. WAY TO GO NICOLE! Mom and Dad are so proud of your accomplishments!