last photo i imported to iphoto

Really, this is the last photo i imported. i sent it to slade in an email with four other photos as possible photos for his facebook pic. Cody and Graham have been giving him a hard time about NOT having a photo.

In this pic, Slade is a senior in high school. We are not dating yet, but we have known each other for a couple years. I believe I have already set him up with and counseled several girlfriends of his at this point. I think I am working at Solutions in SF. I remember he and Dominick came over to the city one night and we went and saw Maud in a play. At this point Slade is on his 3rd car (I think) - a black Camaro. On the drive home some low-riders were trying to get Slade to race - I remember they were egging him on while we were still on the bridge, then once we got off Slade opened up the car. It was sweet. He also dropped back his speed and made it clear that he would not race, but speeding in a fun car is - well, fun. It is for that reason alone that I don't think he should buy another one (Camaro) now - one that our two sons would drive and do something similar in, I'm sure.

I made Cody drive my BMW the other day. He drove it just a few blocks, we picked up Graham then he asked me to drive home. On the drive home he said "This car seems like it would be easy and fun to go fast." Probably NOT the right car for the new driver to use. Probably a good call on his part to be clear that he doesn't want to drive it.

Liam is visiting us from Chicago. I'm sorry to say I have no photos. I have been a bad Aunt. It has been fun having a fifth child, and honestly feels just natural with our flow. We hope he comes back soon!

growing up

this is a pic from auntie liz - don't these boys all look so grown up? i love it. ok, i know you can't see zane's face - but the look on cody's face tells me what zane's face must look like.

seby & zane in chicago

seby & zane drove back with the chicago cousins (o'd, liz, alex & liam) - they are spending the week with them. we brought back wes with us. maud, lucas, livia, rose & ann went back to los angeles last night.

here is seby under the bean in chi-town



and zane under some other structure.



here is ann and all the grandkids. we had a great week up at lake lotto - even though we really only had one warm day, one warm enough to be summer at the lake day, and then the day we left was also a great summer day. even with our cold and rainy days we all had a great time. we fined tuned some card games and played an amazing game of pin-the-tail on the donkey - which i was the winner in! rose (8) walked away with the winnings from the first night of texas hold'em, livia (13 and rose's older sister) took home the second winnings. well, i guess that makes sense - they live closest to las vegas!

Happy Birthday Graham!

Graham celebrates his 15th birthday today AND started his driver's ed class. Too much for a mommy. He is growing into quite the young man and has many wonderful qualities that are unique to him - but many that are also right from his daddy. It seems like Cody just got behind the wheel and later this summer we will see Graham do the same.

Graham requested going to Fogo de Chao for his birthday dinner (something we did for Slade's b-day last year). It is an amazing Brazilian restaurant where each person has a token with a green side and a red side. You turn the green side up to have more meat (chicken, beef, pork & lamb). You can have as much as you like and just keep giving the go and stop sign for getting more. They also have a pretty fabulous salad bar. The kids were all pretty excited about going again and we invited Graham's girlfriend, Amara along for the b-day dinner.

Here is Graham getting served,

Happy Birthday Daddy!

I just had to "steal" this pic of Daddy from their website. Mom must of taken it on their way out to dinner for his b-day. Isn't he just so handsome?

Bad Mommy

Ops, I never posted about Seby's performance in Twelfh Night! Here is a video of one of pieces.



All the kids did an amazing job of memorizing their lines - in only two weeks. They were all so cute, but this guy stole my heart.

Zane's Fly Up

At our Montessori school there is quite a production when the kids "fly up" from the Children's House level (pre-K and K) to the Elementary I level (1st-3rd grade). Today was the big day for Zane and here are some pics of him watching his friends "fly up" then him getting ready for the big transition.





They start this ceremony with the kids singing songs, here is the "school song" called "This is my school." It is very sweet.

I didn't really like how the parents were so separated from the kids - it felt like the zoo a bit with them all behind the fence - but I guess with some of the kids being 2-3 years old it is an easier way to "control" the crowd.

Here he is, gearing up for this next big adventure in EI...

finished fountain

Hey something was supposed to get fnished today AND IT DID. The electrician arrived, on time, and finished the job! This evening Cody & put dirt in the base and planted some annuals. Thank you Cody!