Evan's new smile

Can you say Thrilled! Because that's what Evan is, He is absolutely thrilled about his new smile and he even got them off before starting 7th grade! What could be better that that? Congratulations Evan!

July 4x12

OK, So this is not my favorite picture by far but it's the only on I have of the four of us taken in July. This is at a lake in the Forest Hill area near Auburn, CA. It was a dirt bike trip with a couple of other families, the riding was terrible but the kids loved the lake! It reminded me of upstate NY. Lots of beautiful trees and the smell of pine!

4x12 June 2010

Well, Here my "snapshot" for June. We were literally running out the door to go to our friends for dinner (obviously a casual dinner) when I got the idea to get this shot. Ian was gone all last week and left again today for 4 days, so I thought I should take advantage of the fact that we were all together. Everyone is laughing because I just yelled that Evan was standing on my foot just seconds before the timer on the camera went off!

Busy Month O' June

*Ian and Grandma

*Grandpa and Evan

*RUDY

*Wayne and I in Big sur on our way to Paso Robles
June has a been filled with all kinds of fun! A new addition to our family in the form of a Yorkshire Terrier, My dad's 80th birthday, a visit from my brother, and Ian's birthday too! Oh! And Wayne and I even managed to get away overnight for our anniversary to Paso Robles, what a great place! So were do I begin? The puppy was a cast off from a lady that didn't want him. He's a year old and I think he has a pretty good temperament. I had a friend come over and give me some tips on how to take care of him (it's been 15 years since we've had a dog) and I feel much more confident working with him. Oh, his name is Rudy.
My sister and I planned an 80th birthday party for my dad with the help of my mom and brother. We had about 25 people over for a luau. We made much of the food and bought a few specialty items that we could'nt make ourselves, including a beautiful lilikoi cake from a Japanese lady. The weather was perfect and we were able to sit outside an eat. It was a special day.
Ian also celebrated his 15th birthday this past Friday. He was excited to find out he is going to a motocross camp for his birthday present, it's 4 days of safety training and riding at two different tracks.
And today is Father's Day. Wayne is at the movies watching Karate Kid with Evan and we'll be going to some friends for a barbecue later today.
Ian is off at 4-H camp for a week. He is a manager this year and will be in charge of a cabin full of kids! I know he'll do a great job!

4x12 May 2010

I have such a short memory these days that I almost forgot about my 4x12 photo project. Here is a picture of us taken by My mother-in-law, at her house on May 23rd, 2010 at about 6:00PM.

Time........

Time keeps on tickin',tickin',tickin' into the future.........That song comes to mind frequently these days. It's hard to believe this school year is almost over and the crush of end of the school year "stuff" is taking it's tole on many. Ian will have finals the last week of school, much different than the elementary years when the teaches were just trying to keep the kids busy with movies and walks to the park, I even remember the kids going to school in their pajamas and having a reading day. I've been getting frantic calls from friends needing help with the all the different special activities planned for the end of the school year. Not to mention all of the different board positions that need to be filled for next year. It's amazing how much work people have created for themselves with all these boards and committees. I don't think a generation ago people were concerned with making sure the kids had everything and honestly, I'm not sure the kids even appreciate it? I hope I'm wrong. But nonetheless, it's all happening and I'm trying hard to pick and choose where I want to spend my extra time. Sometimes I get so overwhelmed with the requests that I just want to runaway!

On a lighter note: We celebrated two family birthdays this past weekend. For my sister (pictured below), we had a family dinner at home with cake and a walk to the beach. And in Sonora we attended a "surprise" 50Th birthday celebration for Wayne's Brother Joe.

A close to Perfect Mother's Day

I only say that because a perfect mother's day would be if Wayne took the boys somewhere for the day and left me to watch girlie movies and read books! So this was a runner up perfect Mother's Day which consisted of some of my favorite people (Mother included) coming over for the day. My wonderful sister made all sorts of goodies, a beautiful tomato tart, a quiche and a delicious fruit salad. We had a special blend of Hawaiian coffee and fresh strawberry short cakes for dessert. A very special gift of Mochi from a good friend who knows me too well. A walk to the beach to watch Evan boogie board and ended the night with some take out from the Mexican taqueria, sitting around the table enjoying each others company. I'm just not one to go out on a holiday. It's too busy and all those poor moms that waitress. What a drag for them!

The picture below has a funny story: I told my dad we needed some pictures for the memorial. He just about fell off the cliff laughing. I do think it's a keeper.