Target practice. Yes, Ma'am!

This last week has just flown by. Although we enjoyed our Monday off by going to the Sac Zoo, it seemed the week sped up quickly to catch up. Mid-week we went on a field trip with Noah's preschool to a local gymnastics studio. All the kids had a blast and it was nice the siblings were able to join in the fun. Of course, April forgot the camera (happens ALL the time!).

On Saturday morning, April attended a handgun safety course. Marcus had gone a couple weeks before and really enjoyed it. April felt it helped refresh her memory and confidence around guns, since she hadn't handled them much since her teenage years. Her father, uncle and grandfather were all gun owners and collectors. April would have LOVED to get a picture of her during target practice, but she thought the instructors would have frowned on that. She did get a picture of her target though, which shows she didn't do all that bad for not firing a gun in 5+ years.

While April was at the range, Marcus took Noah to a classmate's birthday party at Robinson's Taekwondo. The kids had a blast. Plus, they offered everyone a great introductory deal if you signed your kids up for taekwondo lessons after the party. Noah and Anna had their first class today. It was one of three private lessons they will have before they can enter a class.

April had to hem Anna's uniform because she was swimming in the smallest size they had. Of course, being small didn't stop her from stealing the boys thunder and showing off her ability to catch on FAST. She had her "Yes, Ma'am"s and bows down before the boys knew where to stand!

                                                                        "Hi-YAH!"

Noah did well too, but we sure wish he'd stop the whole nose-picking thing when he gets nervous or bored...geesh. :)
Other than that, he did great (for being a antsy 5 year old) and seemed to really enjoy it, which is all that matters to me!

A Zoo Membership...priceless!

We are really trying to save money this year. The funny thing about saving money is, sometimes you have to spend more to save more. Example?

                                                                         Our local Zoo.

The Sacramento Zoo is SO expensive to visit. A one day pass for two adults and two children will run you nearly 50 bucks. However, the yearly family membership is only $85. We will go to the zoo AT LEAST 4 times this year. So, for us it actually saves us a whole lot of money. Like most memberships there are a few perks, like a 10% discount on concessions and the Zoo store. Although, we diligently avoid souvenir shops because they carry cheaply made merchandise at astronomical prices and the toys would last maybe a week before the kids lose interest in it or break it. Also, concessions are a treat we rarely enjoy, but when temptation wins out it is nice to get a deal. For our family, a zoo membership is lifesaver. When money is tight, but we have a bad case of cabin fever, a prepaid trip to the zoo helps A LOT. Plus, the zoo is located in a beautiful and humongous park, complete with ponds, ducks and plenty of shade. Oh, parking is free too!

Today was one of those cabin fever days. Noah had the day off from school, April had spent the weekend cleaning and there was even more endless cleaning ahead. Anna was cranky and restless. So we packed some snacks and headed to the Zoo after lunch. It was the perfect retreat. 2 hours of slowly meandering thru the park, viewing and discussing the animals and enjoying the sunshine. Just what we needed! Best part? We didn't spend a dime :)

                                                                    It was a great day!

It's School Shopping Time!

This year is such an exciting one for our family. This year Noah will be entering Kindergarten in the Fall. We are making our way around town, going on school tours and orientations. We have open enrolled in our school district already, but there are some beautiful Charter schools in the area as well that use the Montessori Program. One in particular captured April's heart. It is a wonderful campus, set in a cozy neighborhood in Fair Oaks, CA. The staff, teachers, and classrooms seem ideal. So, we decided to increase our odds of getting in by entering two lotteries for two different Montessori Charter School Campuses (Fair Oaks & Carmichael). So we will cross our fingers, pray, and hope Noah's name gets drawn this Spring!

The Montessori philosophy is an incredible one and very much worth considering for your child. In our case, we believe it would be the best option for Noah because he is a tactile learner. He loves to have a 'job' and organize and build. We REALLY want him to get in...can you tell?

For more information on the history and Montessori Method of education, visit 
http://www.montessori-ami.org/montessori/maria.htm

January Date Night!

Marcus has been working for a wonderful local printing company for many years now and along the way there have been some pretty awesome perks. Some perks we have enjoyed are catered events at the Sacramento Rivercats, 2nd row seats at a King's game, free tickets to the California State Fair and even an exclusive dinner in the King's own locker room prepared by the Maloof's personal chef. And just when I think it couldn't get any better; the other night we were invited to attend a special dinner at one of the owner's homes. There we feasted on what seemed like never-ending sushi prepared in person by Taro, the owner and executive chef of Mikuni's restaurant while watching the 49ers obliterate the Green Bay Packers in the playoffs. It was a great date night. In fact, it will be very difficult to top it. My only regret is that I didn't take any pictures. However, I did win a souvenir. Taro gave me one of his books, shown below. I look forward to reading it. It tells the inspiring story of his family's immigration to the U.S. and their difficult, but ultimately successful journey into the restaurant business. Cheers to good company and delicious food!

Here's a link to the Mikuni's website.
If you have not eaten there...well, you'd better 'cause you are missing out!
 http://www.mikunisushi.com/en/

Oh Honey!

The last couple of years we have had a great deal of success with our backyard vegetable garden and chickens. We even had a pair of Cayuga ducks for a season, but had to find them a new home after realizing they were too loud and much too messy for the our suburban backyard. (Don't worry, they found a great home in the country with a big pond ALL to themselves!). Excited to complete our urban farmer experience, we decided to add a bee hive. Why not, right?

Marcus was inspired by his amazing late Grandfather Homer Len Foote; who was an expert Beekeeper, amongst many other talents. So with those fond memories and a lot of reading, educational films, and advice from the local beekeeper's store in downtown Sacramento, we made they leap into beekeeping.

                                                       April's Father Frank & Marcus

This year Marcus was able to capture a few swarms over the summer from outside his work. They had split from their original hives because a new queen had been born and they were on the lookout for a suitable place to build their hive. With a bee suit on, a smoker in hand and a box he successfully captured three hives over the course of a couple weeks. Two stayed, one left.

Since then, we have let them be...well bees. They served our garden well over the summer and we were confident they were happy in their new bee boxes. Uunfortunately, as Fall rolled around we began to notice more and more hornets in our backyard. Just recently we became aware that they can and will kill a hive. This was sadly the fate of our two hives. Now, all we have left is their hard earned honey to harvest.

Marcus started the honey harvesting process this week. He rented an extractor and other supplies that make it fairly easy. With some help from Marvin; Marcus' father, and the kids, it has become a fun family affair!

Here Marcus is using an electric (HOT!) spatula-like device to cut away the thin top layer of wax covering the honeycomb. After removing it from both sides of the frame, he then places the frame into the Extractor.

The Extractor holds two frames and works as a basic centrifuge; separating the honey from the honeycomb by spinning it rapidly. The honey is flung onto the inner walls of the barrel and drips down to the bottom for collection. Here Marvin is preparing to spin, as his granddaughter Anna watches.

Anna is using the hand crank to spin the frames in the Extractor. Grandpa Marvin did a great job supervising!

After a good long vigorous spin, Marcus and Marvin inspect the frames to see if nearly all the honey is extracted from them.

Noah was eager to fill his honey bear bottle. He was disappointed to hear it takes about a month to harvest, rest and filter the honey before bottling! No doubt he will help us along the way!

                                                       Marcus enjoying the process...

We look forward to finding out just how much honey the bees accumulated over the summer months. We are so sad they were exterminated by the hornets and have since learned of ways we can prevent this from happening to our next hive. More posts to come as the process continues!

Noah Turns 5!

Having a child with a birthday so close to Christmas (December 28th) is a challenge. It usually involves scheduling difficulties, limited venues, low guest turnout, and toy overload. So this year April decided to postpone Noah's birthday party until AFTER the New Year so he could enjoy his special day, chaos free.

On Saturday night (January 5th) we celebrated Noah's special day at his venue of choice, Trick's Gymnastics Studio. The location turned out to be a wonderful place to have a birthday party. The guest turnout was impressive; with most of Noah's preschool classmates attending, along with cousins, and his Uncle Devon.

 The children had a blast on the gym equipment, the bounce house, and the triple swing (a favorite of Anna's).

The coaches were very energetic and patient with our large group of children; who were mostly boys. And especially with Noah, who unfortunately developed a nasty chest cold the night before. Although he was sick, he seemed to enjoy the party nonetheless.

For the party, April decided to make some monster themed cupcakes. They turned out really cute and the kids LOVED them. Of course, you could probably pile that amount of frosting and candy over cardboard and the kids would have been happy!

We were so struck by all the gifts and cards Noah received. It really made him feel loved!
A big THANK YOU to everyone who attended. You all made his birthday a special day!

And for those who couldn't make it, we really missed you!

Happy New Year!

Well, here it is. Another year comes to a close and a new one begins. Here at the McCarthy home we are looking ahead with optimism and anticipation. We enjoy setting goals and making plans for the coming year; it reminds us of our potential for greatness.
Marcus is looking forward to working hard at his job (as always) and finishing up at CSUS so he can graduate with his Bachelors this year. Soon enough he will be in his Master's Program and well on his way to finishing school...YAY! 
That will surely be a very exciting day for us ALL!
He has also done an excellent job playing piano at church at least once a month for the last year; shaking hands and all :) With any luck he will have to do it every holiday this year too! He LOVES it, although he won't admit it. 
April's goal for the year is to be perfect. Why not set the bar high right? Actually, she simply wants to be the best wife, mother, and friend she can be. Some of her goals are rekindling her love of playing guitar, going back to school (for a class or two) and preparing Noah for Kindergarten and Anna for her first year of preschool in the Fall. Sounds like it will be a busy year already!

Not entirely sure what Noah and Anna's personal goals are; but if I had to make a guess, it'd be acquiring as many LEGO sets as possible (Noah) and eating as much chocolate as possible (Anna)...