My Beautiful Sister & Niece

My sister, Laura, and her beautiful 3-month-old daughter, Anneliese flew out for a visit from Virginia last week. We had the opportunity to meet up with them at Victoria Gardens mall on the 18th to spend some long overdue quality time together. This was the first time we met Anneliese and she is so amazing that she brought me to tears. We each got a chance to hold her and it was such a happy moment that we'll remember it forever. Laura was absolutely glowing and she is thrilled to have her little girl to complete her family. We are so happy for them and we are looking forward to the future as the children grow up and sharing all the experiences of raising our families together.

Top 10 Things Homeschooled Children and Their Parents Get to Do While Other Kids are in School All Day

This article is worth posting because it's all true!

www.helium.com/items/989520-things-homeschooled-children-and-parents-do-while-others-go-to-school

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Something different to do on Memorial Day Weekend!

Are you looking for something different and exciting to do this weekend that is FREE? Then, you might be interested in Southern Disney's Train Tour!

Disney's Christmas Carol Train Tour.
Christmas for Memorial Day Weekend? You bet!!

Disney's Christmas Carol Train Tour will be hitting the road with a 40 city
train tour extravaganza that will kick off Memorial Day weekend in Union
Station in Downtown LA. The four train car interactive experience will
feature a 3-D Disney theater featuring clips of the upcoming Christmas
Carol film, fun activities, Radio Disney, performances and well a Disney
experience. If you are in the area or are looking for something different
to do you might want to check this experience. Here is more information
about the train tour. disney.go.com/disneypictures/christmascaroltraintour/

It sounds like a fun experience!

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Homeschool Article from our Alma Mater - CSUN

homeschooling.families.com/blog/ideas-for-keeping-homeschooling-fun-passive-learning

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Children's Matsuri "Natural Wonders of Japan"

On June 6 the Old Town Temecula Community Theater, which is located at 42051 Main Street in Old Town Temecula, will be hosting performances bringing Japanese culture & fun to Southern California from 11 am - 6 pm for FREE! Some of the many things they will be doing are: Hokusai and Hiroshige Woodblock Demo & Art Lesson, a Nihon Buyo performance, The Rings of Jrock Band, a Taiko Drum Performance, Miyagi Nosho Okinawan Dance, Ikebana Demonstration, Martial Arts Demonstrations, fresh Japanese food, and fun crafts & games. They are also having a silent auction with many items including Sony products and a used book and decorative tin can sale.

The sponsors of the event include UCLA Paul I. And Hisako Terasaki Center for Japanese Studies, City of Temecula, Pediatric Partners, Toyota of Temecula Valley, Kirin, Yamashita Karate, Abbott Vasular, and many more.

Along with free admission, there is a free gift for the 1st 500 kids.

So, here's the info once again:

Location: Old Town Temecula Community Theater, 42051 Main St, Old Temecula

Date & Time: June 6 from 11 am - 6 pm

Contact Information: www.TemeculaSisterCityAssociation.org or call (951) 750-1088

Admission: FREE!!!

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La Habra Children's Museum

This is a little challenging to write because I'm making paper dolls with Ashley at the same time as I'm gathering my thoughts. So, if it comes out sounding disjointed, that's why.

Today, we visited the La Habra Children's Museum for the first time. They had a special event celebrating cultures from the Pacific Rim. On the front grass, there were stage performers, and lots of tents set up for games, activities and food. Inside, they had a big room set up just for crafts. It was a busy place!

We wandered over to the different rooms in the museum after awhile and discovered an exhibit called the Ring of Fire. It was a whole room set up as a walking journey around the Pacific Rim, each stop included hands-on learning about each country, region, etc., as people dodged around volcanoes and earthquakes.

There are also other parts of the museum which we had fun with, too. Ashley, being the science-lover that she is, spent quite a bit of time at the Science Station. Here, she found mini-exhibits about water conservation and a dig site where she uncovered dinosaur bones and artifacts. She also enjoyed the Carousel Room where kids can ride a Dentzel Carousel, shop in a mini market, and climb into a real bus and pretend to drive it. There was also another exhibit called Kids on Stage. It had a stage with a working microphone, costumes, musical instuments, scripts, special lighting, and a control room that allowed kids to work the magic behind the scenes.

There is so much we missed because of the festival activities, but they have free admission on the first Saturday of each month, so we'll have to plan another trip out there. On the way home, Derek asked Ashley what she thought and she said, "It was great! But Pennypickles is more special and more fun." I agree.

Anaheim Children's Festival and a Surprise!

Today, we went to the 17th annual Anaheim Children's Festival at Center Street Promenade. Ashley started with chalk art and made a garden with a rainbow on the street. Then, we visited every booth we could and did fun arts and crafts projects like bubble art, making jewelry, visor decorating, making kites & windsocks, making flying butterflies with paper and pipe cleaners, making a purse, making music & instruments, painting, and more. We also got to watch beautiful ballerinas perform on a stage! We had a really good time!

Later, we walked over to Jack In the Box to grab a cheap snack and the strangest thing happened. While we were getting our drinks, a bride and groom walked in. The bride had on a long bright-white wedding dress with a veil and the groom was in a black tux. Everyone turned and stared as they walked up to the cashier and, I swear, it looked like they were getting married right there! Derek, Ashley, and I looked at each other, then at everyone else, then at the couple and it felt like we were all thinking the same thing...OMG...WTF? I wish I got a picture, but I was so surprised that, not only did I forget to take a picture, but I also forgot about the dog that was running all around the Jack in the Box lobby! Bummer! Cute dog, too! If I did, then I would definitely have put it up on this blog!

So, we'll see what tomorrow brings. We're going to the La Habra Children's Museum for a special (and free!) event and it looks interesting! Who knows what we'll see there. ;)

Our Website Has Been Updated!

Derek has been busy working on our website and it has drastically changed. He added lots of pictures and information about our store and it no longer automatically drags you to eBay. It's more user friendly, so come check it out! www.BackIssueNewsstand.com

Mother's Day at the LA Arboretum & Botanic Garden

The weather was warm and about 85 degrees with a bright sunny sky on Mother's Day. There was a special event at the LA Arboretum & Botanic Gardens of an Open House at the Queen Anne Cottage, which only happens twice a year. So, combined with the nice weather, we were looking forward to a new experience and creating more happy memories together.

As it turns out, the grounds are more beautiful than we anticipated. Everything is so serene and immaculate. There are gardens from all over the world and historic sites to visit. My favorite places are the Queen Anne Cottage, the waterfall, and the breath-taking rose garden which is worth the price of admission alone. We spent most of the day there and only saw about 1/4 of the grounds, so we'd like to plan another trip to see the rest of it someday. Below are a couple of links of photos and descriptions of what the arboretum has to offer:

www.arboretum.org/index.php/explore/historic_structures/

www.arboretum.org/index.php/explore/photos/

Check Out This Switch PITCHER!!

One of my Twitter buddies, Alyssa Milano, posted this a few minutes ago about a switch PITCHER!

sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=4145564

URL For Back Issue Magazines

Derek just created a URL to one of our two online back issue magazine newsstands. Check it out! www.backissuenewsstand.com

The Lost Inhabitants of Easter Island

As a homeschool mom, I'm always looking for little gold nuggets of information that I can use in our curriculum This is about the consequences of tampering with a lands natural ecosystem:

www.science-facts.com/2008/06/13/the-lost-inhabitants-of-easter-island/

Science of Spas at the Temecula Children's Museum!

The science behind the pampering!

Last night was Girls Night Out at the Imagination Workshop. It was a big success, too! We were almost at full capacity with girls and women of all ages. Ashley (pictured above) had a blast making organic spa treatments and experiencing the science behind them. The treatments were: fragrant bath salt scrub, cucumber eyes, tea bags for eyes, and corn meal and mayo scrub. We used essential oil frangrances to understand the science of smell such as lavendar, rose, peppermint, geranium. and ylang ylang. Then, we made an egg white face lift and our own flavored lip gloss - Yum!

Circus, Anyone?

Ashley asked us if we could go to the circus a couple days ago, so I did some research and thought I'd share what I found:

Circus Vargas. Amazing acts under the big tent offer fun entertainment for all ages. Circus Vargas appears in Orange through May 4, then moves to Ventura, CA. Time: 4:30; 7:30 p.m. Location: The Block, 20 City Blvd. West, Orange, CA 92683. Call: circusvargas.org