Our Dream Rig

We think we have found our dream RV! We went to the RV show at the Pomona Fairplex this week. There were so many RVs and trailers, with just about any option you could dream up. Many of them were nicer than our house! We found one that we all fell in love with. We have not driven it yet, so we are not 100% sure. The interior space has just about everything we want...There is a king size craftmatic bed, no cheesy RV mattress here. There are bunk beds with drawers underneath, as well as a full sized bed over the cab with it's own sunroof! That was a huge hit with the girls. It has a washer dryer option and comes with a bathroom and a half. There also appears to be plenty of storage. Another feature that was a big hit with the girls was the number of TVs the RV comes with, there are 5! Although anyone who know me knows I am not big on TV. Oh, and did I mention...it looks very cool! It is called the Supernova "Grand Hotel" 6400.

On the down side, the dinette table appeared to be very wobbley and there was no oven. Since it is out of our original price range, it may be a while before you see us pull up in it. :)

Makin' jam

Yesterday we made jam for the first time! We received several pounds of peaches. Rather than have them go bad, we decided to try our hand at jam. It turned out rather well and we had a great time! As a matter of fact, we have already eaten a jar and a half. It was much easier than I thought it would be. I found an awesome website with recipes, and even pictures: www.pickyourown.org. Since we have picked close to 50 lbs of apples, we plan to try apple butter next.

Thomas Jefferson Education

A couple of years ago, another home schooling mom told me about a book called “A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the Twenty-First Century” by Oliver Van DeMille. I was interested enough to purchase the book, however I actually never got around to reading it. I finally read it this week. I find the concept behind this method of teaching to be very intriguing. The basic concept is to raise future leaders through the use of the classics and mentor, as opposed to what the author refers to as “conveyor belt” education. After reading this book, I believe that this method would produce a well rounded, educated student. I am planning on researching this a bit more. If you are home schooling or planning to, this may be something to look into. Here are some resources: http://www.gw.edu/
http://www.tjed.org

The Princess and the Peas, as told by Kaelyn Ortega

Once upon a time there was a princess who was sleeping on lots of mattresses and she felt a pea, so she climbed down the ladder. Then she looked under all the mattresses and she found the pea, so she ate it. Then the servant came and said, "Where is that pea?". The princess told him that it was nice and safe in her tummy. So the servant put another pea under the mattresses, but the princess ate that one too. So the servant put another pea under the mattresses, than another and another, but the princess ate them all, until she grew very fat. Finally, the peas got stuck in her throat, and the princess died.

What kind of Vegeterian are you?

My mother is suffering from high cholesterol and is on a very strict diet. The day we celebrated Skylar's baptism/birthday, she asked me for a veggie burger. I pulled out a box of Boca frozen veggie patties, ready to prepare her one. "What is that?" she asked. "Mom, this is a vegetarian hamburger," I replied. She proceeded to ask me for a turkey burger. I apologized and told her I didn't have any. Mom was really upset by this. "What kind of vegetarian are you anyway?!" she fumed, as she walked away. My mother is the best...lol

Bark in the Park

Yesterday was "Bark in the Park" here in Lancaster. This is a fundraising event. We had been looking forward to it all week, deciding to take only three of the dogs. We opted to leave Sunny, our drop eared papillion and Emily, one of the chihuahuas her at home. Sunny does not always do well with other dogs, and crowds make Emily nervous. We took Triton, Elliot and Benji. Triton is a chihuahua with a very sweet disposition, Elliot is a yorkie-maltese mix and Benji is a mixed breed. We groomed them and had them all looking gorgeous for their outing. Unfortunately, the weather turned out to be cold with some rain, and Haley and Skylar were both sick. The girls were heartbroken at the prospect of missing Bark in the Park, so we went for an hour. We were impressed by the love and care so many owners lavished on their little friends. We also found several cool products for our own little ones. All the proceeds go to benefit our local shelter. There were representatives from various Rescue organizations. It is too bad we couldn't spend more time there, but there is always next year!

Christopher's 19th Birthday

Kaelyn

I lost my camera a couple of weeks ago. I was not surprised to find that Kaelyn had gotten a hold of it....Although most of pictures she took were of her feet, here is her first attempt at a self portrait...

Skylar's Big Day

Skylar was baptized just a couple of weeks ago, right after her eighth birthday.Skylar was baptized just a couple of weeks ago. We celebrated the big day with a combination birthday/baptism bash. The highlight of our horse themed party were the pony rides. We passed out cowboy hats and bandannas to all of our guests. Many of our friends and family shared this special day with us. It was a perfect party for a horse crazy little girl.

Back at the daily grind

We have not posted to this blog in some time! We had a pretty uneventful summer, trying to get caught up on our home schooling. I also trained for a new client. In light of recent developments here in California regarding home schooling, I have decided to be a little less relaxed in my attitude towards it. Also, being part of a charter school, we must comply with their regulations. So, we are really hitting the books. However, there is no reason school has to be routine or boring. After all, part of the reason we do this is so that learning can be an exciting and enjoyable experience for the girls. I do wish that I could unschool Haley. I do feel that she would do much better and have much more fun.Unfortunately, this is not an option for us right now. I hope that this will someday change. In the meantime, we love home schooling. I found some terrific books called the "Grandmother's Hope Chest" series. They are sweet old-fashioned stories, which include a kit to teach hand stitching. They are suitable for younger children. My soon to be five year old can do these kits. Here is the link: http://www.hopechestlegacy.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=75_97&zenid=6250342b66af5b69132061270680920e. As most of you know, we don't have cable. I don't believe in parking the kids in front of the TV and letting them veg out on mindless dribble. So, once it starts getting dark early, I try to find activities or crafts that will be fun and that we can enjoy all together. We are also starting our bimonthly outings again. With the high price of gas, (and everything else) We are going to have to get creative with our outings. Our first outing was organized by CAVA. We went to Knaus Ranch in Techachipi for an afternoon of Apple picking. We had an awesome time, and picked about 16 lbs of Apples. They were so good, that we have already gone through half of them! before leaving Tehachipi, we stopped at a local ranch, The owner was kind enough to let us see his Buffalo. We saw real American Bison up close, as well as Brahma cattle and Watusi cattle. We were particularly fascinated by the Watusi, with their incredibly long horns.

My beautiful grandchildren

Ren Faire - So Cal

Last weekend, we spent a hot, dusty, glorious day at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire. We walked around and tried to see as many of the craft booths as possible. We learned how to spin wool, and watched a blacksmith at work. We saw some very cool acts. There was a man who performed amazing feats with whips, a juggler and a belly dancer who danced while balancing a sword on her head. There were musicians and salesmen, rides and food everywhere, especially the traditional turkey leg. I would recommend the spinach crepe. An of course, everyone spoke in “ye olde English”. We were occasionally stopped by people wanting to photograph us in our faire regalia, especially my three little princesses. One of the highlights of the day for the princesses was when Queen Elizabeth officially made them “ladies of the court”


(yes, I actually let myself be photographed...I loved my green wench's costume).There was a booth with wands that made enormous bubbles. The princesses spent quite a long while enjoying playing with them. The highlight of my day (not) was when Princess Pickle got her head stuck.
The following day, we celebrated my brother Carlos’ son Christian’s eight birthday at Mountasia in Valencia.
This weekend, the Ortega girls are going to stay home and veg out. Well, not mom. I’ve got a paper and an exam to study for before the Spring semester is all wrapped up. But it has been a busy couple of months. We need the break!

The Westbergs

Well, we are all broken-hearted because we are going to have to say good-bye to our dear friends the Westbergs and their wonderful kids. Skylar, Haley and Pickle cried for hours to think it might be a very long time before we see them again. They are off to the greener pastures of Colorado. We wish them all the best in their new home.

Homeschooler's rant

The Ortega girls have just been overwhelmed with life lately! Especially me...between work, school, homeschooling and family and social obligations we have no breathing room! This week Skylar is doing state testing. I am not in favor of having her test, it's one of the reasons I homeschool. I want to be in control of my children's education. However, with the recent anti-homeschooling court ruling, I felt it best to comply...What can I say, apparently the government knows better than I do what is best for my children. I respect the right of others to stick their kids in the public school system, I just want equal consideration. Furthermore, with the state cutting down on the arts and physical activities, I don't feel that my children would get the education I want them to have. I feel that there is too much emphasis on the three R's. While learning to read, write, and count is certainly important, so is art, music and creativity. I feel that lately the public school seems to stamp out creativity and individuality in all but the most strong minded of children. I want to encourage creativity and self expression in my children. I want to instill morals and leadership skills in them. Although I get quite a bit of criticism regarding my choices, my children are well mannered and sociable. They make friends quickly and have many. Since they have never been bullied, teased or put down, they do not lack self confidence. Studies have found no evidence that homeschooled children lack social skills. As a matter of fact, studies by both the Cato Institute and the Fraiser Institute find “*the typical home-schooled child is more mature, friendly, happy, thoughtful, competent, and better socialized than students in public or private schools. “ Lawrence Rudner's 1998 study on US homeschoolers states "**the achievement test scores of this group of home school students are exceptionally high". I may be a bit prejudiced, but I consider my children extremely bright. And while they are not averse to playing video games, they do prefer to run around outside or work on crafts rather than sit in front of the television set all day. We don’t even have cable. They enjoy classical music, opera and the ballet. Although they will get tired after a couple of hours, they enjoy art museums. All three of my girls love history, (they call it story time) Like all children, they are curious about how the world around them works, and science is their favorite class. They are imaginative, and will spend hours putting together their own storybooks and plays. When you homeschool, everything is a learning opportunity, whether it be a visit to the theatre or the doctor’s office. At a recent visit to the chiropractor’s office, Skylar asked the doctor about a model of a skeleton he had in a corner. The appointment turned into an anatomy lesson. On an afternoon walk through the neighborhood, we’ll have a contest to see who can read the most signs. Even while we are doing formal schoolwork, the girls consider many of the exercises “games”. Perhaps some families do need the state to step in and tell them how to manage their families. For others, public or private school is the best choice. Not everyone is cut out to homeschool. However, for my own family, and thousand of families like mine, homeschooling is the best choice.


*http://www.cnsnews.com/culture/archive/200110/cul20011023a.html
**http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v7n8/

Sky City

I haven't posted in several days because things have been so busy and hectic. It seems like we are always on the go! I few days ago we went to our friend Everret Jayden's Birthday Party. It was one of the coolest party's we have ever been to. Even the grown-ups had a great time! The party was held at Sky City in Canyon Country, which has two enormous rooms full of bouncers, huge slides and even table hockey! After the party, we headed over to Ani and Alvin's house to celebrate Ani's 25th birthday. I know it's corny, but it is hard to believe that my baby is all grown up, a married woman, and the world's greatest mom to boot. :)

Yesterday was quite a day! We finally took our much anticipated whale watching trip. We chose to go from Long Beach. We were very excited as we boarded the Toronado for our excursion. The weather was great, just a little chilly and a slight breeze. The water was beautiful, with ripples from the wind forming a sort of abstract basket weave design on the surface. In some areas, were the water was smoother; we were able to see schools of fish and jellyfish just under the surface. As we left the harbor, we saw a steamboat and the Queen Mary. Close to the breakwater, we saw a family of sea lions lounging and catching some rays on a buoy.. Unfortunately, this was pretty much the highlight of the trip. We stood or sat in the bow, in the hopes of getting even the slightest glimpse of a whale, but were disappointed. Towards the end of our two and a half hour cruise, we were finally rewarded when we saw some porpoises splashing and playing in the water. We shared out trip with some great kids from Jordan High School and Lowell Elementary School. After the boat trip, we decided to inspect the lighthouse, and then we were off to Mickey D’s for lunch. We were later told that April is awfully late in the season for whale watching, and have been advised to make another attempt next February. I really feel that we should have received at least a partial refund, as I was assured when I made the reservations over the phone that we would see whales, and that it was not too late. However, the day was not a total loss. We found out that the Ortega girls do not get sea sick, and we got to visit Lil’ Sis Roni and her beautiful family. Afterwards, we dropped in on Ani to wish her a Happy Birthday. After swim lessons and baths, we were all completely exhausted. The girls admitted that the enjoyed the boat trip, in spite of the lack of whales and dolphins. All in all, we had a great time.

Mommy’s Little Impressionists

One of the advantages of homesschooling is that you can put as much time and efforts into the arts as you feel is necessary or appropriate. Unlike the public school system, we are not subject to budget cuts, although we are limited by household income.  Recently, we studied the impressionists, Particularly Monet. We combined this with a study of color and lights, in particular, tints, and how they are created. The following photo shows the Ortega girls interpretation of Monet’s “Water Lilies”. The background is made of tints of blue, green and purple and the lilies are made of construction paper. Skylar decided to go for a 3-D effect.

Is permanent marker really permanent?

The pertinent questions of childhood; how many rocks can you stick up your nose? Where can you hide your dinner if you don't want to eat it? And, is permanent marker really permanent? My four year old, known as Pickle to family and friends has been on a quest to answer these and other important questions. This is what she has come up with so far: How many rocks can you stick up your nose? Only one, and it hurts! Furthermore, it requires a trip to the emergency room, during which you mother will alternatively act hysterical and embarrassed. Question number two: Where can you hide dinner items you don't want to eat? Answer: Nowhere...the family dog will always give you away! Question Number three: Is permanent marker really permanent? Answer: Well, it would appear so. Pickle colored her toenails with black permanent marker in an attempt to find the answer to this age-old question. After several attempts with nail polish remover and numerous scrubbings, her toenails have faded to a murky sort of purple, but we are unable to remove the color.
(BTW, anyone who knows how to remove permanent marker from toenails, without the use of harsh chemicals, please post it here or send me an email)

Lil' Sis Roni

Since I'm on roll, I'm pretty proud of my baby sister, Veronica, too. She will be graduating with her AA this spring as well. She has worked very hard, through her first labor and childbirth. (She and her hubs Nesto are wonderful parents, by the way)While a student at Cerritos College, she was also an officer for Phi Theta Kappa. http://www.cerritosptk.org:80/html/officers.html Through her hard work maintaining a high GPA, and her service, she managed to make the All-California Academic Team! http://www.ccleague.org/files/public/032608_PTKRelease.pdf

Alvin graduates!

I know it is not nice to brag, but I can't resist! I am so proud of my son-in-law, Alvin, that I could burst! Not only is he a terrific son-in-law and awesome husband to the perfect wife, but he just graduated with his Bachelor of Science after five years of hard work. Not only did he do this while working a full time job, but he completed his studies with new born twins keeping him up all night. As if that weren't enough, he graduated class valedictorian. Wouldn't you want to brag, just a little bit?

Christopher is going to Hawaii!

Christopher got a huge surprise...he is going to Hawaii for his 19th birthday! This is a joint gift from his Uncle Dave & Auntie Teri, Ani & Alvin, and Mom. Ani and I did want to wait until he was actually getting on the plane to surprise him, but Dave didn't think it would be very fair. Still, I think he was pretty surprised...what do you think?

Swimming in the AV

Skylar started swimming lesson today. She was so excited! She did take "Mommy and Me" swim lessons a few years ago, but we didn't follow up on it. Skylar started in Level 1 swim at Eastside Pool here in Lancaster. It's a very nice pool, indoors. She had a terrific time, laughing and smiling through the whole class. She declared her instructor, Ryan, "full of fun". We can't wait until the next lesson!

Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve

We took a trip to the Poppy Reserve. In the 7 and 1/2 years that we have lived in the AV, I have never seen such an abundance of wild flowers. Even at some distance, we could see brilliant splashes of yellow and orange on the hill sides. The Joshua trees are in full bloom, and we saw tons of poppies, goldfields and pygmy lupine. It was a very windy day, and we enjoyed running and playing among the gorgeous flowers. We finally got so cold, that we had to leave.

Post Easter Party

Yesterday, we where invited to our friend Everret Jayden's Post-Easter party. We were joined there by the Easter Bunny, who led games and made balloon animals for all the guests. After we said good-bye to the Easter Bunny, there was an easter egg hunt. Haley won first place with a grand total of 26 eggs, and Skylar was a close second with 21 eggs. Everret Jayden's mother, Ms. Happy, (aka Christina) helped us dye and decorate hard-boiled eggs, after which there we made new friends and played in the bounce house. Everyone had a wonderful time!

Game Day, Skylar's FIrst Baseball Game

Today was Skylar's first baseball game, Haley's third. The girls are playing for the Marlin's Coach Pitch team. They are both having a wonderful time, as well as learning about the sport. Unfortunately, almost all the games are at 9:00 a.m.! If you decide to join us for one of their games, don't forget to wear teal. :)

Collegiate Chris

LACMA and La Brea Tar Pits

Yesterday we took a field trip to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. We had the opportunity to check out the new Broad Contemporary Art Museum The girls and I really enjoyed most of the pieces we saw at the BCAM. We had the opportunity to see works by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Jeffrey Koons and Damien Hirsch. I think the girls especially enjoyed the Koons "balloon sculptures". We found much of Hirsch's work rather disturbing, although his butterfly works are stunning. I think my favorite piece was probably Warhol's "Black and White Disaster." The girls also enjoyed Richard Serra's "Band" which we could actually walk through. We had docents and security hovering over us anxiously at every step. I think they were terrified that one of the girls was going to decide to climb or grab something. We did not really get a chance to go through the other complexes, because the girls were getting tired. BTW, if you have children under eighteen, they qualify for a free museum membership. Any child that is a member can take in one adult for free. So, we were all able to enter the museum for free instead of paying the usual $12.00 per adult entrance fee! Furthermore, Tuesdays are free.
After the Museum of Art, we went to the La Brea Tar Pits, which is in the same area. The Tar Pits were a favorite outing of mine as a child. I believe I was about seven years old the first time I went there. Even after almost 30 years, I can still remember the smell of the tar and feel the excitement of seeing the bones of creatures that roamed the earth 25,000 years ago. I still remember the first time I saw the volunteers in the Lab cleaning and cataloging bones, as I held on to my father's hand. I think perhaps that is when this fascination I have with history and the past started at that moment. I was thrilled to be able to share this experience with my own girls. I was not disappointed. My children seemed just as excited as they touched a real sloth bone and held my hand as we watched the volunteers in the lab working. Unfortunately, the excavation pit was closed and we were not able to experience that. We did get to view the tar pits and walk through the Page Museum.

Aquarium of the Pacific

On March 17, we took a fieldtrip along with other CAVA students to the Aquarium of the Pacific. What an amazing place! We actually touched sharks and starfish and saw creatures we never dreamed existed.

Meet the grandkids...

Amaya Marie and Alvin Christopher with Mommy on Easter Sunday

Back to normal

I haven't posted to this blog in a while. My grandfather passed in December, shortly after my last post and it hit me rather hard. Soon afterwards, my oldest gave birth to twins!I am now the proud grandmother to the most awesome (and adorable) little boy and girl. On March 7, my baby sister gave birth to her first child, a beautiful little boy. Life has been eventful and hectic. Things are finally starting to settle down and get back to normal. The girls and I have been working very hard to get back up to speed with our homeschooling. With all that has been going on, we fell behind. I have also decided to take on a full time load with my own studies. However, I will try to keep this blog up to date. :)