Citizen of the Month

Anna was given a special award this week at school, Citizen of the Month for showing Responsibility.  The school called to let us know she would be getting an award so we were able to see the presentation.  She was very excited!  She picked up her packet from the principal (she got a Pacheco Panther pin and pencil, along with a couple of meal coupons).  

 Then she picked up her award from Mrs. Collins and Maestra Hernandez.

 A good photo of her with the beginning of the group, showing off her award.

 And here is the whole group who got awards this month for various things.  It was great to see them so excited!

Fun start to November!

We have been busy as we begin the holiday season that is filled with birthdays!  To kick it all off we took the kids to see Jack Hanna Live at the Performing Arts Center.  They had a great time, enjoyed learning about different animals, and of course staying up late.  

As we cleared out some of the Halloween decor, Olivier decided to try these glasses on and I had to get a photo; too funny!  

It is amazing how a good haircut and wearing nicer shirts (for the Jack Hanna show) makes them look so much older!  Olivier showing off his "smile" (although it kind of scares me, ha, ha!).

Then Mason wanted me to take his photo with a pumpkin; thankfully he was kind enough to allow Olivier to join in the photo.  

 Anna then wanted her photo too!  And I think she has become a cat!  She was a cat for halloween and has been wanting to wear the pair of cat ears since, even to the show.

 Before the Jack Hanna show, the kids got to see some animals in the lobby.  It was a great experience.

 And they even got to pet this live alligator.  It was a popular stop, and I think everyone was surprised that people were allowed to pet it.

 And they learned about a peregrine falcon.  

 Very excited to get to their seats, about eleven rows back.  A great way to start of season!

Happy Halloween!

The kids were very excited to carve pumpkins this year, I think partially due to the fact they could stick their hands in pumpkin guts!  :-)  

 Mason's pumpkin!  He drew the face and Matt carved it out for him.  He did a great job!

Anna's pumpkin!  She drew the design and Matt carved it out for her.  

Matt's dragon pumpkin, and yes, he drew it (from a stencil) and carved it all by himself!  :-)

Olivier opted for the skeleton kit that he has used in the past and wanted to keep it inside so we kept it by the front door to greet visitors.  

Tonight as we were heading out.  Mason was a lion/tiger, Anna was a black cat, and Olivier was a fireman.

 A closer photo of our fireman!

 Mason as a lion tiger.  Yes, that is what he asked to be last year and was very excited to wear the costume again this year!

Mason loves shaking his mane and wanted me to take a video of him.  Olivier then wanted me to take video of him shaking his head.  Silly boys!  

Self portraits

The boys completed self portraits at school to start the school year. This is the first year they have done them so it is interesting to see what they drew (it is multiple stages before getting to this final project). They are excited to point them out in their classroom and we are excited to see them take steps like this in their projects.

Run, Run, Run!

Today was the City to Sea Half Marathon and 5k which Matt has run at least two times before.  

http://mattandtania.blogspot.com/2008/10/matts-half-marathon.html

http://mattandtania.blogspot.com/2010/10/run-matt-run.html

It was a chilly morning (in the upper 40's) but overall not bad running weather.  This year I ran the 5k and the kids ran a 1/4 mile fun run.  We were in our running shoes!  :-)

For the half it started downtown and finished at Dinosaur Caves Park.  The 5k run started and finished at the park.  

I crossed the finish line!  Yippee!  It was my first 5k and although I didn't do as well as I would have liked, I still did it which still amazes even me!  :-)  I am NOT a runner by any means.  My time was 36 minutes, 2 seconds.  

A short while after I finished it was time for the kids 1/4 mile fun run!  They got to meet the Cuesta Cougar before the race, although they were still a little hesitant.  

Just as the race was starting, and yes, all three ran!  Mason held my hand and Olivier held Grandma's.  They did a great job and got a metal when they finished!

Once that finished we very very quickly went to the finish of the half marathon, just with steps to spare as Matt crossed the finish line!  Yeah!  We have a photo but he didn't want me to share so I am being nice!  :-)  Matt finish in 1 hour, 44 minutes and 13 seconds!  Way to go!  He reached his goal and we are so proud of all his hard work!

The boys had been asking:  "can we go in the bounce house NOW?" for a while and were thrilled when the answer was finally yes!  It was a bit one with the slide.  

After playing on the bounce house for a while and watching friends cross, Matt got to see Heather cross!  Yeah!  Way to go Heather!  

 Love this photo of Heather and Audrey after Heather went through the finish line!

A good group shot as the kids were playing in the park!  I think they would have stayed all day if we had let them!

 And all of our running bibs!  :-)

Anna's school picture!

Doesn't she look so serious?  When the kids were born we got frames that had a space for each month up to their first birthday.  I guess it is time to get ones for kindergarten through high school?  Wow!!

Anna's learning Spanish

I am amazed at how quickly Anna is learning Spanish! She brought this home earlier this week and was able to tell us the parts if the tree in Spanish (although she couldn't remember how the roots were pronounced). We have no clue if she is right but it sure sounds good!

She also sang "Happy Birthday" in Spanish tonight for Natalie's birthday.  I need to learn some Spanish to find out how well she is doing!  :-)