Happy Birthday B!

Christmas day is not only a day of celebrating all things Christmas, but it is the birthday of my wonderful brother-in-law Brandon!  Our entire family just loves spending time with Uncle B.  He is one of the funniest people I know and we always laugh non-stop when he is around.  He is so happy it is contagious.  Uncle B can make the kids giggle like no body else I know, and he and Dave have a great friendship that takes them on all sorts of adventures (Wendy and I refer to it as the bromance).  Most importantly to me, he is a wonderful guy who loves my sister and their children more than anything else in the world.  We are so excited for all of them to arrive in a few short days! Hurry up and get here Brandon, we have some cold Stone IPA in the fridge for you!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Last night we bundled the kids up and headed down the hill to Alta Loma CA to see their much talked about spectacle of lights.  Four or five streets in this town in the foothills are blocked off to cars and the people on these streets go all out with Christmas Lights.  The kids acted like we were at Disneyland.  It is the best free entertainment we've had in a long time! Merry Christmas everyone!

Snow Day Part II

This is what two California kids look like after two hours of snow play
Looks like Coop is on the top of the world
                Anyone interested in a swim?
Sledding on a boogie board...only in Southern California!

Finally some more pictures of the snow storm of '08.  It's really hard to believe that we live in Southern California when you look at these!

SNOW DAY!

Speed Racers
Cold Weather, Warm Hug
Snow Angel
Human Snowman
Snow Cowboy

When it snows in the desert, it really snows in the desert.  We had early release from school today and they have already cancelled it for tomorrow.  While it is nice to think that we are on break now, it is sad that my show had to be cancelled for the last two nights...all of the hard work the kids put in. Hopefully we can reschedule, but until then--Woo Hoo!  It's Christmas Break!  Today was a great day playing in the snow with the kids and we are all exhausted and ready for bed at 6 pm!

A Christmas Dinner

Not in the official way of course...it's too early for that.  Tonight we were making pizza and Cooper suggested that we make one that looked like Santa.  So, we gave it a whirl. It was quite the creation.  A beard made of pepperoni and cheese.  A face made of peanut butter and m and m's, and a hat made of peperoni and cheese as well.  Cooper said it was the best pizza ever and Bella must have agreed- she ate three pieces!

Tis the Season

The last few months have gone by and whirlwind speed and now that the holidays are here that will be the case even more.  During Thanksgiving break, we crammed as much into one week as possible.  An Iowa Game, the Thanksgiving meal, decorating for Christmas and the Nutcracker Tea.  It's certainly a busy time of year but like most people, one of my favorite times of year

I'm Not In Iowa Any More...

For the last two and half years, I have been the class advisor for the class of 2010.  They are a great bunch of kids who work really hard to raise money to pay for their prom.  Today was the day it all really begins- we went searching for a prom site.  The last time I even thought about something like this was in the fall of 1998 when I was prom c0-chair for the SLHS Prom of 1999.  Let me tell you, these California kids have it made.  Today we toured two magnificent museums right by the coliseum at USC, the California Fashion Market- the center of the LA Fashion World, and the Hollywood Roosevelt hotel- home to the nightclub most frequented by the girls of The Hills.  These places are no Sieben's Forum let me tell you!  No wonder these kids think this is going to be the most magnificent night of their life---at $100 a head it should be.  You know me though, if I wasn't a teacher, I'd want to be a wedding coordinator or an interior decorator, so I am going to love spending their money planning this extravaganza!  

WOW Part 2

Goldfish only cost 15 cents. WOW.  They really are the disposable pet.

IOWA UPSETS PENN STATE!  WOW WOW WOW- Wish I was there!

Wow....

This has been quite the week.  Historical in fact.  Over and over this week I have found myself saying wow.  

Wow #1:  Obama wins Iowa!  Obama wins!  WOW.  

Wow #2:  Measure V passes in Victorville. Measure V means modernization of our school. Measure V means a theatre on our campus. WOW

Wow #3:  Former Victor Valley High School Graduate turned stripper is "dating" Michael Phelps.  WOW

Wow #4:  Our superintendent is fired.  Two days after he helps a major bond pass in our district.  WOW

Muddy Buddy

I have done a lot of things this year that I never thought I would do, as a part of this group: run a half marathon, do a triathlon.  Today's event was the craziest thing yet!  Muddy Buddy is the name of the event and the name couldn't be more appropriate.  It involved a lot of MUD and as you worked your ass off getting through the rigorous course only the greatest of BUDDY'S  would still be your friend in the end.  The hills were extreme and the mud and obstacle courses were challenging.  In the end though it was good clean, I mean muddy, fun.  The girls and I had a great time dressing up as team 80's and we are already talking about what our theme will be next year!

Halloween Fun

Its so great when Halloween falls on a Friday--you can have so much more fun knowing that you don' t have to work or get kids ready for school the next day.  Since our house is now FINISHED we combined the trick or treating festivities with our first dinner party.  Everyone is probably so sick of hearing me say how grateful I am of the friends I have met because of my fitness team. But I am SO GRATEFUL of the friends I have met.  As a child, I remember how much fun my parents would have with their friends who had kids our age.  Now I finally feel like I have that!  The kids had a great time and so did the adults.  Bella and Cooper were sick of having photos taken, so they don't exactly look like they were having fun---but in this case, the photos don't sum up how they were feeling.  It was wonderful and we are all glad we have today to recover!

Finished At Last!

All we have to do now is unpack...here are some photos of the finished product!

The Pumpkins are Carved

With four hours to spare before the official start of October 31st, our pumpkins that we have had for weeks are finally carved and glowing with candles. 

Happy Birthday Mom!

I'm a day late, but that seems to be the story of my life lately...Actually a day late AND a dollar short really sums up things right now.  Enough of that tangent though...Yesterday was the birthday of one of the most wonderful and important people in my life.  Mom.  She is always the one to sacrifice her own time to help us out.  She is the one that always has a positive outlook and a smile on her face.  She is a fantastic mother and a fabulous grandmother.  We are all so fortuante to have her in our life. Happy Birthday Mom, we love you!

Finally the San Francisco Blog...

One of our favorite spots during the weekend
One of the many spectacular views on the marathon route
Saturday's dinner...we didn't try to match our spouses I swear!
Dave in one of the "street wear" looks that DID NOT work!
The huge window on the side of Nike Town in Union Square

On October 16, 2008, Dave and I departed for a wonderful long weekend in San Francisco.  Never mind the fact that the night before, our NEW ADDITION FLOODED and I twisted my knee. After a hectic morning, we were on our way to LAX-- and numerous flight delays which led to numerous drinks in the airport bar.  We finally arrived in San Francisco, checked in to our adorable "boutique" hotel and headed out to dinner.  Our desk clerk recommended an Irish pub right around the corner. The weather was beautiful that night and Dave and I and our friends Lee and Poppy enjoyed a great meal and a couple of pints.  Did I mention that we were in an alley eating...the atmosphere was part of the enjoyment.  After that we did something Dave and I haven't done since...well...Vegas...bar hopping.  We actually ended up in a club, to those of you that know Dave...yes, a club.  Before we went in I asked the bouncer if there were any other people our age in there and they assured me that there were.  This club was on the top floor of the St Regis hotel and though the details are a bit fuzzy, I'm sure that we had a great view.

The next day we spent much of the morning checking in for the Nike Women's marathon.  In case I've caused confusion- this was the reason for our trip- not a tour of the bars of San Francisco. We were in Macy's shopping and decided that Dave and Lee needed some new clothes...we searched high and low for a floor that had clothes we could afford.  We finally ended up in the "Street Wear" collection and found some things.  It was hilarious.  Two men, one nearing 40 and the other one already  there shopping in the section that is most often frequented by teenagers.  Believe it or not, they both found some things.  Another couple arrived and the six of us resumed the tour from the night before.  Friday night was much classier as we had dinner at a restaurant in Fisherman's Wharf with a great view of the bay.  

Saturday was another perfect day.  We spent the morning watching Big 10 football (my friend Kathleen went to Michigan) in a dive bar.  According to the wall outside the bar it was ranked "the number one happy hour spot according to Betty Ford"  offensive and funny at the same time.  Kind of like the behavior of all of us.  For lunch we had the San Fran classic- bread bowls with either chili or clam chowder.  We stopped by the sea lions and then started our walk to Little Italy to load up on carbs before the marathon.  At this point I need to mention that we had been walking all day and my knee was so sore, I could hardly bend my leg- not the best condition to head into a half marathon with. 

On Sunday all of the girls woke up before the crack of dawn for our event.  Dave and Lee were both wonderful husbands and got up as well to watch us start the event.  It is quite a sight to see 20,000 women congregated in one spot waiting to face one of their biggest physical challenges ever. I think that it was this extreme amount of positive energy that caused me to decided to "just do it" even though I was in pain before it even began. By the time the "slow" group I had put myself in because of my knee crossed the starting line, Dave and Lee had been waiting to cheer us on for almost 1/2 hour- that's how huge this group was.  I was only able to run about 3 miles of the 13.1--it's ok though, I finished.  I'm lucky to have a friend like Poppy who hung with me as I limped the last 10 miles.  If I had to walk an event like this, this was the one.  The route through San Francisco was perfect and the scenery was breathtaking at points.  I think that if I would have been running and breathless I would have missed a lot of the beauty.  After 3 hours of travel by foot, we crossed the finish line where we were handed our Tiffany finisher's necklace in it's little blue box by a San Francisco fireman wearing a tux.  The necklace also had a lot to do with the stupidity involved in me doing the event with an injured knee.  LOL.  

All in all this weekend was one for the record books.  As you can tell it has taken me a week to get used to being back in reality!  

Never Wear Flip Flops To The Pumpkin Patch

What was I thinking?  Other than this slight inconvenience, we had a great time on our annual visit to the pumpkin patch.  The weather was cool and completely reminded me of a crisp fall day in Iowa.  Yesterday was the second day that the pumpkin patch was open, so the selection was great.  The older the kids get, the more fun they have picking out the perfect pumpkin.  Once again I realized how for kids, sometimes the simplest activities are the most fun.  In our whirlwind lives I think that sometimes we forget that.  Bella did have a "moment" at the end of our outing where she was in a "no pictures please" sort of mood.  It wouldn't be a family day worth remembering though if Bella didn' t have a moment!  Happy Fall!

While I Was Away...

During the last two weeks of a production, it feels like I am not really present at all in my life away from school and the theatre.  This time around that was certainly the case, and for the first time I felt like I was a part of a TV show.  More specifically the show "While You Were Out".  On this show unsuspecting individuals leave their home, and return to it with the surprise of a  remodel.  To me of course, it was not a surprise, but a lot has happened in two weeks.  I would leave home in the dark and return in the dark, so it was exciting to finally see things in the light. The project is almost complete and we are in love with the finished (almost) product!

Fair is Foul and Foul is Fair

A scene from our production

Macbeth FINALLY opened last night.  We had a nearly full house and its always a huge feeling of relief when the lights go up at the beginning of the first show and I know that the end of stress is near.  Let me begin by reiterating that this has been the most challenging show I have EVER directed.  It was more difficult than any musical ( and musicals are a huge challenge for me).  Along with the cast, I had to go on a long journey with many bumps in the road to get to opening night.  But, we made it.  Yesterday had to be the most chaotic and stressful opening day I have experienced.  Maybe this really is the cursed play.  Once the show started though, I couldn't have been prouder of my actors.  It was like all at once, they understood what Shakespeare wanted them to do and they did a magnificent job of sharing the story with the audience. (FAIR)  The audience on opening night is typically full of teenagers that are there for extra credit, last night was no different.  While teenagers always are an enthusiastic audience sometimes their responses are not appropriate- especially last night.  It is sad to realize how de-sensitized these kids are.  In scenes that give me chills and make me want to cry(murders, fights, breakdowns, etc), these kids laugh! (FOUL) This reaction really discouraged my actors.  Tonight we will have more adults in the audience and hopefully the reactions will be more appropriate, and the audience will be more appreciative of the fact that very few teenagers can act in a play written by Shakespeare and do it well!

Skate-O-Rama

We had Cooper's sixth birthday at the skating rink and it was rockin!  Everyone had such a great time.  It was really fun to see families doing something active together and it was so much more fun than Chuck E. Cheese.  The details at the beginning are a little stressful- getting things set up for a kids party is a little chaotic.  I told my friend Teri that I'm still much better at putting beer in a cooler and opening a bottle of wine.  By the end of the party everyone was a lot better on skates and Cooper was the proud owner of a ton of new toys(mostly Star Wars).