Jademissy

Easter Bunny Photo

2010-04-03T14:06:00.001-07:00

Today I finally found the time to take all 3 kids and get the traditional Easter bunny photo a the Baybrook Mall. In years past I have been organized enough to take it further in advance of Easter weekend. I used to have the photo done and the extras already in the mail to the grandparents. It's funny how going back to work and being busy with life stuff changes that. Akorren asked me, "Why do we have to take a photo with the rabbit?" and I told him because it has become a tradition, something that we as a family have done for several years now since living in Texas and it serves as a memory for family and friends who love and care about you. It gives them a glimpse of what you are like at this moment and time near this holiday.
So with his question of why I ponder how long am I going to have all 3 of my kids together, the girls wanting to look like 'twins', getting dressed up to sit for a moment in time with a bunny, still holding the belief that he will bring them eggs and treats on the holiday. How long will this moment last? For the meantime I will enjoy this time just go with it.

Johnson Reunion March 27, 2010

2010-03-29T13:13:00.000-07:00

The last family reunion was in IN over the summer in 2008. It is hard to believe that 2 years went by already. This year Glenn & I got to play host. Since we decided not to host it during the middle of the hot summer here in Texas, we knew we would have a smaller turn out. A big exciting thing for this reunion was the fact that Glenn would do tours of building 9 on site at Johnson Space Center. It was a really big deal for much of the family. I loved it because Glenn got a chance to show them some of the neat things he gets to do in his job as an astronaut trainer. It was a joy to see my husband proud of what he does in his work and to share that with his family. Many who went on the tours with him got to meet various astronauts and see things only a few get to; training modules and equipment used to help get up into space. It was a nice few days with every one who could make and surprisingly we did have pretty good turn out with about 30 people on the Saturday of the reunion.

We spent part of the day at Challenger 7 memorial park, Glenn set up to have a canoe, and 2 kayaks for the family to use up and down the river. We also had a friend cook a real Texas BBQ for us with brisket, shredded pork, chicken, sausage, and all the fixins'. After several hours at the park we went swimming back at the hotel where everyone stayed and then the crew came over to our place for Wii play time, karaoke and general story and gab time. It was nice just to be together. We all enjoyed the time we had together. The kid cousins have formed friendships and bonds as each reunion comes around it is time to remind us how important our family is and how much we love them even if we only see them every few years. Looking forward to seeing you all again in 2012.

Zhi's B-day Party

2010-01-31T21:04:00.000-08:00

Today Zhivanna had some friends over the house to play. We borrowed a friends Karaoke machine and along with Merlova's amp had some microphones hooked up for the kids to sing into. Instead of her expecting gifts from her guests, she asked that they donate money for her to make a contribution to the American Red Cross to provide relief for the people of Haiti. Since her theme was going to be Rock n' roll/ Disco we got her a guitar to play around with. She is crazy about it and has already made up a few songs about "loosing getting to watch TV" and how "words can hurt", I wonder if I have an lyricist on my hands here? This coming week she will get to try out piano and see if she likes it. We had fun with all the friends who came to play with us, thank you all.

Zhi and her B-day cake

2010-01-14T22:44:00.000-08:00

Here is Zhi at Grandpa Herman and Grandma Lois's place after going to the art show reception for the Texas Rodeo and dinner at Mongolian BBQ. What a happy girl. Happy Birthday to our 6 year old!

Orange Belts!

2009-11-12T20:08:00.000-08:00

Today the kids tested for their orange belts and passed. They were awarded them tonight by Ms. Sute. It is nice that they are both doing the class together and are at the same level. They only go one night a week but are enjoying themselves. They have done Ninja camp and a few tournaments.

Zhi getting her belt, very excited.

Akorren gets his orange belt (note how wiggley Zhi is)

Zhi Update

2009-10-19T19:03:00.001-07:00

Here is Zhivanna's Kindergarten picture, it came out really nice, she looks like her normal happy self. This kid is enjoying school and seems to be a jolly sprite when learning with her class. Currently she is busy with dance and then karate one night a week, she still asks to take piano, do gymnastics and is thinking about playing soccer again. The problem is that she wants to do and be good at everything and we as a family only have time for so much.
I wish I could give it all to her because I know she would just eat it up. She wants to be an artist right now and seems to think that painting and drawing are way too much fun. She loved the Kindergarten school music night this past week and can't wait to get back on stage again soon. It is wonderful to have such a joyful kid.

Akorren Update

2009-10-16T15:44:00.001-07:00

Akorren's 3rd grade class pictures came in today. He took a nice photo this year. It was fun to look at his other pictures as the previous years were still in the frame when I went to put this one in. He is doing well in school and loves his teacher, she does a lot of science in class and that goes over big with him. He is now working with a tutor one day a week and does extra reading, and typing practice almost every day to keep him going. He has dyslexic tendencies and the school district will not provide him with any extra help. He did get into the read dog program at school where once a week he works with a trainer and dog and reads them a book for about 30 min. he loves it his dog is a giant poodle named Emma.
He does karate one day a week and loves to play his Pokemon Wii game when he has time in between all the school stuff. 3rd grade really takes the homework He is currently hooked on the BONE graphic novel series and just got to see HP and the Half Blood Prince after reading the book with me. He is a neat kid and we just love him.

Kindergarten Music Night

2009-10-13T20:28:00.000-07:00

Tonight Zhivanna's Kindergarten class at Gilmore had a musical performance. Zhi was so excited to be able to perform and it was great to see her right up in the front row. She was very expressive in her gestures and singing. You can see that she really thought all the eyes were on her and she stood out as a real entertainer among her classmates.

Photo boards for Service Auction

2009-09-12T13:33:00.000-07:00

Here you see Akorren and I posing for our picture in BAUUC's (Bay Area Unitarian Universalist Church 17503 El Camino Real Houston, TX 77058 (281) 488-2001) Service Auction night photo boards. Glenn made these for the event tonight at 6:00 PM over at our church. This is one of our big fundraising events for the year. It's where we auction off activities, events, services, and goodies to make money for the church. It should be a lot of fun.
With Zhivanna sick with an ear infection and a fever I do not know which of us will get to go out tonight. I would like to go, but it would also be nice to let Glenn go and get all the complements on his work since he was the one who made them. The other two kids are going to spend time with Papa Herman & Lois. And one parent will be at home playing nursemaid to sick girl. Glenn did a good job with the photo boards and I am sure the church members will have fun photographing in them.

BAUUC Retreat

2009-08-29T19:18:00.000-07:00

Here I am (bright pink center) with fellow board members from Bay Area Unitarian Universalist Church BOD retreat weekend. It was so nice to slip away for a day and a half and stay in down on Tiki Island for a night. Sometimes being someplace different can be so refreshing. I woke up early this morning and was able to jump around on the deck overlooking the water and squeezed in a 30 minute Taebo workout. It made me feel alive again and not just in mommy mode. We learned so much at this retreat and look forward to sharing our excitement with the rest of the church community soon. It is a learning process and we are just getting started. Here we come Houston.

The Aquarium @ Kemah

2009-08-22T21:11:00.000-07:00

Today the kids and I went and celebrated my Taebo teachers' (Hiro) b-day by going out to dinner with her and many other families to The Aquarium restaurant at Kemah. It was fun, the kids all got to play with the kids of my friends and the adults had some time to visit. The cool part was getting to see the diver feed the fish. This was the first time we got to see that at the restaurant.

One-room School House

2009-08-12T20:18:00.000-07:00

Today Papa Clyde and Grandma Dani were visiting with us, and Glenn had to work, so we decided to take them to see something local. We took them to the West Bay Common School Children's Museum . here in downtown old League City. It was a fun look at the local culture of the area and the ladies who ran the museum had a great time showing us the school and items in the museum. The kids really enjoyed the player piano as you can see from the video below.

Karate Tournament

2009-07-26T17:04:00.000-07:00

I love this photo of Zhivanna you can see the good form she has for her kick (roundhouse). This is a great "action" looking shot. I also like how you can see the other girl really stretching out to make contact with her. If I recall correctly the other girl did get the point on this one.

In the end Zhivanna got her 3 touches first and she won her 1st ever tournament. She was just excited that she got a medal and did the sparing. It was not until after she got off the ring and had a snack that she realized she won the match. I love it!

Sailing

2009-07-11T23:37:00.000-07:00

Tonight we went out for a night sail with our friend Tom on his boat. It was a lot of fun just because Glenn & I have not been out much on a boat, much less at night. We had dinner at a steak house in Kemah and then went to the marina and out for a 2 hour ride. We will definitely have to do it again sometime soon. Here is what the boardwalk of Kemah looks like at night when you are sailing back in.

Rough cut of So.Padre Commercial Spot

2009-06-08T19:27:00.000-07:00

Here is the rough cut of the commercial the family shot in South Padre Island in May. I still do not know when it is supposed to play in the Houston area but a friend did say they saw it the other day. The color still needs to be adjusted and some of the cuts as well. It looks pretty good, the kids were excited to see it.

Don't Touch That Dial/ Dance Recital

2009-05-30T22:34:00.000-07:00

My two tired dancing girls with grandma Lois
and their flowers after the performance.

Zhivanna and her gal pal shaking side to side for the hip hop dance.

They loved these outfits a lot, especially the hats and gloves.

My little mouse Merlova, the smallest of her dance group
doing "Pinky & the Brain" an older cartoon from Nickelodeon.

Here she is my ballerina dancing to the music from
the Mary Tyler Moore TV show. She was again so cute
because she is so small in comparison to the rest of the group.

The tap dancer in yellow, moving to the song "Good Morning".
I love Zhi's expression.

Last Gymnastic Class

2009-05-27T22:34:00.000-07:00

Tonight was the kids last gymnastics class for the session. It was an olympics night and the older kids did some routines they were taught and showed off the skill they did. The whole family came out to see them. We were all a little bit tired after just getting back from South Padre for the commercial so it was a bit crazy.

Here you can see Merlova doing her spiderman thing, she loved
hanging upside down.

Akorren with the support of his coach does an front L-sit on the bars.
Looking good!

Zhivanna having a good time stretching with her friends
during the warm up for class.

The girls, coach and their medals.

Akorren and his coach with boys medallion.

Dolphin Boat Shoot

2009-05-26T14:46:00.000-07:00

Today after we did the turtle rescue shoot and the pool we got about a 2 hour break and then heading down the road to jump on a Dolphin Boat tour. We only were able to catch up and see 2 dolphins. The cool part of it was that the camera crew (and us) were allowed to ride on the front of the boat, they took several images of us looking at the dolphins, our expressions with the wind in our faces, looking out in the distance, etc. The water got a bit bumpy and the kids enjoyed the swells of the waves, with a lot of giggles and splashes on the sides of boat.
The girls were wide awake and ready for everything, Akorren on the other hand, was now feeling the wear of going and going for the 2 days of work and shots. The other cool part of this day was the crabs and star fish the kids got to hold for part of the commercial. Akorren held a male and a female blue crab and the girls got to touch star fish and hermit crabs. This was our last set of shots for our portion of the commercial. After it was done we headed back to the hotel for a little rest, packing and then a dinner out followed by the long drive back to Houston. It was truly a wonderful experience for us.

The Beach

2009-05-26T10:31:00.000-07:00

So here are the kids, being inspired by Walters' work decide to make a sand castle too. Andrew loved it and jumped in and started to video what they were doing. I had to catch the camera man in action, for posterity sake. I like this clip because I was able to show some of the other people who were a part of making this commercial happen; the man in the white hat is Dirk and he was the Creative Director. He works at The Atkins Group .
He made me proud to be a mom when he said how wonderfully well behaved my kids did for the shooting. He said his kids at that age would not had done as good, and that we did a really great job. I was beaming, to say the least!

Sand Castles & the beach

2009-05-26T10:00:00.000-07:00

I was on the beach around 7 AM today to shoot some solo (mom walking on the beach scenes), it was fun, just me with my cup of coffee and the production guys. They were funny and really great to work with. Andrew, Peter, Greg, Ryan, and Dirk (the man in charge). It was hard to find time to take pictures or video so I did what I could in between takes.
Here you see the master sand castle builder Amazin Walter and his apprentice at work. They were making a sand castle for us to use in the shot. The joke was that they would shoot Glenn with a shovel in his hand looking proud, then a cut to the kids and I in awe, then cut to the castle, then us again and then the castle with the 'real builders' working on it. It should come out great. I did not want the kids to ruin all of Walter's work so I had to make sure they knew not to touch it. It was a incredible to watch him work with his tools to create this art out of sand and water.
The girls thought it was neat and Akorren and Glenn were all into it. I hope the shot came out well, it was a fun one to do. Walter was heading out to New York later that day to create some other sand art for an event, I am sorry I did not get his autograph. He did hand me his card. I will see if I can get him to sign a photo for two for us after I print out the shots I have of him with the kids at the beach. This was an awesome way to start out second day of shooting!
The plan was to have us do some pool stuff but the sun was not cooperating, so they said go upstairs and change for the turtle sanctuary shots. So off we went.

Our 1st shoot, the Tatto shop

2009-05-25T16:35:00.000-07:00

The location of our first shoot. It was a fun place the kids got to get a tattoo if they wanted one. Merlova of course refused to get one.

Akorren and Zhivanna show off their tattoos for the camera.

Andrew and the crew shoot the scene where Akorren gets his cobra tattoo put on. It was cool!

Glenn and Zhivanna prepare for their shot of looking through the book to pick out a tattoo.

Andrew had Akorren in front of the camera just to set up the first shots. Akorren did a great job of taking directions and putting in a good effort to act and be excited about the tattoos. He had to pretend to want to get a real "bad" tattoo by pointing to it on the wall and Glenn had to make "No Way" dad-like reactions to what Akorren picked out. It was a cute scene and hopefully it will make the final cut of the commercial when they edit it all together. Glenn had fun with it.

Getting ready to shoot

2009-05-25T16:06:00.000-07:00

Here is Glenn and the kids as we wait in the lobby to go for our 1st shoot of the day. They originally told us the beach, so we dressed in swim wear, then they said it was off to the tattoo place. Where the kids would go to pick out a temporary tattoo and get one and do some other shots. We were excited and ready to go, the kids got to go swimming and have snacks before we left.

Our Hotel

2009-05-25T13:04:00.000-07:00

The kids were very excited once we arrived at the Sheraton hotel they had us stay at. It was a resort in its' self and the kids thought they were in the lap of luxury. This was the view from our 10th floor room. I was thrilled. Later that night I would get to enjoy a beer and watch the view once the kids went to bed. It was beautiful at night. I think Akorren loved the wide screen TV they had in the room. The girls liked the comfy bed.

In this photo you can see the frog pool did some filming in it with the kids (the next day), sliding down the slide and playing. They really enjoyed that part of working on the commercial.

More drive to Padre pics.

2009-05-25T12:15:00.000-07:00

Glenn with the kids at the entrance of the store. Merlova was not so sure about this big shark thing. The older two thought it was cool!

The coral reef up close, so much work went into this one.

Zhivanna climbing on the dolphins.

Drive to Padre photos

2009-05-25T12:14:00.000-07:00

The kids by the stegosaurus.

The kids and Glenn by the big dinosaur, cool to see the scale of it.

Here is the beautiful coral reef display, it was still under construction.

Akorren poses by the "fossil". He thought it was real. I am sure it was just part of the art.

Glenn and the girls by the giant shell and the dinosaur.

Drive to Padre

2009-05-25T12:11:00.000-07:00

On our dive to South Padre Island we found this cool tourist place called Bob's World, (I think?) and they had all these really neat, super, big, handmade, painted sculptures. One was an underwater reef scene, another dolphins jumping in the waves, dinosaurs, giant conch shells, and a sharks mouth at the entrance of the store. We took a short break to use the restrooms then headed out for another hour to the Sheraton hotel on the island, where they had us stay. We were to meet with the production crew at 2 PM to go over our shots for the day.

Preschool Graduation

2009-05-19T14:19:00.000-07:00

Today Zhivanna had a small preschool graduation from the Little Friends Preschool at Clear Brook High School in Friendswood. This was her second year attending this program and she really learned a lot from going for 2 years.
During part of the ceremony she was given a Best Writers Award for doing so much work and writing with her letters. We were so proud, each student was acknowledged in some special way. Merlova was very excited to about it too and looks forward to attending in the fall of 2009-2010. It's hard to believe how fast our girl is growing.
At left you will see her with her gal pal and dance class friend Ava, with the beautiful Ms. Smith the head teacher and again getting her certificate while wearing her silver graduation robes.

Awards Night @ Space Center Houston

2009-05-14T23:01:00.000-07:00

Tonight we attended an awards ceremony for Expedition 18 to the International Space Station. This was a mission that Glenn worked on a lot, in terms of the new toilet system and the new water reclamation components. It was fun to go since we are extended friends of astronaut Mike Fincke and his family. Glenn was actually part of 3 groups that were acknowledged, and he was able to stand up 3 times and get the applause from the audience. (A person who lead the group he was a part of got to accept the award on behalf of the team) The one I have footage of is for repairs of the toilet. I know it is a very dark video but it proves we were there and that Glenn is doing good things at work. The kids enjoyed being able to see the video that the astronauts put together to share with the group about their mission. It was nice because part of the footage they showed included our friend Tony Antonelli when he arrived with the STS-119 mission to the ISS. Akorren even asked the astronauts a question about what it felt like when they landed from space. It was a nice night for the whole family.

The Chicks

2009-05-06T17:16:00.000-07:00

Here are the chicks that were in the 2nd grade classroom I have been working in at Hall Elementary. The students raised them in incubators from eggs, and they were very excited to see how the would grow and change over the days and weeks. The teacher had them do different writing and observations on them, the video below was taken the last time they were out before the farmer came to pick them up. It was funny because he came about 5 minutes after I took these last images of them. The chicks were going to go to a local feed store. I know the students were going to miss them as some of the little girls cried when they left. Cute!

New Tile

2009-05-04T17:04:00.000-07:00

We paid to have tile put in the playroom. We used the same place that did the tile in our living room, Galaxy Carpet & Tile. They did a good job before and could do it quicker then if we wanted to do it ourselves. We decided to keep the main color similar to what we had put in the living room cream/ off-white and then to do a green colored carpet in the center. This way it would pull in the color of the green marble tile in entrance way.
We are very happy with it, now all we need to do is change the wall color. I can't take the red walls anymore, if this is going to be the kids playroom/ casual living space. I want something that is more neutral in color. We will be picking out wall colors soon. Then it will need the baseboards redone too. We are making progress.
The kids are also very eager to have a play space as well. Glenn is very eager to feel like one room of our house is "normal".

A Lego Party

2009-05-04T16:51:00.000-07:00

Akorren & Zhivanna's buddy, Michael had his 8th Birthday party this weekend. A Star Wars- Lego party and all the kids seemed to have a good time. It is such a treat to watch your children grow up with such good friends and also to see these little kids you know grow into great school aged children. Michael was one of the 1st real friends we met when moved out here to Houston. We are lucky to have formed such a close bond with him and his family.

Here is a quick clip of all the kids making silly faces at the party.

Gotta Brag!

2009-05-01T23:52:00.000-07:00

Just went out with some friends for a dinner, margaritas, and dancing. My dear friend Janeen was kind enough to give this token of her appreciation to me for helping her and Tony out during the launch of the Discovery in March. I am truly touched and was taken to tears when she presented this to me. Thank you both!

I also thought that this was just way to too cool! It is now one of my most treasured gifts. (A sterling silver James Avery Space Shuttle Pendant.) I promised that I would not keep it sealed up in the bag they sent it up in space and am looking for the right chain to wear it on. It is just so cute, too... a little shuttle!

Here is what the certificate says:

National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center Houston, Texas
Certificate of Authenticity STS-119

This James Avery Space Shuttle Pendant was flown for Melissa Magdaleno aboard the United Sates Space Shuttle Discovery to the International Space Station during its mission to install the S6 truss and the last set of solar arrays. Discovery launched at 7:43 p.m. EST, March 15th, 2009, from Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. At 3:41 p.m. EST March 28, 2009, Discovery landed at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida having traveled 202 Earth orbits and 5,313,565 statute miles. Discovery reached a maximum altitude of 226 statute miles and a maximum speed of 17,685 miles per hour. The flight duration lasted 12 days, 19 hours, 29 minutes and 33 seconds.

Dominic A. Antonelli, STS-119 Pilot

My Dancing Girls

2009-04-30T20:09:00.000-07:00

Here are clips from Merlova and Zhivanna's dance class. The last day of the month they have a parents preview, where we get to go into the last 15 min. of class, so we can see what they have been working on. These are from the dances that they are going perform at the end of May for their recital.

Below is Merlova with her class practicing part of the dance, she is having too much fun.

This is Zhivanna and her gal pal Ava. They met going to the Little Friends preschool program. Watch how these girls shake their hips. I'm a little worried, sorry part of it came out so dark, I was shooting the clip and had back lighting.

Merlova's Party

2009-04-25T22:29:00.000-07:00

This Saturday we hosted a gymnastics/Dora the explorer themed 3rd b-day party for Merlova. Many of her little friends got sick or did not make it so it was a bit smaller then planned but she still had a great time. She liked having a special day and was very comfortable at the gymnastics place since she is there every week for lessons.

Presents time...the rest of the kids look on with excitement. Fun, Dora toys!

Merlova and her 3rd, b-day cupcake. She wanted red cake with chocolate and white frosting and sprinkles of course. And we had ice cream cups as well to go along with them.

The party table with kids ready for snacks. This is after we played in the gym.

The parachute play time. Merlova got to pop the bubbles on top and then we all did a few activities shaking it and going underneath. Fun!

Monkey Merlova swinging on the rope across the foam pit.

Zhivanna, Merlova and gymnastic pal Bizzy stretch to warm up for playtime.

Merlova inside the parachute, just after she stuck her head through the hole in the middle. Quick clip, sorry.

Crawdad feast

2009-04-23T19:24:00.000-07:00

So it is funny to be back where I started a year ago. Last year I began my blog with an entry in April about the NASA DX crawdad feast and today I am back where I started. The kids again this year had a great time and managed to take home one of the only alive crawdads from the feast. Last year we managed to keep it alive for the 5 months+, when it was under our care. This year this one is named "Rocky" and it is already settled into the cage we have ready for it. The kids decided it was a boy.
After all the craziness of the flood this weekend it was nice not to have to prepare dinner for one night and be able to go to a place where the Shiner Bock flowed FREE. I definitely had my share of it. The evening was a minimal cost for our family of 5 to attend, and I know for sure Akorren ate his weight in crawdads. they had a bounce house and all the food we could eat. It was a blessing in that it was great diversion from all the reality of the big life stuff that we have been dealing with over the past week. As a busy an now mostly working mom I enjoyed the break. Here are the kids with our new family member, Rocky.

Character Award

2009-04-22T11:45:00.000-07:00

Ms. Shaffer with Akorren, mommy and sister Merlova outside of his class after the Character Counts Awards.

Akorren was given the character counts award at Gilmore school for "trustworthiness". He figured it out that he was going to win it when I showed up at school. We found out at the last minute that he was going to be presented with it so only Merlova & I could attend the ceremony. He was really proud. Merlova and I came back to have lunch with him later that same day.

BUGS! performance Gilmore

2009-04-21T22:39:00.000-07:00

Tonight Akorren had his 2nd grade musical performance of BUGS! it was so cute. All the kids did a great job in it. Akorren was originally going to tryout of a part but then got too nervous about it. He was so good as a chorus member during the performance, we were so proud of him. It was such a joy to see him having such a good time with it, he moved really well during the hand gestures and I could tell that he sung out as loud as possible during the singing parts, he made me so proud. I hope I can provide him with other experiences like this so he can enjoy the pleasure of theater during his growing up. It was so much fun for all the family to see him. His class was bumble bees during the performance and he was in the second row of the chorus. You can see a part of it in the short video clip I took on my camera.

The Clean Up Begins

2009-04-19T21:48:00.000-07:00

Here is Glenn tearing up the floor in the kitchen. This one was a hard one to see. It seemed to dry out well, but the baseboards were still very wet and separating from the walls. Once Glenn started to pull up the floor, it was all wet underneath. The water barrier held the water down to the floor and the linoleum under was all wet and had to be pulled up. This one is going to be a big job and will take a while to get all cleaned up. We will have to take our time doing the repairs on this. Some of the cabinets will need fixing as well.

The mess of the living room. All this stuff needs to find a new place or be moved around. Water got in here as well, it damaged the baseboards but the tile did just fine and dried out in no time. I hope to make this back into a living space, at least in the next few days.

The dried out playroom, minus toys and most all of the furniture. The bookcase shown will go up stairs into the spare bedroom and then the work desk will be put back into the study. This room will get tiled first, we plan to pick tile out tomorrow and get is going asap.

This is what our study looks like now. All the floor and wall are dry, just missing the baseboards and carpet. It is much cleaner now that all the work and project junk is out of it. We will probably leave this room without flooring for a while. It will be the last place to get done. A low priority on the list of to do's.

As soon as the rain stopped on Sat. around 4;37PM Glenn cut into the playroom carpet and we began the drying out process. With the help of our neighbor Scott and Young Family (thanks Tom, Lynn & Jeremy) we were able to clean out the study that night as well.

More Flood Pictures

2009-04-18T23:03:00.000-07:00

Here are more pictures of the house when we were taking on water. Here you can see the water seeping down around the base of where the toilet was seated.

You can see the water level in the kitchen with our towels. They did not do much but I guess it made he kids and us feel like we were doing something. It was less then 1 inch.

The laundry room took on water too, it came in through the seep holes in the brick facing. You can see the carpet all wet and some of our recycle goods that got wet too.

The last photo is a really good one. You can see the water level through the window behind Glenn. Yes that is across the street... the water is all the way up to neighbors front yards. You can also see the water that was already getting inside the house.

What...FLOODED?

2009-04-18T22:13:00.000-07:00

Now these photos are taken about 2 hours after the picture of Akorren with the bee costume on. See this Saturday the rains came to Houston and after getting back from church (for a 4 hour meeting) I came home to a rainy day. Akorren had a friend over to play and Glenn I were working on things around the house like the bee wings.

We noticed the water coming down really hard outside and then while working on the wings I looked out the front window and could see the water starting to back up by the drain. No worry this has happen before. Then about 20 minutes later. It was covering the sidewalk. I mentioned it to Glenn and asked if we needed to worry about it. The kids were so excited as they wanted the streets to flood so they could go out and play in the water after the rain slowed down. They were chanting "Flood, flood, flood!"

We both took note of the water level again. Then it really seemed like it was not clearing very well by the drain. So I mentioned it to Glenn, ..."I know we will need to take these papers and albums up stairs if water starts to come in." The rain was still very heavy and looked like it was still not going to let up. So Glenn again said okay let's just watch it. Then when he noticed it more then halfway up our front yard he made the decision to have the kids help us tote things up stairs. Up went the paperwork, albums, stuffed animals, and toys. Unplugged the electrical stuff, put the things up.

The kids were great they hauled and hauled until I need to get lemonade and let them rest while Glenn and I hoofed it up and down a few more times. Then the water was at the door not inches from it; at the door, knocking to let it in! It was still raining like no tomorrow. And the chanting of "FLOOD" was not heard in the house. I told the kids to be careful of what they wished for. And then we calmly explained to them that it looked like water was going to get into the house. And shortly around 4:27 PM it started to come in through the front and back door. (see lowest picture)

For a while we let the kids grab towels and throw them down, to feel like we were doing something about it, there was not really much we could do. And then by 4:35 water was coming in from the seep holes in the brick facing, into the playroom corners, the study the living room and throughout the kitchen. The carpet was just soaking it up. We both hated the carpet so now was our time to get rid of it. By now we chased the kids up stairs and out of the way so we could monitor the damages. FYI- Merlova was put to bed just after 2:30PM and she slept all the way through the whole thing. Such is the life of the 3rd child.

Zhivanna was trying to work herself up into a crying fit, but we curbed that really quick. We let her know that in this family we do not panic in an emergency situation and that crying will not solve anything. The worst thing that could happen would be 1 to 2 feet of water and that we did not feel it would get that bad and that if it did we could always go up stairs. So we just waited and sighed and were glad when it slowed down around 4:45 PM. The cars parked out in front of our house (not ours) were toast, I mean filled with water up the midpoint of the door. I guess it was just our day to get flooded. It really sucked but I guess it was our turn to have some excitement for the weekend! I just love life, really....

Bee Costume

2009-04-18T14:05:00.000-07:00

This is the back side of the bee t-shirt costume I helped to put together for the BUGS! musical that Akorren is doing at his school on the 21st of April. I have to get the wings laminated and ready to be pinned on for Tuesday. I just love the little stinger I sewed on the backs. The kids will also be wearing bee hats on their heads as well, they are at school.

My Baby is 3!

2009-04-14T22:54:00.000-07:00

Akorren, Merlova & Zhivanna with her cake just after she blew out the candles.

Merlova turned 3 today and we made her a cake and took her out to Mongolian BBQ for dinner. She really enjoys the cooked meats. We plan to do her party at the end of the month on the 25th at the gymnastics place. Tonight was just about being together as family and letting her feel special since she is such a big girl now. She is a chocolate monster so I made her a chocolate cake with chocolate icing. Notice the big green sprinkle spot on the cake in photo, she helped to decorate it. Happy Birthday my big baby girl!

Now you must pardon the video. This is the first time I have attached one or recorded one on my photo camera. So when I meant to take a picture I actually took a video but here it is. Very brief and bad pan up at the end, sorry!

An Egg Hunt

2009-04-11T21:43:00.000-07:00

Today I was on kid duty as Glenn had work stuff to do at church this Sat. I took the kids to YMCA with me so I could dance Zumba with Zhivanna and then it was off run household errands, then to a friends house in Houston for an Easter kid party and egg hunt.

I forgot that now Akorren is getting older he does not do the egg hunts at school anymore. So this hunt at the party was a big deal for him. He and Zhivanna both got into it. This was her second as she got to do one at preschool.

Now this was Merlova's 1st for this year and she was into it. Grabbed every egg within her reach. Now she would share and drop one or two in a friends or sibling's basket but she went for everyone that was in her sight. It was a nice afternoon, even if it was a little chilly for us Texas folks. The kids did get into the pool after the fun and food.

Merlova shows off her eggs, Zhi & Mer, the 3 kids, the group of children who attended the party.

Dye the Eggs!

2009-04-09T22:32:00.000-07:00

Tonight after my Taebo class and dinner, I had it enough together to have the kids dye eggs with Glenn. It almost slipped my mind. I still have Merlova's b-day, party, child dedication, and home paperwork that has to get done on my list, so I am a bit distracted.

The kids all had a good time. It is nice now that they are older. Akorren wants to do it all on his own and is very capable of it. Zhivanna enjoyed the eggs and welcomed the help and Merlova really got into it this year and was obsessed with the blue egg she colored. Not wanting to put it down and putting some small cracks in it because she dropped it, only once. We did a marble egg kit and a tradional colored kit only 1 dozen that way each kid could do 3, with mommy or daddy help.

Merlova holding her favorite blue egg, Zhivanna getting some help from daddy, Akorren coloring his eggs yellow (his favorite color).

Animal Project

2009-04-08T20:27:00.000-07:00

Akorren has been working on a project in his second grade class on an animal report. The class took a trip to the Houston Zoo where they were able to look at their animals. He decided to learn about the octopus. (I guess that underwater theme in his room as a baby has influenced him) He decided to make his own diorama on it. Being creative and seeing all the things that daddy uses, he took the polymer clay we had and made some underwater life as well as origami sea life. He is doing it all on his own with guidance from daddy. He is very proud of it so far. The project is due on the 14th and this shows what he had made so far. It is looking good.

Akorren's 2nd grade octopus animal diorama project, he will add more to it over the next few days.

More Easter Bunny Photos

2009-04-03T22:18:00.000-07:00

My version of the paid shot we took. I used mine to make some cards at CVS with for the family. The kids did a good job. Merlova was okay sitting near the bunny, no way would she get on the bunny's lap. I thought she did a good job.

Just waiting our turn. I love Merlova's look as she is watching the bunny.

This is good photo of Akorren looking at the bunny, I took one like this of Merlova but it came out dark because of the light coming into the mall.

I love Zhivanna when she is being cute! These two kids look so big now.

Zhivanna being a clown with her gestures and posing, Akorren with a silly face and Merlova looking cute. We are next in line to see the bunny at Baybrook Mall.

Easter Bunny Photo

2009-04-03T21:30:00.000-07:00

Here are our kids with the Easter Bunny over at the Baybrook Mall. This was the first year that we did not have a crying and screaming Merlova in the photo. I like this photo but I was expecting the bunny they had the year before, it was a white and pink one with a cute purple bow, oh well! Merlova was funny she did not want to sit on the bunny's lap but was okay sitting near it.

Spring Photo Akorren

2009-03-31T11:46:00.001-07:00

This is his class. He must be growing since he is not in the front row in this picture. Normally they put the smaller students up front. He does have a few friends in his class from the previous years. His teacher Ms. Shaffer is great.

Here is Akorren's Spring Gilmore school picture. His hair is a bit long in this photo. We had it cut shortly after this was taken. He is cute, my growing little man.

Earth Hour 2009

2009-03-27T14:35:00.000-07:00

THIS SATURDAY 28 MARCH AT 8.30PM YOU CAN VOTE EARTH BY SWITCHING OFF YOUR LIGHTS FOR ONE HOUR - EARTH HOUR.

My 7 AM Call

2009-03-24T19:04:00.000-07:00

Okay so it's around 7:00 AM and the phone rings. I look at the caller ID and see that it is a US Government #. I figure it is Glenn checking in on how things were going this AM since he had to be at work by 6:00 AM for a Russian teleconference. I say "hello, hello.... "and am about to say hello one more time then hang up when I hear a familiar voice.

"Hi, sorry about the delay... this is Tony... I just thought I'd give you a call to say thanks for helping out with the boys for the launch." I stumble on my words, "What? oh, my, wow! ... I mean like you're up in the ISS, wow..oh, my! Glenn is going to get a kick out of this... he is at work. Thanks for calling, it means a lot." And we chat for a few minutes about the launch, kids, and excitement of life in space.

The kids are eating breakfast while I chat and I whisper to them that I am on the phone with Mr. Tony. And they look at me. When I hang up I ask them, "Where is Mr. Tony right now?" Akorren looks a me, "Mom he is in space, on the space station." Merlova's reply is more direct she just points up in the air, "He is up there mommy... in space!"
Now how cool is that? I will remember this call for a while. I know not many people can say they got a phone call from space. Yeah, COOL! (Thank you Janeen & Tony)

Fl Trip Day 11 Almost Home

2009-03-17T23:51:00.000-07:00

So today we made it out of FL and all the way to LA. We got a phone call from our cousin Randy Roak yesterday saying that he would be in TX and wanted to stop by to see us since he was in town. We told him that we were on our way back to TX from FL. He said that since he was heading East on the 10 and we were heading West on the 10, that we should met somewhere in the middle and visit for a while.
We then decided that we would not push driving into TX tonight. The kids have been so good on the trip. So today at around 1:30 PM we took a detour in Louisiana and made our way out way to Fontainebleau State Park off of HWY 1089 in Mandeville, LA. It was a nice smaller state park right on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain. The kids all wanted to play in the water and sand, so we did for about 1 and a half hour. It was nice break after all our driving.
After we dried off, dusted the sand off and loaded back up we drove to just on the other side of Baton Rouge and met up with Randy for a dinner break at a small cafe. The place had some real good shrimp, pork ribs, and fish. Then we said good bye to Randy (after checking out his rig) and drove for another 45 minutes and stopped for the night. We knew we would be home by the afternoon of the next day, so it was nice to sneak in another family visit on the trip. We were glad to be near home as we were really missing the dogs and sleeping in our own beds. It will be nice to be back in TX tomorrow.

The kids and Glenn in front of the old Sugar Mill in Fontainebleau State Park, Glenn & Merlova snuggle on the sandy beach area after swimming in Lake Pontchartrain, a tortoise is discovered by Akorren, my 3 sand bugs digging, a brief reunion with cousin Randy.

Fl Trip Day 10 Driving

2009-03-16T22:30:00.000-07:00

So last night ended our official vacation with the launch of the shuttle. What a great way to end the trip. We spent the night at a Days Inn right in Coco Beach on the main HWY. It was a quick drive to get to from the launch site. We took our time and packed the car back up for the long drive and made sure the kids were filled with breakfast and snacks. We we doing well leaving the Orlando area but then Glenn missed our turn off to head North on the 75 so we diverted off track and had to take some smaller roads to get back on to the 75 North. Then just as we got back on track we ran into bad traffic on the FWY. It was like a dead stop for 1 hour so we got off and made a side track around Gainesville. There was a big trailer truck accident with a few cars in a pile up. So it made us add another 2 hours+ to our detour. By night fall when the kids were tired of the 8 hours + time in the car we made it to just off the 10 and 75 to stay for the night. We were all glad to be out of the car. We had done so well on our trip by not getting into bad traffic and problems I guess it was our day to get stuck. Tomorrow we could push it and drive all the way into to TX but with today we think we might take one more day and come in on the 18th. We will have to see.

Fl Trip Day 9 Launch Pictures

2009-03-15T23:44:00.000-07:00

Yes over Spain and we can still see it clear with the plain eye. It's knowing something like that, that makes our world seem so small.

I love this shot because of Akorren's reaction to the sound he was the only one in our family that did that. The girls were just awe struck with the light and sound.

Up even higher, I am clicking as fast as I can with my little camera at same time just trying to feel and be in the moment of this event. Amazed.

It still continues to climb and it seems to go up so quickly, I try to imagine the donkey kick the G-force are described like. The kids are just stunned at the site, wow!

So right about here is when I am crying my eyes out. It is truly amazing, note how the cloud is bent, that is when the made a rotation.

Fl Trip Day 9 Launch!!

2009-03-15T23:21:00.000-07:00

So before you know it, WOW! You hear the roar, then you feel it. The launch time was around 7:20 PM so there is still some light visible in sky but then their is this brightness, so bright that it is like the sun is now appearing out of the horizon. You want to look at it and see every moment. It's going up, my goodness yes, it's up they are launching Mr. Tony is flying. I am so inspired that I am crying, filled with joy and excitement... so happy for my friends to know what they have gone through and sacrificed to get here. This has been his life's work to get to this point, and now here it is. Zhivanna sees me crying and gets herself all teary eyed and shouts to the sky, "Mr. Tony we love you! Be safe we don't want anything to happen to you, Michael and Danny's dad!"
I turn to her and say he is fine, he is an astronaut, and he is up, up, up. I look over my shoulder to see our friends who are hollering and shouting, clapping like the rest of the guests. It is just amazing to see this huge rocket blast into space. They go higher and higher and you can still see them. They continue to climb, Glenn sees me with the tears and takes a moment to check in and ask if I am alright, and then he continues to video. The two solid rocket boosters now separate and we can see them these two lights in the sky floating away. And we can still see it. By now they are somewhere over Spain, wow! Incredible.

Mike & Garrett give us the commentary, a quick pick of the kids right before the launch, we have light and a blast of sound, more brightness like the sun, yes...lift off!

Fl Trip Day 9 Go For Launch

2009-03-15T22:49:00.000-07:00

We left Homestead around 10:30 AM and gave hugs and kisses to our family, and made the 3 hour drive back up to Coco Beach. We were driving across the causeway when we figured we might be cutting it close to going to the hotel, checking in, refreshing, then driving back to the location on Kiwanis Island where the buses would be picking us up. So we decided to head right the pick up location. That way we could have time to relax and let the kids run around, it worked out great as we were at a park. Bathroom break, STS-119 T-shirts on, snacks eaten and packed, all the camera and photo gear ready and so we just had to wait for the buses.
While we were waiting the kids and others found a tortoise who was, trying to cross the road. Many of the shuttle guests visited with it and then we made sure it made to the other side to safety.
The buses came and we had to show our ID, passes and then got to take about a 40 min. ride to Kennedy Space Center. It was so nice not to have to drive to it. On the ride over you could already see the traffic on the roads. The place seemed to fill up suddenly with the launch being a go. Everyone kept checking text and email or the web to make sure we had the most current news of it all being a thumbs up still. The kids of course had to use the bus bathroom a few times and did not seem so hungry to eat many snacks, it was a bit of a down time for us on the bus ride over. We made it to the launch location and with our special buttons on were designated as launch guests, it would allow us access to get out to the grassy area with bleachers set up just for us. Behind us in the main Saturn 1 building is where the astronaut families would over look the launch.
We walked around inside the building as we did not get out here when we spent a half day at KSC. They had some cool things to see, the lunar lander and other displays. We had about 2 hours until launch so that would give us time to let the kids chill out. They had this temporary post off thing set up where you could purchase a limited special edition envelope with the STS-119 patch on it and then on the inside it had a paper that explained about the mission. You could by one and then have it sent that day from KSC, they would put a special mark on the stamp of the date and note that the shuttle launched on that day. I bought three with the cash I had on hand and had them ready to be mailed out. The kids played outside on the grass then after a while we decide it would be good to feed them so we stood in the lines for food to get them something. While I was in line Glenn and the kids got to see the Antonelli family from up top, they waved to each other. That was cool! Before we knew it, it was like 15 minutes to launch so we went out side, the bleachers were filled up so we stood around the sides and listened to Mike Foreman and Garrett Reisman give an astronaut side commentary to all that was going on as the crew geared up for launch. We then positioned our selves by the fence so we could get a better view of the actual lift off. Then the time passed and you could feel the excitement in the air. All the astronaut spouses and kids could be seen from the balcony behind us and before we knew it the count down had begun. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 ... 3, 2, 1!

Kids with the tortoise before we load on the bus to KSC, my crew of 3 ready to go see the launch, me now really excited with my special button, us in front of the launch site shorty after we got off the bus, family picture in front of the count down clock they set up for us.

Fl Trip Day 9 Launch Pictures Cont.

2009-03-15T12:04:00.000-07:00

Akorren is making a sill face in this photo but I love it because you can really tell that we were at the launch because of the cloud trail. This will be a great picture to show the kids again when they are older. I know they will like it.

This photo is just a taste of how beautiful the smoke cloud was from the launch the sunlight from the west was hitting it at just the right spot and made an incredible image. Glowing orange and purple.

Fl Trip Day 8 Vizcaya Pics.

2009-03-14T23:25:00.000-07:00

This was inside one of the nooks found in the gardens set up under an ornate archway. I loved the face it seemed to match well with Clyde's look. I think the figure is supposed to be Bacchus, the Roman God of wine. (I worship him sometimes, hee, hee!)

So while walking through the gardens we came upon and ancient ritual for raising the dead. No, just Papa and the kids playing. Kona was having too much fun and Akorren obviously thought it was funny too. They even chanted some. Merlova is mad because she did not get to be up on the slab first, poor kid!

Since I took a photo of Zhivanna with the gate Merlova insisted that I take her photo by this white statue as well. I thought she was going to do more of the sphinx pose for me but didn't.

Zhivanna shows off some of the other wonderful iron work in the gardens. The kids just enjoyed walking all around out side looking at all the structures around. In the garden behind Zhivanna some photographers were doing a photo shoot with models, I think that is where she got her inspiration from.

Akorren by the stone marina that was part of this huge castle-mansion, the view was beautiful. To the right of this is a Greek style permanent stone barge that makes a lovely background to the water way. Impressive!

Fl Trip Day 8 Photos/ Vizcaya

2009-03-14T23:13:00.000-07:00

So after our alligator farm trip we went back to the house to rest. Then our nephew, Chris was really wanting to take us to this place called Vizcaya.

It is a National Historic Landmark that was built by agricultural industrialist James Deering in 1916. It has a Museum & Gardens with a main house, ten acres of formal gardens, a hardwood hammock, and historic village. I was not thrilled by the 45 min. drive in Miami traffic to get there but our nephew was very excited to show it to us. Truly beautiful and worth the trip. He and I wrangled the kids for part of the time visiting it so that Clyde, Daniele, and Glenn could enjoy it. We were not allowed to take photos inside.

The Johnson family outside our new home (we wish), Akorren & Marina pose by the "booby" statue, Glenn admires the iron work of the front gate entrance, Merlova and kids in the main glass entrance inside Vizcaya, Chris with the kids by the pool.

Fl Trip Day 8 Photos More

2009-03-14T22:42:00.000-07:00

The handler coaxes one of the bigger gators to feed from his hand... I mean feed on the fish in his hand, the handler dropped into its' jaws at the last minute. SNAP!

I love this picture of the alligators gathering at the edge of the pond during the feeding show at the gator farm. You cannot tell the scale by this photo but some of these ones were at least 4 ft. in lenght. I love the one smiling for the camera. How cute!

Now this picture is shortly after I set up Zhivanna to hold this gator on her own. Within a few seconds it wriggled and she dropped it on the floor and it began to run as fast it could under the metal bleachers. I lept into action, in super mommy mode, and grabbed it just before the gator made its' way to freedom. Notice Merlova's dirty look at Zhivanna for 'dropping it' and daddy helps out while she holds it. Zhivanna's response of course was, "Sorry, sorry... but it was an accident." Our response: "Zhivanna it is always, just and accident."

Akorren & Kona get a chance to hold the babies. Akorren held him very tightly yet with care.

This guy was crazy amazing, he seemed to really know how to handle these gators. Funny thing was his voice sounded like that Ernest guy from the movies, it was hard to take what he had to say seriously sometimes.

Fl Trip Day 8 Photos Cont.

2009-03-14T22:31:00.000-07:00

This was one impressive alligator skin. I am glad we did not meet him alive. Zhivanna takes the cake with her pose in this shot. Love it.

THE GATOR IS SERVED! And they eat it all up. The ketchup really helped. They thought it tasted like chicken, silly kids what do they know. I love Merlova's expression, she ate it up no problem saying, "Mommy I'm eating alligator."

The grand kids all crowd around the snack stand. They want ice cream, but Papa says, "Gator first... then ice cream". They are all so hungry, even after the two bags full of snacks we fed them in car less then 30 minutes ago.

Zhivanna and Papa Clyde ready for the ride. She didn't want to hear the noise of it. She had a blast too.

The air boat tour was the best part of the visit for me, I loved the speed and motion of the boat on the water. When the got going fast it really felt like you were just gliding on the water. The fact that the alligators were so close to you made it exciting. More than the jungle boat ride at Disney, even. I almost could reach out and touch this gator in the picture. I have never been so close to one. Wow!

Fl Trip Day 8

2009-03-14T22:08:00.000-07:00

Today we went with Clyde, Daniele and the kids, (minus Loray & Andi) to an alligator farm. Grandma Dani treated the kids and family to an air boat ride and tour of the farm. It was so much fun. We really could not tell if the grand kids or grandma had more fun. We got to see a snake show where they touched and held snakes. Then we took an air boat ride though the Everglades (way fun!) about a 30 minute ride. Akorren and Merlova sat in front with cousin Chris & Kona to get the full effect.
Then it was time to try some fresh fried alligator (tasted like abalone to Glenn & I) Papa Clyde's treat and then we saw the alligator show and a feeding. The kids and adults were rather tired by the time we headed back to the house around 2 PM.
But this was only half of the day. For the afternoon we took at drive into West Miami to see a place called Vizcaya.

Grandma Dani and the grand kids enjoy visiting with the anaconda, Merova like the python the best, the kids all wear the snake (Merlova is happy to touch the tail), we start our ride on the air boat.

Fl Trip Day 7 Photos Cont.

2009-03-13T23:55:00.000-07:00

Zhivanna smiles in the sun while looking at the alligators. She was being sassy and I told her if we needed to she could go pet one. She of course in her drama did not think that was funny. Papa Clyde got a laugh out of it.

One of the many alligators that we watched on our walk in the Evergaldes. I missed the better shot but as this gator came by, the bird on the island opened up his wings as if to say "stay away from here", I don't know if that would have done much good if he or she was really hungry.

FL Trip Day 7

2009-03-13T23:22:00.000-07:00

Today we got the kids up and Chris took Clyde, Daniele and Glenn to his work at the local nuclear power plant to see what he does. Loray and I got the crew of kids up, and grown girl Andi went to school. Once the rest of the adults got back we loaded up both MPV mini vans full of kids and drove to the Everglades National Park, it is just about 15 minutes away from the house. We took a brief look at the visitor center then headed out to one of the many walking trails to look for gators. Loray got a phone call from Andi's school and she was sick, so she had to load up her crew and left the rest of us to enjoy the park some.
We took a nice walk and saw waterbirds, many gators and the diverse plant life. On our way back to the house we got some boiled peanuts (which I fell in love BTW) and then we looked into eating some gator meat (no luck) and found a place to do an air boat ride at. We wanted to do a whole family thing so we decided to wait for tomorrow to go with the rest of the crew of kids.
Loray ended up having to take Andi up the Miami Children's hospital to get a CT scan and MRI, she was having bad back problems and fainted at school from the pain medication she was on. We order pizza for dinner and Clyde and Chris took a drive to the hospital to check in on Andi & Loray. We end up caring for and putting all 6 kids to bed and enjoyed a quite PM. That night we also hear news from NASA that the new launch date is set for March 15th at 7:43 PM.

Repairs Work Proceeds - Weather Forecast is Good Fri, 13 Mar 2009 10:52:40 AM EDT Repairs are under way on the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate (GUCP) interface, where gaseous hydrogen leaked during Wednesday's launch attempt. The interface then will be retested and leak checked before Sunday's 7:43 p.m. launch attempt. The Mission Management Team will meet on Saturday at 1 p.m. to review the data and the progress of the teams, and make a final determination on the launch. A Pre-launch News Conference will be held no earlier than 3 p.m. following Saturday's MMT. The weather forecast calls for an 80 percent chance of acceptable conditions at launch time. Meterologists are watching for low cloud ceilings, Shuttle Weather Officer Kathy Winters said. The forecast deteriorates for potential Monday and Tuesday attempts. The mission would last 13 days if Discovery launches Sunday. The astronauts would perform three spacewalks during the flight. Discovery astronauts awoke at 9 a.m. and underwent standard medical exams at 10 a.m.. Commander Lee Archambault and Pilot Tony Antonelli will practice landings in the Shuttle Training Aircraft at 7 p.m.

The family ready to leave for Everglades, in the visitor center theatre to see movie, Zhivanna & Akorren on the mosaic of Everglades, Zhivanna says hello to a bird friend, Akorren & Glenn check out the gator in the water.

Trip Day 6 Photos

2009-03-12T23:50:00.000-07:00

Glenn and Daniele relaxing on the couch. He is just one big kid.

Zhivanna gets some love from DJ the funny little dog. He has her pinned to the floor with his chew bone on her back, she was laughing the whole time.

Papa Clyde with just a handful of the grandkids. DJ had to get some attention, too!

The crew of kids engaged in the Wii.

Papa Clyde and Glenn give hugs to the little girls of the family. There were enough adult arms to go around for everyone to have some love.

FL Trip Day 6

2009-03-12T23:44:00.000-07:00

We check out of the hotel around 10AM and make our 3 hr. + drive down to see Chris, Loray and kids. It will be nice to be in a home again for a few days. I know our kids enjoy the hotel but being in a house (even if it is not ours) is calming for the kids. They will sleep well tonight. We make it to Homestead and are greeted with hugs and kisses from Papa Clyde and Daniele and cousins Keliana, Chris & Loray. Loray decides to go and get the other kid cousins out of school early since we arrive. This is the first time the kids are all meeting each other. Akorren was around but was just a little guy when he met Andi and Marina.
We spend the afternoon and evening playing with the kids, swimming in the pool making dinner for a clan of 7 kids and 6 adults, and then spent time on the Wii, and at the pool table playing late into the night. Chris had to work that night and made it home by 11PM, we were all still up and Loray ended up cutting out of work early to visit with us. We had a great time just being one big family at home. It was like a mini Johnson reunion with all the kids running around. When bed time came all the kids bunked up for the night. It was a lot of fun. I think tomorrow we will be taking a visit to the famous Florida Everglades, the visitor center is less then 20 minutes away from the house. It should be fun.
Cousins Keliana & Kona, big girl Marina in the back seat, Glenn & the boys, the little gals play pool, Zhivanna gets her hair done by big cousin Andi.

Trip Day 6 More Photos

2009-03-12T12:55:00.000-07:00

The boys finally crash out on the couch downstairs.

All the girls piled into Andi's for the night. You can see Zhivanna in the back, they were all so tired after a full day of play.

The Johnson men hit the pool table for a game or two and lot's of talking.

FL trip Day 5

2009-03-11T23:42:00.000-07:00

So we make it back to our hotel after a few hours of sleep over at Janeen's place. Later on today we are hoping to see the launch. We need to be at the pick up place by 4:45 PM to get on the buses to take us to KSC. By this time in our travels we need to do laundry and Glenn is kind to offer to do it. So he sends the girls and I to the beach to play while he and Akorren make sure we have clean clothes for the next few days. Our current plans are to see the launch then leave tomorrow morning and casually drive down to Homestead, FL to see his nephew Chris and the family.
So we rest a little, then I get the girls and our beach gear on and we walk less then a block to Coco Beach and enjoy several hours of playing in the water and sand. We bump into Tony's Aunts and family walking the beach and comment on the excitement of the launch tonight. The girls and I also befriend Koichi Wakata, the Japanese Astronauts friends, as they amusingly watch my silly girls digging and being buried in the sand by mom. We talk, take some photos and give a thumbs up to the fun of the events tonight. Glenn and Akorren meet us back down by the beach and then I take the girls very briefly to the pirate ship pool, then back to the hotel for showers and naps. I want to make sure they are ready for the nights events, launch time is at 9:20PM so we will need to be up later then normal. Glenn comes back from the beach with Akorren and then we all start to get into our STS-119 launch T-shirts, around 2:00 PM. Glenn's cell phone rings and it's a colleage from Houston, TX who calls to say that they are having a problem with fueling up the shuttle and that is scrubbed for tonight. Now knowing this friend, we want to make sure our legs are not being pulled so Glenn calls his more reliable source and we get word that their is a problem and it is a no go for launch tonight. We are bummed, we start to text and call others about this. Our nephew Chris wants to know if we will be coming down tomorrow then. We take about 1 hour and turn on the NASA news to get the details and learn that the next day they are looking to give it a go is on Sunday, March 15th at 7:20 PM, so we make plans to check out of this hotel tomorrow AM and drive down to Homestead to be with family. The fun thing about this is that Glenn's Dad and Daniele will be there visiting as well so we get to see them too. (yay Papa & Grandma!)
Not wanting to have a downer of night since the shuttle got scrubbed. We go out to shop and be like tourist. We go to the Ron Jon shop (a well know surf and skateboard place) and then decided to take our selves out for wonderful Tai food dinner. By the time we eat the kids are so hungry they eat all the good, different food too. We stroll though this dinosaur shop and look at the great fossils and replicas, we also by a few books for the kids. After we get back to our hotel Glenn convinces us to take a night walk out to the beach, it is a little after 9 PM and we can see the light from the direction of KSC, the moon is full tonight and the sounds of the waves and kids trying not to get wet fill our surrounding. Tonight would have been a beautiful night to see the shuttle take off. Glenn and I sigh and then hope that it all that needs to be fixed will be so that we can come back on Sunday and see it launch. After all that was the main reason we took this vacation. Here is to keeping our fingers crossed. It will be fun to see family tomorrow. The girls meet Japanese Astronaut Wakata Sans' friends, my 2 sand bugs, mommy and girls in the big hole, Glenn and kids in front of Ron Jon shop.

FL Trip day 4

2009-03-10T23:38:00.000-07:00

Today we got our crew up and going, I had 2 cups of coffee to get myself ready for the day and then we made our way over the secrete location when the astronaut families were staying. The kids were so excited to see the boys Michael & Danny. So it looked like we would have a great day together. Now none of them got their normal sleep as you can expect so some were in bed by 11, 12 or 3 AM but Glenn and I knew we could wrangle them all.
First stop was Kennedy for the astronaut briefing and family & guests tour. This was going to culminate in the very important wave across the ditch. This would be when the boys would get to see their mom and dad together on last time before he goes into in space. A very big deal!!! So the kids stay contained in the auditorium for most of the briefing interested seeing photo of dad or Mr. Tony, shuffling her and there. We keep trying to get them all to have toilet breaks, and time to do some walking around before going on to the next thing. We then make our way herding the clan on the nice comfy buses to take the tour around 12:30 PM and by luck we get on the least filled bus. This allows the kids time to spread out, eat snacks, switch seats, look out the window, play, be somewhat quite and actually look out the windows to see shuttle pad, and other sites at Kennedy. Glenn and I get moments of peace and the feeling of WOW we are here doing this, we are so excited!
Now Danny and Merlova are so tired by the time we do the wave across the ditch to Tony and he ends up in his grandmothers arms but Michael and the rest of the kids do a great job. NASA Photos are be taken of the group and I am trying to take as many as I can and Glenn is doing video. It ends up being a great moment and then Danny is out asleep when we take the bus ride back to the center. It works in our interest as Glenn takes him and part of the crew to the car I do one last restroom break and now by 3:00 pm we are off to let the kids have some down time. Akorren, Zhivanna and Michael enjoy "Hook" on the DVD player on the ride home while Danny & Merlova sleep. We do a Mc'D drive through and then rest up at the hotel. Merlova sleeps for a hour while Glenn wrangles the older 4 and they get a trip to the pirate kiddie play pool and beach visit. I have time to gather my mommy mind, drink some iced starbucks, and then help clean up the boys real well so they look sharp for their dad's astronaut reception. The Antonelli boys then our crew during the briefing, best buddies on the bus tour of the shuttle, our family in front of the shuttle before the wave across the ditch, our astronaut family friends Janeen & Tony (Guido) Antonelli

FL Trip Day 4 Cont.

2009-03-10T12:40:00.000-07:00

So we get the crew of kids and Glenn all ready for the Antonelli astronaut reception. The cool part of it is that they have it at the Kennedy Space Center in one of the buildings so we are surround by space stuff. We make our way to the gates and get let in as the kids are immediately recognized. Their is a large Soyuz spacecraft hanging in the main entrance hall and it really adds to the atmosphere. We check in at the main table and then take our photo with the "flat Tony" a life-sized poster of Tony in his orange flight suit. Tonight all the crew is in quarantine and it it the astronauts family and friends who gather tonight to celebrate this monumental event for the Antonelli family. We also get to sign a special page that is going to be made into a book for Tony to take with him when he goes up. It has all the names and well wishes of his guest from the reception. We also got a bag of cool swag, wrist bracelets, STS-119 mission tattoos, pictures, stickers and other NASA stuff. Glenn gets a metal pin of the patch, and I get one with loop on it so I can wear it as a necklace. The friends and family had a great time, very casual and sharing stories of how they know the family or are family and their excitement over tomorrows launch. We also get to see a fun slide show of photos of Tony growing up and going into the astronaut core. At around 8:30 PM most the kids had eaten their fill of the hours devours and got some good play time in. We ended up taking all 5 of them back to the hotel to wait for Janeen. Then we had an impromptu sleep over so she could do the night viewing of the shuttle. This is when the family (at like 1:30 AM) gets taken over to see the shuttle lit up on the pad, while the crew looks on (at the same time) in a different location. It is a real neat NASA tradition kind of thing. The kids, Glenn & I then made it back to our hotel at around 8:00AM, looking forward to the launch later that day. The kids get their break and play in the pirate pool/ then a quick dip in the ocean on Coco Beach, me with astronaut Michael Foreman (family support for Antonelli's), us with the flat Tony, kids in front of the reception poster at KSC.

FL trip Day 3

2009-03-09T23:14:00.000-07:00

We made it to the Kennedy Space Center today around 3:00 PM which was a big deal as I wanted to make sure we had all the official passes and things together then we took a break from the drive and visited KSC for a few hours. We got some STS-119 t-shirts, rode a shuttle simulation experience ride, saw a 3D Imax movie on the moon and let the kids run around the place for a while. We then made it to our hotel a Holiday Inn right on the beach and settled in. The kids were glad to know they would be at the same place for more then one day and once they saw the pirate ship kiddie pool and beach sand they were very excited almost forgetting that we are here for the launch.
Tomorrow we would meet up with Janeen to get the boys and care for them most all of the day. It is going to be our full parent-on-time day. We would become a family of 5 now, taking care of everyones needs and doing the family astronaut briefing, launch pad tour/ wave across the ditch; then take the kids for some down time then make our way back to Kennedy for the Antonelli reception. We are so glad to be here.
Glenn with kids in front of the Visitors Check in center, Melissa with kids, Akorren & Zhivanna pose in front of two more cool painted shuttle models (in the back ground is part of the space memorial at KSC)

FL Trip Day 2 Cont.

2009-03-09T05:51:00.000-07:00

So after leaving the plaza we accidentally stumbled upon on old fort that was a major part of Mobile history, Fort Conde. It was great ,it was FREE to get in and it had most of the South wall of it up and open with photos, displays, and dioramas set up the kids had fun running through the small passage ways. Then we discovered a Museum of Mobile across the street that had some of the local history and artifacts from the early Spanish explores to the more modern history of World War II, segregation/ the slave trade, and a pirate exhibit. The kids enjoying just being out and looking at all the stuff. We were glad to have a break and learned that it would be nice to come back and learn more about Mobile, AL. We ended up staying in Madison, FL for the night at about 9:30 PM and we all stayed up late watching the Discovery channel. Today we plan on making the last part of the drive to Coco Beach to our other hotel and do some visiting of the Kennedy Space Center today. Will post more soon. Kids looking at Mardi Gras outfits, a carriage display, Merlova on rod iron bench, pirate kids with treasure.

FL Trip day 2

2009-03-09T05:38:00.000-07:00

On Sunday after leaving LA we made a good 3 hour stop off in Mobile, Alabama and had a nice visit. The First place we went to was in the old town area to a Spanish plaza and it looked like they still had some of the leftovers of a Mardi Gras celebration as the kids went on beads treasure hunts in the grassy area. The Mardi Gras museum that they had was closed since it was Sunday. We did stop and take some pictures in front of it and in the park area. The kids all enjoyed being out of the car and just in the grass. We then decided to take a look at another part of the city. We did not know much about AL and this area. Kids with bead tresures on old art bench, me with kids infront of museum, daddy & kids in front of historic statue.

FL trip day 1

2009-03-08T07:00:00.000-07:00

Well we got a late start leaving TX yesterday and finally made it on the road by 11:30 AM. (my goal was on the road by 9:00) The kids were very eager to get a move on. It was hard to leave the dogs behind but Papa & Lois promised to take good care of them. The kids did really well on the drive, considering we did a good part of the day without the portable DVD player, and we ended up stopping in Covington, LA for the night at a La Quinta by about 9:15 PM. The kids were all ready for a break and some TV time. Merlova wanted to take a bath. We let them stay up to past 10 PM and all had a good night sleep. We are now having some breakfast and getting ready to head back out on the road again. We should make it into FL by today as all we have to drive through is MI and AL. We are just enjoying getting out of Houston and being somewhere different. The kids are just so excited to be at a hotel and on the road for a trip. We hope to do some sight seeing today and not feel to stressed to get into FL. Happying traveling.

Shuttle, It's a GO!

2009-03-07T07:30:00.000-08:00

Okay Now I am over being sick. Glenn is getting over a little bug. We are getting caught up with stuff and now we are off to FL to see the shuttle launch on March 11th. We leave today and should be back after the 15th of March. Kids and all are excited. I will try to back blog as we do stuff. More to come soon.
Here is what our official family letter said:
Family and Friends of STS-119,

Managers and engineers from the Space Shuttle Program and several other offices within NASA met today at the Johnson Space Center to discuss progress on the flow control valve issue which has delayed the launch of STS-119. After another lengthy meeting, Wednesday, 11 March appears to be a strong possibility.

As always, the Agency Flight Readiness Review (FRR) has the ultimate authority to officially set the launch date. The FRR will reconvene at the Kennedy Space Center this Friday, 6 March, to consider the results of today’s Space Shuttle Program decision.

If STS-119 launches on 11 March, launch time will be approximately 9:20 p.m. EDT. Based on today’s decision, the crew will enter quarantine again tonight at the Johnson Space Center crew quarters. If the Agency FRR approves an 11 March launch, we will fly to the Kennedy Space Center on Sunday afternoon. There, we will perform a final review of flight procedures and perform flight training in the Shuttle Training Aircraft.

Please contact our crew secretary, Nuria Aguilar, if you have any changes to your plans to attend our launch.

Thanks for supporting STS-119 and have a great week.

Lee J. Archambault, Colonel, USAF
STS-119 Commander

Photo courtesy of Kennedy Space Center

Offical Letter to STS-119 Guests (Update)

2009-02-16T07:15:00.001-08:00

Family and Friends of STS-119,

NASA managers and engineers met on Friday, February 13 at the Johnson Space Center to discuss recent results from the on-going analysis of the flow control valve issue which has caused delays in the launch of STS-119. The meeting was lengthy and detailed, lasting almost 10 hours. In the end, managers rescheduled the continuation of the Flight Readiness Review for February 20 at the Kennedy Space Center. The Flight Readiness Review will officially set the launch date for STS-119; however, today’s meeting recommended a launch date no earlier than February 27. If launch occurs on February 27, launch time would be approximately 1:32 A.M. EST. Please see the attached NASA Public Affairs Office press release for further details on the investigation and upcoming Flight Readiness Review.

I am very proud of the significant work performed by the numerous NASA centers across the country in support of STS-119. I am confident NASA engineers will ultimately develop a solid solution in the best interest of safety of flight. In the interim, the crew will continue a moderate level of training to be ready to support a February 27 launch date. We now plan to enter quarantine on February 20 and travel to the Kennedy Space Center on February 22 in anticipation of a potential February 27 launch.

Have a great weekend and thanks, again, for supporting STS-119.

Lee J. Archambault, Colonel, USAF
STS-119 Commander

Well with this current information the tentative plan for our family is to leave Houston on the 22nd of Feb. and arrive in FL on the PM of the 24th of Feb. and to be around 2 full days before the launch date to be available to help then we will head back to be home the 1st or the 2nd of March. We should know more by the 20th of what we will be doing. It's time to get excited about this trip again and make the needed check list of what has to get done. And hope that all the kids will be in clear with being healthy by then.

Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T22:28:00.000-08:00

So today we tried to sleep in some since Glenn & I did not get to bed until around 2:00 AM. Sick kids and wanting to stay up to have some kid free time has been making us both night owls and early birds. Papa Herman came by to see about getting help moving Lois's big TV out today. We took our time getting up, making breakfast, and starting our day. I let the kids open up their Valentine's Day goodies and Papa Herman wanted to give them the cards he had for them as well. They also gave the candy, homemade cards and presents they had to their daddy, Glenn.
We spent the rest of the day keeping Merlova occupied, and playing nurse to sick Zhivanna and Akorren. They played the Wii game we rented (Dewey's Adventure, cute game) and I was even able to get Akorren to do some of his work from missing school all this past week. The kids watched Nim's Island in the PM and had small snacks for dinner, no one was really hungry for our normal sit down dinner. So at about 8:30 PM when the kids were in bed I made Glenn and I a nice Tai peanut chicken meal with pud-tai (shrimp) noodles on the side. So much for going out for a kid free dinner on Valentine's Day. We will just owe ourselves a night out once the kids are all better again soon.
It is interesting how much LOVE and being in love has changed for us over the years. Especially the life Glenn & I had before children. It is almost like a long forgotten life we faintly remember having. We loved having fun and doing things with other people, enjoyed the nights out: movies, playing pool, out to a bar or dinner over at friends houses. I am always amazed at how much having the children has made me love Glenn all the more. I think he is the most sexy, loving, great husband, man and dad around and I am glad that I have him. I also love my 3 little Valentine's so much I can not imagine my life without them, (even though lately I really am tired of this all being suck at home and being sick thing!). Being able to love so many different people in such a deep way is a truly touching experience and a wonderful thing to feel in living this thing we call 'life'. It is at times like this, when I get both mad and sad because I know it never always going to be like this, with feeling all the love. I know in reality that I am not immortal, like I think I am and it saddens me that I cannot go on forever feeling the love that I have with my family. (sigh) So in the meantime I will enjoy it while I can and take all the hugs and kisses I can give and get. Hope you have a good day filled with love and joy in your heart. Akorren with his V-day goodies, Zhi and the $ from Papa & Lois, Papa H looks at the cards while Merlova eat spidey chocolate, daddy admires the envelope to his homemade card.

Another one down

2009-02-13T21:46:00.000-08:00

So as I mentioned from the last posting Zhivanna was not feeling well. So guess what?, she is now under the weather too. Akorren is feeling much better, just an annoying cough that doesn't want to respond to his asthma medicine. So today was one of the on duty all day stuck at the house/play nurse to the kids day, where I can't go work out or get much done because at all moments of the day someone is always needing something day. Yay! My gal pal Carol did manage to come over briefly in the afternoon, so I could do a page or two in my scrapbooks. (Thank you!)
After Glenn got home this evening I almost forgot about the sweethearts dinner at our church. I thought it was going to be on Sat. for some reason. We originally were not going to go thinking we would be traveling to FL for the shuttle. But at the last moment I decided that it would be something fun for us to do as a family, so I bought us all tickets. Glenn looked at me and said, " you know you have been stuck in the house all day with sick kids why don't you take the two that are not sick and go, I'll stay with Zhivanna". So I got the other two ready, had daddy take a picture of me with my two dinner dates and we headed off to church for a nice spaghetti dinner. Both kids were pretty well behaved and ate well too. It was nice to get OUT for bit. On the way back home we stopped at the video store and picked up one Wii game and 3 videos. I figured our weekend, and Valentine's Day was going to be an inside day between the sickos and the rainy weather. So after getting the other two kids in bed it was fun to watch the original BBC The Office show with Glenn. I absolutely love the American version and being able to watch and see both really made be appreciate good writing. Mommy with her two dates, and sick Zhivanna with her rosy red lips and cheeks.

Keeko Update

2009-02-12T17:33:00.000-08:00

Canceled working today so I could wrangle kids (Akorren still home sick & missed class V-day party) and do dog and household stuff. Got Keeko to the vets around 9:30 AM to start an IV for fluids since he had not eaten in 24 hours. He did not drink enough water to even urinate this morning. He was looking very worn out and dehydrated. He was also going to have blood work, and an x-ray taken while he was there (just to make sure he had no blockage in his gut). That way we could use the results to rule out what it is not. I was able to take the girls to dance class, drop off the party stuff for Akorren's class even if he was to miss the party, set up a play date for Zhivanna and get some of the regular home things done.
Glenn was able to pick Keeko up at 5:30 PM and $415.00 later arrived with a better looking dog and a case of special diet food to start him on. Dr. Huber says some sort a bacterial thing that will work it's way out of his system. I am glad we took him in when we had to, it could have gotten worse. Keeko was glad to be home and looked bright in the eyes. He was looked filled out and not drained. With a shaved left arm he found a comfortable place in house to rest. He was hungry this PM and Glenn was able to give him a smaller portion and a half of rice and special diet food for him and he ate his fill. He is resting by my feet now as I type this and looks a lot better. Since the shuttle still looks like a go for the 22nd of Feb. it is really important that we get him back on his feet again to feeling better. The cost for veterinarian bills always hurts since most people do not have animal insurance but since he is like the 1st child we would find a way to pay for his needs. I am feeling some relief now as it feels like he will get better in the coming week. Now as far as the kids go, I'm not so sure. Just put Zhivanna to bed early, she started to say that she was feeling "ouuugey". Wish us luck!

Now a Sick Dog

2009-02-11T21:30:00.000-08:00

I cared for a flu like sick boy today and wrangled the girls, in the AM. Worked a 1/2 day teaching in a bilingual 3rd grade class then took the kids to gymnastics. We arrived back home to the house around 5:30PM with gear in hand ready to get dinner and the PM routine started when the children noticed some 'throw up' in the play room. "Mom one of the dogs threw up". I checked where the children had pointed out the mess (3 spots in the playroom, yuck!); I looked for the dogs (Panda is outside)and Keeko is sleeping/lying in the front entrance. At first glance I get worried to see him. He moans to me as I go near him. I get Keeko up and out of the house just in case there is anything left in him to get out. He seems very weak and stiff in his movements, his sides still tightening every so often as he stands. Around him on the floor are puddles of drool. I get him outside and make the organizational plan in my head quickly of how I will begin to clean things up. I feel so sorry for the poor dog the locations of the mess indicate that he was trying to get outside so as not to mess in the house. Such a good boy!
Keeko seems to like being outside and looks okay for now. I clean 2 of the 3 new spots I find on the tile, easier to clean then the carpets. I turn towards the study and am stopped in my tracks as I see what looks like a reddish brown paint splash on the floor. No wait a minute that is blood...blood, BLOOD. Oh, no Keeko! I say to myself as my heart drops, I keep it from falling into my throat. Breathe Melissa. Grabbing the vet magnet off the fridge I dial and ask how late they are open, I seem to be "..having kind of an emergency with my dog, he has thrown up all around the house and one spot on the floor looks like blood...I can bring him in now as soon I can load up the kids and everyone in the car again, see you shortly." So off we set, the kids can read the calm, seriousness in my voice and manner as I instruct them to grab whatever they want to snack on out of the pantry, get shoes on and get into the car, now. A quick phone call to Glenn, "meet me at the vets." And I carry my 50lb. + dog into the mini-van and head off.
I carry Keeko into the vets office, then go back and unload the clan of children. The cartoon on the TV help to distract them, except for Merlova who is running on no nap, and is looking for trouble. Glenn arrives just as Dr.Thomas Huber. (League City Animal Clinic) comes in to look at Keeko. Exam, weight check, fecal sample, observation of Keeko walking outside. Plans to treat this as a bacterial infection, Huber mentions having seen many dogs come in like this in the past month. Bloody vomit, but not going to worry to much about that just yet, not uncommon for dogs to have blood in stool or vomit if sick. After 3 antibiotic shots (ouch!) Dr.Huber recommends we take him home where he will be more comfortable to rest and watch. "If he has any major problems or you have questions, call me on my cell number, I'll write it here on the top." A prescription to pick up at CVS for the dog, will do and for under $300 were are on our way out the door with a worn out dog who needs some rest, more medicine and time to be cared for and observed over night. The plan is that if he does not want to eat and looks bad in the AM after all the other medication then an IV may have to be our next option, meals of boiled rice and plain chicken will be on the menu for the next week or two. A distraction of candy from the basket at the vet office made it easy to transition the crew back home. Now time to get kids fed and into bed so daddy and mommy can clean up the dog mess and tend to our other sick boy. Glenn will sleep downstairs with Keeko for the night. I will have the main kid watch upstairs for the night. I hope to have a healthier dog in morning to write about soon. A weak worn out Keeko dog, getting some love and hugs from daddy.

A sick boy

2009-02-10T09:59:00.000-08:00

This morning Akorren woke with 101 fever, so I decided he could not go to school, I cancelled going to the YMCA and working a half day in the PM over at the local middle school. Then I called Papa Herman, who was planning to have the girls anyway and made arrangements for him to take the girls over to his place to watch while I took Akorren to the walk-in clinic at our pediatricians office. I was a little bummed since I had to cancel working and exercising (as I live for my Taebo workouts) and anytime the routine gets messed up it makes me feel off. We ended up getting to wait at the doctors an extra 30 minutes since I signed our names in on the wrong sheet, making our total visit just under 1 hour and 45 minutes, yay!
We made it back home after 11:30 AM making a stop at the pharmacy to drop off and get prescriptions for the next week and get food for the boy. While making him rest and trying to catch up on emails/household stuff I received a message from a church friend who's 23 year nephew, Jimmy had just passed away from a seizure and never woke up. She did get to see him last December when she was in Main. I stopped to think for a moment. I go over to my resting son, Akorren and give him a big hug in memory of Jimmy. I tell him that I love I him and that I know he will feel better soon. I take in the moment, and then I say a thank you in my heart for my friend Carol Ann and her family members Susan and Christine for sharing a gift of caring and gratitude for all that life gives you. Here is blessing that comes to my mind.

Prayer of Passage
Oh Mother Nature
There is great sadness
A cherished one has gone

Emptyness engulfs me
Loss languishes within
Help me bear this grief

Accompany their spirit
Comfort we who grieve
Let us rejoice in their life
May their essence be recorded
Renew our rememberance with joy

My sick boy resting after he ate some of his lunch.

STS-119 Update News

2009-02-09T19:45:00.000-08:00

NASA Sets Special Review Meeting

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 11:39:16 AM CST

NASA's Space Shuttle Program managers will hold a special meeting Feb. 13 to review flow control valve data and determine whether to proceed with the Joint Flight Readiness Review, or FRR, for space shuttle Discovery's STS-119 mission to the International Space Station.

The valves under assessment channel gaseous hydrogen from the shuttle's main engines to the external fuel tank. One of these valves in shuttle Endeavour was found to be damaged after its STS-126 mission in November. As a precaution, Discovery's three gaseous hydrogen valves were removed, inspected and reinstalled.

In light of a positive outcome from the special meeting, the official launch date will be set at the FRR, although for planning purposes, the liftoff currently is scheduled for no earlier than Feb. 22.

Meanwhile, STS-119 Commander Lee Archambault and Pilot Tony Antonelli will fly to White Sands Space Harbor in Las Cruces, N.M., in T-38 training jets late today for night landing practice in NASA's shuttle training aircraft.

For us this means we will look to leaving the TX area on the 18th of Feb. to make our way out for a 22nd of Feb. launch. We will know more the day of the 18th if we need to be out of here or not. We are still sending good vibes and thinking about all the people who are working on making the shuttle safe and ready for fight. Yes, there is a delay but this still will be an event well worth the wait.

Image above: Attired in training versions of their shuttle launch and entry suits, these seven astronauts take a break from training to pose for the STS-119 crew portrait. From the right (front row) are NASA astronauts Lee Archambault, commander, and Tony Antonelli, pilot. From the left (back row) are NASA astronauts Joseph Acaba, John Phillips, Steve Swanson, Richard Arnold and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata, all mission specialists. Image credit: NASA

Time for Valentines

2009-02-07T20:34:00.000-08:00

The kids have been getting excited for Valentine's Day. I know this comes out of a real commercialized idea now a days (the card industry, florist, candy stores/ jewlery) but we are trying to make it a day to think of those we love. My original plan was to have them make homemade cards to give out using my craft/scrapbook stuff. Then the space shuttle launch was supposed to happen on the 12th of this week so I thought I could get out of it all. Then I realized I couldn't just drop the ball on this one and say, " sorry we are not going to do Valentine's Day and you will have to deal with missing your parties because we will be gone." Needles to say knowing that I would have send in things ahead of the party dates to school because of the shuttle I broke down and let them buy store made ones. (Me bad)
Anyway, enough fretting about that...they all had a good time signing their names to the cards, tearing them apart, folding them, taping candy to them and having them in a bag to hand out. Merlova and Zhivanna plan to give some out at gymnastics and dance. This is especially exciting for Merlova since she is not in a mothers day out program and has no school peer group at this time. Merlova picked out Hulk Valentine's and put mini M&M's on them, Akorren has Fantastic 4 ones with blow pops on them and Zhivanna has bunny ones with heart shaped lollipops on them. Merlova thought she was such a big girl signing her own cards with her "O's" signature, it was really cute watching her do it all by herself. Merlova with her Hulk cards, Akorren taping the lollipops, Zhivanna's sideways pose with cards.

Pumpkin Update

2009-02-03T21:19:00.000-08:00

I'm writing about how Pumpkin is doing since my posting stirred up so much emotion from my family and friends. My sister in law called me today about it. I am very glad to say that she seems almost completely normal and healthy as of today. When she walks she leans a little to the right but it is nothing out of the ordinary, she is like what she looked like before the fall. Tonight I was able to let her run about in the ball and Glenn and I hand held her for sometime and she was full of energy moving all around with nothing stopping her. I am truly amazed, mother nature must have wanted this little critter to be with us for the time being. We are grateful for her health, by the end of the week I will work with the children on handling and holding her again.
I know Akorren has learned a lesson from this experience. We processed some last night before he went to bed. I asked him what he learned from this and he said: "Well... you can't drop a hamster!" "When/ if I get to take her out again I am going to sit down". I told him that if she ends up being alright, like she is looking that he has been given a second chance to care and love her. And right now I am glad that we were all able to take something away from this, just a little gift from life and living. Blessings. Pumpkin getting her mouth on things, trying to keep her still for a photo.

A Postponement

2009-02-03T19:28:00.000-08:00

Today Glenn came home and mentioned before I got ready to walk out the door for a church meeting that he heard the shuttle launch was going to be delayed. My heart skipped a beat as I though of the Antonelli family and what that means for them. So I made sure to make contact with Janeen. The word from Lee J. Archambault, Colonel, USAF STS-119 Commander is:

Dear Family and Friends of STS-119,
On Tuesday, February 3, NASA held its Agency Flight Readiness Review (FRR) for the STS-119 mission. The FRR determined that we will not launch on February 12, due to continued investigation of a flow control valve that malfunctioned on STS-126 last November.

NASA has been diligently investigating this issue since the STS-126 mission and hopes to complete its on-going testing and analysis within a week. Assuming a positive outcome to the investigation by February 10, NASA managers will reconvene on February 12 to set a new launch date, which will be no earlier than February 19, 2009.

Unfortunately, we understand this delay impacts travel plans for many of you. At this time, however, we cannot recommend how to rework your travel schedule as the launch date will not be set until NASA managers reconvene on February 12. We will update you with details on the launch date as we receive them.

So guess that just means we will be leaving later and make plans to be in Fl for the new launch date. The plan with driving is to give ourselves 4 days before launch to be there and then to be back in TX 2 to 3 days after. We are thinking positive thoughts for fight.

A Trip for the Family

2009-02-01T22:34:00.000-08:00

We have not said much about this to family and friends yet, but we will be getting to go to FL this month to see the space shuttle launch. It is a pretty big deal even for the NASA crowd, as the number of missions comes to and end it makes each event more important and special. Even if you work at NASA it does not mean that you get to see a shuttle launch or land. So we are rather excited. The neat part is for whom we are going. Akorren's best budddys' dad is going to be the pilot, Dominc A. (Tony) Antonelli on the STS-119 Mission. We are excited to get to see the shuttle and know someone on it, but more importantly we want to support and be good friends for our kids friends. We plan to have the two son's with us for some of the pre-flight events. It will be a neat vacation week for the family in Coco Beach, FL. Glenn has been to Kennedy Space Center for many work related trips so it will be nice to have his family with him to see some of things that he does as well. We are so grateful to my pal Janeen and are looking forward to this adventure with her family as we enjoy the upcoming launch. Right now is a time to figure out when we are needed for support, when to leave, where to stay and what other things we have to get done before we head out on the 7th of Feb. for the Feb. 12th launch date.

Hamster Troubles

2009-01-31T22:49:00.000-08:00

So I arrive home after one night away from my family for our BAUUC Women's retreat. A group of 26 women from church spent the night locked in and had a fun night of fellowship, food and activities. It was a great get away for a mommy of 3. Glenn comes to the door and actually helps me bring my things in, I took all of my scrapbooking stuff to get a page or two done.
He tells me that around 4 PM he let Akorren take the new little hamster we have 'Pumpkin' out of the cage to be hand held by the kids, then while Akorren was walking into the study he drops her out his hands and she falls with a bump on the plastic floor mat we have under the computer area, she shakes for bit and then Akorren holds her for a while in his hands as she is still and calm, then she seems to come out of the haze and is put back in her cage to rest. Glenn said she was moving when she was put in her cage and 'looked alright'. I take a deep mommy breath, bite my tongue, and ready my mind for how I am to respond to Akorren when I walk through the door. I put my things inside, get the rest and settle back in putting stuff away and start to prepare dinner. Akorren starts talking to me about the hamster and gets teary-eyed about what happened. I react with understanding and some displeasure for him not following the rules we have of not walking around with her when she is being held.
I go over with him to take a look at her and when I see her awake I am glad, then she begins to move. Her left side looking twisted and awkward. Like her right side is trying to go one way and her left another and she sways like a drunk. Her head weaves side to side and I say to him, "...she looks alive right now from the fall but I do not know if she is normal/healthy." His eyes fill with more tears. My heart drops. I continue to talk to him about what happens when a baby is dropped and what goes on in the inside of the body. We talk about how accidents happen and that no matter what we love him and that he is a good kid. I also make it clear that we will not be sure until about a week or so if she will be alright. Akorren is now in daddy's arms sobbing, Glenn looks a little teary too. Glenn acknowledges and says sorry to Akorren for not sitting with him when he said the hamster could be taken out. (I am grateful for that as I was a miffed about the parent responsibility issue on this).
When Zhivanna returns Akorren goes up to her and explains what happened to the hamster and asks her not to be upset with him, she of course is more worried about Pumpkin and does not cry (surprisingly). Later in the evening Akorren ends up in my arms crying again about the event. We just take in the moment. After the kids go to bed and Glenn takes the dogs out for a walk I take sometime and clean out Pumpkin's cage. She is moving about but stumbles and falls over to the side from time to time, she used objects in her cage to lean on to steady herself, but she is able to eat and drink, she seems remarkably strong. I wonder if for her it is like a stroke, or minor brain damage where one part of the brain can no longer communicate to the other side, or did the fall break something inside her ears so that her equilibrium is off. I wonder at the science of it. Then my mind comes to the animal and dignity of life questions that arise as I ponder. Is this animal suffering, if so is it just, to put her out of misery? If she is not suffering and has the strength to live then can she live as she appears to be, just disabled? Glenn returns and we discuss some of our thoughts, he questions whether keeping her alive in a disabled situation is fair to both her and the children. I bring up the point that maybe this is the lesson we are to learn, is to care for animal who is disabled; the children will have to explain to their friends every time the other kids see her what happened and how they care for her and that she is the way she is because of an accident, that's how it is in life. Right now she looks good but we will not know more until later in the week. The last things that flow through my mind like in all mourning of a loss is the thought of "how in a matter of minutes one small event could change and effect so many lives". In my childhood I have deal with the death and life of many a hamster and know just what Akorren felt in dropping her. So in the end I hope we are meant to learn something from this to make us all better people. Pumpkin we love you! Pumpkin in her food dish eating when we got her 1/23/09 & running on the wheel.

Glenn's Space Station Light

2009-01-28T19:37:00.000-08:00

Ran across this on You Tube and it shows Mike Fink, NASA Astronaut talking about the International Space Station Tour. This is recent footage from the mission Expediton 18 after STS-126 left. This is neat because Glenn made the light that they are using to film the video with. Now it is in HD in part because Glenn made a light that made it possible to film the footage with. Cool, eh? I think so I am so proud of my smart husband. I am sure you can to a search and find more ISS stuff if you want to see more.

Are You Sleeping?

2009-01-26T14:58:00.000-08:00

So Merlova still takes naps and I am still so glad that she sleeps for a period of time in the day. It gives me a break. But some days she is a bit of pill to get down. Today was one of those days. I put her to bed after she was acting fussy, fighting with her sister, not listening to directions or behaving very nice at all. She was showing all the typical tired signs of being sleepy, but today she had to do what ever she could to make sure she did not fall asleep. It took me a good 20 min of positive mommy coaxing then after that I went in to police/jailer mode of "you will not be permitted to leave your bed" threats or mommy will get you. Needless to say I heard lots of interesting noises upstairs while I was down doing household stuff. I was not going to check her until 35 min. went by, they did and finally it was all quite. So I went up to take a look and this is what I saw. Now before I put her down to nap her bed was neat and she was tossing and turning at the head of the bed where her pillow was. When I first walked in she was under the covers and you could not see her, I made sure to uncover her when I took this photo. To funny! She can drive me nuts sometimes but I totally love her. Hey Merlova, are you sleeping?

Yes, I'm Behind...What's your excuse?

2009-01-25T19:12:00.000-08:00

I knew that when I started this blogging thing that at some point I would fall behind in keeping up with it so I guess it should not be so surprising. Part of me is not happy with this fact since, this has also been a way to parallel and make me keep up with the children's scrapbooks, so since it is a reflection of my real life I am needless to say... behind on my scrapbooks as well. Here are some of my excuses since I have fallen far behind: (listed from the most recent)

Zhivanna has been sick with the flu bug since last week. And a sick kid has a way of throwing a wrench into all of life. No working for me or ability to work-out since you can't take a child with a fever to the YMCA. So I have been being a good mommy-nurse but not good for much else.
Glenn & I had to throw an 'Alice in Wonderland' Tea Party B-day for Zhivanna on the 17th of January. So we got distracted with making her a costume, getting tea sets together, and working out the theme details and fun. So I got into a sewing mode, not writing mode for a while. (I will do back posts so you can see how cute it came out).
I had to write out all my tax bills, they are all due at the end of January. This is just usually a depressing thing to do so I always put it off to the last minute; that means last minute in getting the last of needed funds to pay them $$$ and then to organize and send out the checks. I prefer to write them out while drinking a nice glass of red.
Oh, yes and the Holiday season. Well I procrastinated on the Santa stuff for Christmas this year. Got it done in 3 days though. I had the family letters and photos ready to send out but that took away the other time I had to blog. Also with Christmas there was the church play, school events, a casual get together with friends and trying to make some home made gifts, so blogging just fell off that list of to do's.
Having 3 kids, substitute teaching 2 to 3 days a week, managing the house, working out 3 to 5 days a week, being the BOD secretary for the church and being me got in the way that month and I had to leave something out. I also think I was in the dumps for bit as well, so now that I am feeling better about me, I have to catch up on things.

Thanks for letting me get that off my chest. I can now back-blog and not feel so guilty. I have been able to do some more catching up with my scrapbooks at this time and am only about 5 months behind all 3 kids albums, yay! Merlova and mommy at Gilmore school for lunch with Akorren.

Two Dinosaurs?

2009-01-24T00:51:00.000-08:00

Merlova is such a kick. Today while playing with play-doh with daddy she decided that she was a dinosaur and had to put the play-doh on her forehead. I thought it was more of a Klingon thing like Star Trek. Daddy of course had to be a dinosaur too, but since he was the "baby" one he had to use pink and she was the daddy one. What you don't see in the photos is her and daddy crawling around the kitchen floor chasing after mommy trying to get me! Here are my two SCARY dinosaurs.

An Alice Tea Party

2009-01-17T13:24:00.000-08:00

Today we celebrated Zhivanna's 5th B-day with a girls tea party (she invited only the girls). It was inspired by Zhivanna's current love of the Disney Alice In Wonderland movie. Glenn made her a Cheshire Cat for display to go in her room and I made her an Alice outfit complete with petticoat. I read parts of the Alice story to the girls (and Akorren) while we tasted the potion from the magic bottle, ate the special cookies that make you grow tall, and looked for the white rabbit hiding outside in the yard. We had a Mad Hatter tea party with fruits, mini-pizza's, tea (of course) or lemonade and decorated our own b-day cupcakes. The Alice In Wonderland music played in the background as the girls colored Alice images, while Zhivanna opened up her gifts and discovered a hand painted tea cup and pocket watch, we then ended the day off with a modified game of croquet. It was fun and we tried not to go to overboard with the theme, Zhivanna felt so special and like Alice; she did not want to get out of her dress the rest of the day. The planning and thought put into this has already got Akorren designing his party, which is in the summer in June. I keep reminding him that Merlova's b-day is next.
The Cheshire Cat, Ava/Zhi & Akorren, the girls at the tea party, time for tea, Merlova and the cupcake sprinkles...ooops!

More Tea Party Photos

2009-01-17T12:42:00.000-08:00

Here are some more pictures from Zhivanna's Alice In Wonderland tea party b-day. She enjoyed her Mad Hatter mini-cake that I had to bake made from 6 small cakes cooked in her 'Easy Bake' oven (yeah, really easy it only took us 1 1/2 hours to do) but she loved it and wanted to have her cake made with her oven. Next is Zhivanna opening up her gifts while the other girls color in themed coloring pages. Zhivanna gets her very own pocket watch (like the white rabbit had) along with a special tea cup mommy painted for her with Alice inspired designs from the story. Finally Alice (Zhi) sets up for a game of croquet.

Zhivanna is 5

2009-01-14T22:44:00.000-08:00

Today is Zhivanna's real b-day. She has her party this coming weekend on the 17th but today the family went to gymnastics, picked up chicken to eat from KFC and made an angel food cake for her. She got to be sung to, opened up some small gifts and had cake and ice cream. Akorren made her a card at school (so sweet) and bought her a big Bakugan toy, Merlova gave her some color wonder markers and paints. and the adults Papa, Lois, daddy and mommy gave her a card and money. She now thinks she is rich, we will have to see if we can keep her from spending it all at once. It was a nice little celebration for her, she will have the girls over for an Alice In Wonderland inspired tea party on Sat. Zhivanna in her Happy B-day hat, Sister & grandma Lois look on, Akorren admires Zhi's cash, the family together at with the cake

Growth Chart

2009-01-06T21:40:00.000-08:00

Had to show off the cool growth chart that Glenn put together over the week. He had to make or build something over the winter break. He and I have been wanting a place to write down and chart the children's growth. Having it written down in a baby book is not a place we easily see. We wanted something visual, so crafty Glenn came up with this space inspired design. He specifically placed certain images at the heights they were so it could be fun for the 3 kids to say I'm as tall a the rocket, or satellite. We just write on the chart with a permanent paint pen. Zhivanna wanted us to check her hight to see if she grew over the week from her B-day to day the party was, funny girl. The 3 kids in front of the new chart.

Camera... Got One!

2009-01-04T20:57:00.000-08:00

Okay we did not win the ebay one that closed on 01/03, but Glenn broke down and went and got one at the local pawn shop. It was in better condition then the previous one we had and it only needed a new strap. I even ordered a bigger battery for it. So it was nice to know we had one in hand. Now I know life has a way of playing funny tricks on you, you know... you all live this life thing... anyway...today I get a call from our sextant (the lady to cares for the church) and she calls to tell me that she found Glenn's camera in a drawer here at church. So it's here if we want to come and pick it up. Funny, yes Glenn and I knew if we bought another one the 1st one would come up. It only hurt a little to pay out an extra $150 this month especially when the taxes are due. Yeah, funny. Darn CAMERA! Well we can do two angled shots for Zhivanna's party on the 17th. Great.

Still No Camera!!!!

2009-01-02T21:10:00.000-08:00

So we still can't find our Sony DCR-TRV350 digital video camera (looks like the one above but more banged up). We looked again all around the house, at church, put an advertisement in the church news bulletin, have asked all around to friends we think we might have left it with and still no luck. I am trying not to be mad or upset with Glenn on this one but, it was his responsibility! I do the pictures (or my dad does) and Glenn does the video. With Zhivanna's B-day coming soon I really don't want to miss out on having footage. It is bad enough that we have nothing of our Christmas but the photos. Glenn has been thinking on this as well so we put a bid in on a camera we figured if we could get one for under $150 that would be great and then when the ebay bidding close we could still get it here before Zhi's special day. So we are resolved to get one in the next few days, yay!

Christmas Day 2008

2008-12-25T20:20:00.000-08:00

The children were kind to us and did not wake up at 5:00 AM in the morning like they could have. We got to sleep to 7:00 AM, it was nice. They woke up and immediately went to Papa & Lois's room to say "Merry Christmas". Then they went down stairs and noticed the goodies that Santa left for them, then they came and got mommy and daddy out of bed. They were eager to open up their presents but we made them start on the stockings first. (Glenn tried to delay us from opening up things to do a house search for the video camera that had been missing since 12/20/08. No luck as it was not at the church when we went last to check. I am dying because we have no footage of this years X-mas day.) They went through the stockings excited about everything, Papa and Lois enjoyed Santa's gifts for them too. Merlova was the first to tear into her Santa gifts, it was hard to make her wait. This year she knew what it was all about and got into the true paper ripping spirit. She also was the first one to try and eat as much of the X-mas candy she got. We had a casual morning together as a family with our new grandma Lois to enjoy the present opening frenzy. A big surprise for the whole family was the Wii system that Papa & Lois got for everyone. Mommy of course claimed it at "mine" as soon as I knew what it was. We took a breakfast/hot coco break and played with our new toys. We shaved some things to open when cousin Michael and his friend would arrive around 1:30 PM for Christmas dinner. From Santa Akorren got a small remote controlled helicopter, a bakugan set, a Pokemon toy, and comic books. Zhivanna got an easy bake oven and decorating set, a Pokemon stuffy, and My Littlest Pet Shop Animals. Merlova got 2 puzzles, Mr. Potato Head dress up parts, and a Polly Pockets play set. It was a good day and we hope all of you had a nice Christmas as well. Zhivanna with new stuffies, Akorren and his heli, Merlova digging into the stocking goodies, family with X-mas stuff, Lois with calendar gift from kids.

World of Winter Light Pagent

2008-12-22T22:59:00.000-08:00

Tonight our church put on it's holiday play. All three kids were in it and I helped with the stage management, organization, and some costuming. Akorren was part of the drummers for the early Yule celebration part, and also got to play Joseph for the Las Posadas. (manger scene). Zhivanna was a little Mexican girl who came in with the Posadas celebration and Merlova dressed up like a reindeer, (who also happened to be one of the animals that was at the manger on the night of Jesus' birth). The small production came out well with the support and help of the church families who came in at the last minute to help. The children had a good time and the whole community came together to enjoy a potluck meal after the evening events. The only bad thing that came out of this night was that when we got home that night and by Sunday morning, Glenn realized he had lost or left our video camera at the church that night. Akorren with the drums, Zhivanna with her maracas, Akorren as Joseph and Merlova the X-mas reindeer at the manger.

Light show in the neighborhood

2008-12-19T22:33:00.000-08:00

Now I know this photo in no way does justice to all the effort and work that this one family put into their Christmas lights, but I had to post something on it. They are in the subdivision over off of Mansfield Pl. and have a light show that covers up their yard the and the two adjacent neighbors yards. I guess in years past they just did their house, and this year it expanded to the other houses. You can drive up in your car and adjust the radio to specific channel and hear holiday music that goes along with the flashing and blinking light show they have set up with the 100's of light strung every where. Versions of the Nutcracker and other common holiday song play as the lights flash, zip, wave and twinkle to the rhythm and tune. What I appreciated the most about this was that is was such a treat to let the children enjoy the show and is cost us nothing. I say that because as a family of 5 if I can get away with a fun night out for under $20 we are doing great. This show brought so much excitement and smiles to the kids faces and the family who did this, did it out of a reason to give something back to the community. I told our kids that we don't hang lights up because it is not a way we see to use our resource of energy. And that it was a kind gesture of the neighbors to do something for others to enjoy. After seeing the "light show" a couple of nights in a row Glenn did go out and get some LED lights to hang on the small bushed outside our door. Nothing fancy but just something to make the kids happy. The main lawn of the light show in the neighborhood.

Winter Break Party

2008-12-18T16:36:00.000-08:00

Akorren had his 2nd grade class party today and had a lot of fun. I got busy with the girls and their dance class so I was not able to stop by for the party. Papa Herman was sent on this Gilmore assignment to go and photograph Akorren during his party. The students got to make some other holiday ornaments, eat yummy snacks, and did small book exchange. It was fun way to end the year before going into the winter break from school. His class is a really nice gorup of students and it is great since the classroom parents are really involved. Akorren working on his puzzle wreath ornament, Ms. Shaffer & Akorren