First Day of Transitional Kindergarten

California is changing its laws for school.  The law used to be that you could start Kindergarten if you turned 5 by December 2nd.  But this year that changed to November 2nd.  Next year will be October 2nd, and the following year September 2nd.  This surprised those of us with children born in November 2007.  The state decided to start a special program for the kids that would have started Kinder this year but can't anymore.  It is called Transitional Kindergarten and it is the same time as regular Kindergarten at a local school.  Not the local school Paige will start in next year if we stay in this house, but not too far away.

So, 2 weeks ago, Paige switched from spending 3 days at her Nana's and 2 days at a preschool/daycare to 5 days a week at school with before & after school care.  So far, she loves it but she continues to tell me that she is not going to school tomorrow, she wants to go to Nana's.  We are excited about all the things she will learn an look forward to her getting more prepared for Kindergarten which has changed a lot since I was there!


She went to school the day before for a "Meet & Greet" with her teacher to see her classroom.

 The actual first day of school.  She wore her hello kitty dress and had her Minnie Mouse backpack.

 The teacher had these cute little care packages she sent home with the parents.

 We decided to start a new "Traditional" back to school pic.  We will do one like this every year with the same questions so see how her likes change over the years.

Introducing: Rylee Mary-Eileen Huffman

My newest Niece : Rylee Mary-Eileen Huffman was born on August 23rd at 9:45pm.  I wasn't able to meet her that weekend, but Justin went down and took some great pictures.  I am hoping to meet her this weekend, but we will see!  I can't wait.  She may be my 12th niece/nephew, but it never gets old. 

Justin took some pictures with some of the burp cloths I (With the help of my mom) made her.

This is my favorite.

A night with the Nieces & Nephew

Justin's Brother Dan & his wife Michelle just had his 4th child a couple of weeks ago.  Before she was born, I offered to take their 3 kids for a night to give them a last night of peace before the baby arrives.

We met them in Fremont, had lunch and then took all 4 kids to an indoor water park nearby.  Now, it sounded like a good idea, but the place was packed.  It was a little scary for times.  We had Teagan who is 2, Paige who is 4, Alyssa who is 6 and Lucus who is 12.  The girls all had life vests on but if you loose track of one kid it is scary.  I think everyone had a great time though.  No pictures since we already had our hands full and we also were in water. Getting 3 girls dressed afterwards was quite the challenge for me.  Thank God Alyssa is such a big help.

We then took all of the kids to church since the next morning we had a birthday party at Chuck-E-Cheese.  In the morning we headed to the Party and had a great time playing.  It was practically empty so it was a much less stressful time.   We love spending time with the little ones, but whew, it was exhausting.

Working at the State Fair

This year is the 100 year Anniversary of Sun-Maid Growers!  If you don't know already, this is the company I have worked for now for over 12 years.  And I love them.  They are by far the best company I have ever worked for (And I had quite a few jobs before this one).  I have a great amount of respect for them and am so excited to be part of this celebration. 

So when they asked for volunteers to man the "Booth" at the State Fair in Sacramento I signed up.  It was a 2 LONG day commitment, and a lot of people were concerned about the time and the heat.  However, I didn't have any idea what I was really signing up for.  Our "Booth" was a large expedition hall covered with Sun-Maid.  There was a huge time line that went all around the edges.  There was a kitchen with demonstrations.  There was a kids play area with life size boxes of Raisins where you could put your head in them.  There was a wheel to spin for prizes.  A full store.  Plus there was a green screen where you could have your picture taken for free with the Sun-Maid Girl.  I was BLOWN away at how amazing the place looked.  While standing on my feet for 11+ hours the first day was tiring, I couldn't wait to get back the next day.  It was great to hear all of the positive feedback from the people coming through and I loved answering their questions.

I am so glad I got the opportunity to experience this place!  I wouldn't change it if I could.  But I was sad the Justin & Paige were unable to go up when I was working.  So they went up a couple of days later and saw it for themselves.  They also enjoyed the fair a little more than I did.  Plus they got to meet Tony Hawk (Who Paige told me later is a "LEGEND")