How Many?

I think these are so cool....

Huntington Beach

We have been talking for almost a year about going on a trip with some of our friends, the Ericksons and finally made it happen this past weekend (I know. We have been out of town a lot lately) But it was SO fun and very timely with the kids recently out of school. They also invited our other friends, the Tingeys, and we all had a great time. We rode our bikes every day along beautiful trails in cool breezes, ate great food and mostly talked and talked and talked. Do you like our family picture? We took this as a joke and I laugh at how good it really looks! Though John probably could have tilted his head a little to the right, same with mine.... Scott was the rebel son with his hand symbol. So dysfunctional.
As you know Sunday was Fathers day and he was itching to attend the NBA finals game. After a lot of searching and discussing, he found a deal on four tickets (Tingeys couldn't go) so we went to the game Sunday night (tsk tsk!). Scott was in heaven, even though he wore green and was rooting for the Celts, it was a great energy there. And let me tell you, L.A. knows how to do it. That Staples Center actually sells Sushi! No hot dog hangovers after attending that game. I was quite happy with my edemame and rolls. Here are some photos of the celeb sightings nearby. Jack Nicholson was off to the right and opposite side was P. Diddy and David Spade. Even though the Celts lost, it was a close and good game. Happy Fathers Day, S!
We enjoyed getting to know both couples a lot better and have the belly aches to prove it.

Summer Happiness

Summer is here, folks. That means kids are out of school and mothers across the land are descending rapidly into panic. (Just me?) My creative ideas have run out very fast. We've been swimming, coloring, painting, to the park, to the library, to a movie, run interesting errands,... and it's only been a couple of weeks.
Cue Mary Jane to the rescue! She came over the other day to deliver a little summer survival bag that contained some new snow-cone flavors, foam craft kits and more. It could not have come at a better time. Thank you so much, Mimi!
We all sat around together and assembled the kids kits. Elliet and Sadie had castles, Luke had a barn. It was interesting to watch Elliet decide to not follow the picture and take it her own direction. Sadie was sticking all her accessories on the table instead of the turrets and Luke was putting trees on the roof. But who cares! It was really fun. Don't tell the kids but I was tempted to put a tall princess hat on Princess Sophia and see her explore the castles. Animal cruelty, I know! When Elliet was done she kept going on and on about how she was a giant. This should explain her triumphant picture.

And then I had to include this photo because I thought it was funny. Elliet came downstairs and asked me what she was. Can you guess? I thought it was a pretty clever conclusion from a hat and a veil. (She actually called it a "Bee-man Keeper"

Princess Sophia

Scott had a few days off around Memorial day weekend. We talked about going away for a couple of days and asked Jeannine, our good friend and pseudo-aunt to the kids if she would like to babysit. She was able and willing so Scott and I spent some time together and left the kids in her loving care.
Jeannine is the coolest. She does so many fun things with them that they don't miss us one bit. This weekend was specifically special. They went to the pet store and came home with a Hamster, which they matter-of-factly named Princess Sophia. I have no idea where they got that name but they have loved her from day one. Especially the twins. Sadie always says in her high pitched voice, "Princess Sophia is seeeoooo ceeeuute, Mom, because she is sooooo teeeeny tiny!" or they will be really quiet for a while and I'll discover that they opened the cage without asking and Luke will have her wrapped up in his shirt like she's a sausage. I can't help but wonder what fate holds for this poor creature. Is it dark of me to wonder how her little life will end in this house under our care? Will the kids let her 'swim' in the pool one day? Will they drop her from the 2nd floor so she can 'fly'? Hm. I wait. Last week, though, I did hear them having too much fun and found... from what I gather in scared truth.... that Sadie was actually throwing her against the door. When I picked up little Princess Sophia, she was not moving. Dare I say I thought it was the end. But she is still alive! It's a miracle. I don't know if she's running on all cylinders, but only time will tell.

Fixed

The last Friday of the month there is a critical mass ride down town. The group meets at the Fashion Show Mall and ride along Las Vegas Boulevard and back. Our good friend, David, went the month before and was telling us how much fun he had. Since Richard was already caught with the 'Fixie' sensation, we told him about the ride and he came to Vegas for the weekend to go with us in May.
So the day finally came and Scott, Rich and I loaded our bikes and headed down to the mall. We parked, unloaded everything and headed for the meeting spot when my tire popped and I got a flat. Nice. David showed up right then to save the day and changed it for me. My hero! We discovered that the tires don't really fit the wheels so we deflated some of the air in them both and I crossed my fingers the rest of the night hoping it wouldn't happen again. And it didn't. Whew!
But it was so fun. We met under the pink lights of the blaring iPod ads and watched the cycling crowd slowly form. You can tell it's not a very organized event because I think we were hanging out down there for a good hour and a half before the ride actually started. But start it did! And we cruised along in a huge group up the strip, passing the crowds of pedestrians on the sidewalks and sang to the Bellagio fountains as we rolled by. It was soooo fun and we had perfect weather. There were some adventures involving angry police, hiding from the law and recovering possibly stolen goods but it made the memories better and after some late night sushi, we were happy and ready to do it again!!
Anyone interested in going this month? :-)

Spring Girl Next Door Show

I am finally getting some pictures posted from our Spring Girl Next Door show. It was a great success. I feel very lucky to have such talented friends. They really have a great eye for good design and create beautiful things with their hands.
I didn't have my camera with me so I wasn't able to get more pictures. I wanted to snap one showing the crowd. We always have a great rush of customers during the first hour and it creates a great energy. Not only is it great to be able to share our talents but it's even better to have such a savvy customer base! If you were able to attend (or have attended before), thank you so much for your support in our creative venue. We love to share it with you and hope you enjoy coming!
Now I need to get moving for the November show.....

The Stain Made Me Do It

The other day I went in to Sadie's room to help her make her bed. As I lifted the top comforter up I discovered a ghastly crime scene. Some secret sheet graffiti! She was inspired by a little stain from her "knee owie", she said. She could not control herself as she snuck downstairs, took a pen and returned back to her room. I found the object nearby with the lid off.
I think this was intentional. Or insanity? (I agree with both, I guess). What is this world coming to!? Must we tolerate these heinous crimes!??

Okay. So it really wasn't that big of a deal because these were super cheap sheets and I thought the images were hilarious. At least they are of happy character or we'd be doing a psych analysis.

Gimme the fanny pack

Okay. Was I not just talking about how talented Mr. Balloon Animal Man was at Elliet's school performance? Some friends of mine were telling me about these balloon sculptures hung at a party and the picture was posted on a blog we keep up on. How GREAT are they!?!? I love this idea!
That is all I needed. I am so buying a dorky balloon pump and balloons in fifty colors. Think of how cool they would look in white!

And maybe I'll make a bicycle if you're extra good.....

Graduation 2008

I promise this will stop. I have been so inconsistent with my blogging and every time I go to download photos from my camera I am reminded at how behind I am. I feel like I have had 10 days of constant goings-on and this week will be filled with catching up. The blog will reprezent so stay tuned.
This post: Graduation! Not a huge deal because the kids are wee lads but still fun because they get paraded around so. The twins had a little ceremony from Ms. Jamie. Let me tell you how this went down. I show up with the other parents 30 minutes before school time ends. They have rehearsed a little program for weeks including songs and jokes, poems, etc. So whose kids decide they do not want to do the program? That's right. So I watched the other kids graduate while I held Sadie in my lap and Lucas whining at my ankles. It was great fun. When the time came to receive their certificate, Sadie at least did that... so I got her wearing her hand print pillowcase with her teacher. Luke would have nothing to do with it, yelled at me and sat behind the kids picking his nose. Awesome. Super great for 2008!

The next day was Elliet's program at school. They had a wild animal theme and came out on the stage with painted faces. So funny. She looked about this enthusiastic throughout the whole thing but had great dance moves to accompany the lyrics. I'd post the video but know that would probably only interest a very narrow audience. My parents and brother were in town this past weekend and it worked out to have both Grandma's present (and Uncle Rich!). My Mom doesn't get a chance to see Elliet in action at school so it was fun to have her here to attend. After the singing they had a raffle, food and this great balloon-animal man making anything and everything. Um, yeah- balloon animals are the bomb. Don't you think you'd have to be pretty good to ask a kid what they want?? If it were me, I'd be standing there in my funny hat wearing my tool belt with three balloon color choices and I would look at the kid in the front of the line and say, "Alright. Here's how this works. I can make you a snake, a wiggly snake, or a stick. What's it gonna be?"
I mean, they were throwing everything at this guy: Elmo, flower, elephant, tiger, Eiffel Tower!!! Okay not really that last one but I almost said that.
It was a fun year of school! Little do they know this is just the beginning.... :-)