Marina's Night Out!

Casey, Natalie, Maddie, Lauren, Marina & Tess

I tried to loosen them up for a casual photo shoot out back before we left for the city.

Lauren, Marina, Tess, Natalie, Maddie & Casey...Squeezed on the swing!

After Marina opened her very nice gifts from the girls, we loaded up Jill's suburban and headed to the Melting Pot for a fondue dinner.

First course was two pots of cheese fondue - one was Traditional Swiss and the other a Cheddar. Dippers were 4 types of breads, apples, carrots, etc. (Jill & I had the Artichoke-Spinach fondue - oh so good!)

After the Entree Course (which was teriyaki sirloin, filet, chicken and white shrimp, plus a variety of veggies, dipped in a seasoned broth and 5 diff. sauces to add flavor) the girls dove into the Chocolate Course. They had two pots - this flaming one was the S'mores version, and they also had a pure milk chocolate pot.

Marina blew out a candle in the slice of cheesecake which was the center of the plate of dippers for the dessert course. So many different yummy nuggets and morsels to dip into that chocolate. They ate both plates full and practically licked the pots clean! Only a couple girls got chocolate on their dresses - yes, even at 14 there can be issues, especially with long skewers of deliciousness!

This view of downtown Seattle and part of the Puget Sound waterfront area is from the viewing deck at the top of the Space Needle!
Quite a variety of sandals... pretty toes too!

It was pretty windy and cold outside on the viewing deck, but we waited for darkness to arrive so we could see the city all lit up - the sunset was amazing when we got there and then the nightfall was beautiful too - great end to the evening. Thanks girls!

Generous Friends!

Tuesday evening we were blessed with a wonderful delivery of a homecooked dinner extravaganza from our friends the Spiros and the Caldwells. Dianne and Beth Anne arrived with armfulls of food and treats, they looked like professional caterers, only with more of a personal touch! This was the third "get well meal" we'd been given, and let me tell you, I have been so grateful for our friends' generosity. It's not like I'm bedridden, or the one recovering from surgery, but to have some really great meals that I didn't have to do much to put on the table for the 5 of us has really helped me out!

Update on David - he said this a.m. that he is preparing to run in the Seattle Marathon. NOT!
This was muttered right after waking from another uncomfortable night of broken sleep and pain. Yes, he is getting out now for short walks (yesterday we went to the main road of our neighborhood), but he's frustrated that he doesn't feel like he's getting stronger faster and still is in so much pain. Also, the nerve pain and weakness in his leg/foot is not gone, although the course of meds he was given to help with that is now over. Yes, I'm sure he's getting healed, slowly but surely - it's just a long battle and hard for such an active guy.

My step sister Sharon, is also recovering from her brain surgery. She wrote recently that it's also a slow process but my parents report she is doing remarkable well and we think it might already be having a positive result on her Parkinsons! Thank you God!

The above photo is a pretty little pedestal platter created by my friends "The Divas" - Dianne & Valerie. They've been making and selling lots of various patterns/designs this past year. This was a gift from Dianne and Beth Anne and came loaded with yummy bar cookies as the dessert to our meal this week! Thank you again, so much!

6th Grade Outdoor Ed

This is Jordan heading off Monday morning to go with all (4) classes of 6th graders from our school to a place called "Warm Beach Camp" for Outdoor Ed, an annual event for the local 6th graders. They go for 2 nights and 3 days. They have a schedule packed with fun, including learning things like "orienteering" which is map reading, canoeing, rick climbing, pioneering, human impact, etc., etc.
This is a group of Jordan's friends, eagerly awaiting the loading of the chartered busses to whisk them away to the camp. Guneeve, Jordan, Matt, Nick and Carl (Matt and Carl's dad was one of the parent chaperones, and turned out to be Jordan's cabin leader - Nick was in that cabin too!
This is Wednesday - the "AFTER" picture. The kids were exhausted, but we heard fun stories of swimming, the "Music Olympics" lead by music teacher Mr. Gross (who's awesome!, not gross at all!), the not so bad food, even the amazing cinnamon rolls. Good times!

Happy 14th Birthday, Marina!!!

I had my camera ready when Marina walked in the door from school today. I knew many of her friends had baked treats for her and surprised her with them at school, so as has become tradition it seems at the Jr. High, they get to walk around all day with "stuff" from friends and feel special. (our school does NOT have lockers.)
Once she unloaded, she showed me all the yummy stuff her girlfriends made her. What sweet friends she has! She also had some really fun handmade cards!
Notice the "M" cake... this one has a story.
Tess and Natalie made that on Sunday (after the final recital show - they are both dancers too!) for her and concocted a "surprise" bottom layer of the 2 layer cake! I didn't know this, and it's too bad Marina didn't want to share her cake with friends at school as was hoped for by the girls. She selfishly brought it all home to hoard and what a funny backfire! She cut a huge slice and took a big first bite. I heard her yelling from the kitchen, "oh! it's not cooked all the way!" - I went to investigate, and indeed the bottom layer looked "odd". The top looked fine, but that first bite tainted the whole cake and into the bin it went. Minutes later, my friend Kari called me to warn me about the cake. It's all "edible" she said, but the ingredients include pickle juice, pepper, tartar sauce, etc., etc. With all those added ingredients, that layer didn't rise normally, and gave the appearance of being uncooked. I laughed till tears came! Too bad her friends didn't get to witness her reaction! haha!

okay, this is just a weird photo Marina apparently took of herself - I often find this type of photo of either her or the dogs on my camera and on my phone. She just can't resist I guess. I'm including it so you too can enjoy her wacky personality. Look at those eyelashes! And... I think the braces might come off soon!

Dance Premier Year End Recital Weekend

This past weekend, Marina's dance studio held 5, yes FIVE, recital shows. Four on Saturday (it was a 12 hour day) and just a short one on Sunday. Whew! It was actually lots of fun, but quite exhausting... and that's just my opinion - I didn't even dance 16 times like Marina did!
This is Marina in costume for her new Jazz dance to "Ramalama - something..." (have to find that program and look up the song title!) It was my ultimate favorite of the year of "class dances" and right up there with "Personal Jesus" which was a "team dance". Fun costume, but really good choreography! This photo shows friends Casey and Tess with Marina (middle) in the dressing room - look Tess only has one stocking on so far... and Tess's mom Kari who is a very good friend of mine!
This is Marina and Camie, hamming it up! Cammie's sister Marin is going to Bejing to the Olympics for swimming. Marin has a brain tumor and now swims with the S.O. team. Amazing story!
Still waiting backstage before their performance, sisters Cassidy and MacKenzie join Marina and Camie. Crazy dolls, huh? Oh! Almost forgot to mention that during the 3rd and final performance of this routine during the 8pm show, Marina's black strap around her neck popped and thankgoodness the bodice of the corset top didn't fall down! We ordered a DVD of the 8pm show (it had 5 of her 7 routines in it), so she'll get to relive her costume malfunction over and over!