Band Camp (strings) For the Week

This week is going to be a busy one.  Today through Friday Daeton has band camp.  It is all string instruments (viola, violin and cello. Daeton plays violin).  The camp is 8:45-12 noon every day.  Kaela and I are hanging out with my friend, Michelle, and her daughter (Kaela's age) and we have been exploring the city of Saugus.  Today we went to Starbucks and hung out for a while and then went to a HUGE mall.  Not sure the name of it but it looks like an outdoor mall with about 50 stores but there are a few differences to enter an indoor mall (we entered from ground level outside to second floor inside).  We went to Justice For Girls and the girls shopped through the clothes.  There was a decent selection of 40% off and Michelle found an online coupon on her cell phone for '40% off your entire purchase' too but we didn't have time to stay.  By the time we found the place we were limited on when we had to go back and pick up Daeton and Michelle's son (also in the band camp, playing cello).

Tomorrow we have the plan to go back there, immediately after dropping off the boys, so we have more time to explore.  Malls are NOT my 'thing' and I do not like shopping but it is fun to be with Michelle and for the girls to hang out so it is worth it.

I'm also going to have to take a lot of pics tomorrow.  There is a theme at the mall of 'wild west' and there are HUGE decorated/painted bears at all the entrances.  It reminded me of the cow thing New York did or the horse one some other state did. New York Cows This link has some pics of the cows.

I doubt we can climb on the bears but I'm sure, with the four of us, we can think of some crazy poses for the photographs.  The bears, all by themselves, are simply amazing too.

Big Z game

Kaela and I at Big Z's.

Big Z's fun place!

Up next? Big Z's. We are here for pizza and video games. Kids are going to run around and play (and hopefully get tired) we might drop by the park afterwards. And, end of the day is to drop them off to their dad's house.

Farmer's Market in Simi

Found out we have a brand new Farmer's Market in Simi. This one is by TGIF's and the Regal theater. We went and saw Judy Moody's Not So Bummer Summer and walked over to this afterwards. Movie tickets were $13 for all three of us. I bought two for $9 from Living Social (will post link later). The third tickets was an expired code I had that still gave me 1/2 credit. :-)

Next book on my list: Super Freakonomics

If you've read Freakonomics you were probably wowed, like me.  I just learned about a sequel, Super Freakenomics.  Same two authors, new statistics for our society.

How patriotic are prostitutes? Can you make more money at McDonalds than dealing drugs?  Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? 

These questions and more are answered in both books. Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner are brilliant men that think outside the box. 

I'd love to have a book discussion with others after we all read the second one (don't skip the first, read it fast).

First post from cell phone! Super cool that I figured this out (on accident). We were at Lassen's Health Food Store and Kaela saw these and was jumping up and down for me to buy them! Why? Because she ate them at Amy's house and love them. These should be fully mature in 62 days! I have do not know how to cook, prepare them bur will have to figure it out soon!

Judy Moody and the Not So Bummer Summer Movie Contest

We are going to go see this movie today and I saw this, via email, from Day Tripping Mom (homeschool family that does a lot of field trips).  This is a contest to win some free things about the movie and some children cooking items.  All you have to do is post a comment on the thread of discussion to be entered.  You must do it by June 12th.

Here is what you can win:

• “The Everything Kids” Cookbook
• Pottery Barn “Playful Chef” Cooking Set
• Judy Moody Sunglasses
• (2) Judy Moody Activity Books
• Jump Rope
• JM Not Bummer Summer Book
• Mini Movie Poster
• Mood Rings
• (2) T-Shirts (1 Adult & 1 Kid Size)
• (2) Zorbitz bracelets

Easy and fun!  I hope I win but wanted to share it too! :-)

Strathern History Days in Simi (great for Father's Day too)

Something to do next Saturday, during the day.  From old colonial times or Simi Valley.  Buildings, furnished houses and exhibits from early 1900's in Simi Valley.

Strathern Museum is having its annual History Days on Saturday June 18th,  9am-4pm.

Enterance fees:

$7 per person.
Children under 5 free.
$20 max per whole family.
Military person and family free.

This can be a fun, carefree day to stroll the grounds and look at the vendors.  Ham Radio demonstration, tractor parade, demonstration on how to put horseshoes on a horse, etc.  Not a ton but some hands-on things for the kids to do too.

Chumash Indian Museum Summer Solstice Celebration (evening 6/18).

Next Saturday the Chumash Indian Museum (previously known as the Interpretative Center) is having a Summer Solstice Celebration.

It is from 5pm-10pm on Saturday, June 18th.

Bring chair or blanket, warm clothes and flashlights.  You can bring your own food or purchase there from vendors.

Location	Chumash Indian Museum 3290 Lang Ranch parkway Thousand Oaks, CA
	From their Facebook Page:
	A celebration in the Chumash Village: Traditional California Native Songs & Storytellers OPEN TO THE PUBLIC - FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY The Ventura County Astronomical Society will participate in our celebration with a special presentation of the wonders of the sky with a slide show and the use of telescopes beginning after dark ADMISSION: $5/Adult~$3/Senior & child (under 12)~$10/Family (limit 5) (Includes admission to museum & Gift Shop) This museum is incredible.  The curator, Walter Graywolf (a friend of mine), has put a lot of time and effort into building up the museum, adding to the exhibits and creating more community events.  Their summer pow-wow should be coming up soon too.  You do not have to be Native America to attend. This is a great event for the whole family to learn about Chumash culture and other Native American heritage.

SVPD 40 Year Anniversery Open House This Weekend & Camarillo Concert In The Park

There are a few fun things going on in Simi this and next weekend.

Saturday, 6/11/11, the Simi Valley Police Dept. is having an open house to celebrate their 40-year anniversary. It is 10-3pm. and open to the public (which means FREE too). Here is a rundown from the SV website:

• McGruff the Crime Fighting Dog
• Guided tours of the Police Station
• Patrol cars, police motorcycles, and the Mobile Command Center
• Members of the SWAT Team and CSIs
• K-9 Unit Demonstration
• Ventura County Sheriff's Aviation Unithelicopter
• Ventura County Fire Department equipment
• Bicycle safety/registration information
• Obstacle course
• Jumpers
• Face Painting
• Glitter Tattoos
• "Mug Shots" for the kids

Address is: 3901 Alamo St, Simi Valley, Ca. 93063.

Also, in Camarillo, the kick-off for Concerts In The Park is Saturday. Each tribute band begins at 7:30pm.  Bring blankets, sweaters and dinner and enjoy the music with your family.


Join us in the park this Summer! Concerts begin at 7:30pm. Movies will begin at dusk, approximately 8:00pm. Please be sure to review the event etiquette guidelines as you plan your evening in the park.

Concerts:

June 11th - Caught Red Handed (Country Music)
June 25th - Rick Braun (Soul-Jazz, Trumpeter)
July 9th - Air National Guard Band of the Southwest (Patriotic, Big Band) 
July 23rd - Super Freak (Disco)
August 6th - World Classic Rockers (Classic Rock)
August 20th - Steve Tyrell (The Standards)
September 10th - Raymond Michael (A Tribute to Elvis)
http://www.camarilloartscouncil.org/p/schedule.html  All events are at off of Carmen Dr, off of the 101 FWY at Constitution Park. 

Fun summer stuff

I've been trying to find some fun things to keep the kids busy once summer is here so that I don't hear 'I'm bored' too much or don't have to fight multi-media being on all the time.

1- Got on eBay, a build your own house thing. I bought two. They were super cheap. Kaela wanted to do it and I let her.....well, TRY, that is. The thing sucks, broke a few times and she gave up on it. Daeton hasn't tried his yet, I think I'll do with him to see if it is just too cheaply made or if Kaela was being too rough.







5-in-1 Solar Power kit. I haven't even shown the kids yet.



I also bought (no pic shown) three super heavy boxes to 'make your own stepping stones.' They were brand new, in plastic wrap. I bought them for $4 each at Simi Thrift.

SVRR Track award picnic

We had the award picnic today for Daeton and Kaela's track team, Simi Valley Running Rebels too. They both received trophies, their yearbook, a 'good grades certificate' and some medals (Kaela) and ribbons (Daeton). We missed picture day because it was right after my car accident and we didn't have a rental yet. There is a few random pictures of Kaela in the book but I didn't see any at all of Daeton. :-( I told him he needs to participate more in the events and not miss the practices so much (some misses were due to his leg being hurt from the accident).


We got there 1 1/2 hours later and didn't stay for the water play (water balloons, the water spray part of the park is on and everyone brings squirt guns and super soakers). The kids are tired and the day was quiet cold (for us in Ca). It is overcast, cloudy, chilly breeze and 70 degrees (F). Daeton was shivering and begging to go home! LOL! I think being overtired doesn't help when a person is cold.

We haven't decided if they are doing cross-country this year but it doesn't start until the end of August so we have a little bit of time to decide. "I" want them to do it, but they are unsure.





We are now home and have an hour until we need to leave, again. This time for kickball practice.

Rockstar Kickball Party

The Newbury Park kickball league had their end-of-the-year party last night, theme was 'Rockstar.' I took a ton of pics (all on FB) but here are two cute ones to share. First is a random stranger that was just SOOO rocked-out I had to ask if I could take my pic with him. :-)
This is my younger brother and I. He was a few awards, including the Rambo Award and received a certificate and a strip of fake bullets to wear across his chest! The kids were with a friend and it was a fun night. I carpooled with three other friends and it was 3am by the time I got home. Got a phone call at 6am of 'your kids will be dropped off at 6:45 so that I can go running.' Got up when they arrived, went back to sleep for a little bit and got up again.


I am definitely T-I-R-E-D mommy today!

Pic of me & D

This is after Daeton's double performance tonight. He performed with two other students in his strings class (Daeton is learning violin) and then he performed as Starvling (and old man) in A Midsummer's Night Dream in is Much Ado About Shakespeare class. He was 1/2 in costume in this pic. I took a few videos but they aren't too great. My sister took some pics so I'll have to get her to send them to me so I can upload them (she has a better camera).


Both Daeton and Kaela had art work and other projects on display in various classrooms too. It was Exhibition Night at Huckleberry Learning Center. This is the place they both take a few enrichment classes. Today was the last of classes for the year. We are done until fall. They still have until the 9th for their school year to be out but are done with these classes so just need to do book work at home or field trips and other fun learning.

Monday-Friday of next week Daeton is attending Jr. Orchestra Summer Camp. It is a three-hour-a-day camp for one week for kids that play the violin, viola or cello. On the last day, in the eve, they'll have a performance.

Kaela and I are going to hang out with my friend, Michelle, and her daughter while Daeton and Michelle's son are at the camp. It is too much gas and time to go home and back so we figured we'd explore the city nearby or find a park or Starbucks to hang out at. Michelle and I can can chat and catch-up and the two girls can play. It will be a lot to be there at either 8:45 or 9:30 am (I need to check on which one with the teacher) considering it is 1/2 hr drive. But it will be worth it for Daeton to get a 'boot camp' for the violin to really set in all he has learned and for him to learn more before he has a long summer break. There is another 'camp' that I read about that is here, in our city, that is the same price so I might put him in that one too, later in the summer (there is two sessions). He seems to really like the violin but needs to practice a lot more. I'm hoping the more he learns and expands with it, the more he'll enjoy it and decide to just play, at random, because he likes it.

My Fruit Trees- Peach Tree Sick

My fruit trees are getting huge. I REALLY cut them back this winter but the sapling branches and leaves are all over both and fruit on the peach tree. The peach tree is a dwarf and the plum i semi-dwarf (but before I pruned it it the shooter branches were above the roof of the house). I LOVE these trees and wish I had the yard to have a dozen fruit trees. Besides these two I have a tiny orange tree (barely-above-knee-bush size).



The peach tree has some weird disease growing on it that seems to dry out the branches. First there is white fuzz then it dies and turns black and the branch underneath is messed up and dried out. I need to take the pics to a nursery and see if they can tell me what it is and if it is repairable. In the winter I cut off most of the diseased branches but it is there, again, on two main ones. I don't think I can cut it all off without cutting the tree so far back that I'd kill it. :-( These trees were both gifts to me from my mom and step-dad and I've always loved them. When the fruit is ripe I make jam with them and share with the neighbors. It won't be until late summer but the harvest is something to look forward to. The kids get excited when we get the first few pieces of fruit that are ripe enough to pick.





Last year birds ATE UP the peaches before I could pick them. I couldn't figure out why it was happening since it had never happened before. It dawned on me that my dog, Zeus, was getting old and no longer such a spaz that the birds were afraid to hang out. Last year he ignored the birds and choose to nap or rest in the shade so they snacked on most of the fruit. A friend, Judy, told me to hang CD's in the trees. As they spin the sun will reflect on them and it scares the birds away. I'll have to do this soon, since the fruit is starting to grow and I already see bite marks on the fruit and leaves. We put Zeus to sleep in November so he isn't here at all now to scare away the birds or squirrels.

New family members...rabbits

We just got two rabbits from someone on Freecycle. She was a busy mom with a one-year-old and needed someone that could give them more attention. The brown one is Rascal and the white-ish one is Sweet Pea (both are boys but she discovered that after naming them). They are both about 5-6 years old and super sweet. Our cat, Jett, isn't sure what to make of them and is afraid of them. :-)

Amish Friendship Bread

I've been making (and sharing) AMish Friendship Bread with a new-found high school friend, Leticia. It is a 2-week process and fun to make. If anyone wants a starter kit, let me know. The second pic, the finished bread, has some 'kids grabbed it' chunks missing but it is still a pretty bread and tasty too.

Chocolate covered fruit

We had some leftover Valentine's candy (yeah, it was lost or it would have been long gone) and we also had some strawberries that needed to be eaten. So, I melted all the chocolates, swirled them together (white and red on the bear made cute design) and we dipped some strawberries and apple slices in it. The swrawberries worked better. I think the chocolate didn't cling good to the apples because the apples were fridgerated. Will have to try them room temp next time. Regardless, they were YUMMY! :-)

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Books... next?

Daeton has read all of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid Books. and.. . LOVED them.  I think the pictures breaking up the words/paragraphs make it easier for him to read.  He doesn't like 'picture books' per se but seeing a whole page of only words is sometimes overwhelming.

Anyone have any recommendations since he finished this book? Is there more coming out? Or similar authors/styles?