Halloween Card 2010

Happy Halloween From The Gallardo's!

Harvest Party

Today Isabelle's class had a harvest party and the Mom's were in charge. We had a blast planning the afternoon activities and it really was a ton of fun playing with the kids. I was in charge of face painting. They also got to decorate cookies, play snapping for apples, spider bingo, decorate pumpkins and enjoy a fall snack. I love that I get to spend time in Issy's class and get to know all the other kids and parents.

After the party their was a special assembly for the kindergarteners. Isabelle got an award for perfect attendance in the first trimester. Tomorrow is her last day of school for the trimester and she goes off track for a month. (We are in year round school.) Tomorrow she gets her very first report card....

Isabelle and her buddies Lea and Daniella

Issy and her teacher Mrs. Gravert

Isabelle getting her award.

Issy and her buddy Audrey with their awards. Issy was so excited, can you tell.

Carving Pumpkins

Yesterday after school Isabelle carved her first pumpkin. She had a play date with her buddy Audrey and they carved their pumpkins from the class field trip. They drew out thier designs with marker first and then cut them out. She needed a little help but did most of it on her own. We think she did a great job!

Here is a picture of the girls with their pumpkins after she got home from the playdate.

Notice Calista's spider ring in the photos, she is obsessed with that thing and it freaks me out, everytime I see it I think it is a real spider.

Issy and her pumpkin.

GO GIANTS!

We are super excited that the Giants are playing in the World Series tonight! I have been a Giants fan since I was a little girl! My elementary school use to give an award to kids who never missed a day of school. At the end of the year you got a pair of tickets to a Giants game. I got the award in 4th, 5th and 6th grade! I went to the games with my Gramps and I remember each of those games! I can remember walking up to the stadium super excited! I also remember being spoiled rotten by my Gramps. He bought me malts, hot dogs and licorice ropes. They are special memories that I will never forget! I don't have photos from those games, but those are the kind of memories that are banked in my memory for life!

My brother is a HUGE Giants fan and he bought Isabelle this Giants jersey when she was 2 years old. There has been lots of talk about the Giants in our house over the last few weeks and she found her jersey this morning and wanted to wear it to school, I love it!

Go Giants!

Fog Willow Field Trip

Yesterday I got to go with Isabelle and her kindergarten class on their first field trip to Fog Willow Pumpkin Patch in Wilton. Isabelle was super excited that she would be riding on a bus for the very first time. Something she has been wanting to do since the start of Kindergarten. The joy and excitement of all the kids as the bus pulled up was adorable! When it was Isabelle's turn to get on the bus, she was grinning from ear to ear!

As soon as we got to the pumpkin patch and the kids got off the bus, Isabelle was so excited to tell me that the bus had no seat belts.

There were several stations for the kids to explore....

Isabelle and her BFF Audrey after petting the rabbits.

The girls brushing Lady Ba Ba (Yes, that is her real name.)

Making mini hay bails.

Class Photo!

Petting the Pony.

The kids as well as the parent's each got to pick a pumpkin, then we all went on a hay ride. At the end of the trip, the kids were set loose to run around the playground and huge hay pyramid, before loading the bus and heading back to school for a snack.

When we got in the car, I asked Isabelle what her favorite part was... I didn't have to ask, but I did anyway. It was riding in the school bus.

Improvising

Tonight when getting things ready for dinner, I realized I forgot to pick up tortillas at the store. I told Isabelle, "I forgot to get tortillas for dinner tonight." She replied all matter of fact. "We can just make them." That is her reply for everything. I thought about it, we probably could make them. So we did! It was easy and she loves to help me cook. They tasted so fresh and yummy, I think we will be doing this more often. Freddie came home from work and was excited too, he said they taste just like Chevy's tortillas, if you know Freddie, you know that is a compliment!

Here is the recipe I used:

2 Cups Flour

3 Tbs Shortening

3/4 tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp. Baking powder

3/4 Cup Water

Mix together flour, shortening, salt and baking powder in a bowl with a fork until crumbly. Then add water. Place on a lightly floured board and kneed until dough is smooth. Cover with a cloth and let stand for 30 minutes. Divide into 12 equal portions. Roll each into a 6 inch circle. Cook each tortilla in a skillet over medium heat for about 2 minutes on each side or until lightly browned and puffed.

Of course they were a hit with Calista too!

Something New!

Isabelle has been begging us for months to play the violin. After preschool was over we asked her if she wanted to take dance lessons again, she asked to play the violin instead. My first thought, "The violin? Are you kidding me?" That has to be the hardest musical instrument to learn, right? I guess not. After talking with our good friends who are both music teachers, apparently the violin is a good place to start. We wanted to be sure Isabelle was really serious about it, so we let it sit on the back burner for a while. Everyday she asked. We told her she needed to commit to it for a while to really give it a try. I did some research and called and talked to a lot of violin teachers. Then we gave in. We signed her up and the kid couldn't have been happier!

She started her lessons 2 weeks ago and got her very own violin this week. The first couple of lessons were focused on technique and form. So far she LOVES it! She plays her violin CD every night when she goes to bed. She has picked up on the technique real quick. She knows and understands how to properly stand, hold the bow and violin in resting and playing position and can even do one simple 4 beat practice rhythm on the violin. She has a long way to go and so far practice hasn't been as bad as you would think on our ears.

Resting position.

Playing position.

Little Miss Ballerina...

Calista is loving her dance classes and I am too! It's so fun to have something special that we get to do together and nothing makes me smile more than watching her dance. I grabbed a few photos of her in her dance gear in the backyard tonight. I can't really take pics while we are dancing during class and I always want to remember how stinking cute she is in her dance gear.

Click here to see photos I took of Isabelle when she first started dance in 2007. Boy has my photography come along way...

Calista working on her butterfly stretches!

Reaching for stars!

Working on first position...

Tippy toes!

Elk Grove Pumpkin Festival

This afternoon we took the girls to the Elk Grove Pumpkin Festival. We all look forward to going each year. Calista was excited to go to the pumpkin patch. I just love the way she says pumpkin patch. She tried to pick up every pumpkin. Both girls enjoyed playing the carnival games this year. Isabelle wanted to play all the games and stock up on the loot. Calista was fine after the first game with the two pieces of candy they gave her. We had to tell her she was going to get more before she would try another game. The big hit was the face painting booth. Both girls enjoyed getting their faces painted this year. The weather was perfect today and we had a great time together. I love my family!

Love these girls!

Calista picked a pumpkin for her face painting.

Isabelle wanted a pink star on her eye.

Halloween Costumes 2010

Meet SUPERGIRL and SPIDERGIRL!

They fly....

...and have spidey senses!

The Dynamic Duo!

SUPERGIRL and her sidekick PUPPY!

Stay tuned for more adventures from SUPERGIRL AND SPIDERGIRL....

To see the girls costumes from previous years click Here and Here.