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!

Get Well, David!

Edible "get well" arrangement from David's sister's family, the Marinos. Delicious, and super for the whole family (I have hidden all the chocolate dipped strawberries...)
the fun smiley balloon also came from David's sister. The beautiful flower arrangement came from the President at David's office "and team". He's also been sent some lovely cards. Thank you to everyone, it's been so good knowing with have such wonderful support, both near and far.
Dinner the other night (and leftovers since - yum!) came from the Wheelers... Susie outdid herself, even after a long, long day herself - I so appreciate it! Thank you!!!

Jeff and Sandra Hooker have Jordan (for the past 24 hours +) and have taken him under their wings, as this is the annual 4 day baseball tournament which Jzo has played in for about 4 years now... it's an hour away, and just not possible for David to even THINK about attempting to go watch - this is killing him, but I will go see tonight's game and support Jordan with some family actually present.

Crazy Art

This is my new easel, and yes, I finally did finish re-painting the walls in the studio.
Okay, I know it's scary - but this is a work in progress and an assignment in the oil class I am taking at the comm. college. Yes, it's a self-portrait, and our artist of influence is Chuck Close (if you google him, you will see some of his work which will make mine make more sense). I'm experimenting with color (obviously) and soon also with pattern values, so stay tuned, it if turns out, I'll post a photo of the finished painting, which by the way is 18" x 24". I didn't want a realistic self-portrait, because I am not royalty (surprise), and think it would feel strange to put out a giant painting of myself, but since I'm making it so abstract - it could end up being fun to keep!

Mufasa Dog-Wash

Stand back if he shakes!
His fur is so thick, it's hard to get him totally wet!
Last week, along with all the final stuff David wanted to get accomplished prior to his surgery (which was 5/19), on his list was giving Mufasa a bath. Normally, this is only something that gets done once or twice a year. He's an indoor dog, and being one from the "giant breed"category, he's so mellow - that he doesn't get too dirty - brushing is a huge job, but other than that, he's low maintenance.
However, Mufasa will be on "display" later this week during the 6th grade "Passion Project" night at school. Jordan's research project is on the "Leonberger" dog breed, and Mufasa will be part of his visual aids during the event, so we want him to look his best.

Happy Mother's Day!

Cirque du Soleil!
I've never, ever been to a circus, and certainly never any of the amazing Cirque du Soleil shows, but this past Sunday - to celebrate Mother's Day, and because the show is right here at Marymore Park in Redmond, we got tickets to "Corteo" - the touring show for 2008. It was AMAZING!
go to youtube.com and you can see many clips of the show - it's fabulous! You're not allowed to take any photos inside the tent, and certainly no video, so this is it - a couple photos outside the Grand Chapiteau.


NOTE: you can buy the lowest priced seats and still have wonderful views of the show - the stage is circular and it often rotates during performances, so I doubt there's a bad seat in the house!
Then, at home that evening, the kids presented me with a surprise new game for our family wii - the American Idol game, which is essentially karaoke... I'm hooked, it's super fun! Thank you, and lots of love to all the moms in our life!

Blast from the Past

Saturday we had a visit from our dear friend Bob & his son Owen.

Bob & David were friends back in high school/college days with a large group of guys, some of whom went to Los Altos' rival h.s., Wilson, including Bob. Bob was a groomsman in our wedding. He went to P.T. school back in Philadelphia and did some internship here in the NW after we'd moved here, and he loved it and stayed. He & his wife Jill got married about 3 1/2 years ago, and they live in Gig Harbor, which is about 1 1/2 hours from us.

This was the first time we'd seen Bob since their wedding, and certainly the first time meeting their adorable son Owen. Too bad I only took one photo, he was so sweet and super cute! We met up at the house briefly and then went over to the ball field to watch Jzo's game (they won again!), then we all went to lunch and back here for a short bit before Bob had to take off. Jill, who is also a physical therapist was taking a weekend course, thus couldn't join us. We hope to see them again before too much time passes!