There once was a boy named Sammy who had the gift to talk to animals. Sammy could help his daddy by talking with the dog to find out where he hid the car keys. What a silly dog, thinking he could drive! Sammy could help his mommy by asking the cat how he got the scratch on his tail. What a silly cat, thought the tail was a mouse and attacked himself! Sammy could talk with any creature – all but one… his baby brother. Sammy never had a clue to what Jack Jack was trying to say. That is beside the point, as one day Sammy came across a raccoon and his family at a Lake Tahoe beach.

Sammy was kind and listened as the raccoon talked about how hard it was living on the beach and under the pier where people are always walking and talking loudly and partying all day! Sammy understood that raccoons are nocturnal – which means they sleep all day. The people are just not thinking of their needs.

Sammy was very understanding, but there was nothing he could do to help his little friend out. Sammy was very sad about the situation and Sammy mentioned to the raccoons that the raccoon and his family might think about moving out from under the pier and deep into the woods where the raccoon and his family would not be bothered by beach goers.

The raccoons were happy to have talked to Sammy. They thought by living under the pier on the beach they would be rich with food. The raccoons explained that now going “green” was trendy, no one was leaving their trash behind like they used to and maybe moving to the woods would be a safer choice.

The raccoon thanked Sammy and asked him if he might have a bit of food to eat. Sammy told the raccoon it was unsafe for any human to feed a wild animal any kind of food. The raccoons needed to go off and find their own natural food far away from the human trash. The raccoons were going to wait until it was dark and all the people were sleeping to make their move.

The new friends said good bye and Sammy went back to the cabin he was staying in with his family at Camp Richardson at Lake Tahoe. Sammy told his family all about the raccoons and how he helped them out. Sammy’s family was very proud of their little fella!

Big boy Sammy had a big boy school project! Sammy was able to pick the amphibian of his choice – and Sammy picked the Newt to do his report on. We took a long time to get it done – due to life’s insanity. Although, he is starting first grade next year and we are going to have to focus on him and his school work. No more life’s insanities getting in the way! Sammy is learning big words like “Carnivores” and “Regenerate” and “Metamorphosis.” He’s learning that newts are salamanders and that they are born (hatched) in the water and then return to the water as adults… That humans are the newts worst enemy because we insist on polluting the planet! Interesting stuff! I hope he had fun making the poster and learning all the newt information!

Hello world I am officially a Twitter-er! Really I have no idea what that means yet – but I have already twitted…is that a word? I hope to figure it out soon – I am just a trendy follower and everyone else was twitting…. Look for me if you are a Twitter-er as well! Screen name: Jumkins!

Happy Mother’s Day! I have the best Boyz ever! I am sure every mother says that about their children, but I sure got lucky! My Boyz are super cute as well… I have to note that while I am writing this my perfect little Boyz are running down the hall, screaming and hitting the walls… Perfection comes in different forms! Did I mention that they are cute????

Awww…. see how cute they are? These Boyz may run around screaming and beating walls – but when you look at the faces of the two angels…. all is forgiven.

Happy Mother’s Day!

I went to prom May 1st – I know what you’re thinking, “My god, aren’t you a little old to be attending prom?!” Well, yes I am, but I was there as a chaperone and not a guest. My students went and so I felt the urge to spy – I mean help out. It was awesome seeing my guys all dressed up! I have been with them since 7th grade so I know most of their classmates and it was so much fun watching them walk through the door all dressed up. It was equally exciting to see all my coworkers all dressed up and I have to admit it was fun to get all snazzy myself. One of the students brought a camera – so I borrowed her camera and took pictures of my students and friends. She then took some pictures of Carlos and ME being goofy – as usual…

Yes, I realize it is not the most flattering picture but it is a great example of our personalities! When we saw that we closed our eyes we decided to go for another shot – a little more “normal” if that was at all possible…

The final result was interesting as we both made sure our eyes were open! When I saw this picture I said, “Holy shit! I look like my grandmother!” It is not the best picture of me, but I wouldn’t call it bad – although the future of my face is freaking me out a little! My grandmother was pretty and I loved her, but grandma’s face looked good on grandma… She had a large polish honker of a nose! Grandma wore it well and she was a good sport in poking fun at her own nose. The other part of her face I didn’t like were her deep sunken eyes… They were just in caves on her face! Deep dark caves! Again, it was grandma and I liked grandma’s face… (again) on grandma. My grandmother’s side of the family has this “forever young” gene and I suppose I am happy to be heading in that genetic direction… I am just… freaked out a little.

Prom night was amazing (despite my grandma face realization *wink*) and my guys were the best looking fellas there!

(Carlos “C-Dawg” and Fabian)

I am going to miss these guys! But I still have 19 more days of goofy bliss and you bet I am going to enjoy every second of it!