The 'Rents in Their New Digs

My parents recently put down some roots in San Luis, and they've been busy getting their new place up and running. It's looking mighty good, and they took a quick break this morning to rest on their new mini-sofa and give me some smiles.



One of the reasons I had them plop on the kiwi couch was because it was the only room without brownout shades. While waiting for their shutters to be installed, they covered the windows with package wrapping/butcher paper. It is smartly functional, but it does cut down on the interior photo opps. :)

I did bounce a flash to catch them working on some decorating projects in the kitchen -- specifically, getting some pics of their grandkids ready to hang on the walls.





Welcome to the Central Coast, guys!

Go Gators!

Apparently, Mr. Soccer wasn't all show; the little man had some skillz going on during his first two games of the season. (At least it appeared that way to his untrained mom.)

I brought my camera along last weekend... and then I almost put it away when I saw what the other team was wearing. I thought that the Gators were the bright green team of U6. It seems that I was mistaken, and the Yodas are the brightest of the brights. It all made for A LOT of green going on on the field.



He certainly wasn't afraid to get in there and mix it up:





The Gators had some pretty cute fans, too. :)



And Mr. Soccer was looking fierce, even when he wasn't quite on target. Gotta love that!

Bursting With Pride!

Okay, I usually try hard not to gush about my kids, knowing that pretty much every parent out there thinks their own kids are the greatest kids ever. But today? Today I need to gush just a bit.

This morning, my boys -- both of them -- received the Citizenship Award at the school assembly. Beginning in September, each teacher picks just one student a month, meaning that about 16 kids out of the whole school were honored this morning.

I was so proud when I got word last weekend that Noah was getting it. Then I heard from Evan's teacher that he was, too. I think I may have startled his teacher with my near-teary response.

This morning I could feel the tears coming on again.

Here's Noah getting the very first one handed out:



Their buddy Ben got the award for his class, too! Then it was time for E's teacher to speak a few sentences about him, and what she said made holding in those tears really tough, let me tell you.





Their teachers moved the boys so that they could stand right next to each other:





I'm so proud of these little dudes!

E's Room Makeover

When my Sunday afternoon session rescheduled, I took advantage of a little breathing room in my schedule, and I dove into a project I'd been thinking about for awhile: giving E's room a makeover.

There were no drastic steps to take -- the furniture was all pretty much going to stay exactly the same -- but the project involved some pretty detailed painting and a couple of side projects. I hoped that if I just got going, I'd have the momentum to see it through.

I spent Sunday afternoon painting the walls of the room... exactly the same color they were before. Basically, my plan called for painting bold stripes over the already blue walls, but the walls were knicked up and grubby in places and I decided that I needed a fresh canvas. Let me just say that painting a room the same color it already was is about the most unsatisfying thing you can do with your time. (My husband, who was made to paint our old living room the same shade of white that it already was, enjoyed a smirk or two at my expense, I think.)

But once that was done, I got to tackle more interesting things. I painted the aforementioned bold stripes, and I gave a few coats to E's little table and ledges. I put up some cool little decals and hung the photos that I'd had made into float wraps. I highly recommend float wraps -- they're really cool!





Then yesterday, I schlepped all over town procuring surf and skate stickers from the local board shops. When E got home from school, we created a little masterpiece to hang over his bed. Shout out to Moondoggie's (like they'd be reading this, right?) who gave me some of the coolest stickers for free.





When we were done, we hung our special piece and E posed a bit. The second shot here is of him doing what he does nine times out of 10 when I ask to take his photo these days.





A few final touches...





And here's the finished room! Complete with a white board on his door for those super important messages. :) He actually had a very grown-up to-do list written (reading log, buy hot lunch, have lunch with teacher...), but he'd erased it by the time I got there with my camera.









Finally! Something I can cross off the to-do list.

Sensational Senior

I had the pleasure of doing K's senior photos yesterday, and when I say pleasure I truly mean it. I had a great time hanging around with her (as well as her buddy, A, and my dropped-from-the-sky-at-just-the-right-time intern, Danielle). I dragged those three all over town, had them tote bags and gear and asked K to do quickeroo clothing changes in random alleys, but they never seemed to mind. They were even polite when I showed my age by asking if "you'd wear that dress without pants under it." Oops.

As you can see, it was no trouble at all making this girl look good.

Hope you and your family like the peek. And good luck in the tournament this weekend!











And P.S.: Girls, tell me that cafe window wasn't worth the embarrassment!

Hot Diggity Dog!

While in Carmel last weekend, I took E over to Target. We love Target, and we were eager to escape the "droggy fizzle" that hung over the football field where the rest of our family was watching Menlo School take on Carmel High.

In an effort to buy some browsing time, I sent E across the aisle to look at some Halloween gear. BIG mistake.

My darling son had found the dog costumes. Yes, dog costumes. And he was adament that Crunch needed to dress up this year. I tried to shut it down, but he had his heart set on a hot dog or a lobster. I was allowed to pick. He swore he'd convince his dad that it was not at all a waste of money.

Yeah right, I thought. Good luck with that.

When we got back to the cabin, we decided that Crunch needed to try it on. To my surprise, we needed only to dangle a couple of treats in the air to get him to comply with our request. Not that he was thrilled, mind you.





Doesn't this shot say, "Lady, when will you be done humiliating me?"



Later, I cracked up when I walked in the room and found that Crunch had discovered a much better use for the hot dog suit:





What a silly family.

Rockin' the Pacific Grove Triathlon

Our family spent the weekend up in the Carmel/Pacific Grove area, combining family time with a triathlon that offered some challenges Brian and I had yet to face (ocean swim, anyone?).

We went over to the event on Saturday and checked out a couple of the Olympic Distance heats, while also scoping out the transition area and the chutes for coming in and out from the various race legs. The kids enjoyed it for the most part, but we definitely endured some whine-y moments. Jumping into the ocean solo started to have a certain appeal...













We learned that there were plenty of lifeguards around to keep us safe from ocean dangers (whew):



We saw where I, at least, would be headed immediately after finishing the race:



We watched some of the "elite" women take off on their swim. (Picture 80 or so women doing this same thing, and you'll have an idea of what it was like when MY heat took off on Sunday.)







Meanwhile, Foxy found a little "stage" and performed an impromptu dance routine for us. She sings a little ditty that goes "chicka-wow-wow" as she does her moves...



Later, E modeled his dad's swim headgear:



It was still dark when we got to the beach on Sunday morning (!), but light by the time we met up with our friend, Mark:



Almost ready to go:



Brian had an earlier heat time, so he was done and able to snap a few shots of me during the race:





And finally, some of the PG ambiance:



All in all, it was a fun weekend and an awesome event!