What a weekend!

It's amazing what you can accomplish in a weekend when you put your mind to it! On Friday evening, I went to bed early so I was up early on Saturday. Got my chores done so I got to go to the Pacific International Quilt Festival at the Santa Clara Convention Center. I spent 4 hours there admiring the amazing quilts and shopping for a few quilting essentials for myself - I'm sharing a few photos here, but trust me when I tell you that the photos don't do the quilts justice.  The skill involved in making these beauties is so advanced. I'm such an amateur, but I certainly appreciate these works of art.

Even though my "dogs were barkin'" after the quilt festival, Ron and I headed to a going away party for a friend. Got to see several people that I hadn't seen for quite a while - it was like old home week! Made me a bit nostalgic. I've missed those folks and it was great to reconnect and share contact information. Let's make sure we really do get together soon, okay?

Finally, today we headed east to see our Wild Thing who is now 9 years old! We picked him up, went to lunch then took him to his baseball game. We are thrilled that he seems to love baseball (much less chance for injury than football). He played really well - the coach had him pitch, catch and play 1st base. I'm no expert, but I think his strength is going to be in pitching. He caught a pop fly to end the game and was awarded the game ball. It was a great day!

After the game, we got Viliamu situated with a Halloween costume (it's a secret) before we headed back home. Finally, before we came back across the bridge, we stopped at a grocery store that had budget-priced pumpkins. I got all the pumpkins I need for a project at work. This is a trunk full of pumpkins...

...and home in time for a nice dinner. I feel deeply satisfied with all that we accomplished. Good weekend!

Trick or Treat!

Ron and I both worked a full day today but then raced back across the San Mateo Bridge to get home in time for some trick-or-treating! We had a date with a very GREEN 7-year-old who was anxious to go door to door for some candy! My husband is a very good sport and even agreed to dress up for the occasion. Here is the photographic evidence...

Just in case you weren't sure who Ron was supposed to be...

 

Halloween smooches

Charlie Brown and the Hulk

Viliamu got tired of being the Hulk and decided to change costumes!

It was all good fun, but now it's over for another year. Time for bed!

Happy Halloween!

Wednesdays with Wild Thing

My life has been ridiculously busy and hectic lately and I have fallen WAY behind in keeping you up to date in this blog. I almost don't know where to start...hmmmmm...well, the first thing that comes to mind is my Wednesdays with Wild Thing.

Viliamu is 6 years old now and just about to finish kindergarten. At the beginning of May it became my job to pick him up from school on Wednesdays. I was eager to take this job on - spending some quality time 1-1 with my favorite 6 year old? Wonderful! We have been having a great time. '

Our schedule goes something like this...I pick him up from school at 11:40. (It's really something to be at an elementary school again with all those kids!) After school he is usually ravenously hungry so we go get something to eat. His favorite spot is a restaurant just down the hill from the school called Clementine's. Everyone there knows him by name and they don't even bring him a menu because they know what he wants! The rule is that he has to eat a salad BEFORE he gets his grilled cheese sandwich and fries. After lunch we might go to the park - there is a lovely little park close by that is perfect for riding his scooter and burning off a little energy!

could this kid be any cooler?!

look at the view - it's a beautiful park

Depending on what's showing, we might then go to a movie. So far on our Wednesdays, we have seen Oz the Great and Powerful, The Croods and this week we went to see Epic. By Wild Thing's standards, the movie this week was NOT so epic. I was looking forward to this movie because it is based on a book by one of my favorite children's authors William Joyce. I've told you about several of his other books here. The book is called The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs (1996). It's another one of Mr. Joyce's sweet stories filled with his beautiful illustrations.

the book

the movie

Somehow, when it came time to translate this book into an animated movie, it became Epic. Unfortunately, it wasn't. I have become spoiled by Pixar animation and this Blue Sky production just doesn't compete with the likes of the Toy Story movies and Monsters, Inc. for me. It wasn't terrible by any means, it just wasn't as good. The movie did not pass the Wild Thing test because 3/4 of the way through it, Viliamu leaned over to me and asked if the movie was almost over! That's the kiss of death for us! Mind you, this is a kid that loves super heroes and video games, but he is only 6 years old! So, I do recommend this movie for preschoolers although the villains in it are a little scary.

Finally, I want to share a quick story. Last week, Viliamu and I were killing time after seeing another movie (The Croods - not good by the way) and we had decided to write and draw our own comic book. He would be the super hero - Fire Ninja with a sidekick named Blue Flash. He was so  excited and really worked on the illustrations while I worked on the title page. At one point he says to me, "Yawa (that's what he has called me since he was a baby), I don't know what I'd do without you!" I was stunned into silence for a minute. "Really, Baby?" I asked while trying to nonchalantly swallow the lump in my throat. "Yeah," he sighed. "I just don't know what I'd do."

Boy, does this kid have my number!

May Day - May Day

Happy May 1st! What a beautiful day it was, too! The weather was nothing less than perfect. A perfect day to spend some time with the most charming 6 year old on the planet! I picked him up from school today (this is my new job on Wednesdays), we had a nice lunch and then we went swimming. Yes, I went swimming today and yes, my swim suit fit! Wonderful exercise - I had no idea what a little fish Viliamu is! It was a great day and now I'm exhausted. I will let the pictures speak for themselves...

No Fear! He jumped right in!

His handstand

goofin' by the pool

notice that someone else is a blonde now, too?

love

We had such a great day together! I am looking forward to all my Wednesdays now!

work AND play

It was a good weekend - a productive weekend. I have guests coming in from out of town this week and that was my main motivation for all the work in the backyard...but it's great to have it almost all done. Just another hour of work and it will be ready for visitors. I might have finished today but I was a little sidetracked by my favorite 6 year old. He helped me in the backyard by keeping me company as I moved flower pots around and swept the patio. He soon tired of that so we were off to explore the bike path and the marsh. Here are a few photos from our day.

He started on a scooter but we ended up on bikes to go to the bay.

Lots of wildlife in the marsh today. This fox was quite laid back and the geese didn't seem to mind him...

The fox didn't seem to mind us either...

 

Then the geese decided not to trust Mr. Fox. We also saw two huge jackrabbits, but I wasn't fast enough with the camera to capture them. 

He is such a ham when there is a camera around.

 The tide was very low when we were out by the bay.

On our way back home...

The weather was a bit cool, but it was another lovely day at the bay. A successful day complete with work and play.

by the bay

 A visit from the Wild Thing generally means that we have to find creative ways to keep him busy. During breakfast, we made a list of things he wanted to do today. Among the things on his list was to ride his scooter. It was a beautiful day so off we went with me on my bike and him on his scooter.We ended up on the walking path by San Francisco Bay.

We spent the afternoon climbing on rocks, looking for just the right stick, squishing through wet sand and playing tic tac toe...

Beautiful day, good company...simple pleasures are the best!

Kid-Friendly

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to spend the day with my favorite 6 year old in the whole world. Because he is a dynamo and constantly on the move, I had to be creative about keeping him busy and entertained for the afternoon. Our first stop was to IHOP - he loves pancakes for lunch. We played Tic Tac Toe while we wait for our food...

After lunch it was on to the movies...we opted for the 3D version of Escape from Planet Earth. The best thing that I can say about a kid's movie is that it kept his attention for the entire movie. Cute characters, a fun story line and good animation. It's not Pixar, but it's ok. I will have to say that I think the whole 3D gimmick is such a rip-off. Viliamu loves wearing the 3D glasses and in the beginning of the movie there are a few things that come toward you, but after that, you forget about it. 3D is just an excuse for the theater to charge more for the movie ticket and it's just not worth it - especially when you have to pay $6 for a small popcorn and $4.25 for a small water...RIDICULOUS!

After the movie, we decided to go to the bookstore. Thank goodness that our Barnes and Noble is still open! I told Viliamu about how Buddy and I used to take our girls to Borders and let them look through all the books until they decided on one book that they could take home. He liked this idea a lot and went about the business of deciding what book he really wanted to take home. I decided that I would pick one as well. He chose Diary of a Wimpy Kid - Cabin Fever  by Jeff Kinney. He loves the books especially since they've started making movies of them.

For myself, I chose The Fantastic Flying Books if Mr. Morris Lessmore by William Joyce. Mr. Joyce is absolutely one of my favorite children's authors and this is another beautiful book. The story inspired an Academy Award winning short film (I have to try to find it!). As usual, the illustrations are stunning and the story is very sweet. The theme of this book is that "Everyone's story matters." It's written for children ages 4 to 8 and Viliamu loved the story. This is a good book to purchase as a gift for a friend's child - and remember it makes all the difference to hold the book in your hands to really appreciate the illustrations. This is not something to buy to read as an e-book. Trust me.

Finally, to end our afternoon date, we decided to go to the park for a bit. I am thrilled by how easily Viliamu makes friends. He made friends at the bookstore and at the park. Unfortunately, our time there was cut short because it was so cold. All in all, it was a great day and a lot of fun spending the day with  this bundle of energy...

for the record...

Here we are in the theater right before the movie started

Just so you know...I wasn't wrong about The Avengers. We took Viliamu to see it tonight and  although he was a bit tired from a full day of playing and swimming with his mama, he stayed awake and engaged through the entire movie. So, for the record, this movie not only gets two thumbs up from me (I reviewed it last weekend), but it also gets the Wild Thing seal of approval! That's really quite a telling endorsement.

I am watching him sleep as I type this. As tired as he was, he stayed awake during the car ride home. PJ's on, a trip to the bathroom and teeth brushing done and he was still able to get through 2 1/2 stories. What a trooper! Guess which book he wanted me to read first? You guessed it! Max is still the king of all wild things and #1 in both our hearts! All is right with the world.

good night, wild things...

A dear friend that I never met died last Tuesday. We were on our way to work when Ron and I heard on the radio that Maurice Sendak had died from complications after a stroke. He was 83 years old. It surprised me how emotional I became at this news. It brought tears to my eyes. (I also reacted like this when Jim Henson passed away).

Mr. Sendak was responsible for writing and illustrating my favorite children's book of all time - Where the Wild Things Are. This book has been very important to me over time, but even more so during just the last five years. Max, the king of all wild things, has a naughtiness and an imagination that reminds me very much of another wild thing. I honestly can't tell you how many times I read this book to Viliamu but I will tell you that almost every time I read it, he would say, "Again!" and how could I refuse?! This book has been a real bond and an important point of reference for us. See?

 

After I found the Max doll, I photographed him in all kinds of adventures when we'd go on vacation, like this...

and this...

and this...

.

Once I took the pictures, I would post them on facebook so that Denise could show them to Viliamu while we were away from him. And of course, whenever we went on a trip together with Viliamu, Max got to come along. He really enjoyed Disneyland! 

We have had countless adventures with our Wild Thing many of which were inspired by Max. Maurice Sendak wrote and illustrated countless other stories, but I have to thank him for creating this story - one that so captured our imaginations and helped me to maintain a connection with Viliamu.

So, although I never met him, I will always think of Mr. Sendak as a real friend. I will miss him.

I wonder if Kermit's "dad" and Max' "dad" have met up on the other side...

Easters past - just a few more pictures

2012 - No Easter outfits or baskets - just some posies from my garden

I meant to post these yesterday, but the day got away from me. Here are a few more photos of Easter - it turns out that I haven't scanned most of the Easter photos. I didn't go digital until 2005.

Here we are in 1991 - do you detect a theme here? Pretty obnoxious, i know, but it seemed like a cute idea at the time!

1992 - my angels - L to R - Mandy, Jenny, Becky

1994 - Not our best year - Jenn broke her arm a few days before Easter and Mandy was recovering from chicken pox.
 Becky and Jenny came down with chicken pox a few days later. This was our last Easter in Texas before we moved to Arizona.

Now I have skipped a few years (mainly because I have to hunt down the photos and then scan them). So I fast forwarded to 2007 and a couple pictures of the Wild Thing years.

2007 - Viliamu at 4 months

2009 - Viliamu at 2 1/2

That's all for now - now I have to hunt down photos for my birthday blog!