Kerry's thoughts

2011 Christmas Letter

2011-12-27T21:10:00.000-08:00

Dear Family and Friends,

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!! Once again the year has flown by and it’s hard to believe it’s almost over. We hope you have as many things to be thankful for as we do.

2011 started out pretty sad for our family as we said goodbye to our dog, Jerry, on the 2nd of January. The kids handled it pretty well, but it was sure strange to come home without a friendly face wagging his tail. In April we added a new puppy to our family. Quincy, the mini-goldendoodle, has been a great addition. He is super sweet and best of all doesn’t shed! Quincy has made our house a home once again. He even joined us on our summer trip to WA.

Katie is 9 and in third grade. She continues to love the performing arts. Katie takes piano lessons, attends drama classes and sang in the Clark County Children’s Choir. This spring she received her first communion and was lucky enough that her Aunt Erin, who happens to be her godmother, was in town to share the special occasion with her. Katie attended a two week drama conservatory this summer that culminated with a play. She still attends Gilbert Magnet school (communication and fine arts). When not performing, Katie can usually be found with her nose in a book.

Alex turned 6 this summer while on our trip to WA. He got to celebrate his birthday at the Point Defiance Zoo with cousins, aunts, & a future uncle! Alex is in Kindergarten at the Kids’ Co-op. He loves school and loves to learn. He is always picking something new to research. Alex spent the year playing flag football and basketball. He also continues to attend music/singing classes. He loves to perform. Alex also had quite a few visits from the tooth fairy this fall!

When not shuttling the kids between activities, Kerry finds time to participate in a couple of book clubs and Bunco groups. She also enjoys working in Alex’s class at the Co-op.

Don has had a few changes at work and is now an operations supervisor. It’s a nice change with more responsibility. On Friday nights you can find Don at the bowling alley where he’s rekindled his bowling hobby.

We’ve spend some great family time together. January took us to Phoenix to visit Grandpa and take in a Monster Jam event. It was fun to ride the light rail into the city. We also visited a gold mine. The kids had the best time swimming in the pools at Grandpa’s community. March brought us the chance to go to another Monster Jam even, The World Finals right here in Las Vegas. We saw a couple of local plays and even took in The Lion King at Mandalay Bay. In November, Kerry & Katie took a quick trip to WA to visit Kerry’s sisters and do some special shopping. To end the year, we took the kids to see the Michael Jackson Immortal World Tour Cirque show. It was great!

This summer we took a two week road trip to WA. The kids and the dog were great travelers. We spent a great day exploring Seattle. We rode the monorail, played at the Pacific Science Center, found the famous gum wall, shopped at Pike’s Place Market and ate some seafood on the pier. We also got to visit The Point Defiance Zoo and spend a day at Wild Waves water and amusement park. The kids enjoyed seeing their cousins and having a sleepover at Aunt Erin’s house. We also joined a bunch of family members to celebrate Kerry’s uncle’s birthday. Next we had a great couple of days enjoying ourselves with the Wilsons at their cabin on Bumping Lake. We ended our trip in Quincy at Kerry’s dad’s house before the long drive back to Las Vegas.

We are looking forward to many more adventures in 2012. Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas and blessed New Year. We hope if you are ever in our area you will give us a call.

With much love,

Don, Kerry, Katie & Alex Oppenheim

Top 11 of 2011

2011-12-22T23:05:00.000-08:00

The Oppenheim Family

Our top 11 moments of 2011

11. Many visits from the tooth fairy for Katie & Alex

10. Kidshine & Matinee performances

9. Alex’s first reception in Flag Football and basket in Basketball!

8. Katie’s First Communion

7. Katie’s piano recital & Choir concert

6. Monster Jam World Finals, The Lion King, & Michael Jackson’s Immortal Cirque Show

5. Trip to Arizona

4. Quincy, our mini-goldendoodle puppy

3. Family Game Nights

2. Summer Vacation to Washington

1. Visits with Family and Friends!

25

2011-07-12T22:20:00.000-07:00

25 facts that you might or might not know about me!

I do not have a belly button.
I have never been stung by a bee.
My idea of a perfect day is spending it on the lake or river with my family.
I wish I was a better writer.
I've never dyed my hair.
My shoe size is 11!
I enjoy cooking.
I think I invented reality TV. I had the idea as a kid of having a camera following me around to broadcast my oh so exciting life! LOL
I don't like any kind of melon.
I need a new hobby.
My thumbs look like big toes.
I wish I lived closer to my family.
My dream vacation is to go to Italy.
I've never lived alone.
I would like to learn to play the guitar.
I would like to take a pottery class.
I think I'm pretty witty.
My favorite color is green.
I can't touch my right shoulder with my right hand.
I've broken my collar bone and my wrist.
I don't like crowded places, especially shopping malls.
I'm not meeting my potential.
I went to Girl Scout camp every summer for a lot of summers. It was the best!
I think instrumental music concerts are boring, and I played in band for 6 years and took piano lessons!
I love to play games, but have a tendency to help the other team or player if they are losing.

Childhood memory

2011-06-17T18:29:00.000-07:00

4. What is your happiest childhood memory? What makes it so special?

This is a hard question to answer. I had a happy childhood all around. I have to choose an event that occurred more than once.

My happiest memories are boating with my entire family. There is just something so fun about packing up a lunch and spending the day at the river. I loved every part of it. I loved tubing behind the boat. I loved swimming in the water. I loved building in the sand. I loved riding in the boat. When I think back to all the time we spent on the boat, I'm always happy. Everybody was always having a good time. There was lots of laughter and fun. It was a time when we all came together to get things done. We all helped load and unload, pack and unpack, and we all worked together.

I can still close my eyes and feel the warmth of the sun, smell the exhaust from the boat, taste the sunchips, and hear the fun and laughter. I can remember the happy, tired feeling driving in the car on the way home. If I could recreate one event with my family, it would have to be a day on the boat.

What’s the most sensible thing you’ve ever heard someone say?

2011-04-27T09:57:00.000-07:00

3. What’s the most sensible thing you’ve ever heard someone say?

Good question!

Whatever we do for our children, they will never learn to do for themselves.

I am sure there are many other things I could choose, but at this point in my life, I'm choosing this one. It's true. How are kids supposed to learn other than by doing? I once had a student in 5th grade who could not tie his shoes, button buttons, zip zippers, etc. There really wasn't any physical reason he couldn't do these things, but his mother always did it for him and never encouraged him to learn how to do it. Can you imagine? He came to school in elastic waisted pants or shorts and velcro shoes. I sometimes wonder what has happened to that student. What was his mother thinking??

I try and always let my children do things for themselves. Of course I will help and guide them when they need it. Giving them opportunities to succeed gives them confidence. Sometimes they fail, but they usually try again and figure out how to succeed. I also love that they are interested in doing things themselves. Katie has decided she really wants to be able to cook a meal for the family. I'm glad she feels confident enough to do it. She's made a few simple things on her own such as corn bread and pancakes, but soon I will let her plan and cook the meal. Of course, I will be right there to guide her along.

What about you? What is the most sensible thing you've heard someone say?

Who do you sometimes compare yourself to?

2011-04-25T10:06:00.000-07:00

2. Who do you sometimes compare yourself to?

There are a ton of people I compare myself to for different reasons.

First, I compare my self to my mom. I often wonder how she was able to be so calm with us kids all of the time. What did she do when she was a stay at home mom? Am I showing my own children the same kind of love that she showed us? I compare myself to her is good ways too. I tend to notice the differences between our lives and things how things are done. For example, I prepare meals in a completely different way than she did, but still serve a few of the same dishes that she did. She didn't have nearly as many outside the home activities as I do. Was she satisfied? There are so many times I wish I could talk to her about her life when she was my age. I guess I find it intersting to think about how we are alike and how we are different.

I often find myself comparing my accomplishments with newsmakers. I'm always impressed when someone my age or younger has made great contributions to the world or has become very successful in their career. It's not that it makes me feel bad about myself, I just find myself taking some time to contemplate my own successes. I usually end up thinking about my greatest successes, Katie & Alex. Although it does make me wonder what I could accomplish if I put my mind to it!

I also compare myself to my friends. I have thought about how our families are different, our life styles, and interests, accomplishments and marriages. I have learned so many things from the people in my life and been inspired to change in little ways.

Food for thought!

Trying something new!

2011-04-23T22:44:00.000-07:00

Really? It's been since November that I've shared any thoughts? I love reading everybody else's blogs, but I have a hard time motivating myself to write about anything. I guess it's because there aren't any really exciting things to post about.

So, I found a great sight that lists all kinds of thought provoking questions. I also found a list of 356 thought provoking questions. http://thoughtquestions.com/ I think that's a good place to start. I need to be more contemplative in my life. Feel free to join along with me as I attempt to answer a question a day (or let's be honest, maybe a question a week!)

When was the last time you tried something new?

Hmm.. In the past few years of adulthood, I've tried quite a few new things. I've tried a ton of new foods and found quite a few new favorites. I've tried new genres of books and found some books I really liked that I would not have chosen on my own. I can't think of any new experience that I've tried recently, other than new recipes which I try very often. I guess the newest thing to me was trying Indian Food at an Indian Restaurant. Thanks, bookclub!

Who has a suggestion for something new I can try? I'd love to hear your thoughts. What have you tried lately?

2nd grade girl

2010-11-22T21:31:00.000-08:00

Second grade has been challenging for my girl so far. Let's face it, it's been challenging for me too. It started the first day of school when she told me on the way home that she hated second grade. I didn't take her too seriously, even when she told me before going to bed that she was going to call in sick in the morning. It still didn't really sink in....until the next morning when she barricaded herself in her closet and refused to come out. After some coaxing, she did come out and ended up having a better day.

We are still struggling to love second grade. Now, don't get me wrong, there are way more good times than there have been bad, but it has been breaking my heart to see Katie upset about school and homework.

Katie is a thinker. She always has been. She understand things most kids her age don't. People have commented on her "old soul" for most of her life. She is sensitive. She has REAL emotions that she has to express. She is a girl who cries while watching a movie, both when things are sad and when they are happy. I've seen her wipe tears away many times, she really feels what is happening. She is super caring and puts other people first. She is the first to give away things to someone who needs them more than she does. She's beginning to understand that she is a fortunate girl and that she is lucky to have such a caring loving family.

She still doesn't love second grade. She cries about doing homework. She doesn't like that her class gets in trouble. She doesn't like getting punished as a class for things that she didn't do. She doesn't like that other students talk and are disrespectful. She doesn't like writing. She feels stressed about doing work. She is a smart girl and has great ideas. Her area of struggle is writing. It takes her FOR EVER to write things. She is a horrible speller. These things cause problems when you are in second grade. I wish for her that things would come easier. I hope and pray that she is learning some valuable lessons by having to struggle to do things. There are so many things that she does well.

She has become a pretty great reader. She loves books and is gaining some confidence in her reading ability. She has to memorize a new poem every week, and by Tuesday morning she's got it down. She doesn't just recite the poem, she performs. My girl has music inside of her. She loves to sing and dance and she does so with gusto. The girl has moves! She's also a great problem solver. She thinks logically and is good with numbers. She's also confident in most things. She's confident in her own style and is comfortable in her own skin. She doesn't sit back and let someone tell her what to do, she makes her own decisions and sticks to what is right for her.

Katie is a great big sister. She loves her brother and would do anything for him. She is quick to sacrifice what she wants to make him happy. She always includes him in things and she lets him be a leader in their play. Alex is lucky to have a big sister who loves to help him.

I am blessed to be her mother.

3 new ones!

2010-09-01T11:53:00.001-07:00

There are three new posts below this one. Don's miss out on all of the fun! :)

A Five Year Old!

2010-09-01T11:52:00.000-07:00

On August 3rd, Alex turned 5 years old. It really is amazing how fast they grow up. For his birthday, we had a family party. Alex choose to have ravioli for his birthday dinner. I insisted on making homemade ravioli. I stuffed almost 100 raviolis. Next time, I'll buy the frozen kind!

Of course, the big theme for his birthday was Monster Trucks. As his big gift, he got a room makeover. His room was painted Grave Digger green and the wall are now adorned with a giant Grave Digger Decal and lots of smaller Monster Truck stickers. He loves it!

Blowing out the candles on the homemade icecream cake!

Wipeout! Wii game.

Do you think he liked the Monster Jam K'Nex set?

On the Saturday after the big day, we heading down to Sky Zone for a jumping good birthday party. The kids had an hour of jumping on the trampolines, then it was time for pizza and cake. I think all of the kids and the dads had a blast jumping. Alex had a great birthday!

Celebrating at Sky Zone!

Thanks for helping us celebrate Alex's birthday!

Second Grade!

2010-09-01T11:39:00.000-07:00

Katie started second grade on Monday. Before going to Open House on Friday she wasn't excited about going back to school. After Open House she said she was excited.
Here is she before heading to school. It is our family tradition to bring flowers to the teacher on the first day of school.

Ready for 2nd grade!

Of course, once we got to school she was excited to see her friends. Here she is with her friends from first grade, Kaia and Hailey.

Friends!

Once the music played it was time to head to their new lines and head to the new classroom.

Katie and her 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Blomquist

I was excited to hear about her first day of second grade when we picked her up from school. She didn't have anything good to report. She was disappointed in her day. It pretty much broke my heart. She said the best part of her day was seeing her friend, Kaia. She complained that recess and lunch were too short, the kids in her class were annoying, and the day was boring. That night before bed she said she was going to call in sick to school in the morning. The next morning she hid in her closet and said she wasn't going to school. Heartbreaking!

However, we talked about things and she asked me to talk to her teacher. She was concerned because in order to have "Fun Friday" the class has to earn it. She didn't think it was fair that even if she was good, ("because, I'm ALWAYS good") she might not get to have Fun Friday and she really loves Fun Friday. One of her first lessons that life isn't always "fair." We got to school and I did have a little chat with her teacher. I left hoping she had a better day.

Day two turned out MUCH better than day one! :) Yippee! She even told me she made friends with the girl who was bugging her the day before. This morning, for day 3 of second grade, she had no complaints about going. Yea! I guess that first grade was so great that there was no way second grade could live up to it. She was spoiled in Mrs. Payer's class. I know she will adjust and have another great year at Gilbert!

A Cousin Visit

2010-09-01T11:18:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since the McCrady's came to Vegas to visit the Oppenheims. We had a busy week and it was fun to get the cousins together. Just about a week before their arrival, Jonathan broke his arm. That changed our plans a bit, but we still managed to have some fun outings.

They arrived Monday afternoon/evening. After picking them up at the airport, we headed to Cafe Rio for a yummy dinner. When we arrived at home the kids had fun showing thier cousins around the house, playing for a bit and the it was off to bed.

Cousins playing with the Iphone!

Tuesday brought a trip to the outlet mall for school clothes shopping for the McCrady boys. There was also lots of swimming.

Wednesday included a trip to the Las Vegas Natural History Museum. The kids had a great time. Here are some shots from the visit.

Katie & Nathaniel checking out some of the fish.

Alex is dressed like a Marine Biologist!

They found the dinosaurs!

Thursday brought a trip to Sigfried and Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat. It was HOT!!! The kids LOVED seeing the brand new baby white tigers. They also enjoyed watching the dolphins. Here's the best shot of the four cousins in front of a lion.

Add caption

Watching the dophin training.

Friday morning was spent swimming at a friends' house with our playgroup. I didn't think I'd ever get Nathaniel out of the water. He had a blast. I felt bad for Jonathan since he couldn't swim, but he managed to pull it together. Friday night, Don took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese and I took Kristina with me to play BUNCO.

Do you know how hard it is to get 4 kids to sit together nicely for a picture. Here is the best shot we got of Grandpa's grandkids. Those boys are crazy!

It was a fun week with our family visiting. It's nice that the kids get to know each other a bit more. We are glad the McCrady's came to visit. Maybe next summer we'll be able to visit them in WA.

It's my birthday, I'll cry if I want to!

2010-08-04T12:35:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm not really sad. Growing up I always had a countdown to my birthday. I was known for loving my birthday. Maybe it's the Leo in me, we love to be the center of attention. 5 years ago my birthday got overshadowed for a great reason, Alex was born the day before my birthday. Now, this was kind of my own fault, since he was a c-section, my doctor had suggested my birthday and I politely declined that date. I chose the day before, rather than the day after so that he would always have his birthday first. Good move....I think. But, it does mean that we will always have lots of dessert around our house this time of year, because I insist on having my own cake. This year I made Alex an ice cream cake and I stayed up late last night baking a cheesecake for me. The trouble is, there will be another cake for Alex's party on Saturday. Oh well, gives us a good reason to have friends over for dessert, right?

Today I am the same age my parents were when I was born. Kind of weird and cool. Made me realize that if I live as long as my mom, my life is more than 1/2 over. I don't want to think like that, but those thought occur. It actually puts a fire under my butt to make sure I live a long life. I mean, as much as I can control that! I really want to be around to see my kids have families of their own and be a fun grandma!

I spent yesterday afternoon stuffing about 100 homemade raviolis for Alex's birthday dinner. Next time he requests ravioli for his birthday, I'm using the store bought frozen kind! Tonight's dinner will be grilled shrimp and steelhead trout. Yummy! Which reminds me that I'd better go get the shrimp marinating.

Growing up birthdays were always a big deal at our house. I've tried to keep that tradition going with my little family. I think I'm succeeding, now just hoping that translates to my family spoiling me on my birthday too. Maybe in a few years the kids will be making my birthday cake.

I'm looking forward to seeing what kinds of adventures I can have in my 34th year!

Future Rock Stars

2010-08-01T15:45:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Katie and Alex attended a Rock Star birthday party. They had a blast. Every kid dressed in rock star clothing and had their hair and makeup done. Alex decided to have his hair sprayed red. Next they all had a photo shoot/fashion show, then recorded a song with a group, made a music video, ate pizza and cake, then did some music trivia. Although it was really hot in the venue, all of the kids had a blast. Katie really like seeing so many of her friends from Gilbert. Happy Birthday, Makalia!

Rock Star Alex!

Rock Star Katie

Katie and her good friend, Kaia

Playing Guitar Hero

A great quote

2010-07-21T14:46:00.000-07:00

A little while ago I came across a great quote. It really resonated with me.

"If a child is given love, he becomes loving...
If he's helped when he needs help, he becomes helpful. And if he has been truly valued at home...he grows up secure enough to look beyond himself to the welfare of others."
~Dr. Joyce Brothers, 1974
When I read this I thought how true it is. I certainly hope that my parenting reflects this in my children. I believe that we are succeeding in this quest.

Maybe you are inspired too? What is your favorite quote?

Summer time fun!

2010-07-11T18:05:00.000-07:00

Don and the kids are at a birthday party so I have some nice quiet time to catch my readers up on our summer so far. Do I really have readers to catch up?

The summer has been HOT. So hot that Jerry started climbing into the bathtub to cool off. It's funny because he never goes in the tub when we've tried to give him a bath!

The kids have spent a ton of time just playing together. Sometimes I've been a little bored because they are so busy playing with each other that I'm ignored! We've also put together a lot of puzzles. Somehow I have ended up putting together many of the 100 piece ones that we've started. Katie is becoming pretty good at putting together the 100 piece puzzles. We've spent a lot of evenings playing Uno as a family before bed.

It's always fun to play with freshly made "kool" dough!

It's so nice that they can play board games together now.

We had a big evening out to see The Lion King at Mandalay Bay. We all really liked it. It's a pretty long show and Alex got a little restless, but the kids both really enjoyed it. There has been lots of talk about the show around here. After the show we went out to dinner at one of our favortie places, Strings. We don't go out to eat very often and both kids got to pick a dessert. They thought it was great!

He ate the WHOLE thing!

Our next adventure was our annual trip to San Diego. This time we had a nice visit with my cousin Theresa and her girls. The kids love swimming in their pool and Alex especially loves the slide. They also got to play some games with Leah and Rachel. It's always nice to get to spend time with family. The weather was amazing, it was actually a little chilly in the evenings, but we weren't complaining! We had a great day at La Jolla beach where the kids built and detroyed a great sandcastle. We took a drive up the road and spent a day at Wild Rivers water park. The kids had a blast! We spent a day at the fair where we met up with another one of my cousins, Andrea and her son Logan. The kids road the rides for close to 7 hours. We did manage to sneak in some time at the commercial building and checking out the animals.

Playing a game of Sequence with Leah and Rachel.

The kids and their sandcastle.

I think the tube slide was their favorite!

Imagine Alex's excitement when he saw this monster truck parked outside the fair entrance!

Alex and Logan, their birthdays are a day apart. Logan on August 2nd and Alex on the 3rd.

We've enjoyed lots of swimming this summer. We've been fortunate to go swimming at lots of friends houses and finally got our own pool open for business. We love our above ground pool, but it's not exactly ideal for swim parties! Someday we'll have an inground pool.....

The kids had two weeks of swim lessons. It was sure hot watching from the sidelines. Fortunately Grammy lives close to the pool and the kids got to stay with Grammy while the other had lessons. They both had a great time hanging out with Grammy, and sometimes Uncle Peter and Grampy. Grammy and Alex played lots of Go Fish.

Katie at swim lessons.

Katie and Don swimming at Chucks over the 4th of July. We had a great time and had the perfect view of the North Las Vegas Fireworks.

The Oppenheim pool open for business. It's been great to jump in and cool off. Both kids are great swimmers.

Our next few weeks will be busy with summer camps. Next week the kids have KidShine camp each afternoon and on Friday they will have their performace. The week after that Alex will be spending three mornings at the Co-op for Camp Co-op. The following week Katie will participate in the Co-op Alumni Art camp. Whew!

I love summer!

Random Thoughts

2010-05-27T09:18:00.000-07:00

I keep coming to my blog thinking I should post something, and am never really motivated to upload pictures and gather my thoughts. So, here are some of my thoughts!

1. I can't believe the school year is almost over! Alex had his last day of preschool yesterday and Katie only has a couple days of first grade left.

2. I've been loving this weather and am not looking forward to the HOT days of summer.

3. We really need to get the garage organized so I can park the car in there again.

4. I am excited to get really working on my Lemongrass business. I need to book some parties for July. The new hostess program is pretty amazing!

5. Katie and Alex were awesome at the KidShine performances. It's always so cute. I love that every kid has a solo and a speaking part.

6. Katie's matinee was great.

7. Katie's got a piano recital next Saturday. Man, we've been busy!

8. Alex really, really, really wants to play tackle football in the fall and I think we might let him.

9. We are all excited to go see the Lion King in a couple of weeks. I love it when shows have Local deals. Buy one get one free is pretty good.

10. We are going to have a great week in San Diego in June.

Star of the Week

2010-03-20T15:00:00.000-07:00

Katie was "Star of the Week" in her class this week. We (Don & I) filled out some letter for her, The Story of Your Birth, The Story of Your Name, and What I Like About You. Those letters and some baby pictures were turned into a poster displayed all week in her class. On Friday Don, Alex and I joined her for lunch at school, then headed to her classroom for sharing time. This included each of her classmates giving her a compliment that was recorded on the back of the poster. Then she shared her special item she brought. It was really neat to be a part of her day and hear all the wonderful things her classmates said about her.

Great shot, huh?

Recording the compliments. See below for the complete list!

Here she is listening. I don't know why I didn't get any better shots. Well, Maybe it was because I had to pay attention to Alex. By the way, she's wearing pajamas because it was twin day and she was dressed like her friend, Kaia.

I love how thoughful Katie is. ~Ms. Terc
I like how she's thankful. ~Makaila
She's very good at math. ~Alberto
She's good at dancing. ~Ana
She is helpful. ~Jayden
She has a good heart and she's good at telling time. ~Charisma
She's friendly and she stops to help when someone gets hurt. ~Angel
She is good at writing and drawing. ~Bailey
She is good at playing games cooperatively. ~Robert
She is good at maing things and she's respectful. ~Leslie
She's forgiving. ~Pedro
We love her as a friend. ~Genisis
She is a good artist. ~Kaia
She's a very nice friend forever. ~Ken
She is talented. ~Thomas
She is kind. ~Sayra
She is a good leader. ~Hailey
Katie is gentle and patient with her friends. ~Mrs. Payer

While we were there, we got to see a dance that Katie made up and taught her class. There was a lot of talk about what a great dancer Katie is. :) OK, I was going to post the video, but now I don't see the button for that. I'll try again later.

1st place trophy!!!

2010-02-28T14:25:00.000-08:00

On Friday we attended the "Reflections" award ceremony at Gilbert Magnet School. We were notified ahead of time that Katie was a "winner." We didn't know exactly what that meant, but it turned out that she won 1st place in her division, primary photography. She submitted a collage of 4 photos that she took at Red Rock Canyon to represent this year's theme of "Beauty Is....." They gave awards to the top 5 in each catagory. Way to go Katie! :)

Red Rock’s Beauty relates to the theme, “Beauty is…” because my pictures show all different colors of the earth. The pictures show that there are many places to explore. It’s beautiful because I can be with nature and see lots of things.

Here are the 4 pictures that were in her entry:

Each year, the PTA Reflections Program challenges students to create art inspired by a specific theme. Themes are selected from hundreds of ideas submitted by students to the PTA Reflections Program Theme Search. Past themes have included "Exploring New Beginnings," "If I Could Give the World a Gift...," "A Different Kind of Hero," and most recently, “I Can Make a Difference by…” and “Wow!” The 2009–2010 theme is “Beauty is…”

Students participate in the Reflections Program by submitting entries to a local PTA or PTSA. Nationally, the program has six arts areas—dance choreography, film production, literature, musical composition, photography, and visual arts—and four grade divisions—primary, intermediate, middle/junior, and senior.

Katie's school

2010-02-18T16:11:00.000-08:00

I got a newsletter from Katie's school today and it had some pretty fantastic information. I'm going to just copy the info for your reading pleasure.

Gilbert Magnet School has been identified as a Magnet School Of Excellence! We applied for a received this top award that is given by the Magnet Schools of America Association. Therefore, out of all the magnet schools in America, Gilbert is considered to be one of the top school in the country! ......

Going along with this fine honor, Gilbert recevied the top number of applications for an elementary magnet school in Clark County. Over 1,213 students applied to become a Gilbert Giraffe next year! How wonderful to know that "The Arts-a Way to Learn, a WAy to Live" is a believe held by many.

I feel very blessed that Katie gets to attend such a great school.

Golden Rules for Living

2010-02-07T20:11:00.000-08:00

I have read this before, but came across it again today, and I wanted to share. I am going to print this up and hang in the house where we can all see it.

Golden Rules for Living
If you open it, close it.
If you turn it on, turn it off.
If you unlock it, lock it up.
If you break it, admit it.
If you can't fix it, call in someone who can.
If you borrow it, return it.
If you value it, take care of it.
If you make a mess, clean it up.
If you move it, put it back.
If it belongs to someone else and you want to use it, get permission.
If you don't know how to operate it, leave it alone.
If it's none of your business, don't ask questions.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
If it will brighten someone's day, say it.
If it will tarnish someone's reputation, keep it to yourself.

Author Unknown

What a morning!!!

2010-02-01T09:49:00.000-08:00

So this morning started out as the usual Monday morning at the Oppenheim house. Katie is hard to get out of bed and pokey about getting dressed and ready to leave. I was in the Kitchen packing the kids' lunches when Katie come out and tells me that Alex flooded my bathroom. OF COURSE!! Yep, he tells me with tears in his eyes, "Mom, I used too much toilet paper and I couldn't get it to go down and then water started coming out and there is water everywhere." His pants and underwear that he left on the floor are soaked and there is a HUGE puddle of water on the floor. *sigh* Of course he chose to use my bathroom and not his.

So, I went out to the garage and grabbed a few towels to start cleaning up the mess. Then I called Don to figure out how to get the wet/dry vacuum to be a wet vacuum. I was on the phone, in the garage getting the vacuum together, and of course the kids were out there with me. Just as I had the vacuum ready Katie tried to open the door. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? The door back into the house was LOCKED! Luckily we had a spare set of keys to the front door in the garage and I was able to get in (after opening all 3 locks on the front door). Niether kid will admit to locking the garage door.

Once I finally got in with the vacuum I was able to get most of the water up, throw a few more towels on the floor and take the kids to school. I only wish I was calm with the kids and not a yelling maniac. Katie was only a little bit late. By the time I got home after taking Alex to school, I could almost laugh about the morning. When I got home, there was only a little mess left to clean, the towels I had left on the floor had absorbed the rest of the water. So, now I'm sitting here retelling my story and all the towels and bathmats are in the washing maching.

Let's hope the rest of the day goes better than our morning.

Katie and Haiti

2010-01-23T12:11:00.000-08:00

Katie never ceases to amaze me. She is such an empathic person. She is very concerned about what is happening in Haiti. She called into last night's telethon and donated all of her money ($23). She also is selling an old scooter and is going to donate the money to Haiti. Her school is collecting shoes for the Soles 4 Souls project and she is trying to figure out which shoes from our family can be donated. It makes me so proud to have a daughter that thinks of other people. When Don told her she didn't have to donate all of her money she told him that it was her money and she wanted to donate it. She also told him how lucky we are to live where we live and have all of the things we have. If you know Katie, you can probably hear her voice as she explained how horrible conditions in Haiti are. Of course, she had one hand on her hip and the other gesturing in the air as she spoke. I love that girl!

New project

2010-01-19T21:54:00.000-08:00

Check out my new blog. I'm trying to document a year in photos, one photo a day. I wish I could figure out how to make all the pictures appear in order. If you have a solution for me, please let me know.

http://oppfamilyphotos2010.blogspot.com/

Katie's 1st Winter Matinee

2010-01-19T20:45:00.000-08:00

Katie school, Gilbert Magnet School, has two Matinees every school year, one in the spring and one in the Winter. For this year's Matinee the 1st graders performed "Let's Make Lemonade" a story about all the fairy tale/mother goose characters. 4 students from each class were chosen to have speaking parts. Katie was chosen to play The Little Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe. She did a fantastic job. She really had the audience chuckling. She is quite a performer and loves being on stage. Enjoy the little clip of her performance.

Trip to Arizona

2010-01-19T17:57:00.000-08:00

The day after Christmas we loaded up the car and headed to Arizona to visit Dad, Corinne, and their new puppy, Buddy. When we arrived at Dad's new house, we were surprised to see my brother, Jeffrey, had stopped by on his move across the country. It was great to see Dad's Arizona house and celebrate Christmas with my side of the family. The kids had a great time playing with Buddy, playing games with Grandpa and hanging out with Jeffrey. Some highlights of the trip are:
* seeing Grandpa and Corinne's new house
* meeting Buddy
* surprise visit from Jeffrey, Ashley & Tristin,
* going to the Circus
* eating at Organ Stop Pizza
* Don's birthday dinner
* lots of game playing
* riding bikes and scooters

Merry Elfmas!

2009-12-11T13:59:00.001-08:00

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2009-12-11T13:34:00.000-08:00

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Katie's pj party

2009-11-21T19:31:00.001-08:00

We had a great morning at the Oppenheim house. About 12 kids came over for breakfast and a pj party. The kids played and played and played. Katie is so lucky to have such wonderful, kind kids in her life. Each kid brought a game, Katie opened each package, she chose one game to keep, then each kid got to choose a game. A few kids chose the game he/she brought, including Katie and Alex! It was a great way to celebrate Katie turning 7. Stay tuned for more pictures of her her family party that will be on the 25th.

Update

2009-11-02T21:17:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm really behind on this blog. My goal is to keep current for the next few months. Here are some pictures from October. They include: Alex's trip to Gilcrease Orchard and Pumpkin Patch, Alex at Kidshine, Alex at Yoga, Katie's class and Halloween. Guess we know who I've been hanging out with more. :)

WA trip

2009-08-21T19:58:00.000-07:00

I don't know why I can't get it together and blog a little. I can't believe school starts on Monday and vacation is over. I'm glad we had one last great adventure to Washington.

Katie and Alex had a blast playing with their cousins, aunts and uncles. My favorite day was our last day there, we spent it boating on the Columbia River with family. I'm so glad my kids got to experience a day like that. My favorite family memories are of us boating on the river. The weather was perfect, the water was calm and the company was the best. Alex didn't leave my Uncle Greg's side and I think he was in the boat for every trip out. He loved helping Uncle Greg drive the boat. I was really wishing for a "pause button" so the day would never end.

I was able to catch up with some long time friends. I can't believe we all graduated from HS 15 years ago. It was so fun to get together again and see each others' kids. Thanks, dad, for letting us invade your house and for grilling for us. :)

Another great thing about being back in WA is all of the wonderful fruits and vegetables. We stopped at a fruit stand on the way back from my sister's house and the kids loved picking out their own fresh fruit. We had amazing nectarines, peaches, pears, cherries, and huckleberries. Most of all we had AMAZING Quincy Corn.

It's always nice to get back home, but it sure makes me miss living close to my family. I'm sure glad I have so many wonderful friends in Las Vegas.

update

2009-07-20T15:40:00.000-07:00

I've been so lame about blogging anything lately. I have so many things to write about.....San Diego Trip, KidShine Performance ,skating, 4th of July, BBQ grill on fire, oh if I only had the motivation to begin. :)

Here are a couple of pictures to entice you.

Kindergarten is Over!

2009-06-12T16:54:00.001-07:00

What a fast year of Kindergarten. Seems like it was just yesterday that we were gearing up for going to school EVERY day. Here is Katie on her first day of Kindergarten. Here is a picture of her on the last day of Kindergarten. It's hard to believe all of the things Katie learned while in Kindergarten. Here is a short list of things she can do now, that she didn't do before Kindergarten. * Count by tens * Count by twos * Count to 100 * Add coins (pennies, nickles, & quarters) * Alphabetize * Read on her own! * Know about the 1st and 16th Presidents * Recite the pledge of Allegiance * Write and illustrate a complete story * Demonstrate Science Experiments * Tie her shoes * Know which numbers are even and odd * The list could go on and on. We are looking forward to all the wonderful things she'll get to do in 1st grade!

Under the Sea

2009-05-30T10:05:00.000-07:00

Katie had her big KidShine performance last night. Uncle Jeffrey came into town so he could see it. He was our official photographer. All of the kids were amazing. Katie's "fish rhyme" solo was accidentally skipped, so she was the "encore" at the end. When it was time for Katie's singing solo, the background music was skipping, so she ended up doing her solo "acapella". She did a GREAT job.

Pony Rides

2009-04-22T23:26:00.000-07:00

Last week Alex, his buddy, Bryce, and I headed to the Pony Farm with many of our playgroup pals. The boys had a great time. I was able to snap a few pictures before I dropped my camera while rescuing Alex from a goat in the goat pen. The weather was perfect and the boys were great. After riding the ponies a bunch of times, we wandered over to check out the peacocks, chickens, horses, donkeys and ponies. The kids got to hold a peacock egg and a hen egg. Too bad my camera broke, because the peacocks were beautiful, especially the albino ones.

You can learn something new everyday!

2009-04-01T21:39:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Joan, Almond and I started a new adventure. We're learning how to knit. Of course, it was a lot more challenging for me than anyone else. I didn't think our teacher was very good at giving instructions. No scarf yet, but I am becoming pretty good at "casting on." Maybe my family will all have matching scarves for next year's Co-op Snow trip! Ha!I was so busy trying to learn how to knit that I forgot to capture any pictures until everyone had left but Almond and me. So, here is one picture of the new knitters!

Let's Go Fly a Kite

2009-03-24T22:37:00.000-07:00

March is the perfect month for flying kites. I promised the kids that after they went to the dentist, we'd go buy kites. However, Alex fell asleep on the way home (maybe he was tired from PUKING at the dentist, that's an whole other story...), so we stopped and bought kites after school today.

Katie's kite was only $3 and Alex's was a whopping $7 because it's a "deluxe" kite. Guess which one was easier to get up in the air? That's right, the $3 kite rocks! Enjoy the pictures.

Another one bites the dust!

2009-03-18T20:36:00.000-07:00

Katie lost another tooth tonight. This time it's on the bottom. She's got one loose one left. All this tooth losing is making me feel like she is growing up too fast!

She's also finally feeling more comfortable reading and is reading a book to me each night. I'm so happy.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2009-03-14T15:27:00.001-07:00

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My Mom, by Katie age 6.

2009-03-06T15:05:00.000-08:00

This is a cute idea. I was "tagged" on FaceBook to do this. Too fun. Guess we're all about singing and reading at the Oppenheim house. :)

1. What is something mom always says to you?
"Fair smells like pigs."

2. What makes mom happy?
"When you see me and Alex being friendly to each other."

3. What makes mom sad?
"When you see me and Alex fighting with each other."

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
"Tickling me."

5. What was your mom like as a child?
"I don't know? You were being nice. Is that right?."

6. How old is your mom?
"32."

7. How tall is your mom?
"I don't know? I'm guessing 30 inches."

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
"Play with us."

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
"Read a book."

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
"Singing, I mean reading. Cause you love to read. of course."

11. What is your mom really good at?
"Teaching."

12. What is your mom not very good at?
"Singing!"

13. What does your mom do for her job?
"Teach."

14. What is your mom's favorite food?
"Ravioli"

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
"How good she is of a cook.

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
"Daphne from Scooby Doo."

17. What do you and your mom do together?
"Play games and most of all read.

18. How are you and your mom the same?
"We both like to read."

19. How are you and your mom different?
"I like to sing and she likes to play."

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
"Because she tells me. That's an easy one.""

21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
"Sweet Tomatoes, I think."

Missing

2009-03-04T07:38:00.000-08:00

Katie lost another tooth. This time it's a top one. The tooth fairy left her $3 in exchange for her tooth. It true Katie fashion, she immediately gave Alex one of her dollars. He's got to be the luckiest little brother in the world, because his big sister is extremely generous. It's really hard to get a good smile when you're trying to capture the missing tooth spot in a photo.

Oedipus Complex???

2009-02-26T20:13:00.000-08:00

Yesterday on the way to school Katie said, "I hope that when I'm old enough to get married, that you die, mom, so that I can marry Daddy."

Nice, huh?!?

Bangs!

2009-02-22T17:09:00.000-08:00

Well, folks. Here it is, Michele talked me into cutting bangs. What do you think? It's a great haircut, but I'm feeling like it's a bit flashback to the 80s. This is going to take some getting used to. ;)

ESPN Zone

2009-02-19T19:06:00.000-08:00

On Monday we had a great day out with our friends, The Johnsons. First we headed to the BUSIEST In-N-Out Burger in town (great choice, Don) for some delicious lunch, the headed to the NY NY Hotel to spend the quality time in the ESPN Zone.

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We had 3 hours of unlimited play to use up. I had no idea we would actually stay the entire 3 hours! We all had a blast. Of course Alex was in heaven because he got to play with not only Jacob but Miss Almond as well.

Spots of fun!

2009-02-14T17:38:00.001-08:00

Poor Katie. She was down for 4 days with a sinus infections and now she's reacting to the medicine that's supposed to make her feel better. These pictures were taken after she's had Benadryl twice to take away the hives.

Guess we'll be fighting this for awhile until the meds are out of her system. I called the Dr. this morning, so she's got a new prescription to try. Poor baby, I hope this is the end of it!

Katie

2009-02-07T18:36:00.000-08:00

Alex has two posts all about him, so I should really share a bit about Katie. She's modeling one of the two dresses that she and Grandpa picked out for her Birthday & Christmas presents. She loved going shopping with Grandpa. She modeled the dresses for him and when he saw this one on her, he said that was the one. She was really funny about it, he was going to let her pick out the dresses, but she said since it was a present from Grandpa he had to pick them out!

Katie is really good at numbers. She can add up 4 numbers without missing a beat. She's getting pretty good at counting money too. She's got counting by 5s and 10s down. I love playing Rat a Tat Cat with her...she usually beats the socks off of me. I think she's finally gaining confidence in reading. It surprises me how much she struggles with reading because I know she has all the skills to read, but lack the confidence. Plus, her favorite things are books. She likes reading books more than anything, well watching movies is a really close second! Tonight she has already read me 4 different books, so I think she's finally feeling like a reader. I was so surprised and pleased that she did her "P" homework on her own, without complaining, and read the entire little paragraph by herself and filled in the blank by herself.

Do Re Mi

2009-02-07T13:06:00.000-08:00

Playing like a 3 year old

2009-02-04T22:10:00.000-08:00

I've been really enjoying watching Alex play and think lately. Last week his buddy, Bryce, was over and it was so much fun playing with them. We played a few rounds of "Feed the Kitty", then we spent a lot of time building the marble tower. The boys had so much fun watching the marbles run through. They helped me build 3 different set ups. It made me realize that I should do things like that with the kids more often. Who cares if the kitchen is clean, playing with the kids is so much more fun.

This weekend we got a smokin' hot deal on a match box space set. ($12, originally over $50!! Oh and I picked up two, so the next boy to have a birthday is getting a really awesome present from the Oppenheims!) The set has space ships, rocket blasters, aliens, spacemen and a bunch of fun stuff. Alex is so cute with it. There are two sets of directions and he keeps trying to figure out how to put all the pieces together. He's really figuring out how to read the directions. You should have seen his face when I showed him that the little space ships can shoot missiles. It was priceless.

We love playing games as a family. Lately we've been playing a lot of Feed the Kitty, Littlest Pet Shop, Sequence for Kids, Dominoes, and Candy Land. I love that at 3 years old, Alex is a great game player. He has a pretty long attention span, and understands the ins and outs of all of the games. He's even pretty good at giving up a token in Littlest Pet Shop when somebody else gets to steal it from him.

Dinners

2009-01-29T21:04:00.000-08:00

OK. I haven't blogged in awhile. I know we're supposed to be sharing our wonderful dinners...so here is what we've had the last week or so...

Tonight: Garlic Chicken & Gravy, Mashed Potatoes, & Lima Beans.
Wed: Mini Italian Cheese Stuffed Meatloaves (not sure what sides Don choose to serve, because I left while they were in the oven.)
Tues: Pizza & Yummy Salad
Mon: Red Snapper, Baked Drumsticks, Rice, Peaches & Salad.
Weekend: I'm sure it was fabulous, but it escapes me.
Fri: Pork Stir Fry with crunchy noodles & "Chinese Spaghetti" (noodles stir fried with Soy Sauce, spinach salad.

Wow! This is the MOST interesting post ever! LOL

My Mom.

2009-01-05T20:10:00.000-08:00

It's been 5 years since my mom died. I was looking at some of the pictures I have of her and us and it really makes me happy. OK, I admit, it makes me a little sad too. I found a picture I didn't know I had. It's of my mom and I making Patecia, the bread she made every year at Christmas. I still have not perfected making it. I try every year, in fact this year the middle was raw! Well, I have two small loaves in the freezer that I think are OK. She always made some for her dad every year. I've yet to be able to give any as a gift!

I know she was so excited to be a Grandma. I just wish she would have got to do it longer. This is one of the last pictures I have of her with Katie.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures of mom. I wish I had the one of us when I was little, I'm sitting on a giant snow ball in my blue coat with the fur lined hood. It's always been my favorite picture.

The great treasure hunt!

2009-01-04T16:21:00.000-08:00

My dad and his wife, Corinne, stopped by for a visit on their way to winter in Arizona. One of Dad's hobbies is Geocaching, which is using a GPS and the coordinates to find hidden "treasure." The kids always love to go "treasure hunting" with Grandpa. So, Friday afternoon we went treasuring hunting. We found a few caches, but only one had treasure. Some of them just have a place to record that you found it. It's a pretty fun hobby and I'm so glad the kids can share it with their Grandpa. We might just have to invest in our own equipment so we can take advantage of all of the caches we can hunt for in Vegas.

My Tea Party by Katie

2008-12-30T17:47:00.000-08:00

My tea party was fun. We all had a great time. We played outside and jumped on the trampoline. We drank lemonade and water. We were all dressed Fancy and had crazy hair. We drank tea, dressed up in fancy clothes, and we ate lots of desserts. We had a wonderful time.
Love,
Katie

A note from mom: The kids all looked so cute. It's so fun to see them dressed in their fancy clothes. My favorite part of the day was watching poor Alex be the quintessential little brother. He spilled his cup of tea all over, stepped (barefoot) in dog poo, annoyed the big kids, and tried really hard to fit in. It's always fun to have friends over, especially during a TWO WEEK break from school. We sure are lucky, Katie has a great group of friends.

Happy Birthday, Don!

2008-12-29T20:54:00.000-08:00

Don turned 33 yesterday. He got to watch the Patriots game (sorry, they didn't make it to the playoffs) and then have everybody over for the last night of Hanukkah and his birthday dinner. The kids had a blast helping him blow out the trick candles. Since he's 33, I thought I could list 33 reasons that I love him. (Thanks for the idea, Jossie.)

1. He laughs really loud at funny movies and tv shows.
2. He always tells his parents that he loves them.
3. He's always willing to give somebody a helping hand, even help them move into a 2nd floor apartment in the middle of August.
4. He gives the kids their baths 99% of the time.
5. He loves my family.
6. He has really good morals.
7. He doesn't follow cars too close because he knows it worries me.
8. He doesn't complain when I correct his grammar.
9. He kisses me goodbye when I'm sleeping.
10. He unloads the dishwasher.
11. He always takes out the garbage.
12. He's an amazing father and loves to play with his kids.
13. He cried when my mom died.
14. He always does the grilling.
15. He is really handy around the house.
16. He likes to shop.
17. He dances.
18. We have the funniest conversations and always laugh together.
19. He picks up my shoes for me and doesn't complain that I leave them all over the house.
20. He likes neat closets.
21. He falls asleep watching tv with the remote in his hand.
22. He cleans the bathrooms.
23. He gets mad when people treat others badly.
24. He plays with my hair.
25. He gives me massages.
26. He's honest.
27. He always tells me what a good cook I am.
28. He cares about my friends.
29. He watches chick flicks with me.
30. He supports all of my goals and ideas.
31. He puts his family first.
32. He reads business and financial magazines.
33. He makes me feel safe and loved and is my best friend.

I love you, Honey.

lighting the candles

2008-12-29T16:12:00.000-08:00

The Eight Nights of Hanukkah

2008-12-29T15:16:00.000-08:00

Last night was the last night of Hanukkah. It was a lot of fun celebrating this Holiday this year. The kids really enjoyed getting SO MANY presents and it was great learning about the meaning behind all of the traditional Hanukkah symbols. Last night I made Latkes to have with dinner.(Grammy even said they tasted just like the one's her Grammy used to make.) The reason for making Latkes during Hanukkah is that the oil used to fry them is to remind us of the miracle of the oil that burned for eight days.

Earlier in the week the kids had fun searching for and the EATING Gelt (Chocolate Coins). We learned that when the Maccabees defeated Antiochus, they threw away the coins with his picture on them. They made new coins with Judah Maccabee's picture. The tradition of giving Hanukkah gelt became part of the holiday. At first money was given as a gift only to teachers. Later, children received gelt for Hanukkah.

Playing the dreidel game was lots of fun too. We learned that each side of the dreidel has a Hebrew letter on it which stand for "A Great Miracle Happened There. The letters also stand for the Yiddish words that explain how to play the game.

It was a lot of fun to celebrate Hanukkah this year. I'm really glad that Katie & Alex got to learn about their Grammy's traditions.

Christmas

2008-12-29T15:01:00.000-08:00

Wow! We've had a great Christmas so far. I didn't snap that many pictures, guess I was too busy enjoying everything. The kids were both excited to find presents under the Christmas trees in their rooms when they woke up. Santa left each of them a new Fur Real pet. Then it was time to check out their stockings. Alex was excited to find a train whistle just like Mrs. Johnston's. If fact, everytime he opened a present he blew it to show how excited he was.

The kids could hardly wait to dig into the pile of presents under the tree. Too bad I made them eat breakfast first. I thought I kept it pretty simple this year, but there sure were a lot of things to open. Alex was ecstatic to open the one thing on his wish list, Scooby Doo Haunted House game.

Katie was super excited to see that Santa knew that she wanted Barbie from Barbie and the Diamond Castle.

We went to mass at Noon, then came home and played with LOTS of new games. We had a great time putting together Marble Works and playing with Alex's new Hot Wheels set. The kids' favorite toy was Alex's present to Don...a mini air hockey table!

Grammy, Grampy, & Uncle Peter came over for dinner and the kids got to open even more presents. We had a yummy dinner and also lit the Hanukkah candles, the kids got Hanukkah presents too.

Our next Christmas will be when Grandpa & Corinne get here. They plan on leaving Tuesday Morning, so hopefully we'll see them sometime Wednesday.

On the first night of Hanukkah....

2008-12-21T21:17:00.001-08:00

!!!!! Grammy (Don's mom) is Jewish. She grew up celebrating all of the Jewish Holidays. I asked her if this year she would teach my kids about Hanukkah and celebrate it with them. So, we are celebrating Hanukkah this year. One day when Katie was in school, Alex and I went and bought some menorahs and the candles. We've been lighting our Advent wreath for 3 weeks now, and they've been excited to get to light the Menorah too. I didn't know that each night the candles on the Menorah are supposed to burn all the way down. I figured it was like our Advent wreath and you'd just blow them out. Tonight, we learned a little bit about Hanukka, lit the Menorah, opened the first Hanukkah presents, and played Dreidel. Tomorrow we will lite the Menorah, search for Gelt and make Latkes. It's really fun to see Grammy so excited and for the kids to get to learn more about the Oppenheim side of the family. Katie is a really lucky game player. She won the Dreidel game. Here's a quick video.

Thankful!

2008-12-21T11:25:00.000-08:00

Katie's KidShine performance was on Friday night. She did very well during her speaking and signing solos. However, for most of the performance she was playing with her hair and the ribbon on her dress. I'm not sure what got into her. The performance was in the gym this time, so I'm not sure if that played a role. I didn't get a shot of her during her singing solo, she was on the other mike and her teacher was blocking my view. Hopefully Don got it with the video camera or some other parent taped her. My favorite song was when the kids all danced. We are looking forward to another season of KidShine, or Music and More as it's now called.

Gingerbread men live in houses

2008-12-12T16:33:00.000-08:00

Run, run, as fast as you can, you can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!

Today at school, Katie made graham cracker "gingerbread" houses because it's a tradition in Sean's family. She couldn't wait to get to eating it, and of course, Alex had to help as well.

It was time to decorate all the gingerbread men we made the other day. Turns out most of the time it was a task best suited for mom to do while the kids watched Word World. Can you find the NAKED gingerbread man? It was made on the kids' request.
Here's a hint, he doesn't have any buttons, only a belly button!

Then came the most ambitious project of the day. Decorating our own gingerbread house. Alex had the most fun eating all of the candy. Each kid decorated their own side of the roof,their own tree, then they both worked on the path and the big tree.

Magical Forest

2008-12-10T17:53:00.000-08:00

Today we took the kids to Opportunity Village and the Magical Forest with their school. The best part of the visit is getting to visit with Santa. Alex LOVES Santa and couldn't wait to have a turn on his lap. He told Santa he wants the Scooby Doo Haunted House game. Katie wants the Barbies from "Barbie and the Diamond Castle" movie.

Of course the kids love riding the train and riding on the giant slide. Alex insisted on going on the slide by himself, but he's kind of small and the small kids go really fast and tend to catch air. He was so sure of going by himself that I let him, and he did end up hitting his head. For the next ride he had Daddy go with him!

Breakin'

2008-12-05T19:13:00.001-08:00

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Oppenheim Elves

2008-12-05T16:17:00.001-08:00

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Valley of Fire

2008-12-04T20:33:00.000-08:00

Over Thanksgiving weekend we took my sister, Erin, and her boyfriend, Kevin, to the Valley of Fire. If you've never been there, it's worth the drive. It is truly stunning. The kids have so much fun climbing on the rocks and finding Petroglyphs. We take a picnic lunch and just explore the different areas. The kids love seeing the chipmunks at the Mouse's Tank picnic area.

Katie's Birthday Party

2008-11-22T21:43:00.000-08:00

Katie wanted to have a mystery party for her birthday, so we tried it. Below are the details from the invitation. Remember she is turning 6, so all of her guests are 5 or 6. I am so ambitious in my party attempts! LOL.

Oh no! Garry Gator the prankster is at it again! He escaped last night and released five animals and hid them somewhere else in the zoo! After the night of mischief, Garry Gator’s back in his swampy exhibit fast asleep and refuses to talk. But before he went to bed, he slipped some envelopes under the door of the zoo keeper’s office! Unfortunately, we think it’s like last time and the envelopes probably contain riddles about the missing animals. We need to hurry and solve Garry Gator’s riddles to figure out which animals he hid and where they are hidden in the zoo before the customers arrive or the Mayor will shut down the zoo!

Well, the actual mystery game was a little more than a dozen 5 & 6 year olds can handle, but they did love the scavenger hunt part of the game. Unfortunately I was too busy leading the game to get many pictures, and I didn't have the best photographer as my back up. I think he was too busy drinking his beer with the other dads that stuck around.
The kids on the scavenger hunt.

After hunting for clues they played a game where each kid had an animal taped on his or her back and they had to figure out which animal it was by asking each other questions. Next was a rousing game of Duck Duck Goose.

Then it was time for the kids to frost their own cupcakes, sing Happy Birthday and play outside.

Finally it was time to open presents and do the gift exchange. Each guest brought a wrapped game, Katie unwrapped them all, she had first choice then she drew names and each guest picked out a game to take home. There were a ton of great games and a lot of parents go some good ideas for Christmas presents.

Katie ended up with a game called "Rat a tat cat." Katie, Don and I played it after all of her friends left. The idea is to get four cards with the lowest total, she's getting really good at adding numbers!

Overall, it was a fun party, but I think next year we'll just stick to playing games and running around!

She'll have her family birthday party on Tuesday, her real birthday. She's decided she wants macaroni and cheese FROM THE BOX for her birthday dinner. I'm going to try and talk her into having that for her birthday lunch. :)

Hey Diddle Diddle

2008-11-14T19:54:00.000-08:00

Did you know it was such sport?

Baa Baa Black Sheep

2008-11-14T19:43:00.000-08:00

Katie's Kindergarten class had a Nursery Rhyme Performance today. Katie recited two nursery rhymes as a trio. Listen carefully to hear her. She knows all the nursery rhymes by heart.

It must be Halloween!

2008-10-31T22:35:00.000-07:00

Another great Halloween! Since today is also Nevada Day, there was no school. It was so nice to sleep in and have no where to go this morning. The kids and I had a GREAT day at home. About 2:30, their friends Lauren and Matt came by. Then around 4:30 it was time for us to head over to the Festival at Matt & Lauren's school. The kids had so much fun hanging out, but 4 kids in a car is NOISY! Now that all the kids are in school, we don't get to see Matt & Lauren very often, so it's a nice treat. Katie had to write about her favorite day and she chose Halloween because she gets to see Lauren!

The kids had a great time bouncing in the bounce houses and climbing through the obstacles. Then it was time to play some carnival games and win some prizes.
Alex loved the target tossing game. Finally it was time to "trunk or treat." Instead of going door to door, people line up their cars, decorate the trunks and pass out candy. It makes the whole process so much easier. Up and down the aisle and then you're done!

Alex dressed as Scooby and Katie as Daphne.
However, Katie did not want to wear the wig to her costume, so she just had the Daphne dress and accessories. After the Festival we headed over to visit one of Don's friends, where of course the kids were spoiled with more treats. Finally it was time to visit Grammy and Grampy. Once we got home it was time for a quick bath, dinner and then two tired kids went to bed.

A long way gone.

2008-10-23T23:56:00.001-07:00

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book is heart wrenching, but such a good read. It really puts a lot of things into perspective. It's inspiring and astonishing at the same time. Everybody should read this book. Very well written and really gives insight into the author's life experience. There has been some controvery over the accuracy of the book, but who's to argue with a young man who lived and survived through such harrowing times.

I became so interested I had to look up more information about the author and found quite a few interviews on-ling.

I HIGHLY reccomend this book.

View all my reviews.

A Work in Progress

2008-10-23T16:38:00.001-07:00

So this is what my house looked like after having it re-piped. I'm so impressed with how quickly the workers have gotten the job done. Today, they came and textured the walls that they repaired yesterday. You can't even tell there were ever holes! Tomorrow they come repaint. It's been a pretty easy process, but I can't wait to be able to put all of our things back into the correct places and get my house back in order. It's gets old having people working in your house every day and feeling like you have to find someplace to go. I can't wait to have my home sweet home back! :)

Working in the 3's

2008-10-08T14:33:00.000-07:00

I had a fun time working in the 3s class today. They are one busy bunch, did I mention how LOUD they are? Here's a cute video from today.
Here is a list of some of the things the kids got to do today:
* make apple pies & then eat them
* play with floam
* garden
* paint
* play outside
* dress up
* read books
* experiment with apples
* dance
* move

I LOVE the Co-op!

"Make new friends, but keep the old....

2008-10-02T20:30:00.001-07:00

...one is silver and the other's gold."

Katie is now a Daisy Girl Scout. Following in my mom's footsteps, I am the co-leader of her troop. We'll meet twice a month at our house. Wednesday was the first time all the girls got together. I had time to snap a quick picture of their friendship circle before the batteries on my camera died. You can only see her hands, great first picture, huh? I'm so excited for her to start her Girl Scout Adventure. I have many wonderful memories of doing things with Girl Scouts, especially selling cookies and going to camp!

It's orchard time

2008-10-02T17:08:00.000-07:00

Today we went with the Co-op to the apple orchard and garden. The kids picked out a few pumpkins, a zucchini, some eggplants, a pepper and a few apples. They had a great time as usual. Now we need to bake some zucchini bread, make some applesauce, and figure out what to do with the eggplants!

Alex was really excited to get his pumpkin home and wash it. Check out the last pictures!

All of a sudden I heard the water start running in the bathroom, sure enough there was Alex giving himself and his new pumpkin a bath! He wanted to wash the pumpkin and that was the easiest way. Of course I grabbed the camera and then let them enjoy their bath together!

Question of the day!

2008-09-26T15:16:00.000-07:00

What is your all time favorite board game?

Rummy Cub. I don't know if it's my favorite because of all the memories I have playing with my family or because I like the challenge of winning and the logical thinking. I am a HUGE fan of games. Before kids we used to have couples game night, I really should find a group of people to do that with again. My other favorite games, in no particular order are:
* Catch Phrase, original NOT electronic
* Balderdash
* Clue
* Cribbage
* Rummy 5000
* Dominoes

The kids and I like playing Sequence, Guess Who,Sorry, and of course, Memory.

Now I really want to play some games!!

Question of the Day: Lifestyles of the Rich OR Famous

2008-09-22T22:02:00.000-07:00

Would you rather be rich or famous? Why?

I would much rather be rich. Being rich and anonymous is the way to go because you would be able to spend your money however you want without having a bunch of people judging you in public. I can not imagine being harassed by paparazzi and people assuming things about you. As much as I enjoy reading People Magazine and Star Magazine, I'd much rather be on this end of the lens.

Question of the day!

2008-09-20T22:03:00.000-07:00

If you could have one superpower what would it be?

I've always wanted to fly, but if I could fly I would have to be super strong too, because what use would it be to fly if I couldn't carry someone else or wisp someone out of harm's way!? I've thought about his WAY too many times.

Challenge

2008-09-19T21:46:00.000-07:00

OK, I'm going to post a question of the day each day for the next week. How many of you readers are willing to answer it? You can post it on your own blog or leave your answer as a comment on my post.

Question of the day.

2008-09-19T21:30:00.000-07:00

If you could spend the day with a ” Movie Star” , who would you pick and why?
Not sure she's really a "Movie Star", but she's on TV. I'd choose Ellen DeGeneres. I think she is so funny. I'd love to see what she is like in real life. She probably is my favorite comedian because her humor is so real. She doesn't degrade anybody or have to result to profanity to be funny. I love that she is comfortable with herself. I think it'd be a fun, fun, day.

Kids say the funniest things.

2008-09-17T20:58:00.000-07:00

As she was saying her prayers before bed tonight Katie was saying the "Our Father". Here is how it started:

Our father who MARCHED in heaven,

I cracked up!

A mouse in the house!

2008-09-17T10:39:00.000-07:00

Last night at the Oppenheim house could have been a movie set. Things are so funny when you find a mouse in the house. Picture this: The plumber company representative is there to give us a quote on having our home repiped (that's a whole other story in itself!), and Don spots a mouse trying to get out the sliding glass door. Don FREAKS out and yells for me to come get the mouse. What the heck am I supposed to do? He frantically is searching for the mouse and then swears he sees it under the table, and then sees it scurry underneath the cabinets. He decides to leave the door open a bit so it can escape if it wants. The kids are SO excited that there is a mouse in the house that they keep running around yelling about the mouse. SO FUN!!

After the plumbing guy leaves the ENTIRE family heads to Home Depot to get some mouse traps. We decided on some mouse boxes that will trap up to four mice. The kids insist on helping get the traps ready. After the traps are in place, the kids have had baths and are in bed, I settle down to watch 90210, but just as soon as I hit play, Don yells, "KERRY, there it IS. There it IS."

So for the next 20 minutes the two of us chased a mouse around the family room. We moved couches and tried to get it to come out. Jerry, the dog, helped out by showing us where the little sucker was hiding. Finally, after seeing the mouse a half a dozen times, we were able to flip the couch that is was hiding under and get it. Of course I had the broom and was supposed to hit it. Well, that only lasted a second before I tossed the broom to Don. How could I do it? Gross! He got the mouse and then had to get it into the bucket he had waiting. Finally the mouse was gone. Now we had the job of vacuuming all the dust bunnies and crumbs we found in and behind the couches.

I really need to move the couches a little more often and sweep behind them. The kids have been told that they can not have ANY snacks on the couch and ALL food must be eaten at the table.

What a funny night at our house. Oh, I did get to watch 90210 without having to worry about a mouse making an appearance.

private jet???

2008-09-11T22:36:00.000-07:00

QUESTION OF THE DAY!
If you had a private jet for just one night, where would you go?

One night only? Hmmmm... I am SO boring that I would go to Washington to visit my friends and family there. Maybe I could pick them up and then head to a beach somewhere. :)

Now, if it was for more than one night, I'd have to fly off to Italy. I've always wanted to go see Rome & Venice.

On second thought I'd go to PA to visit Amy!

Rain in Vegas

2008-09-08T16:39:00.000-07:00

Since we don't get much rain here, the kids get very excited when it rains. We have a tradition of collecting the rain water to see how much we can get.

Alex got into the rain too.

Of course you're never one with nature, unless you get naked and join in the fun!

Alex's first day in the 3's class

2008-09-04T18:25:00.000-07:00

Alex started school again yesterday. I worked in his classroom and can you believe I didn't even snap a picture of him with his teacher, Mrs. Johnston? He was so funny in the classroom, he had to try EVERYTHING. He went around the room and touched everything. Of course I had to read him some books, some things will never change. He was really excited to see that Mrs. Johnston got the cats out for him. Here are a few pictures that I did snap. It's going to be a great year!

We found it!!

2008-09-03T17:59:00.000-07:00

I am SO HAPPY and RELIEVED! Alex found his blanket. In case you're wondering it was in Katie's room in her "treasure box" where of course I looked last night! YEA!!!

Missing Blanket

2008-09-03T08:05:00.000-07:00

Alex's blanket is missing. We have scoured the house looking for it. I can't imagine where it could be. Luckily last night he was so tired he fell asleep while waiting in his bed for us to find it. I'm not sure what I can do. When were were in WA he lost his precious baby tiger, but I was able to buy a replacement one and he's happy with that. He knows it's a new one, but I'm not sure that's going to work with his blanket. He has one that is very similar, it just has a different pattern, but he knows it's not his. It's too soft and has alligators on in. Aggghhh!! I'm not sure what we are going to do. It has to be here someplace, right? Yesterday afternoon we went to Sam's Club, be he didn't take his blanket, so logically it's somewhere in our house, but WE CAN'T FIND IT!!! Help!

Kindergarten

2008-09-01T11:14:00.000-07:00

Katie LOVES Kindergarten. She also LOVES, LOVES, LOVES, Mrs. Ferraro. When I was growing up, we always brought flowers to our teachers on the first day of school. Katie continued the tradition by bringing flowers to Mrs. Ferraro. However, unlike my childhood flowers, hers came from the store!

She spent the first week busy washing clothes in the washing center and decided she is going to start a washing business at our house. That way she "can make money for our family on the days that daddy doesn't go to work!"

On Friday we received her first Homework folder. She's really excited to have homework.

Katie is starting Kindergarten!

2008-08-24T19:26:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that my little girl is starting Kindergarten in the morning. She is very excited and so am I! I am so happy that she gets to stay at the Co-op for Kindergarten. She already knows most of the 11 kids in her class and her teacher is wonderful.

It will sure be a change to have to be at school on-time 5 days a week. Tuesday & Thursday mornings will find Alex and I together. Kids have a way of growing up so fast. I can't wait to hear all about her day tomorrow when I pick her up. We are going to have to start a first day of school tradition.

Here is a picture of Katie with her teacher, Mrs. Ferraro, on Friday at "Meet the Teacher."

7 years!!

2008-08-20T10:45:00.000-07:00

On Monday Don and I celebrated 7 years of marriage! Wow. On Saturday we were able to go out to a show. We saw Terry Fator, the ventriloquist who won America's Got Talent. He was AMAZING. He is so funny and can do so many voices. He sang Gnarles Barkley, Fergie, Michael Jackson, and a so many more. I would definitely recommend seeing his show.

We split up our celebration, we did the show first and then on Monday we went out to dinner at the Melting Pot. It was delicious. Don wasn't too sure about cooking our own food. He said he thinks he'd rather have his food brought to him ready to eat! It was a nice chance for us to just get to hang out and enjoy each other's company over the 2 hour meal. Our favorite part of the meal was dessert, Flaming Turtle Chocolate Fondue....Chocolate & Carmel that is lit on fire and then pecans tossed in to toast. DELICIOUS!! I loved the atmosphere, so fun. However, I think my cheese fondue is better than theirs! :)

We're looking forward many more wonderful years.

What has been your favorite mistake?

2008-08-20T10:44:00.000-07:00

What has been your favorite mistake?

Easy answer.....Katie! :)

Although I would never really consider her a mistake, just an early surprise that I consider a gift from God. I can't believe she starts Kindergarten on Monday.

Question of the day

2008-08-16T10:11:00.000-07:00

What's your favorite season and why?

In Vegas I have to say Fall is my favorite season. After long summers it's so nice when the weather starts to cool. I love the day when it's time to put away the shorts and slip into a pair of jeans. My favorite feeling is the warm sun on your back in the cool air. Fall brings so many changes......new classes at school, & church, the chance to meet new friends, time to start using the oven to cook again so time for new recipes...Fall means that the Holiday season is approaching and there are usually a ton of things to do with friends and family.

Fall is the time of year when it's cool enough to play in the park, take bike rides and enjoy walks. I also love fall colors, they are so warm.

What is YOUR favorite season?

Question of the day.

2008-08-15T11:52:00.001-07:00

What three qualities do you look for in a partner?

1. Honesty
2. Integrity
3. Love of others and a good sense of humor.

(OK, is that really 4?)

It's hard to pick only 3 qualities. What about you?

It's been awhile...

2008-08-13T23:44:00.000-07:00

So, it's been a long time since I posted anything. I've enjoyed our summer, but I am looking forward to cooler weather and the kids getting back to school.

I can't believe that Katie will be starting Kindergarten. Wasn't she just learning to walk yesterday? I'm so glad that she gets to stay at the Co-op for kindergarten. I love that I get to be in her class on a regular basis. She's excited too. This fall she's going to start Tennis lessons and continue with Kidshine, the music program she's been doing.

Alex turned 3! Wow. He is hilarious, but has such a temper. Good thing he is so dang cute. He's talking a ton more, but the poor guy isn't very easy to understand. I'm going to have him evaluated for speech, hopefully there is a solution for him. He still LOVES books and he's really into Scooby Doo these days. He's excited to be in the 3s class this year because they have "capes" in their classroom. He really wants to take Tennis lessons too, but he'll have to wait until he's 4, in the mean time he can do gymnastics. On Tuesdays and Thursdays it will just be the two of us while Katie's in school...that will sure be different, but I'm sure a ton of fun too.

I'm so excited for this fall. I get to plan events for the co-op and the first big one is the Harvest Festival. I plan on having a ton of fun games and activities for families to do together. I'm also excited for both my Lemongrass and lia sophia businesses. Both companies have new catalogs and amazing new products. Lemongrass's launch isn't until the 18th and I can't wait to try all the new face products and try a new scent. I get to start up teaching at church again too. I've been involved with making some changes to our program so I'm really excited.

Don and I will be celebrating our 7th anniversary on Monday. We are going to go to the Melting Pot. It should be fun and I'm looking forward to a night out with him.

Guess I'm caught up for now. :) I'm going to try and be better about updating my blog, because I love reading everybody else's.

Now if I could just figure out how to link my favorite blogs to my page.....:)

Campfire Stories

2008-08-13T23:36:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I blogged anything...

Question of the Day: Did you go to summer camp? What is your favorite memory/story? If you didn't go to camp, do you feel like you missed out?

I went to King's Lake Girl Scout camp for many summers as a kid, both with my entire family and just with my sister. I also went to another Girl Scount Camp a few times as well as to a church camp with a friend. I LOVED Camp. There are so many memories:
*Freezy Foggy (Polare Bear Swims)
* Hidden Breakfast Hikes
* Campfire Songs ("There was a Whale in 'Frisco Bay....")
* No ELECTRICITY
* Singing grace before going in for meals.
* Craft projects.
* Barges
* Pen Pals for life!
* The underwater cabin & corn field.

I can't choose just one favorite memory, but I loved all of the times that we went as a family. Our "cabins" were giant tents on platforms. One night both my Dad and I rolled out of the tent onto the ground. I can still picture my mom walking through camp with me. I loved all of the camp songs and differnt camp "communities." I REALLY loved all the singing around the campfire. Not only were there songs but story telling too. I will definately make sure my kids get the camp experience.

2008-05-07T16:01:00.001-07:00

2008-05-07T16:01:00.000-07:00

2008-05-07T15:59:00.000-07:00

Dinner with Cinderella

2008-05-07T15:57:00.000-07:00

2008-05-07T15:56:00.000-07:00

2008-05-07T15:55:00.001-07:00

Katie thinks Belle's dress is the prettiest one of all.

More with Cinderella

2008-05-07T15:55:00.000-07:00

2008-05-07T15:54:00.000-07:00