lions playing at MGM hotel

There is a glass tunnel and the lions are most often lying on top of the tunnel.

Everyday we went by the Lion enclosure at the MGM to see what the lions were doing.
Today they were playing with the trainers and balls.

Adding to my croc collection

I finally got a pair of sandal crocs called "Cleo".

I was going to get the black ones, but decided to get the brown & pink.
I got them at Macy's in Las Vegas. There were croc carts in the malls but they didn't have my size. Plus I had a Macy's coupon for 20% off. yeah.
I love them. They are light as air and I even wear them to church!

I've had the blue ones for 3 years. I wear them EVERY DAY!
I forget I have them on and just come and go.. sometimes I hop in the car and go "OH, I 've got my crocs on!"
They are the most comfortable shoe ever. I mainly wear them as clogs and prefer to have socks on.

The red ones were from my mom last Oct.
We went to Disneyland and her feet were hurting so she bought them for herself.
After a few weeks she decided they were too big for her. She had 2 pair already, so she passed them on to me.

The flip-flops I got @ Costco in Hawaii in december. I don't like them as much. The rim of the shoe in the front is higher than the bed where your toes are and my toes slip forward and bump the rim. They are OK> I wore them walking all around Las Vegas.

The long haul.... I mean Hall

Imagine you had dinner,
sat through a spectacular show.... "KA" by cirque du soleil (click to see a short preview video)

and drank a super big gulp margarita...........

and you are not able to run ...

at least the kids ran ahead of me and

unlocked the door...of room 136.

This is the view from the room back to the elevators....way way down there.

Guess where we went??

Las Vegas!!


From our house it takes about 5 hours.
300 miles

This is our 4th year visiting.

For 3 yrs we stayed at the Monte Carlo. But last year they were doing construction behind it to build "City Center" and the noise was unbearable. We had to change rooms. We tried that first because we didn't want to be changing hotels if we could avoid it.

We like the Monte Carlo hotel for the kids. They let you make reservations for a family of 5 persons.

It has a wave pool and a lazy river. The lobby has Mc D's and Starbucks, pizza, ice cream....

This year we are trying the MGM Grand.

It has a lazy river and a couple pools.

Pictures of New York, New York Hotel across the street from MGM.

MGM Grand Hotel

I liked it fine, but it was a LOT of walking to get to the pool. You have to go down the entire "Food Walk" to get there. Past fancy restaurants, like Emeril's and Shibuya (a sushi place), Craft Steak (Celebrity chef Tom Colicchio's restaurant)and Sea Blue. There was also a good sandwich shop.

For the kids there is a mini food park with a McD's, Nathans Hot dogs, Pizza and Starbucks.
Guess where we got food for certain children who love pancakes and nuggets.....everyday?

The prices were outrageous! The normal latte at that S place here at home is like $3.60 and there it was $5. plus tax. yikes!

The Lazy River at the pool was fun. I liked jogging under the water around it keeping up with the flow of the river and the kids. So I got a bit of exercise in.

Wed night we arrived and went straight from our room to finding the pool. It was about 4:30. The pool was closing at 6. ? Oh well, it was great to cool off, relax and then go out.

We went over to the Excalibur Hotel. They have a bottom floor that is a carnival, full of kiddie gambling games, where they can win tickets or stuffed animals.
Each of the kids won 3-4 animals and Geoff won a big stuffed lion in a grabbing machine.
After that we went upstairs to the Krispy Kreme store to watch donuts being made. The kids had donuts.
We went back to the MGM and went to the Rainforest Cafe. Geoff ordered a steak & shrimp dinner, the kids shared some fries and I ate his soup.

Wanderlust strikes again...

There are lots of sickness bugs going around, and I've caught the travel bug.

I had it last year too. I planned for weeks and weeks for an across the country Amtrak adventure.
You can buy a month long ticket on Amtrak and see the country.

After a while the $$ started adding up in my mind and I dropped it. For a while.

One of those "travel for cheap" emails came thru from Jet Blue and snagged me.

We could fly from Ca to NYC for $318.
The game is on! I'm thinking this September or early October. After the heat of summer and maybe after school starts. The joys of homeschooling! We can go whenever we want.
ANY ADVICE on the best 2-3 weeks to come out that way??

Next comes checking out books from the library: see photo :)
Asking friends' advice, mapquest, travel guides online, reading other blogs, reading Yahoo questions, posting a question, Fodor's Itinerary ideas.....

The plan right now is definitely Washington, D.C. and NYC. Then over in mid New York state to see my brother and his family, the Erie Canal and Niagara Falls.
I'm also looking into seeing Philadelphia and Boston.

Anyone with advice on getting around once we fly to the East coast. Rental car, train, bus or flying?
With gas prices .... I'm thinking about Amtrack again. I don't know how much airfare will be going up.
The month long pass on Amtrack is a great deal, but we would have to pay extra for sleeping cars, which I think we would want. At least we could easily fulfill the "enter Canada" rule because we would be going to the Niagra area of New York.

Blogging is slow when I’m reading books.

I think Lots of moms can relate to the ebb & flow of reading. Sometimes you can read lots and other times, months go by without reading a book more than 20 pages for the kids.
Then it depends on the type of reading. I go through phases of what I am reading. Is it for Self improvement; pure joy; fiction; non fiction; dieting; parenting; homeschooling; unschooling;
Spiritual reading; lives of the Saints; art; travel; history; catalogs or magazines?

Lately I’m devoted to reading Revelations of Divine Mercy – Daily Readings from the Diary of St. Faustina Kowalska. I've kept up since January, especially during Lent and during the Divine Mercy Novena.

Lissa lent me Homeschooling with Gentleness, A Catholic Discovers Unschooling. I enjoyed that.

Lots of blogging moms are reading. Mitten Strings for God Dawn @ "By Sun & Candlelight" was doing a book study. She was posting chapter by chapter.

Eat, Pray, Love
Under the Tuscan Sun

Monet and the Impressionists for Kids

Hold On to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers by Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Md Mate

Kids, Parents, and Power Struggles: Winning for a Lifetime by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka

A New Earth – Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose by Eckhart Tolle

How to Talk so Kids will Listen and Listen so Kids will Talk

ScreamFree Parenting

Prince Caspian

The Dawn Treader

The Silver Chair

I guess I should give my opinions ...... but it is taking so long to just type up the titles.......
I'm not good at writing what I think about books.
Also, I have to let a books sit and stew for a while in my brain to see what sinks in, if anything!

I also go with the flow of TV. I’m devoted to Project Runway. I like The Hills and I am waiting for Grey’s Anatomy to get started again. We never got into American Idol this year. But we sometimes are lax until the last 4 and then watch the final competitions.

My favorite this Spring was “The Biggest Loser”. I’ve never watched much of that show. I saw the finale of the last season and the commercials for the Couples Loser interested me. I watched a few shows here and there, but it wasn’t until the last 4 episodes that I was hooked. Rather I was emotionally involved. I was so into the weigh ins I had to have tissues nearby. The best episode was the next to last one where the 2 women were above the yellow line. You would think I was related to them I was so happy for them and proud. Actually quite amazed to see the 2 women lose more weight than the men, especially at how much weight they had already lost, how thin they already were!! I was thrilled to see that Ali won! That was great. Too bad the show ended just as she won?? We didn’t get to see her and her family rejoicing!!

Baked Ratatouille by me

In a continuing quest to eat healthy, get the kids to eat veggies and lose weight I’ve been doing lots of reading. I have 3 books by Marilu Henner, 2 by Suzanne Somers and borrowed another from the library. I also tried a few more from the library: Lose 21 pounds in 21 days; The Cortisol connection; The Sonoma Diet

In Suzanne Somers' book Eat Great, Lose Weight she has a Yummy recipe for “Candied” tomatoes.

I made them a long time ago and remembered how I liked them.

I looked it up and she suggests storing them in olive oil in the frig. I’ve found there is enough liquid to store it fine, without adding more oil (=calories).

They make a terrific side dish or use it over chicken breasts. The can be used in omelets or served over grilled bread or cannellini beans.

To prepare them: Slice in half and place cut sides up in baking pan, drizzle olive oil & then generously salt each half. Bake @ 325 for 2 hours.

While shopping I found a group of 6 tomatoes on their vine at the store; Deep red and looking great. I remembered that this would make a lot of liquid in the bottom of the pan, so I added some asparagus, zucchini cut up small to the bottom of the dish. The results were absolutely delicious!

I like it best over whole wheat pasta or rice.

I made it again 2 days later, adding balsamic vinegar. Again delicious!

I was making it in my Henn 9 X 13 casserole.

The next time (only a couple days later) I tried an extra large amount of veggies in the covered baker and it was fabulous. I held a Pampered Chef show a couple months ago just to get that covered baker.

I took a large bowl of my veggies over to a friend's house for her to try (to make sure I wasn’t imagining it). She said they had it over spaghetti and loved it.

Tonight I made it again and layered the zucchini and yellow squash on the bottom in larger pieces.

Then I laid 2 chicken breasts on top of that. I drizzled a little of pampered chef’s garlic canola oil on the chicken. Then the asparagus followed by diced large tomatoes and a couple handfuls of grape tomatoes on top.

Then add the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, oregano, pepper & salt. It turned out fabulous. My DH had 2 helpings.

SO I’ve been calling my dish Ratatouille…. to try and get the kids interested in it…. but they haven’t been! I’ve been eating it for dinner and lunches. I think, I hope, it is very healthy and a great way to get my veggies. I’m very happy to eat it if it helps me lose weight.

I looked up ratatouille and it is actually cooked on top of the stove. In a big pot it is like a stew or soup. Some recipes also call for sautéing the veggies before adding the tomatoes and liquid. Plus they always call for eggplant, and I haven’t tried adding that yet.

I looked up braising, which is close. That is done in the oven in a covered baker. It starts out dry and then becomes filled with liquid. The juices cook the food and add flavor. But braising is usually for meat.

I looked up stewing, which it could be. But again, I make it in the oven not on the stovetop.

On Wikipedia I found an interesting article about “Confit Byaldi” which started as ratatouille, and is used as “THE DISH” in the animated Ratatouille movie. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confit_byaldi

I think it might try it that way. It looks pretty too.

Well you have read this far…. I hope you try my ratatouille and let me know, please, how you like it!

I also wanted to add how much I love the Rice Cooker I got from Pampered Chef. I like how it cooks in the microwave for how long you set it for. It doesn't get forgotten on the stovetop, boiling over, cooking dry, burning, etc. Also the cleanup has been soo easy. I've beenn making 2 cups of rice with 3 1/2 cups of water. I cook on High for 6 minutes then on 50% power for 15 min. Though it is done, I leave it in the cooker with the lid closed until we are close to serving to let it continue steaming. It tastes so much better than the stovetop way too.

Pine Crosses and exploring our hillside

Alice @ A Number of Things posted during Easter week about Pine Crosses.
It is amazing that nature and the pine trees "know" when it is Easter and when to top the ends of its branches with tiny crosses.
We have a hillside with a few pines and I've never noticed crosses at the tippy tops over the 8 years we've lived here! But I'm not much of a nature girl.
We went out onto the hillside to show the kids and take pics. The crosses were so high in these tall pines that I really had to use a zoom to get up there.
Our pines are very large. I noticed the upright yellowish growths all over the tree, but they seem to only make the crosses at the top and highest edges of the tree. I bet it has something to do with the sunlight. Our home is on the shady side of the trees, the north side. I’m not going to climb high enough on the hillside to see the south side. Our hill is quite steep. I don’t know if you can tell how steep it is by the pictures.
Derek is pointing at a new baby tree growing up ahead.
I have never climbed very high on our hillside. When we first moved here I was 7 months pregnant. Then I had a fear of leaving my baby & toddler while I climbed a hillside and my mommy brain was scared of falling and getting hurt while my babies were left alone. I never thought about climbing up it again until I was pregnant again. So it has not happened.
I do look out and up at that hillside everyday -- while I stand at my kitchen sink.
I will mention that I helped rake the bottom section of the hillside up to the first ravine 2 summers ago. Today is the highest I’ve ever climbed and that was barely past halfway. But I was willing to do it in the name of nature and learning. So here are the pics to prove it.

Here is a picture looking down on our yard. You can see the tree edges on the left is taller than our house, and the one on the right is pretty big too.

Field trip to Point Loma Lighthouse

It was a beautiful clear day to be outside in the fresh sea air and visit the old Point Loma Lighthouse.
The kids pose in front of the lighthouse.




Here is Katie at the top of the ladder leading up to the light. That is as far as you can go.
In the lighthouse the doors and windows are covered with glass and the rooms are decorated for the 1880's time period. You can peek into the rooms to see what life would have been like for the Lighthouse Keeper Captain Robert Decatur Israel, his wife Maria the Asst. Keeper and their family of 3 sons and a niece.
There is a living room and kitchen downstairs. Then you climb a tight, steep winding stair to the next floor where there are 2 tiny bedrooms and a storage room between them. I wonder where all of those kids slept?

Next we walked around admiring the ocean views and the abundance of wildflowers in many colors.
We tried to watch for migrating whales, but didn't see any.
We did look down at the tidepools that we visited a few weeks ago.
Then back for a pose in front of the Lighthouse that mimics one of several years ago.

Back in 2006, my cousin Amy was out for a visit. Before we took her to the airport, we made a stop at Cabrillo Monument and the Lighthouse.

I took the picture of the kids in the "gutter" in front of the lighthouse and they have not forgotten it. So they wanted to pose the same way for this year's picture.
MARCH 2008

APRIL 2006

Funny how Derek's feet are out in front of him in both pics. His hair, however, has turned darker.

ice cream sandwiches by the pool

Katie & Derek are taking a snack break
and having their ice cream by the pool.

Palm Sunday Altar Servers

We were all excited to see on the schedule that Geoff & James were assigned as Altar Servers on Palm Sunday.
Last year, their first opportunity to serve on the Altar was on Divine Mercy Sunday.

Here are pictures I could get. There were palm bearers in the way and they were moving fast into the church.

Geoff is the second man carrying the crucifix covered in palms.





Fr. Matt follows up the procession, James is in front of him. He is the shorter boy closer to the yellow flowers in the first picture and on the left side in the next picture.

We were additionally blessed to have our friends, the McCallums meet us for Mass. They arrived early, saved our seats and the kids loved sitting together. They are Katie's godparents. She likes calling their kids her god-sisters and god-brothers.
After Mass we all went back to our house for a wonderful lunch, playing, swimming & the parents were in the jacuzzi.

So you are thinking about Homeschooling?

An old friend that I lost contact with emailed me and said she was thinking about Homeschooling.

Do you know of any resources, books, or websites that offer data and info. about Homeschooling?

There are MANY PROS, or else no one would homeschool :)
My relationships with my children are the best ever. Of any pro that is the best one.

God gave you your children, to be raised and nurtured by You. Not by teachers at school all day and by the influence of 30 little kids all day and their young brains.

Do you want your children "attached" to you and your love & values or "attached" to their peers and what children teach other children?
*see the book - Hold On to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers (Paperback)by Gordon Neufeld (Author), Gabor Md Mate (Author)


There are lots of cons, but those are mainly when Other people are not supportive, or other people push what Society Thinks is "Normal" on you and you worry. YOU have to be strong and know that You make the best decisions about Your children/family and YOU know what is BEST.... Not society.

Google homeschool and just start reading.
I still do it ALL the time and read and study about it all the time.

I read the blogs of Homeschool moms around the country & world and what they do and have tried and works for them or not.
(there are lots of smart HS moms in England, Australia, Canada & New Zealand.... Also USA moms that are around the world with their husbands job or military)

I'm on a bunch of Yahoo Group lists that have wonderful women there that give TONS of advice and help. http://groups.yahoo.com/

I belong to lapbooking, Charlotte Mason, Catholic Homeschooling, tidal homeschooling, unschooling, california homeschool and our city groups.
Do a search and join some groups. Sign up to get "group" email that comes once a day. Read it if anything interests you, delete it if you don't.

Check out California Homeschool Network's website.
They have all information you might want to start with on their website: http://www.californiahomeschool.net/default.htm

Try About.com
http://homeschooling.about.com/od/gettingstarted/a/homeschool4you.htm
http://homeschooling.about.com/od/gettingstarted/p/homeschool101.htm

Other families that we know all homeschool very differently from our home's version.
It really depends on your children's ages, abilities, interests & Yours.
Every home & family will have their own reasons, curriculum, rules, groups, classes, friends, park days, and everything.

One thing you will come to is choosing what method of homeschool you want.
http://homeschooling.about.com/od/methods/Homeschool_Methods_Finding_a_Method_thats_Right_for_You.htm

I'm on my 3rd or 4th way. We did Seton Homeschool. http://www.setonhome.org/
But ended that about Spring last year.
We started with a Charter School this year. But we left that school earlier this month.
Now days we are doing more Unschooling.
http://home-educate.com/unschooling/index.shtml
http://www.lifelearning.org/2006/11/
http://www.livingjoyfully.ca/unschooling/stages.htm

I recommend reading lots of books for lots of views of other homeschool families.
All of these books I got at the local Library.

In the Catlog Search, look up "homeschooling", "home school" or "homeschool" for different titles. Also "Learning", "learning at home" or "unschool".

The 4 best books that helped me know God was calling me to homeschool:

The ABC's of homeschooling / Vicki Caruana. Caruana, Vicki.

Home sweet homeschool : a survivor's guide to giving your kids a quality education / Sue Maakestad. Maakestad, Sue.

Homeschooling : take a deep breath--you can do this! / by Terrie Lynn Bittner. Bittner, Terrie Lynn, 1959-

Homeschooling for excellence / David and Micki Colfax. Colfax, David.


Books I own, you can borrow:

Catholic Homeschooling by Mary Kay Clark

The Catholic Homeschool Companion by Maureen Wittman & Rachel Mackson

A Catholic Homeschool Treasury by Rachel Mackson, Maureen Wittmann

the unschooling handbook by Mary Griffith

Things We Wish We’d Known edited by Bill & Diana Waring

Designing your Own Classical Curriculum by Laura Berquist


Other books I’ve read that all have something helpful from the Library:

The unofficial guide to homeschooling / Kathy Ishizuka. Ishizuka, Kathy.

Home schooling on a shoestring : a jam-packed guide / Melissa L. Morgan & Judith Waite Allee ; [edit Morgan, Melissa L., 1958-

Homeschooling, the early years : your complete guide to successfully homeschooling the 3- to 8-year- Dobson, Linda.

The homeschooling handbook : from preschool to high school, a parent's guide / Mary Griffith. Griffith, Mary, 1953-

Teach your own : the John Holt book of homeschooling / John Holt, Patrick Farenga. Holt, John Caldwell, 1923-

Home learning year by year : how to design a homeschool curriculum from preschool through high school Rupp, Rebecca.

Family matters : why homeschooling makes sense / David Guterson. Guterson, David.

Home Learning Year By Year : How To Design A Homeschool Curriculum From Preschool Through High School / Rebecca Rupp. Rupp, Rebecca.

video YouTube... Catholics Come Home

video from www.CatholicsComeHome.org

H/T to Esther

.

My first baby turns 11 !

Celebrating J's 11th birthday today.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

YES you can go in the pool w/your clothes on.

The kids were so excited that I said "Yes" they could go in the pool with their clothes on.




File under: Me saying "Yes" to their requests.

Time for a funny story ......

H/T to Esther. I copied it from her.

Swallow your drink before reading.

MALE VS. FEMALE AT THE ATM MACHINE
A new sign in the Bank Lobby reads: "Please note that this Bank isinstalling new Drive-through ATM machines enabling customers towithdraw cash without leaving their vehicles. Customers using this new facility are requested to use the procedures outlined below when accessing their accounts."
"After months of careful research, MALE & FEMALE procedures have been developed. Please follow the appropriate steps for your gender."

MALE PROCEDURE:
1. Drive up to the cash machine.
2. Put down your car window.
3. Insert card into machine and enter PIN.
4. Enter amount of cash required and withdraw.
5. Retrieve card, cash and receipt.
6. Put window up.
7. Drive off.
*********************************************
FEMALE PROCEDURE:
1. Drive up to cash machine.
2. Reverse and back up the required amount to align car window with the machine.
3. Set parking brake, put the window down.
4. Find handbag, remove all contents on to passenger seat to locate card.
5. Tell person on cell phone you will call them back and hang up.
6. Attempt to insert card into machine.
7. Open car door to allow easier access to machine due to its excessive distance from the car.
8. Insert card.
9. Re-insert card the right way.
10. Dig through handbag to find diary;with your PIN written on the inside back page.
11. Enter PIN.
12. Press cancel and re-enter correct PIN.
13. Enter amount of cash required.
14. Check makeup in rear view mirror.
15. Retrieve cash and receipt.
16. Empty handbag again to locate wallet and place cash inside.
17. Write debit amount in check register and place receipt in back of checkbook.
18. Re-check makeup.
19. Drive forward 2 feet.
20. Reverse back to cash machine.
21. Retrieve card.
22. Re-empty hand bag, locate card holder, and place card into the slot provided!
23. Give dirty look to irate male driver waiting behind you.
24. Restart stalled engine and pull off.
25. Redial person on cell phone.
26. Drive for 2 to 3 miles.
27. Release Parking Brake.

study paleontology @ disneyland

I love this picture spot for the kids at Disneyland.
Paleontology, motion, friction, so much to study. he he ;)

(It is in line waiting for the Thunder Mountain rollercoaster.)

Nim's Island movie coming 4/4

Cute new movie coming out April 4th : Nim's Island

"Anything can happen on Nim's Island, a place where imagination runs wild and adventure rules."

From Publishers Weekly
Orr (Peeling the Onion) blithely throws credibility to the wind and inventively tweaks coincidence to create a fantasy tale as welcome as a breath of fresh tropical air.
Ever since her mother died when Nim was a baby, the girl and Jack, her scientist father, have lived on a remote island. When Jack sails off on a three-day trip to collect plankton, Nim stays behind with her three best friends: a sea lion, a marine iguana and a green sea turtle.
But a storm disables Jack's boat, and Nim remains alone for a full two weeks, in contact with her father only through notes delivered by a frigate bird. As the author describes the girl's daily routine of foraging for food, doing chores and playing with her pals, she neatly slips into her narrative slivers of information about the tropical habitat (e.g., Chica the sea turtle returns each year to lay her eggs on Nim's island, where Chica was hatched).
A story within a story emerges as Nim strikes up an e-mail correspondence with an author who begins writing an adventure novel set on an island that looks exactly like Nim's. With ample doses of suspense and comedy, and a pleasingly sappy happily-ever-after ending, the tale portrays the improbable so cleverly that readers will want to believe everything about the likable Nim and her idyllic isle. Pen-and-ink drawings that resemble Quentin Blake's bring these enchanting characters and setting to life. Ages 9-12

Homeschoolers in California support

I haven't written anything about the scuffle going on in California about homeschooling.
I'm waiting for the dust to settle.
We continue to do our day to day activities and follow the news.
The Governor vowed to help us keep homeschooling last week.
Here is some news today that there should be some clearer skies ahead.


SCHOOLS CHIEF JACK O'CONNELL ISSUES STATEMENT REGARDING HOMESCHOOLING IN CALIFORNIA
SACRAMENTO - State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell announced today that the California Department of Education has completed a legal review of the February 28 California Court of Appeal ruling regarding home schooling. O'Connell issued the following statement:
"I have reviewed this case, and I want to assure parents that chose to home school that California Department of Education policy will not change in any way as a result of this ruling. Parents still have the right to home school in our state.
"Every child in our state has a legal right to get an education, and I want every child to get an education that will prepare them for success in college and the world of work in the challenging global economy."
As the head of California's public school system, I hope that every parent would want to send their children to public school. However, traditional public schools may not be the best fit for every student.Within the public school system there are a range of options available.Students can take independent study classes, attend a charter school, or participate in non-classroom-based programs.
But some parents choose to send their children to private schools or to home school, and I respect that right.
"I admire the dedication of parents who commit to oversee their children's education through home schooling.
But, no matter what educational program a student participates in, it is critical that the program prepares them for future success in the global economy. I urge any parent who is considering or involved in home schooling their children to take advantage of resources and support available through their county or district offices of education."# # #


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PHONE:916-319-0818
March 11,2008
E-MAIL: hmclean@cde.ca.gov

we don't need chairs

a quick pic of the kids doing homework for art/history class.

no chairs or desks needed. table tops and floors will do.

Field Trip Thursday to Tidepools of Point Loma

Today's field trip was to the Tidepools at Cabrillo National Monument. This is at the end of Point Loma in San Diego.

Suzanne found a great handout for us.
Student notes for an Intertidal zone. We had a scavenger hunt!
Here is the link to the pdf file.
http://bioweb.usc.edu/courses/2003-fall/documents/bisc121-Tidepool_info.pdf
Have fun!



U.S.National Park Service Website

A Tidepool Study from SDSU

GORP website about Coastal Hiking in San Diego

CURR-Click Grand Opening!!

CURR-Click Grand Opening on Monday March 10th !!

The website formerly known as the "Homeschool estore.com"
will change over to CurrClick.com on Monday, March 10th.
As always, we'd love for you to help us spread the word.

Come by and check out the Grand Opening!

Curriculum in a Click!
EVERY week there is a FREE downloadable product!!

The Same great site and customer service … but better! Experience our improved previews of thousands of your favorite homeschool titles, easily and from the comfort of your own home!

Get 10% account credit on every purchase you make from March 10th-March 17th, add future purchases to your wish list, experience a more intuitive browsing experience that makes it easier to find what you’re looking for, send your wish list to friends and family members and find out what other people think about the curriculum you are considering, by reading our staff and customer reviews.

CurrClick.com is the only eBook and audio site specializing in instantly downloadable Homeschool curriculum. At CurrClick, you can choose from thousands of homeschool titles from hundreds of your favorite publishers, cheaply and completely free of shipping costs.

MY Favorite product from CurrClick.com is the LITERATURE POCKETS from Evan Moor.
James wanted to study Greek Myths and it was so convenient to go to CurrClick.com, download the literature pockets and be able to print out the pages on the paper we want, the color we want and as many pages as I need for my 3 kids.

I was also able to download a Guide for D'Aulaires' book of Greek Myths.

Disneyland Trip w/ Homeschoolers

We had an awesome trip to Disneyland for 2.5 days.
We were going to drive up leaving, hopefully at 6:30 a.m. Thursday morning to make the 9 a.m. class and I was stressed.
Geoff said around 10 a.m. on Wednesday to call the hotel and get another night and drive up Wed afternoon. YOO HOOO!!.
So we packed up quick. Loaded most stuff in the truck and dropped James off at Lissa's for Shakespeare class while the rest of us ran to wal mart for groceries.
Pick up James, say our goodbyes and stop by the house for the rest of the stuff.
We got on the road at 3:20. The drive up was absolutely clear. The traffic was null and we arrived at the hotel by 5. Checked in, unloaded the car and ran over to Disneyland for the evening.
One of our goals for the trip was to see Toon Town. Somehow the past few trips we either got there after it closed (for fireworks) or forgot about going there.
So we jumped on the train first thing at the front gate and headed back to Toon Town!

Oh, before the train we went into the Town Hall and requested a Birthday Badge for Katie for Thursday. We were the only ones in there so I chatted with the ladies behind the counter.
We let them know we were there for the next two days. We were going to take the Animation Class in the morning and go to the Minnie & Friends breakfast on Friday.
She gave all of us "Honorary Citizens" Badges to wear!
Then she had Katie pick up the phone on her counter and listen to a special Birthday message from Goofy.

In Toon Town we had a great time riding the Gadget Coaster. Derek was hesitant as we waited for the next train (there was no one in line in front of us!). But when the ride ended, he was the first to ask if we could ride it again.

Next we went to Mickey Mouse's House. We have never done that. We followed the rooms down hallways, past the barn, into another hallway and into a waiting area. We had no idea what we were waiting for. But the line was fairly short and I can imagine that in peak times those hallways and rooms we passed through are the usual waiting areas for this line.
In the end we were taken back into a room and had our picture taken with Mickey Mouse!
**See Photopass link below**

Next we walked over to The Nemo Submarine ride. The line was about 20 minutes. Better than over an hour that it will be during the daytime. The first time we rode Nemo I thought it was worth the 45 minute wait. I really liked it. This time it didn't seem as exciting. But I was paying more attention to the movie details this time to see things we might not have seen the first time we went on the ride.

We left the park when it closed @ 8 p.m. and were very hungry. We crossed the main road and there was an IHOP on the other side. The kids warmed up with hot chocolate and dinner.



THURSDAY
We met up with Disney Schoolers and attended the Youth Education Series (YES) class on the history of Animation called Disney Animation Magic.
We had a very animated :) young lady to lead our group of 22 children and a few parents.
The kids were able to:

• Draw a Disney character - Pooh - using simple geometric shapes.They were guided by a Disney Animator!
• Demonstrate storyboarding.
• Create a kineograph.
• Create a thaumatrope.

Class ended at 1:30. We went back to our hotel, the Fairfield Inn by Marriott and had Pizza Hut that was inside the hotel. This hotel is across the main street and a short walk down. We were very happy with the hotel. The first night was $129. The second night was $139 but included 2 medium pizzas and 4 drinks that we had for lunch.
There is a Mimi's Cafe next door. We went there for dinner.
And McDonald's is pretty much in the parking lot! Of course we went there... Derek's dream come true.

FRIDAY
I thought we had to be early at the gate for our 8:30 Minnie & Friends Breakfast so we arrived at 8:15 a.m. The gates don't open until 8:30.
It was exciting though. As they announced that it was time to open the crowd standing in lines cheered! The ticket takers opened the outside gates.
Then there was a countdown to the actual opening..... 5,4,3,2,1 and a cheer and clapping from the crowd. Geoff said, Wow he'd like to come to a job were everyone cheered as you started working!

The Breakfast was AWESOME! We can't wait to do it again.
I read up a lot about it on message boards and blogs so we would know what to expect.
It was very expensive, but this was my birthday present.
For the 5 of us it was $105. I wasn't sure what the food would be like... there were compliments as well as complaints all over the internet.
I thought the food was GREAT. The Mickey Mouse waffles were great. They offered syrup, strawberries, blueberries, whipped cream & butter.
We had made to order Omelets that were delicious. I had spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, green peppers & bacon in mine, oh and cheese too.
Online I found that I needed to try the Latte. (I had 2) There is a machine with all the drinks... water, OJ, coffee, that you push a button for a latte or cappuccino or hot chocolate.

THE BEST PART of course was the Characters. As you see in my photo slide show.
Each Character really took their time with each child. Enough to sign each child's autograph book and take a picture. Then they would often take a group photo with all 3 kids.
They never hurried or felt like they had 100 other people to see when they were at our table.
We loved it!

Friday was crowded though. After breakfast we tried to get on Nemo with Geoff before he left to drive back to San Diego to go to work. The line was already an hour.
We went over to Space Mountain.... another long line. I got FastPasess and we all went into the "3D Honey I Shrunk the Kids". After the show we said Bye! to dad.

We've has great experiences at DL that we have never had to get Fast Passes before. The kids were confused. Did i have to pay for them? No. Why? Because we didn't want to wait in line.
It was a new thing for them. We have rarely had to wait in a line the past 5 times we have been there. So, Note to self, Friday's are busier than other days of the week.

We met the DisneySchoolers in front of the castle @ 2 p.m. for a group photo:
http://www.maiasphotography.com/images/disney_2008.jpg

Then we went on the sailing ship and sang a song about homeschooling.

The NEW thing I learned @ DL this trip is the Disney PHOTOPASS.
Next time you go let them take your picture as you enter the gate.
I avoided the photographers before because we would never buy the pictures or even go look at them. I'm not good at saying no when someone wants me to buy something.

But NOW they take your picture and hand you a Disney Photo pass card.
Every time you see a Disney Cast member carrying a nice camera let them take your picture, hand them your Photopass and they load all the pictures on the card. You can go to the Camera Store at the end of Main St. nearest the Castle, right before Plaza Inn Restaurant and see the photos on their screens.
OR
The BEST thing is you can come home and look at them at the www.DisneyPhotoPass.com

I won't be buying the $50 photo CD or photo book this time. There are only 48 pictures on there. Next time we may get a card and make sure to get LOTs of pictures on there.
The link is below, but we can only view them for a month. I think it is fun that you can email all your friends and post it on your blog for everyone to see.

http://www.disneyphotopass.com/share.aspx?share=6e6f653a-1343-46c7-9e5c-3dd3f22a07f6&site=DisneyLandResort

Thanks for reading about our fun trip. I hope I had some good tips for you.

"Liberty Kids" on History Channel @ 7 a.m.

Pass the word.........
“Liberty’s Kids,” is being tested right now on The History Channel at 7:00 in the morning.

For the next ten days we need to get the word out to people like you who may favor putting an award winning animated series about the America’s Revolution on the air. As you know, this series was done with PBS and has received Emmy nominations (Two for Walter Cronkite’s rendition of Benjamin Franklin) and features an all star cast. This is a great show but it is hard to get shows like this on TV when so many toy and game supported shows fill up the network time.

This is an important opportunity for us to let The History Channel know that they will be rewarded by bringing this type of programming to kids.

Thank you for your time and please let others know that we are on the air for the next ten days at 7 in the morning (except for Sunday).

Sincerely,Mark Bennett<> http://www.dicentertainment.com

This is only a test marketing of the show. The History Channel needs to know that this is the kind of programming, we as parents want for our children. So, tune in and watch, then contact The History Channel and let them know how much you and/or your children enjoy the program. If the show does well, the producer's are prepared to create more programs highlighting other historical eras in American History.
How to Contact The History Channel
The History Channel doesn't exactly make contacting them simple so, here are the steps to follow, in order to send your comments about Liberty's Kids.
Visit The History Channel website using their contact form.
Select the following...
Step 1 - Scroll down to "Programming"
Step 2 - Select "Program Comments"
Step 3 - Select "Where do I send comments about a specific show?"
Click Submit
A new page will open, select "Contact Us", which will open a pop-up form for you to fill out.
On the form select "Programming/TV Listings" from the menu and complete the rest of the form.

I briefly stated "Thank you for running Liberty Kids. Please continue."