I've Got to Update More Often... Geez!

Hey everyone. I know long time, no write. So, how's everything been going? Well, the kids have really been settling in at school. They are doing really well. We got a letter from Jaden's school the other day saying that she will be receiving some type of an award at next week's 2nd trimester Award Ceremony. It's supposed to be a secret and we are just supposed to be there. Not sure what it is for yet. Jaden has been doing really well at school this year. We are so proud of her.

Duquan is doing really well too. We stay on top of him about his school work and he meets the challenges and works hard. We are all learning new things this year with him being in middle school. It's so different from elementary. We are finding that we need to teach him more about studying skills and organization, and how to take control of your grades by talking to your teachers and asking them questions. It's all those small things you take for granted that you did in high school and college. Middle school is that transition stage where you have to teach all those small things so that they are ready for high school.

We moved into a new place. It's right down the street from Steven's cousin's house. We are still working on buying a house in this area. We have really fallen in love with Temecula Valley. It's just so gorgeous here. We have snow-capped mountains on the north and east sides of the valley. The northern mountain is Big Bear and it's only an hour away! San Diego is only 45 minutes south of us and Disneyland is only 45 minutes northwest of us. Palm Springs is 45 minutes east, and to the west is the Ortega highway that drops you off in San Juan Capistrano after driving an hour through a National forest that looks and feels just like parts of Henry Cowell.

So right now we are in a 1269 sq-ft, 3-bedroom, 2-bath apartment home with an attached garage. It is really nice. The facility has a pool and spa, an exercise room, an outdoor fireplace area, and a gorgeous club house all in a Tuscan style. We even have crown molding (and now I can see what the hype is - it really does finish up a room). Our apartment complex is called "Sonoma" and we are trying to stick to that Tuscan theme even in our own apartment home. Yesterday, the kids and I started planting our patio garden. We plan on growing some of our own vegetables: tomatoes, basil, parsley, rosemary, bell peppers. Jaden is going to grow some eggplant and cucumber too.