Bugseum!

We went to the grand opening of the Bugseum in Shafter today - just 15 minutes away.
It was pretty cool! They did a great job with the outside.

Here is Destiny, Nathan and Teresa being eaten

They had butterfly cookies for everyone today - YUM!

Here is where they keep the butterflies

A dispay of the different types of butterflies

This one was really impressive. There were bugs of all shapes and sizes


Tarantula


The little boys room... and the little girls room

They have a lot of fun bug and animal products to buy. The company, Insect Lore, has been around for 40 years. Selling products and bugs. But now they are open to the public in a very cute place.

One of the best parts, admission is free - that doesn't mean you'll get away from there without spending any money. But at least you don't have to pay to go in ;)

From Nathan

"Mom, you like my letters?"

This is the way he signs his name (not with pretzels). The "T" was the cutest. We have a notebook we use and we find our ABC's in magazines and cut and glue them to pages, but before we do that he chooses the letter from the refrigerator magnets and then I write it on a paper and he copies it. The T, he did before I showed him how to write it. I was so proud. He won't do the "N" because he can't get it perfect.

(Teresa pointed out that he is using her initials to sign his name)

Skate Night!

Teresa had a good time skating with Reese. They both won a drawing for wearing school shirts

I took Nathan around once and then he was done for awhile, he said it was hurting. They wouldn't lock his skates because they were too big. What's up with that, he's 3, he needs his skates locked. We managed. After the first time he was sure he could do it on his own. So later we went again, but he fought holding my hand the whole time.

Nathan having a churro.

Grandma's birthday

Thursday was my mom's birthday so Nathan and I took our lunch and some birthday balloons along with a birthday bear to her work.

Here he is playing on the computer, one of his favorite activities

Nathan loved all the cool things to play with

Friday they took us all out to dinner for her birthday and then back to my house for Rock Band cake and presents.

We all pitched in and bought her the nativity made by Willow Tree

She was very surprised and loved it

Nathan likes to help blow out candles

And the cake, a sugar- free chocolate cake

Hot Dog!

While out playing today Nathan found a dandelion gone to seed and said he was going to make a wish. So he blew some seeds, then I blew some seeds. Then he made his wish to be a corn dog!

(if I were more skilled I'd post a corn dog with his face on it)

He must have hot dogs on the brain today because we were talking about dinner and he said he wanted hot dog and ice cream. I was silly, and thought he meant a hot dog and then some ice cream. Nope, I was wrong. He said " no, some ice cream and put some hot dog in it, it make hot dog soup - it lummy!"

Queen of the Jungle

Teresa was recognized at school on Friday for her reading. They have an A.R. program where they set goals and read books and take tests. The points they get depends on how well they do on the test and the size of the book. A Harry Potter book is going to give you over 20 points and a small Dr. Seuss book is usually .5 points. So Teresa had 173 points for the first quarter and got 100% on all her tests she took. Which means her comprehension is awesome ;) She's always been a good reader, and she's always loved books. I have to tell her to stop reading. Some nights I go in to check on her and she is on the floor reading by the night-light. This is after I have put her to bed and given her time to read. Right now she is loving real event books. There is a series of books that are called diaries. They take real encounters and stories from events. Right now she's reading one about the Titanic, before it was Pearl Harbor and the Gold Rush. She's also started Little Britches and Jane Eyre, but those aren't going to give her credit for AR, so she has to put them down for now - sad huh!? Oh and she is finishing the Lemony Snicket books. There are 13 total, I think she's on 10. They are a good quick read - a break from the higher level books.

This is Teresa with her teacher, Mrs. Plotner.



She gets her name and picture on the board at school and credit toward another star to go on her letter . They also had a nice little gift pack for the kids this time. She got a movie and some goodies.

Oh, I should explain the Queen of the Jungle thing. They have a theme every year and this year it is Wild about Books. So the kids who were recognized were either King or Queens of the Jungle.

Halloween

We had a full day



First some scrambled brains and monster fingers to start our day


Then off to Michael's for some goodies and crafts

Time to dress-up

Mother Nature

Spidey-Man

After we all got ready we went to trick-or-treat at James and Amanda's and then grandma and grandpa's house.

Then home to hit the neighborhood. Sean and Serina came over too. It was nice to have company