Swim Team 2011

We embarked on a new chapter of our lives this year - the swim team chapter! At first, I wasn't sure if I could make the commitment of practice 5 days a week plus meets every Saturday (early, early, early) morning. Making the decision to be a "swim team family" was one of the best ones I have ever made. The girls learned so much - not just about swimming, but also about life. Their coaches were such wonderful mentors and role models and they worked tirelessly to teach the girls their strokes. We have caught the bug and I can see us doing this for many years to come.

Zoofari-Kindergarten Zoo Trip 2011

The MACLanders went on an overnight trip to the zoo this year and the next day, the kindergarteners went on their annual field trip to the zoo. Jeff took Maya overnight on the Zoofari and James, Marisa and I met them the next morning. Maya had a great time with her favorite teacher, Rachelle, and with all of her buddies. We capped off the trip with pizza at our favorite New York style pizza place and then with ice cream at our favorite ice cream joint. Can't beat that!

Jimmy's Graduation

Here are pics of Jimmy's Sac State graduation. I am so proud of his accomplishments and of how hard he and Katie have worked for this. It is amazing that out of all my mom's kids, we have now graduated from college -- what a feat! Now Jimmy is on to dental school and the army. Congrats Jimmy and Katie!

Jeff's Anniversary Present 2011

For our 10th anniversay, Jeff had an elaborate weekend get away planned for us, and he was quite disappointed when I confessed to him that I just wasn't ready to leave the baby for that long. I tried to make up for it by making this special letter for him with some of his favorite candy. It was a big hit!

Character Matters Performance 2011

Here are pictures of Maya's "Character Matters" performance. Her class explored positive character traits by dramatizing several different fairy tales. Maya played a part in the "Red Riding Hood" part of the play and was absolutely adorable and she had a great time practicing for the play. She sang the songs for weeks around the house -- especially in the shower!

Spelling Bee 2011

Maya was on the spelling bee team this year and she had a great time. It has been over 10 years since Sierra school has taken home a ribbon and Maya's team won second place. It went into an intense overtime with another school and they won second place by spelling "fantasy". Go Sierra spellers!

Disneyland Feb 2011

This last week we spent three days in Disneyland with a lot of our extended family. Jeff had a conference down at the Disneyland Hotel, so we all decided to tag along. What a treat it was for us to stay at the Disney Hotel - it was swanky and quite convenient. It was so neat to ride the Monorail through Downtown Disney straight into Tomorrowland. We went to the park for three days - something we had never done before. With so much time (and so few crowds), we didn't feel pressured to hurry and see everything. We even got to go to some of the more obscure places like Tom Sawyer Island and the Enchanted Tiki Room - attractions we would have skipped during shorter trips. We were joined by much of our extended family, too. My mom, Aunt Mary and Aunt Pam stayed at the room next to us in the Disney Hotel. Cousin Gretchen and her girls joined us for a day and Rachel and her family joined us later. It was a very memorable trip - one that our kiddos will treasure for the rest of their lives.

Bugsy's Visit 2011

Maya's class has a "class pet" who gets to come home for a visit with each child. "Bugsy" has been visiting with our family - learning all about our routines and getting to know all of us. Bugsy had the time of his life at Giant's Fanfest and he has no idea that he gets to go to Disneyland with us. It is a special surprise that he will learn about on the way to the airport. We've had a great time with Bugsy!

Giant's Fanfest 2011

Jeff took Maya to the Giant's Fanfest. They got up at the crack of dawn to stand in line with the hope that a miracle would occur and they would get to deliver a letter to Buster Posey. Maya wrote a special letter to Buster and she wanted to hand deliver it herself. Just when they were about to lose hope, Jeff talked to an usher who made it all happen. Maya was able to deliver her letter to Buster and get his autograph. This truly was a miracle as there were thousands of people at the fanfest. Yay Maya!

MACLand Family Night 2011

Maya's class did a unit on "The Family". They made family trees, conducted an interview with a family member, and created a Powerpoint presentation about the family member they interviewed. The unit ended with a special "Family Night" at school where they did a presentation, showed us the Powerpoint presentation and played family related games. Maya loved this unit - a testament to how much she loves her family! She interviewed Aunt Mary and enjoyed learning about her. Thanks Aunt Mary!

Sharks Game 1-15-2011

We recently took James to his second Sharks game. He was only a two months old when he went to his first game and he screamed the whole time. Thankfully, he had a lot of fun this time around. He even got to meet Sharky and had his "head bitten off" for the very first time. Jeff hunted all over the stadium to find Sharky and we're so happy he was successful. We went to the game with some friends and Maya had a great time talking hockey with her new buddy (whose holding James in one of the pictures). On the other hand, Marisa (who is not as big of a sports fan), had a great time being plugged into her i-Pod and watching Harry Potter. It was a great night for us all!

Just Messing Around Jan 2011

Here are some pictures we couldn't resist snapping. You'll see James hanging out on the kindergarten playground - he's quite anxious to keep up with the big girls. You'll also see some pics Jeff snapped of us while eating dinner. I had made homemade black beans that James smeared all over his face. Maya said he looked like Santa - I kept thinking of the Giant's saying "Fear the beard". Finally, you'll see James' out of the bath hairdo - spiky boy!

Marisa's Birthday

To celebrate Marisa's 6th birthday, we took cupcakes to her class and we had a party at the local gymnastics center. The class "birthday monster" sang to her and she just loved it. She had been looking forward to the birthday monster's concert for the entire month leading up to her birthday. We invited her entire class to her party at the gym and had a great turnout. The kids enjoyed spending the afternoon with each other and celebrating together. Happy birthday Marisa!

Jeff and Marisa's Trip to Oregon

Over winter break, Jeff took Marisa on a daddy-daughter trip to Oregon. Marisa loves cheese, so they went to the Tillamook cheese factory to see how it is made. They went to some fun places they discovered on Man vs. Food like Voodoo donuts and the "mancake" place. They toured Fort Clatsop, visited with Mike, Jan and the cousins, went to the Oregon Museum of Science and Innovation and went to a minor league hockey game. It was a whirlwind trip. They ate their way through Oregon and had a great time bonding.