1st day of SECOND grade!

Josh headed off to second grade today! Last night he said his heart was beating really hard; he was nervous. But today he was all smiles and excited to see his friends again.



We weren't sure who his new teacher would be, but there are only two sections of second grade at his school, so we had a 50/50 guess. We checked this morning and learned he is in Ms. Mitchell's class. But then we found out that the two sections switch teachers every day after recess, so he has Ms. Mitchell in the morning and Ms. Salazar in the afternoon.

Ms. Mitchell's classroom is very exciting: it has NO desks! Just assorted reading areas and work tables. Ms. Salazar's classroom has proper desks for math, science, and social studies.



Josh was excited to find that several of his friends from last year are in his section. He had no problems saying goodbye and was happy to be back in school.

At home, it was time for celebratory cupcakes!



Lucas really enjoyed his blue icing!

Lake Almanor 2011

I still haven't finished posting pictures from our trip to VA but I'll move on to Lake Almanor and hope to get back to the others soon.

We visit Lake Almanor with John's parents every year at the end of July/beginning of August. This year was Josh's 8th trip and Lucas' 5th -- hard to believe! The lake is in the Mt. Lassen area, very close to Mt. Lassen National Volcanic Park. The year Josh was a newborn, we journeyed into the national park and hiked down to a geothermal area full of steaming lakes and bubbling mud pots, so hot that you would lose your leg if you strayed off the walking path. Needless to say, we've been waiting to return when we could be SURE the boys would stay on the constructed pathways!

Because the lake is a mountain lake, the water level rises and falls based on yearly snowfall and snowmelt. This year, it snowed in Northern California even in May, so the lake was very full. The area where we stay is a peninsula, which ends in a point known as "The Point." This is Josh's favorite place at Lake Almanor, because he can climb down the big rocks to the water, practice skipping rocks, and enjoy a panoramic view of the whole lake. We drove down to the Point on our first day only to find it wasn't there: the water had risen so high that you couldn't even drive to the parking area, it was submerged! The bench we usually sit on to enjoy the sunset was about 20 feet out in the water. As John's mom said, there was no point to The Point.

But our other Sunday tradition is the weekly "family dinner" in which all the families on the peninsula join at the recreation area to grill dinner, eat and catch up, play volleyball, and then listen to a band. This one went off without a hitch. John took over cooking duties, and Josh and Lucas played volleyball (with a soccer ball -- had to improvise) while the adults caught up with old friends.

Back at the house, there were many things to keep us entertained. Not least of which was the kid-sized firetruck, complete with pedals and a movable hose. Even Josh squeezed himself in there for some fun.

The deer are always fun to seek out. This year, the gardener came during our stay and left the back yard gate open, so we awoke one morning to find two deer in our own back yard! (Any yard with grass or plants in this area is fenced off to keep the deer from eating it all.) The boys were able to get within three feet of one of the deer (who later took a nap in the back corner of our yard too). It was an incredible experience.

And Lucas STILL enjoys the singing big mouth bass. "Take me to the river, throw me in the water ..."

More pictures to come ...

Fishing Trip

One of the great things we were able to do during our trip to Virginia was go fishing. My uncle Ben took us out on his fantastic new boat, and we had so much fun. The boys had never been, so it was an exciting adventure.



Uncle Ben shows Josh how to hook his bait and let out his line. He became proficient in no time.



Papa Mickey had the harder task of trying to teach Lucas how to fish. Lucas wasn't into holding the fishing pole and waiting for a hit, but once a fish was hooked, he became the go-to person for reeling 'em in.



Cruising along to find a better fishing hole:

Success! Finally caught one at our new location:

And another one:

(Happy dance!)

And another one!

We were clearly in the nursery, and we had to throw all these back because they were too small to keep, but it was fun to catch so many little ones so the boys could really enjoy the act of fishing and get the hang of it.

But just when we thought we'd only catch baby fish, my sister Michelle caught something that bent her whole rod over.

And it was a sting ray! We were all shocked and excited! But of course we had to cut the line to get rid of it, to keep us all safe from getting stung.

Josh became quite the little fisherman:

And Lucas even gave another short try to fishing alone:

But was still at the ready when Papa needed help reeling one in:

This was his "hiding place" whenever the boat was moving. It kept him from getting splashed by the wake, which he didn't like.

The fishermen!

Uncle Ben let Josh drive us part of the way back home, to his great enjoyment:

Mommy and Josh:

Josh and Papa Mickey:

My sister and I getting (accidentally) photo-bombed by my dad:

And lastly, enjoying the fruits of our labor. Here is Josh eating one of the fish we kept. He loved them.

More party pictures -- Josh

Josh blows out his candles with his friends:



He received a water balloon sling shot. Poor, poor Lucas.

Not sure what he's reacting to here, but his expression is kind of funny.

Bouncing away.

It was a fun party.

More party pictures -- Lucas

He really loved his festive party cake:



Blowing out FOUR candles:



Opening gifts with his friends:



Sliding down the wet slide after we turned on the water:

Birthday Party Day

The boys had their birthday parties today (after also having a family birthday party in VA during our visit). We rented a bounce house and had lots of fun.

Lucas had his party first, in the morning. His friends jumped in the bounce house and slid down its slide, then enjoyed the lovely cake he selected from the bakery (after rejecting my offer to make him one).

Lucas received many great presents, including a large dragon and the DVD of How to Train Your Dragon from his best friend, Sydney.

It was 100 degrees today, so after Lucas's party, we decided to try out the sprinkler system within the bounce house, because it was going to be much too hot for Josh's party. The bounce house had a hook-up for the garden hose, which then sprayed the water in an arch over the top of the slide (to mist it into a water slide). It made all the difference in the world. We quickly got the word out to our guests to come with their swimsuits, and everyone had a blast.

Josh let me make his Power Rangers Samurai cake, as long as I wrote his name in cursive:













We had a really fun day. Happy Birthday (again) Josh and Lucas!

Josh Busts His Moves

Josh did some serious dancing at my cousin Nathan's wedding last weekend. Watch for the circle of the bride's friends checking out his moves:

(click on the video to play it):

Straight As again!

Congratulations Josh. We are proud of your hard work and good grades.




(you can click on the image to enlarge it)