Elmo pj's & other recent happs



Well, it's been a while since our last posting. This is not for a lack of desire...just more of a priority thing, I guess; as parents of a young child, blogging and checking email are relegated to the category of magazine-reading and movie-watching--precious 'me time.'

So for those of you who rely on our posts to keep you abreast of family happenings, there's alot to catch up on.




First, notice, in above picture, what has entered our home: character pajamas. I knew this tacky clothing category was inevitable at some point in time but never did I think that 1.) it would come so soon and 2.) I would actually be the one purchasing said tacky clothing items. And who knew? We don't even have regular tv so Audrey's exposure to Elmo is limited to 2 videos given to her (thanks Kir, Erika) , which she has watched may be 5 times total. But she LOVES him. Holy cow.



Audrey has also had her first 'official' haircut (buzzing does not count).









No, Audrey, it never does turn out like the picture in the magazine--not even in an Aveda salon.

In the meantime, Mike (and his dad), has been building a rock wall in our backyard with stones that they painstakingly collected from the Mojave riverbed.












It looks great so far (progress report to follow)!

Audrey and I have been taking full advantage of our local park, swinging and having little picnics on the playground. On this particular day our neighbors, Andrea, Dara and Caelinn Sullivan joined us...



The Sullivans recently moved from San Diego, to our neighborhood...



Dara is an aspiring gymnast, with stunningly daring signature moves such as the 'Fray-Linn'



The girls LOOOVE swinging









Oh--and how about a bout of food poisoning and flu within the same week? While in Palm Springs (this year's venue for the annual Father/Son 'Let's golf where it's insanely hot and therefore dirt cheap tournament') Doing any sort of strenuous activity in 116 degrees? Are you kidding me--the pools were too hot to swim in enjoyably (no exaggeration) This is truly golf for die-hards.













Brandi got violently ill from a mushroom risotto. Only 2 days later while celebrating his parents 40th wedding anniversary (a very belated fest at the Sky Room), Mike was overcome with a flu. Audrey had a bit of it as well, but didn't get nearly as sick as Mike--poor guy. And congrats to Mom & Dad on 40 years of love & commitment!

Photo Shop: a word of caution

A good friend recently discovered the amazing aesthetic....shall we say 'boost' that Photo Shop can provide to pictures. A few good, prudent words of caution are in order for those who are unaware of its dangers:

First, make a very CLEAR mental note for yourself about the date and time that you begin applying Photo Shop (PS hereafter) effects to your pictures. If you don't, you will begin to have exaggerated ideas of how ugly, aged, blotchy...etc. you have 'suddenly' become. This is a function of three natural and classic PS user phenomena: 1.) As novelty of employing the program wears off and 2.) You become an increasingly less discriminating digital photographer (read: take more and more crappy pictures (because it doesn't cost anything) which you never delete (because, 'hey, you never know when you might need a photo of someone's elbow for whatever reason) and 3.) Your life affords you less and less time for non-essential computer tasks; Suma sum arum: eventually, you will stop using PS and all your pictures will once again look like crap. Or, in more zen-like language: you will look like your 'natural' self once again.

Finally, be very, very careful when employing 'thinning' techniques to enhance your appearance in pictures, lest you become the laughing stock of all who know you. A former colleague 'doctored' her photo for a company Web site just ever-so-slightly and it was embarrassingly obvious because her dog (which she was holding in the picture) looked like Farrah Facet on Phen-phen. What's worse, unbeknown to her, this picture had become a mass email 'forward'. I have provided an example of the applied 'thinning' technique onto a picture of Audrey's (then) 9-month old leg below.

The firecracker turns 30!

Tomorrow we will be celebrating a very significant day: the 30th birthday of my sister, Kelly. Kelly is a very busy woman-- a dedicated sister, friend and aunt. She is currently pursuing her Psy.D and considering moving out of state next year when she transfers. (Poor us--what would we do without her?) Seriously, we would miss her madly but applaud her courage and ambition.

Happy Birthday, Kell!!!!! We love you to the moon and back...and know exciting things are in store for you this coming year.



Pictured above: Kelly and Samuel (our nephew)

Huck-Finn-Be-Gone



Product review: Lansinoh Breastcream

I LOVE going barefoot. Once all danger of rain and snow is gone, there is nothing more disgustingly constricting to me than wearing socks. Yuck. My husband has nicknamed me, 'Huck Finn.'

The down-side of bare feet (for me at least) is heinously dry heels. Not glamorous, no--but it's reality. And nothing has helped--including a daily regiment of pumice stone and maximum-strength heel-cream. Then it occurred to me: Lansinoh breastcream. This stuff is an absolute wonder-product. THE BOMB. Originally meant for the cracked nipples of nursing mothers, I have used it on Audrey's chafed bottom, my dry lips, dry hands and the list goes on. So I tried it on my heels--AMAZING.

Make sure you buy the Lansinoh brand, as not all brands carry 100% pure medical-grade lanolin without preservatives or additives. You can find it in the baby aisle at Target, Walgreen's, etc.

Okinawan Fruit Bats--
and other family matters.





Over the past week or so, we've had the good fortune of seeing several members of our family--some more or less expectedly...

(these pics are in random order but if Audrey looks like she's wearing the same outfit--she probably is-- hey, if it was good enough for half-pint and Mary! No seriously, it's just hard to find stuff we like; too many pink ribbons and bows. Gag.)

This is Mike's cousin, Mr. Kevin Morris. Kev is a Marine, currently stationed (with his wife Christy and daughter Caelinn) in Okinawa. Last week he made a quick stop to the States to pick up his other daughter Kyra (pictured further down), who will be staying with them for the summer.

In this picture, Kevin is telling a 'fishermans' story'--only this time, it's the 'Okinawan Fruit Bat' story, or something like that. In any case, I had to get a picture of exactly how big these bats are that are flying out of the trees in his yard.



This is Kyra...she thought she was just coming up for lunch. Little did she know that Audrey and I were headed to a get-together at friends' house down the street; she decided to come along--and good thing she did because there was a slip and slide--and Deanna just happened to have a swimsuit in her size.



Audrey, Laurel, Deanna and Marilyn



Kyra post slip-and-slide...



Next day was Fathers Day, and since we alternate holidays, this year was with Mike's fam...it was a jolly-good time, as you can see:

Mike and Jessie man the grill...



Unbeknown to the rest of us, Grandma Jean slips away to deadhead our newly-planted bougainvillea (she's got a very green thumb)...



Grandma Jean, John, Audrey and her daddy



Grandma Chris and Audrey



Katie, Jessie, Audrey, Mike, Mindy and John



German Chocolate Cake is on Mike's Top-5 list; and don't ask how we got the picture of John as the 'Marlboro Man'



As you can see, the yard is coming along nicely...



Several days later, after running errands 'down the hill' (as we call it), we dropped in on the Kirsten-Jeff clan...Never had Popeye's Chicken before... good times. Not sure the Probsts agree, but I like it better than the Colonels fare--especially the gravy.



Audrey and Samuel chillin'...watching Baby Einstein



Lance spots the photo-op



Audrey and Bailey dancing their cares away (hopefully they don't have too many!)



Samuel and Lance wrestle...

Growing up...already



Believe it or not, our little, tiny baby is already growing up. :(

Thank goodness she hasn't been interested in crawling before now (so we haven't exactly encouraged this skill--sue us; we knew we wouldn't be carrying her to junior high.) Alas, she has now begun the first stages of scooting and we are therefore forced to begin the process of baby-proofing our house. (No minor task, to be sure.)

Already, we are putting away things that she is outgrowing, like this swing. How tiny she was when we first put her in it--she couldn't even hold her head up--now she looks like a giant in it!



The other day she even learned how to drink from a straw. (I'd been trying to teach her that for a while, but someone showed me a trick that really works!) She was SO proud.

A punkin' and her daddy

Fathers week

Concert Review: John Mayer @ the Bowl



Imagine my surprise when my husband secretly secured us tickets to see John Mayer (and Ben Folds!) at the Hollywood Bowl. For those who are not familiar with it, the Bowl is not only the best idea that Los Angeles had, but certainly the top concert venue in the area. First of all, when sitting at the Bowl, your view is unspoiled California hillside (nevermind the fact that heinous traffic of the 101 FWY roars just outside).

Secondly, a concert at the Bowl is not only fabulous music, but wine and dine al fresco dining as well--either at one of the many picnic sites surrounding the venue or right in your seat!!! I mean, how cool is that?!!! We picked up our dinner on-site from one of Patina's restaurants.



Ben Folds opened the shindig...What a musician!!!!!!!!!!! Additionally, his talent, charisma, wit and sense of humor really stole the stage. In a lament about how nowadays nobody really listens to lyrics anyways, he set Dr. Dre lyrics 'Bitches can't hang with the streets' to his own soulful music. The result was HILARIOUS.

John Mayer was just 100% over-the-top AMAZING. Words cannot do his performance justice.

The once young couple, now decidedly aged, enjoy an evening alone....



Something missing from this pic? Now that we have Audrey, we always sense her absence and think of her sweet little self. At the same time, we have to admit that we enjoy our time alone as well.

A gorgeous evening.

P.S. Gnome naming

Our gnome has no name as of yet. We are taking suggestions...

Gnome caught with Clafoutti on his face



In case you haven't heard, we've got our own gnome. He's quite sweet, entertaining, and somewhat of a bandit. The other day, we caught him getting into the clafouti whilst we were cleaning up our dinner al fresco. For those who aren't familiar with Cherry Clafouti, it is a traditional French dessert; a vanilla custard/cake-ish dish with whole cherries. The most traditional recipes call for leaving the cherry pits in, as these give the dish an almond flavor. It is an excellent and very light way to end a meal--not overly sweet. If you want a recipe, let me know...



In response to those of you who've asked: no, I haven't been blogging in a while...mainly for the following reasons:

1.) It all started our last week in Skagen when we didn't have a high-speed Internet connection promised in the house we were renting. Blogging went downhill from there, which led to...

2.) Backlogging. There's still so much to tell about our trip, I wasn't quite sure how to just 'go on' from here. Now I've decided that I will follow up on the last parts by inserting blog entries here and there--despite the fact that we are already home.

3.) Jet lag. Was much harder coming back this way than going east-bound.

4.) Unpacking & 12 loads of laundry.

5.) A 10-month, albeit 100% precious baby. Need I say more?

6.) And now the weather is wonderful, so every spare moment has been spent outside in the yard--either working or playing.

From one end of the country to the other

Today we embark on the final leg of our tour. After a week at the Northern-most tip of Denmark, Skagen, we are now on our way to Copenhagen.

Skagen is an amazing place--especially popular with artists because of its stunning moorland and coastal landscapes and incredible lighting. Despite pretty dismal weather, we've enjoyed ourselves--mostly relaxing...venturing out to an occasional museum or to see 'Grenen'--the tip of Denmark where two seas (the Kattegat and Skagenrak) collide. Really neat--you can even feel the difference in temperature between the two bodies of water. The picture below shows Grenen...



The painting below is just one of many from famous Skagen artists. This one is by Kroyer...



Now we're on a quick-ferry from Aarhus to Sjaellands Odden (in lieu of driving over 'Storbaeltsbroen' one of the longest suspension bridges in the world), from where we'll drive to Copenhagen to see our friends, Michela and Roberto for a few days before heading home on Tuesday.