Future Olympians!!!

 Yes, the Olympics are coming!! And you better believe we have our DVR set and ready to go!  The kids loved watching the Trials last month, and we were cheering for Maya Dirado, who just narrowly missed making the team!!  She is from Santa Rosa and swam with the Neptunes for more than 6 years before she got a scholarship at Stanford.  The kids had a team swim meet this past Friday, and Maya stopped by to show some support to her local team!  She'll be giving the kids some private swim lessons to work on their stroke technique before she goes back to school.  We wish her the best and hope to see her in Rio 2016!!  (And the Smith kids in maybe, say, the 2024 or 2028 Olympics??!!)

 Hurry, Ma-lak!  You're behind on the take off!!

 Ni'ke in the middle!!  She swam the 25 fly and 25 breast for the first time!

 Rea, "taking her mark."

 David and Ma-lak, horsing around!

Oakland A's vs New York Yankee's!!!

 We were at the Oakland Coliseum last night when Oakland BEAT the Yankee's 4-3!! We've been wanting to take the kid's to a ballgame for awhile since they've never been, and it's been ages since we've gone too.  They LOVED it.  They loved the FOOD, the excitement, the singing of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" at the 7th inning stretch, they giggled at the kissing cam, and Ma-lak cheered the loudest of all.

 The score board when we got there - we were a little late....  Boo for city traffic, we missed the National Anthem.  But the good news is that we were ahead!  And when I say "we".... Hmmm, who did we root for?!?! Well, we are all wearing A's garb, but the Yankee's and the A's happen to be Daryle's two favorite teams....  So much to the amusement of the New Yorker's sitting  in front of us, Daryle cheered pretty much all the time.  And he came back from getting us hotdogs so he could watch Derek Jeter hit. 

 #2 - Derek Jeter!  He got the biggest boos of all every time he came up to bat.  Except for maybe Alex Rodriguez.

 Ma-lak was beside himself with excitement.  He was so hoping to catch a foul ball...  Maybe next time!

 Yummy hotdogs and brats!  And popcorn and cotton candy..... The cheeseburgers were amazing.

 Ni'ke managed to work her way into nearly all the pictures!!!!

 It got cooler as the sun went down and Rea wanted to snuggle!  Of course I didn't mind that at all.  And yes, they were asleep before we got out of the parking lot......  :-)

6 Flags Discovery Kingdom

 Wednesday this week we took a little road trip out to Vallejo to the 6 Flags there! I LOVE that park!  It's a little smaller than some of the other amusement parks, and it's very zoo-esque with all the animals, and it's right on a lake, and it was so fun!  :)  And let me tell ya, going in the middle of the week is definitely the way to go - hardly any lines!  And the weather was perfect, not too hot, not too cold.

 I love my little map-readers.  As soon as we got there, they were mapping out their plan of attack.  (On a side note, do you see how their shirts are very different from the ones they wore in the post above?!?!)

 More map-reading and plan of attacking!!

 The girls.....

 Daryle asked me yesterday, "Um isn't she a little young for wanting to be so girly and wear all the pretty jewelry stuff?"  I said, "No, she's the perfect age....."  Ni'ke is in full-on girly phase and accessorizes if she's going to the PARK.  She likes to do her own hair, and her outfit selections are only moderately more toned down.  She's our little high-fashion avant-garde creative artist. I asked her the other day what she wanted to be someday when she grew up and she said without hesitation, "A musical prodigy."  (Actually she said "prog-idy"  :-)

 Aren't my sunglasses cool??!!  Well, they fell OUT of my pocket where I carefully placed them...

 On THIS ride!!!!  The new Superman ride was awesome - probably best ride I've been on and for sure the best ride there!  It was ridiculous.  Oh, I lost all the loose change in my pockets, too.

 Ma-lak giving the dolphins a "hug"

More map-readin' - I think he was looking for Medusa.....

 The butterfly house was beautiful!  We didn't stay in there too long because it was very warm and Rea thought it smelled funny.  (She was right.)

 "Thrilla Gorilla!"  We waited for the little ones awhile on this one - they had to ride it twice.  So to entertain ourselves, my husband and I made each other giggle by saying "thrilla gorilla" over and over in the voice of the Copy Man on Saturday Night Live.  Circa 1990 or something.  hehe

 Waiting in lines and exercising patience does not come easily for most of our children....  Or for us either for that matter.  Hmmm......

 Ice cream time!

 I like these pictures of the park as the sun was setting!  A fun day.... And yes, they were all asleep before we were even out of the parking lot!!

I'm a Falcon!!

A few weeks ago I was accepted into the Master's program for Forensic Nursing at Fitchburg State University in Massachusetts!  My head is still spinning from all that's transpired in the past couple months!!  Here's a little synopsis of what's been happening to get you up to speed.

I had been debating getting my masters degree for awhile, but didn't really know WHAT I wanted to do. I know that healthcare and nursing is really trending toward getting more education, and I've watched perfectly good nurses in my own hospital get laid off or passed over for promotions simply because they didn't have a bachelors degree or someone else DID have a masters.  I didn't want to see myself in that scenario in 10 years and think, "Why didn't I just do it, I could've been done in a couple years!" With the way healthcare is reforming, hospitals will start being reimbursed partially according to patient satisfaction scores.  Healthcare is now more than ever a customer service industry with hospitals competing against each other, vying for the opportunity to do your surgery!  My hospital is directing itself toward eventually becoming a magnet status hospital, which will set it apart as a place of excellence with the majority of it's nurses holding a minimum of a bachelor's degree.

I had no idea how I could manage going back to school while working full time and having a family, etc...  If I thought about it too long I would talk myself out of it and most of the time that I tried to seriously consider the logistics of it all, my head nearly exploded.  My thought processes went something like this- "I hate school.  But I like taking classes in things that interest me.  But I'm already too busy!  I don't want to be a manager or teach full time, but teaching is fun and I like it. I could teach.  I hate school.  My KIDS are in school.  I haven't been in school for 16 years!!! This is NOT a good idea....  But I think there's more out there!  Who's going to make dinner if I'm writing a paper?  When will I sleep?  I can do this....  I know I can.  I hate school.   I think Forensics is fascinating!  I could be a liason between healthcare and the criminal justice system.  I love what I do....  I want to go back to school!  I'm gonna DO THIS!!!   Oh wait.   I HATE SCHOOL!!!!!!!"      You get the idea. 

Once I had my head wrapped around the idea I opted for an online program so that I can work from home, hopefully while the kids are in school.  And now that I'm on 12-hour shifts at work, I have more time off.  "Off".   Am I ever really OFF??!!  Not really.   :)

But this is what I know:   I have the most amazing husband who is my biggest fan and supporter and champion in all things.  He believes in me more than I believe in myself.  I have a God who is bigger than all of my fears and doubts, and he's the One who created me with destiny and purpose and desires in my heart.  He will lead me through this!  And I'm excited!  A teeny trepidatious too.....  'Cuz it's been awhile, ya know.  But I proceed with great anticipation!  I'm goin' back to school!  I have no idea how to take a class online.  But I'll figure it out.  And it will be fine.  And I will succeed.   And a few years from now I will have amazing opportunities in my career and for my family.

I am blessed.  Oh so blessed!

So please pray for my family and me as we embark on this new adventure!!  The fun begins on September 5th, when my online classes start, and the kids go back to school on August 22.  We are packing a lot of family fun in before we get down to business next month!!

Thank you to all of you who have shown me such love and support as I start this next chapter!  We love you all!!!