Sold!

It still seems a bit surreal to me, but the reality is ...

I sold my first painting!

What makes it even more special is that it was purchased by my eye doctor (and friend), who has it displayed in the front room of his office. So, I can see it every time I walk by the window.

Snicker Doodle, 2007

How did this all happen? "Dr Shelby" had a frame showcase at his clinic a few months ago. His gimmick to get his patients, friends, & family to come look at the glasses frames being showcased was "Art & Chocolate." Dr Shelby invited me to be one of of the artists.

The rest, as they say, is now history.

50th Anniversary Celebration

Last Friday night, we celebrated John's parents' 50th anniversary.

It was a magical night! John's parents renewed their vows and then enjoyed a celebration dinner hosted by all of their "kids." As a special surprise, we created a slide show that highlighted their wedding 50 years ago and then chronicled key events (births, weddings, etc) in their life together.

The best part was that the entire family was able to attend. It was the first time we were all in the same place at the same time.

Backyard

I had sooooo many plans for what I had hoped to accomplish this summer.

I had hoped to level out the back lawn ... seriously, there are times Nicholas runs across that back lawn and I think "If that hole gets any bigger, we're gonna lose him!" Yes, I'm exaggerating a bit! But, we just filled them in 4 years ago. I'm beginning to think we pissed them off, and now, they're out to get us.

I had hoped to tear out a corner of the back yard, realign the sprinkler system, and install a play structure for Nick.

I had hoped to figure out what was attacking my rose bushes, so that I would have beautiful planter boxes around my deck. WELL, technically I didn't solve that problem, but 2 of the 3 are looking much healthier. The third ... well, you could say it's still alive, but that's being gracious.

Just when I thought I hadn't accomplished much, ... I looked past the (ahem) "live" rose bush ... I looked over the sink holes in the lawn ... and I noticed that last week's warm weather finally made my beautiful lillies bloom.

Luckily, there are still 33 days of summer remaining!

There's hope yet! :-)

Lost Lake

Last week, we had hoped to get away for several days of camping. It was a GOOD plan ... it just wasn't meant to be. However, we did take a mini one-day vacation and drove down to Lost Lake just west of Mt Hood, Oregon.

John's sister's family and brother had a campsite for the week. So, we met them for a bit of hiking and some fun around the lake. John's folks also drove out for the day.






The weather didn't start out too great, but it improved as the day went on. Nicholas had a great time chasing his cousins, throwing rocks in the lake, and eating ice cream. Nicholas also decided he liked the "edge" of the lake, but he didn't want to go "in" the lake.
























I was completely amazed at how well Nicholas held up without a nap ... OK, us too (LOL). But, by the time we left for home around 6pm, Nicholas was worn out. He slept almost the whole way home, which was a little under 2 hours!

Next time we go there ... I'm staying! It was soooo beautiful.

Mommy Moment

I know I'm a bit behind in updates ... please bear with me :)

But, I just had to take a moment to share my awwwww.

Yesterday, Nicholas came running up to me, threw his arms around me and said "I love you." OK, so it sounded more like "I yuh-yoo", but I knew what he meant.

It was the 1st time!

I LOVE YOU

Nicholas!

CA Trip - Life Lessons

During our trip, Nicholas learned three (3) essential things to help him survive and understand this big world we live in.

#1 . . . How to make a basket.












#2 . . . NEVER take a ball from a girl.










#3 . . . What goes UP, must come DOWN.
(Sunnyvale Town Center, 1979-2007)

CA Trip - Fun in the Sun!

How's this for ironic? Our trip to California was really a business trip for John. But, his work group planned to have a "Beach" day the Friday we were down (coincidentally, it was also a "Friday the 13th"). So, we planned a family trip to the beach ... unfortunately, John had to go back into work later that afternoon.

Although we didn't spend a long time on the beach, we managed to get some good sand castle building time. John promised Nicholas that he'd dig him a BIG hole, which he did. They also built a fortress of sand castles. I wanted to help, but Nicholas told me, "No Mommy, Daddy build." I asked Nicholas, "Then, what should Mommy make?" He said, "A bear!" So, I followed instructions and made a sand bear. Isn't that what all good mommies do?

Natural Bridges State Beach
The beach was originally named for three natural bridges that spanned together. But storm waves collapsed the outermost bridge during the early 1900's and, then, the inner arch in 1980--leaving one bridge and a gap in the rocks.

CA Trip - Family & Friends

YEAH!

A trip to California ...

... but it was a business trip for John

Although it wasn't exactly a vacation--we were able to sneak in several opportunities for "fun" visiting with friends and family. That made the trip all the worthwhile.

Nicholas seemed to make the best of things, no matter what he did. He finally discovered the joy of running through the park, going up & down the slides (as long as there weren't too many kids around), and burying himself in the sand. For the most part, he had no trouble falling asleep in the Pak 'n Play each night. However, the poor lil' guy was challenged with cutting two teeth on our 2nd day and getting a stomach bug, including fever, in the middle of our trip. Luckily, all of that passed quickly.

I wish I could include a soundtrack of Nicholas talking about his CA cousins. At random moments throughout the day, he'll just start talking about them and the things they did together on our trip. I can usually figure out what Nicholas is talking about, as his speech is becoming much more clear every day. But, his pronunciations of his cousins' names are priceless ... Tre-duh (Trevor), Tri-huh (Trista), and Joo-hoo (Julie).

Here's just a quick peak at the fun we had during the week with our family and friends.