Tales of Some Sensational Siblings From Coast to Coast
Saturday, August 4
Hooray for the 4th of July!
As promised...a month ago...pictures from our 4th of July holiday extravaganza. My bad for the red eye, I'm on a time constraint.
This is pretty much all of the parade and parade preparation. Good times.
Sunday, July 8
Independence Day
I love the 4th of July. Love it. I still always say it is far and away my favorite holiday, though with all of us being separated such a distance Thanksgiving and Christmas are catching up since that is when we all see each other. Anyway, my memories growing up of the 4th are of big block parties, tons of kids running around way past our bedtimes, feeling pretty independent while closing the night with spectacular fireworks. Then I spent several summers at camp CGA and learned to associate the day with lawn games, dressing up in as much red, white, and blue as possible, and finally jumping in the lake for a bath after shoving watermelon in the face of every person I came across in the great watermelon wash.
Boy have things changed.... not necessarily better, not worse, just different. I'm the PARENT now! Weird. My boy stayed up way past HIS bedtime and while he had a blast, BML and I were exhausted!! We started our day off with some good old fashioned crafting...I'm pretty sure this was an idea on pinterest. P and I painted our hands and feet and made flags, he thought it was so much fun to be able to paint "mamu's" feet and made that request several times that day. We both had paint all over us for the bulk of our celebratory day.
*side note: I'm attaching pictures at the end because they are just on my phone and its easier that way, so scroll down for the cuteness.
About 20 minutes later, Aunt T and Yay Yay came in from their 6am bike ride and watermelon 5k ( T will tell you all about that I am sure). P showed off our drawings and we all got cleaned up to head out to brunch at KeKe's. Have those of you who live here been to KeKe's???? It is incredible. SO delicious, so clean, so fast, and kid friendly. P loves to sit outside on the little chairs built especially for him and sweet L. I think pancakes were the order of the day. Aunt T is in the photo, not Mamu...some people get confused. :)
Next activity! Make your own ice cream in a bag. This one once again took about 10 minutes - 20 total if you count eating and clean up time. Since P is constantly moving I do not know how he refuses a nap, its only 1pm and I can't wait for bed. The ice cream turned out pretty great, just mix half and half, sugar, and vanilla in a small ziploc, then place it inside a large ziploc, layer with ice and rock salt, toss around for 10 minutes and magic! Ice cream. I was pretty impressed with us, it was delicious. P had to wear oven mitts to throw the bags around, it got pretty cold. Then, I melted some chocolate chips in some coconut oil for our very own homemade magic shell. I know. Amazing.
Next up - the neighborhood parade. The only people who were definitely counting on were Grandad (Geendad, the Judge), LTD, Aunt T (FTD), P man, little L, LDL, BML, and Captain and Pax. Thats a parade in itself! We decorated L's radio flyer and put silly bows on the dogs, and dressed the family in their color appropriate outfits and went to set out around the lake....when the tv started screaming about a thunderstorm brewing that would spew hail and thunder and lightning and everyone should stay indoors. Not us! We amended our parade plans to just around the creek - there would be no rain on our parade! (Are you so proud of me Mom??) Some of our new friends met us with their baby and 2 yr old and our neighbors came along too with their newborn with his precious 4th of July ballooned stroller and off we went. It was quite a parade. Watch out next year for an evite...or I'll class it up with a paperless post.
Are you tired yet? I am. Wrap up our parade with a delicious flag cake made by LTD and BML, FTD, me, and P man were off to the neighborhood 4th of July party!!! No pictures, it was incredible. So fun to see all of our new friends in the area and all of their kiddos. Our family left a little early so we could make it back to 1127 to watch fireworks with LTD and the Judge and so little L could go to sleep. They were amazing, but the most fun was watching the wonder in P mans eyes as each firework exploded above him. Maybe that was why the 4th has always been my favorite, that at the end of the day, you are a hot, sticky, sweaty mess, but each moment was full of wonder, and independence, and a little bit of magic. P finally had enough and put fingers in both ears saying "all done! all done!" And we all passed out about the same time. Happy.
* second side note: I have no pictures of our parade, the party, or fireworks. But I bet someone else does...or I'll get them from yay yay and post soon.
Boy have things changed.... not necessarily better, not worse, just different. I'm the PARENT now! Weird. My boy stayed up way past HIS bedtime and while he had a blast, BML and I were exhausted!! We started our day off with some good old fashioned crafting...I'm pretty sure this was an idea on pinterest. P and I painted our hands and feet and made flags, he thought it was so much fun to be able to paint "mamu's" feet and made that request several times that day. We both had paint all over us for the bulk of our celebratory day.
*side note: I'm attaching pictures at the end because they are just on my phone and its easier that way, so scroll down for the cuteness.
About 20 minutes later, Aunt T and Yay Yay came in from their 6am bike ride and watermelon 5k ( T will tell you all about that I am sure). P showed off our drawings and we all got cleaned up to head out to brunch at KeKe's. Have those of you who live here been to KeKe's???? It is incredible. SO delicious, so clean, so fast, and kid friendly. P loves to sit outside on the little chairs built especially for him and sweet L. I think pancakes were the order of the day. Aunt T is in the photo, not Mamu...some people get confused. :)
Next activity! Make your own ice cream in a bag. This one once again took about 10 minutes - 20 total if you count eating and clean up time. Since P is constantly moving I do not know how he refuses a nap, its only 1pm and I can't wait for bed. The ice cream turned out pretty great, just mix half and half, sugar, and vanilla in a small ziploc, then place it inside a large ziploc, layer with ice and rock salt, toss around for 10 minutes and magic! Ice cream. I was pretty impressed with us, it was delicious. P had to wear oven mitts to throw the bags around, it got pretty cold. Then, I melted some chocolate chips in some coconut oil for our very own homemade magic shell. I know. Amazing.
Next up - the neighborhood parade. The only people who were definitely counting on were Grandad (Geendad, the Judge), LTD, Aunt T (FTD), P man, little L, LDL, BML, and Captain and Pax. Thats a parade in itself! We decorated L's radio flyer and put silly bows on the dogs, and dressed the family in their color appropriate outfits and went to set out around the lake....when the tv started screaming about a thunderstorm brewing that would spew hail and thunder and lightning and everyone should stay indoors. Not us! We amended our parade plans to just around the creek - there would be no rain on our parade! (Are you so proud of me Mom??) Some of our new friends met us with their baby and 2 yr old and our neighbors came along too with their newborn with his precious 4th of July ballooned stroller and off we went. It was quite a parade. Watch out next year for an evite...or I'll class it up with a paperless post.
Are you tired yet? I am. Wrap up our parade with a delicious flag cake made by LTD and BML, FTD, me, and P man were off to the neighborhood 4th of July party!!! No pictures, it was incredible. So fun to see all of our new friends in the area and all of their kiddos. Our family left a little early so we could make it back to 1127 to watch fireworks with LTD and the Judge and so little L could go to sleep. They were amazing, but the most fun was watching the wonder in P mans eyes as each firework exploded above him. Maybe that was why the 4th has always been my favorite, that at the end of the day, you are a hot, sticky, sweaty mess, but each moment was full of wonder, and independence, and a little bit of magic. P finally had enough and put fingers in both ears saying "all done! all done!" And we all passed out about the same time. Happy.
* second side note: I have no pictures of our parade, the party, or fireworks. But I bet someone else does...or I'll get them from yay yay and post soon.
Picture Change!
How sad is it that sweet little L, who will be 10 months tomorrow, is just now gracing our readers with her presence in our header picture? It is so pathetic. So, I finally changed it - and here we are! The Sensational Siblings, as our friend Nitadee has dubbed us, are gathered around the Judge with P man and little L this past Easter. I think there is one other picture of us all together, but P took it and I am cut off and it is crooked - maybe next year. LTD was obviously behind the camera, as usual. Stay tuned for more celebrations!!!! The Judge turns 60 tomorrow!
Wednesday, June 20
The Lion, the Beast, the Beat
A few months ago I went back to New Orleans to visit with my good friends T&J. Once, when my friend Nitadee was talking about their lovely hospitality to her friends in northern environs, they asked if T&J was a nice bed and breakfast. Sort of. They never disappoint. Some of my favorite acts are in pictures below (Grace Potter contributed to today's blog title; new album). Plenty of stories go with them, so I should have posted sooner. Sorry. I love Jazz Fest. I love T&J&S&E. It's always good to be in New Orleans.
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| Trombone Shorty with Galactic |
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| Horn section with My Name Is John Michael |
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| Grace Potter and the Noctournals |
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| Big Sam's Funky Nation |
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| Donald Harrison |
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| Joe Walsh & The Eagles |
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| Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (at Amway in Orlando) |
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| MyNameIsJohnMichael |
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| Foo Fighters |
Tuesday, June 19
In The Room
I know it's been quite a while since my last post, and I don't really have an excuse for the long delay. Well, sort of. Over the last month I've been looking forward to, slash, really nervous about a potentially big meeting. So, I didn't post anything because I wouldn't have any news between the time of getting the meeting and when it actually came.
Well, today, it came.
We're talking a top 5 commercial agency. I was actually probably more nervous when I first found out about the meeting, but I was plenty nervous the day of as well. The meeting was at 3, so that gave me plenty of time to think/panic about what was going to happen. And, I was pretty paranoid about being late, so I planned to leave about an hour before I needed to.
I ran over everything he could possibly ask and how I would (attempt to) answer it. I obsessed about what I would wear. I needed to look good. And commercial. And like me. And, good. But not too good, because, I needed to look like me. I spent more time than ever trying to get my hair right. Then I wanted to punch myself in the face for thinking that mattered. But not till I got it right.
I checked to make sure I had my headshot in my bag. A bag that I only had to carry my headshot, a single piece of paper. Well, two pieces of paper stapled together. Still, a bag was not needed. I took my bag.
Their office is fairly close, and I knew where it was, but I google mapped it anyway. I looked at the possible routes. Checked traffic, even though I was leaving so early it wouldn't really matter. But I didn't want to be stressing in the car. Or sweating. Air conditioner was on full blast. Hollywood Blvd was closed. Did not see that coming. No need to panic, I'll just go down to Sunset, that's the road the office is on anyway.
Where am I going to park? I arrive at the office. Drive past it. Do a U-turn. Spot right in front. That has to be a good sign, right? Go upstairs and sign in. I'm 30 minutes early. Thankfully they have a plethora of magazines to choose from. I also had a book in my bag, but I probably wasn't going to remember anything I read anyway, so magazine it was. Ended up reading a nice article on Adam Yauch (aka MCA) from the Beastie Boys. It was long, and I actually wanted to read it, so that killed a good portion of time.
Agent M comes out to get me. We say "hello, nice to see you again" (I had met him a few times already), and he walks me back to his office. We exchange with some niceties, etc and I went in to how I was watching the US Open. That led to a discussion about Tiger, and the mental game. I don't remember exactly what came next, but he ended up asking what my current representation situation was. I don't have any. Talked about my picture. I probably need new ones. He looked at my résumé and asked about the telecomm degree and how long it takes for that to become obsolete. I wasn't sure how to answer. It ended up just being an innocent question about the industry that lead to a discussion about my time at the Golf Channel.
We talked about the agency briefly and how many people they have, and how they have a smaller number of clients, on purpose. He then told me he would talk to his two other agents and they would make a decision together.
The whole meeting lasted about twelve minutes.
I have no idea how it went.
But, I was in the room, and that's a start.
Well, today, it came.
We're talking a top 5 commercial agency. I was actually probably more nervous when I first found out about the meeting, but I was plenty nervous the day of as well. The meeting was at 3, so that gave me plenty of time to think/panic about what was going to happen. And, I was pretty paranoid about being late, so I planned to leave about an hour before I needed to.
I ran over everything he could possibly ask and how I would (attempt to) answer it. I obsessed about what I would wear. I needed to look good. And commercial. And like me. And, good. But not too good, because, I needed to look like me. I spent more time than ever trying to get my hair right. Then I wanted to punch myself in the face for thinking that mattered. But not till I got it right.
I checked to make sure I had my headshot in my bag. A bag that I only had to carry my headshot, a single piece of paper. Well, two pieces of paper stapled together. Still, a bag was not needed. I took my bag.
Their office is fairly close, and I knew where it was, but I google mapped it anyway. I looked at the possible routes. Checked traffic, even though I was leaving so early it wouldn't really matter. But I didn't want to be stressing in the car. Or sweating. Air conditioner was on full blast. Hollywood Blvd was closed. Did not see that coming. No need to panic, I'll just go down to Sunset, that's the road the office is on anyway.
Where am I going to park? I arrive at the office. Drive past it. Do a U-turn. Spot right in front. That has to be a good sign, right? Go upstairs and sign in. I'm 30 minutes early. Thankfully they have a plethora of magazines to choose from. I also had a book in my bag, but I probably wasn't going to remember anything I read anyway, so magazine it was. Ended up reading a nice article on Adam Yauch (aka MCA) from the Beastie Boys. It was long, and I actually wanted to read it, so that killed a good portion of time.
Agent M comes out to get me. We say "hello, nice to see you again" (I had met him a few times already), and he walks me back to his office. We exchange with some niceties, etc and I went in to how I was watching the US Open. That led to a discussion about Tiger, and the mental game. I don't remember exactly what came next, but he ended up asking what my current representation situation was. I don't have any. Talked about my picture. I probably need new ones. He looked at my résumé and asked about the telecomm degree and how long it takes for that to become obsolete. I wasn't sure how to answer. It ended up just being an innocent question about the industry that lead to a discussion about my time at the Golf Channel.
We talked about the agency briefly and how many people they have, and how they have a smaller number of clients, on purpose. He then told me he would talk to his two other agents and they would make a decision together.
The whole meeting lasted about twelve minutes.
I have no idea how it went.
But, I was in the room, and that's a start.
Saturday, June 9
road trips, baptisms, & birthdays
are you on instagram? we post pictures there on occasion, particularly when we are on the move, which seems to be all the time. Two weeks ago yay yay, aunt t, mamu, p and l took a road trip to Pensacola Beach for a little R&R beach time. We knew it would take quite a bit of time to get there considering the two babies and one is newly potty trained...lets just say our usual vista view was a real sight for sore eyes more than times in the past. I'll attach pictures at the end of my post for the road trip since they are on my phone. We enjoyed being together and seeing some family at the beach, P is turning into a little brown bear despite my best efforts at covering him up and he would spend all day everyday in some kind of water. We are certainly beach snobs unfortunately and nothing beats the snow white sand of the gulf coast. We took the babies to see their gigi at her new home - FTD blogged about our grandmother a few months ago and things still stand there. Oh how we needed the beach, each other, the babies, and a bushwhacker on the beach at the end of that day! Our road trip home was even worse than on the way there (did I mention that I was sandwiched in-between the two carseats in the backseat for 8 - 10 hours!??) It rained, the babies cried, we were hungry, it rained, mamu (thats me) cried - we made it. And who was at 1127 to greet us? Granddad, Dad, Uncle CMD, & Uncle Bale on his way for our baptism / birthday backyard bash!
Sweet L was baptized where BML and I got married and where P was baptized almost 2 years ago. We were so blessed to have so much family travel from far away places to be with us and celebrate our blessings. L's life verse is Psalm 99:9 "Exalt the Lord our God and worship at His holy mountain, for the Lord our God is holy." We have so much to be thankful for, despite the hard things, so little L is an incredibly beautiful reminder that our Lord is holy and we should exalt Him.
We had a small family brunch just for L at 1127 and anticipated taking a little nap before the afternoon bash festivities began. But in true family fashion we had too much fun hanging out and went from cleaning up one party to setting up for the next. We celebrated L's baptism, the Judge's one year anniversary on the bench & our birthday boys CMD & BML on the 4th and RBDIII on the 8th. Again, we are blessed with some really great friendships and we all loved catching up with friends and watching the kids swim and blast everyone with water hoses (a welcome reprieve from the heat).
Then grandma sue left, the crowd left, uncles cmd and rbdIII left and we were alone again...hahahaha the 4 adults, 2 babies and 2 dogs. Won't be long before we see each other again though - we're looking forward to our summer of travel - before we know it P will be off to Weekday School twice and week and L will turn one.
Hopefully I'll blog before then!
I'm including some pictures of activities not in this post...because if I don't, I'll forget.
Sweet L was baptized where BML and I got married and where P was baptized almost 2 years ago. We were so blessed to have so much family travel from far away places to be with us and celebrate our blessings. L's life verse is Psalm 99:9 "Exalt the Lord our God and worship at His holy mountain, for the Lord our God is holy." We have so much to be thankful for, despite the hard things, so little L is an incredibly beautiful reminder that our Lord is holy and we should exalt Him.
We had a small family brunch just for L at 1127 and anticipated taking a little nap before the afternoon bash festivities began. But in true family fashion we had too much fun hanging out and went from cleaning up one party to setting up for the next. We celebrated L's baptism, the Judge's one year anniversary on the bench & our birthday boys CMD & BML on the 4th and RBDIII on the 8th. Again, we are blessed with some really great friendships and we all loved catching up with friends and watching the kids swim and blast everyone with water hoses (a welcome reprieve from the heat).
Then grandma sue left, the crowd left, uncles cmd and rbdIII left and we were alone again...hahahaha the 4 adults, 2 babies and 2 dogs. Won't be long before we see each other again though - we're looking forward to our summer of travel - before we know it P will be off to Weekday School twice and week and L will turn one.
Hopefully I'll blog before then!
I'm including some pictures of activities not in this post...because if I don't, I'll forget.
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