Just Me!!

Day 1- We decided to rent a car for a day to take the kids to see The Huntington Garden's in San Moreno CA. Mark and I went to the gardens nearly a decade ago, and couldn't wait to share our little secret (the gardens) with the kids. It is absolutely beautiful. The estate belonged to Henry E. Huntington and his wife Arabella. It houses several gardens, a library, a museum , a Greek garden with lots of scantly clad statues, a child's garden, a greenhouse with muddy bogs, African jungles, and differing climates. Our favorite was the completion of the Chinese garden and of course the Japanese gardens (complete with a zen garden). If you have anytime in your day and are in LAX, do spend some time here. It is absolutely amazing. After our Huntington adventure we spent the rest of the afternoon on the highways around Los Angeles. We drove Beverly Hills Boulevard, and ended up on Sunset Drive. We searched for the Hollywood walk of fame (and didn't find it), and almost gave...

Mickey...day three after THE TOWER OF TERROR! Pluto...day three Incredibles...day three Goofy...day three! Valerie battling Darth Maul! She passed her Jedi Training with flying colors! We only really waited to see Mickey Mouse. The rest of the characters were in our path of the things we wanted to see and do. I am already preparing Charlie for her trip...we read Sleeping Beauty at the doctor's office yesterday (another double ear infection-poor girl). I was the only one who wanted to see all the girlie characters...the princess'. Maybe next time...

5 Days, 4 nights at the Happiest Place on earth. What do we have to show for it? Some of us are tan, some of us are broke, some of us have souvenirs, and some of us are sickie poo! The best thing about being back....we are all together! Pictures to follow in the coming days!

Well we are getting ready for our first true family vacation...Disneyland here we come! In the meantime I have been trying really hard to implement some FPU changes at home. Here is what I've come up with: Kids 1. Changed the chores to 4 a day. The rest are chores we do as a family. 2. Paying 1.00 a day for a maximum of $5.00/week for chores that are done. 3. No longer saying "allowance." Using the word "commission" when we talk about money for chores. 4. Created a envelope system...one for spending, one for giving. Decorated a clear jar for their savings. Us 1. Completed baby step #1 ($1000.00 in savings acting as a emergency fund) 2. Created a mini budget 3. Deposited 10% of my check into savings 4. Learned that my savings only accrues .25% and a money maket account or CD would accrue 2.25% at my bank. 5. Understanding that this could change my children's future...they could end up with an estate! If I train them right then the money they save would carry ...

Happy 1st Birthday Ryan...Our lil George! Happy 10th Birthday Valerie! Hope you enjoyed our trip to the "Rainforest." It was super yummy!