Six Flags Magic Mountain:

For my 16th birthday my dad took me and a couple of friends to Magic Mountain to challenge ourselves with some of the biggest coasters around. They proved no match for my friend Tanner(left), Kevin (middle), and myself (right). My dad went on just about every ride with us until the end of the day where he opted to sit out and read a book. =P Anyways we had a great time with all of the Muslims that were in the park (it was Muslim Day at 6 flags).

This is my first post on our family blog, so we'll see how it turns out! But things are looking good. Basketball and school are all going well. And I've got the big homecoming dance coming up....better get a matching tie with my date soon or it will be too late! Hello, to everyone and feel free to say hi!

Emmie and her friend and classmate, Payson, received awards from their teacher last week. She was really happy about it because her Daddy was the one that got to go to the awards assembly. She is off to a great start in 1st grade.

I really enjoy watching cooking shows, and cooking. One of my cookbooks is a cookbook for kids by Rachael Ray. I wanted to share a recipe I tried because one of our friends was aTsking for recipe ideas.
Mexican Rice Bowl
1 T extra-virgin olive oil
2 T butter
3/4 pound chicken tenders cut into bite size pieces salt and pepper to taste
2 cups white rice
1 quart of chicken stock
1 T Sazon seasoning blend by Goya
1/2 cup of tomato salsa
1/4 cup drained chopped olives
2 T chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (a handful)
tortilla chips for serving

Sautee chicken in olive oil and butter until lightly browned. Add the rice and cook another minute or two. Then add chicken stock to the pot and Sazon seasoning. Raise heat to high and put lid on pot while you bring to a boil 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat to simmer and put the lid back on. Cook until rice is tender but still a little chewy in the center, 13 to 15 minutes. Stir in salsa, olives, and parsley. Turn off heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Serve hot in bowls lined with tortilla chips. The chips make great dippers for the rice!
Enjoy!
Perry

Brody got to go to the museum with his preschool class (and mom) yesterday. We had such a great time running around the hands on science museum. He especially loved the glow in the dark tunnel and this hot air balloon basket. I can't believe my little guy is old enough to be in preschool.

Josie had her immigrant report and feast day at school. Her immigrant was sister Pittaluga from England. It was a great success as she took in orange chocolate chip scones to share with her class. Sister Pittaluga was a great sport to attend the feast with all of the 5th graders!

This week I got to go to my first dance class. It is a combo class where I get to do ballet and tap. I got new tap and ballet shoes. The dance my class is going to be working on is a dance about a ballerina that comes out of a CD player. Emmie

This week I totally got taken out by the goalkeeper in my soccer game. The score at the time was 0-1, and I was going to score to tie it. The team we were playing was our arch enemy, Arsenal, and the ref didn't even call a foul. We ended up tying the game 1-1. Josie

This week I went to ding-dong ditch a giant cookie cake and balloons to Davin's homecoming date. But when I walked up to the house, her whole family was eating dinner in the kitchen, so they ended up catching me in the act. Luckily, Alexia (his date) was upstairs at the time, so her mom told me to just leave it on the front porch. I was so glad that she hadn't seen me and that it all worked out in the end. Perry

I like helicopters and airplanes. I started preschool last week. I like playing with the big fire truck. I went to feed the ducks, and I saw a turtle. They live way deep in the water. I like to snuggle with my blankets. Brody