Drew, age 5 1/2
Matthew, age 10 1/2
Rebecca, age 8 
Matthew just finished up season three of the sport he loves most - Inline Hockey. He had an amazing season. He was on the Sharks again and is a valued member of his team. His skating improved tremendously which in turn increased his speed and confidence level. He continues to prefer playing defense which is no surprise since he ROCKS at it! Mid season, he asked to play a little offense as well and successfully scored his first season goal a couple weeks ago. As the fall season came to an end last night, team members were each awarded a medal for their hard work. Then Matthew was giving a special league Sportsmanship Award. This award was especially important since all the coaches in the league agreed that Matthew was the one who deserved to win it. He was surprised to say the least. He got a great big trophy that he proudly has displayed in his room - that is when it is not in his hands. He takes a break next week, but it's back to work the week after. The winter season will give Matthew a "little" competition though... Drew has decided to give it a try. Watch out hockey world - the Morganstein kids are teaming up!!!
First, I want to apologize for not posting updates in the last few months. Due to the recent loss of my mother, I was in no mood to get back to normal. That included updating my life since my life had come to a screeching halt. However, life must go on (as difficult as that can be at times) and I really do enjoy updating the family blog. Plus, this blog was something that mom LOVED looking at and sharing. So, here I am... again.
Here is a photo of the kids Halloween. We all had fun choosing costumes this year. Matthew was easy and not a cent was spent! He put on all his own hockey gear and was ready to go. He did choose not to wear his skates at the last minute which shocked me. How much fun that would have been to go door to door on skates? Drew went back and forth for weeks and finally settled on the wicked witch. She really wanted blood all over her face, but I talked her out of it. We have no idea where she got the blood idea, but she told us that all costumes for Halloween are supposed to have blood. Rebecca is not a fan of Halloween and did not want to participate. However, when her fabulous teacher got wind that she didn't want to come to school for the parade, they worked a deal. Mrs. Mass went as a witch and Rebecca was her black cat. She was so excited to walk in the school parade. Come Halloween night, she did choose to stay home. The kids came home with a ton of candy as usual, and I have been busy eating it ever since. Happy Fall.
The girls were so excited when the neighborhood planned to have a huge garage sale. Rather than sell our stuff, they decided to set up a lemonade stand - something they have been wanting to do for quite some time. They figured it might be even more fun to sell brownies as well. On Friday, we got to work. We painted a sign for the table as well as signs for the girls to hold and dance with to draw in more customers. Then we baked several batches of brownies, cut them into nice size pieces, and put them in individual bags. This morning we made lots and lots of lemonade, and our stand opened at 7:3o. The girls were so excited! They were very polite (as usual), and asked everyone who walked by if they were interested in lemonade or a brownie. Later in the morning as our customer base slowed down, we packed everything into the wagon and walked the neighborhood selling even more. By 11:30 we had sold out and made $30.00. The girls were thrilled!!!!
We are so lucky to live close to a gazillion farms. We can get to just about any fresh fruit or vegetable we are craving within minutes. Of course half the fun is picking them ourselves. Fortunately the first part of our vacation was on the cooler side, unlike the 100+ weather we usually have as soon as June hits. So the kids and I took the opportunity to stock up on some yummy berries! This particular visit brought home several pounds of sweet ripe berries that only lasted a day or two before they were gobbled up.
We always hear such nice things about Drew:
"What a sweet little girl."
"She is so polite."
"Such a young lady."
"What a helpful daughter you have."
She is, of course, all of those things. If only they knew the whole story:). This shirt says it all. And check the attitude on that cute little face. There is more to our little girl than meets the eye... We are lucky parents!!!
I can't believe my baby just graduated Preschool. Can she really be ready to move on? Sometimes I catch myself counting backward in my head making sure I didn't skip a year. She is so excited to grow up. It's ME that is not ready for this big step in her life. Where has the time gone? They just grow up so fast.
A sister is a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life. ~Isadora James
There is a funny story that goes with this photo... We were in San Francisco for the day. Rebecca and Drew were sitting on these stairs waiting for Matthew and Bill to come out of a store. They were hungry, cranky, and bickering with each other while sitting on opposite ends of the step. I asked them if they could please scoot together to pose for one photo and just pretend as if they like each other. They moaned, but did as I asked and the above photo is what I got. If they are just pretending, they are very good actresses...
Drew turned 5 yesterday. I can't believe time has gone by so quickly! I enjoy being her mom more as each day passes. Who know she would become the girl she is today after the rough time we had the first 18 months of her life. She is such a GREAT kid. I call her my little butterfly- she has finally come out of her cocoon and spread her wings. Life is good!I lead an amazing group of 7 and 8 year old girls in Brownies. I started leading their troop when they were Kindergartners and really enjoy watching them grow each and every day. I am a lucky leader! Friday night was the Timber Point Talent show. Rebecca and seven of her Brownie sisters entered and happily performed in front 350+ people. They did Sign Language to the song Somewhere Over the Rainbow. The girls did a FABULOUS job - I am so proud!! I have posted the video below. Rebecca is on the right and my niece, Bressa, is to the left of her. Make sure you mute the blog music to hear the video song. Enjoy!
Last weekend, Bill and Matthew took their annual trip to the Monster Jam World Finals in Las Vegas. They have been doing this with my brother-in-law and nephew for the last five years and it has become a tradition they look forward to each year. The trip plays out the same each time. They leave at the crack of dawn on Thursday morning. Sometimes they swim or see a show when they arrive in Vegas on Thursday afternoon. Friday is spent at the Monster Jam all day checking out the track, meeting the drivers, seeing the competing trucks, and watching the qualifying race. Saturday they play at the amusement park in Circus Circus and then head to the big Monster Jam event that evening. Then they head home on Sunday. This year, however, there was a little addition to the trip. While seeing the Safe Auto Minimizer truck, Matthew was asked to interview the driver for The Speed Channel. At first he wasn't really sure what to ask the man, so they told him to ask about his truck. Matthew took the microphone and asked the question. What most people don't know about Matthew is that he LOVES holding a microphone in front a large groups of people. Once he asked the first question, he had no trouble coming up with many more. He was a natural! Notice the camera on the right side on the pictures along with the SPEED microphone. Matthew can't wait until they air the race on TV to see if he made the cut. We'll let you know if Matthew becomes a Speed Channel celebrity...
Caring, Compassionate, Silly, Fun, Curious, Radiant, Clever, Joyous, Intelligent, Artistic, Talented, Polite, Reliable, Giving, Amiable, Thoughtful, Unselfish, Special, Funny, Sincere, Pleasant, Sociable, Friendly, Proud, Original, Extraordinary, Witty, Genuine, Cute, Happy, Precious, Lovely, Affable, Superstar, Warm-Hearted, Individual, Helpful, Cheerful, Inquisitive, Good, Gentle, Beautiful Drew.
Look at this pouty face. This is a face I see all too often. The head tilts down and the lips puff out. Normally it is accompanied by a moan or a grunt. But this is a fake pout - almost Rebecca's way of holding back a smile. She's just trying to get me to crack. Sometimes her plan works. Most of the time it just makes me laugh. Either way, I love this photo.
A few weeks ago we loaded up the minivan and headed up to the family cabin in Placerville. There had been a storm the week before and the snow was still scattered around the property. The sun was shining bright; the weather was so warm we didn't even wear jackets. It was perfect for a good snow ball fight. The kids got into the spirit immediately, and in no time they were soaked. Their screams of delight and giggles echoed through the forest. Before we knew it, we were joined by our deer family - the same 5 deer that visit us each day we are there throughout the year. The mother and her three babies came right to the snow line to watch us play. We had such a fabulous time! The next day it began to rain. The remaining snow melted away as we packed the car to come home. We all hope there is another good snow storm before the season is over! 
* I love Rebecca's face full of freckles. I always tell her that they are special and unique to her. She calls them her angel kisses and is very proud of them.
* I love Rebecca's super contagious laugh. When she really laughs, you can't help to laugh along.
* I love Rebecca's giving heart. She always thinks of others and wants everybody to be happy. She would give the last of whatever she had if it put a smile someones face.
* I love Rebecca's caring nature. She is a mom in the making...
* I love Rebecca's willingness to try new things. There is a lot of bravery in that little body.
* I love Rebecca's love for food. She will eat just about everything.
* I love Rebecca's sense of humor. She can always make me smile.
*I love Rebecca's snuggle. She has a very special way of taking all my stresses away with just one hug.
* I love being Rebecca's mom! I am a better person by having her in my life.
While playing on the computer tonight, Matthew came down to say good-night. He sat down next to me and with a real straight, serious face said "Mommy, you're a mouse-potato." Having never heard this term before, but knowing exactly what it meant, I laughed and asked where he had learned it. Again, with a very serious face, he said "It's an idiom. I learned it in literacy group at school." He cracks me up. I am a mouse-potato!
