A Time to Dance

So unless you've been living under a rock, you've most likely seen or at least heard about the now famous JK Wedding Entrance that's become hugely popular on youtube. It started off innocently enough as a young couple deciding to spice up their church wedding. Their entire bridal party danced their way down the aisle to Chris Brown's song "Forever." On a sidebar, think what you want about him, but it's an awesome song and the same one from the doublemint commercial that I couldn't get enough of awhile back...but I digress. So they videotaped this fabulous entrance and broadcasted it on youtube for all to see. I'm sure they had no inkling that it would explode into a monster hit. The Today show invited them to recreate their dance live in downtown New York City and so they did.

I have to admit that I've watched it several times already because it just has such an uplifting vibe and puts me in a good mood. You can't help but smile as you watch it. There have been some detractors that feel it was in poor taste and would've been better suited at the reception instead of in a church setting. These party poopers remind me a lot of the small town struggle in Footloose when the kids were trying to hold their senior prom. The town elders felt dancing was the devil's work, but then Ren reads a passage straight from the bible that supports their desire to express their joy through dancing.


"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under Heaven ... A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance." (Eccl. 3:1,4)

For my own wedding, I wanted to do something against the grain, however small. My hubby and I opted to forgo traditional wedding music and chose a compilation of music from various artists including The Corrs, Bryan Adams, and Enya. In hindsight, I laugh a bit at how conservative even those choices were considering the guy who made our wedding CD tried to get me to use "Who Let the Dogs Out" for the groomsmen to enter to. Okay, that would've been a little much even for me. Weddings are a celebration of two people in love, so I applaud Jill and Kevin for their courage to be themselves and appreciate the simple joy they brought to their special day.

Surcie Says

I don't often plug other people' blogs, but in this case I have to. Surcie so eloquently and humorously puts into writing what I have often felt about the idea of spirituality. Read her entry here.

Upside Down Take

Here's some food for thought...apparently a Wisconsin man began flying his flag upside down in protest of the local city government's decision to turn down his liquor license. He had been trying to open a new Italian supper club and had invested a lot of money. He thought he would excercise his First Amendment rights to express his dismay. During the 4th of July weekend, the police confiscated his flag as they felt it was "causing a disturbance" during the national holiday. Check out the story here http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,531525,00.html.

Now this man served in Iraq, so he is a veteran who understands and respects and loves the freedom America provides. It's ironic for this man to fight in such a place full of oppression where people are dying for the simple right to vote or speak their mind, only to face it on his home soil. While his reasons may seem trivial, I wonder if the police went too far in taking his flag away from him. This is one of those controversial stories that doesn't really have a right or wrong answer. He does have the right to express himself, according to the First Amendment. There was no flag-burning, so it's hard to see why flying his flag upside caused any major problems, outside of pissing off a few locals here and there. It's almost like that neighbor with a rusty, rundown car up on cement blocks...it's an eyesore, but not much you can do about it because its on his property. Not the best analogy, but I think you get the point. I also see why the police felt it was disruptive of the 4th of July celebration. They did give his flag back the next day. An interesting debate is sure to follow on this one as the ACLU gets involved.

4th of July Weekend Recap

Hugging Grandma

Inside the Lava Cave

The 4th of July celebration at Drake Park

Trying out the squirt gun for prizes.

He's such a little man these days.

Trying to squirt the balls off the top of the bottle.

Awwwww...they actually like each other from time to time.

Family photo in front of Mirror Pond

(This is where Mirror Pond Ale got its name from Deschutes Brewery)

The Annual 4th of July Pet Parade

K's favorite part

Festive and patriotic

Chickens on parade

No worries, this little guy was on a leash.

Curb appeal? Watching the parade from the sidelines.

Playing with sparklers

More sparklers

I'm the Statue of Liberty!

Snuggling with Grandpa as the sleepiness sets in

I'm a little late in posting, but oh well. So spent the 4th of July weekend in Bend with my extended family. It was a busy three days, that's for sure. DH took Friday off, so we left early in the morning and got there by lunchtime. My Mom also had the day off, so we took the kids on a hike through the Lava Cave. It was a VERY hot day, so it was a nice way to cool off. The cave gets down into the 40s, so it's necessary to bring a light jacket or sweater. You can rent a lantern for about $4.00, which is a real deal considering that you can tour the cave for free.

The entire trek through the cave takes between an hour or two on average. It took us almost 2 hours with the kids. N did pretty well, K got pretty tired towards the end. We definitely got our exercise in for the whole week just in that one jaunt. The kids had fun, but were unaccustomed to the complete darkness. N is into rocks and such, so this was a neat adventure for him in particular. At various points, there is quite an echo too. I grew up in the area, but it had been many years since I had last visited so it was awesome to sort of go back in time.

Later that evening, DH and I took my nephew and his new bride out for dinner. We saw their new house and then ate at Applebee's. It was a really fun evening until we got a flat tire. We called AAA and they helped put our spare tire (donut) on. Les Schwab was closed for the holiday weekend and we couldn't afford to buy a new one elsewhere, so we ended up staying until Monday morning when they reopened. They patched it right up for free.

On Saturday, we got up early with my parents and went for breakfast at the annual charity pancake feed in the park hosted by a local rotary-type club. There was also a big festival going on with lots of games and people selling their wares. We then attended the Pet Parade downtown, another great treat. This is just your usual dog and pony show, nope you also get floating pups, turtles, and even a few chickens. It was getting very warm, so we went back to my parents' house so the kids could rest up.

My mom and I wanted to spend some girl time, so we saw a movie together (My Sister's Keeper). Since I treated her to the movie, she treated me to some popcorn and later a chocolate-covered frozen banana. It was a wonderful afternoon. For dinner, we BBQ'd and then went to a local park to watch the big fireworks display. I grew up watching this and hadn't seen it since the summer of '03 (when K was just one month old). It was fun to set off our own fireworks and enjoy watching all the other people do theirs too. However, nothing compares to the big ones the local firefighters launch from atop Pilot Butte.

When we got home, we discovered our dog (whom we had brought along) had gotten hurt somehow. Her fur was all muddy and bloody. It was too hard to tell what was wrong and since we couldn't find any open wounds on her, we went to bed. The next morning, we checked her again and my Dad saw she had done some damage to the screen door (probably trying to escape the sound of the fireworks) and another area outside. She gets very skittish every year on the 4th. We found that she had torn her one of her pawpad and scraped several others raw. We cleaned her up and followed the veterinarian's advice until we could get back home.

Sunday was fairly uneventful. My parents took K with them to a fiber art and quilt show in Sisters, while DH, N, and I checked out housing developments. We found some amazing homes for sale that were perfectly priced for us, but alas too many obstacles in the way for us to even think about moving yet. That's whole other blog for another day. I made dinner for the family that evening, something I was very proud of as cooking isn't exactly my forte. I can make some things really well, but am not well-versed in the kitchen.

We returned home early Monday morning and I got our dog right into the vet. They put her on antibiotics and pain meds to help bring down her fever. She's on the mend and doing much better now. She's just had to take it easy until her paws heal. What a crazy, but memorable 4th of July. Enjoy some additional photos below...

BFF and Baby Bella

During the first full week of my summer break, I flew to Las Vegas with to meet up with my best friend. We hadn't seen each other since the cruise she treated me to last summer. This was our little way of celebrating 15 years of friendship and escaping the humdrum of everyday life for just a bit. Shelley and I spent four fun-filled days constantly on the go, trying to fit in as much as we could to the point where our feet were ready to fall off. We ate a variety of places at all kinds of random times (one of the perks of Vegas...time becomes seemingly irrevelant). In just four days, we went to the 4-story M&M Shop, the Coca-Cola Shop, the Titanic Exhibit, the Moving Statues of Caesar's Palace, took in a show called The Mentalist, and checked out numerous stores for great deals, especially in the Miracle Mile shops.

So I could blog in detail about my whole trip to Las Vegas with my best friend, but I've decided just to cover my favorite part of it ('cause frankly I'm sleepy and don't feel like typing too much tonight). The best part of our little adventure to sin city was to the The Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at the Mirage. I'd been there once before with DH seven years earlier for our honeymoon, but this was Shelley's first time and I had no problem spending an afternoon watching dolphins. While it wasn't quite like the experience of actually swimming with them (like we did last year in Cozumel), this was awesome in a whole different way. After watching the trainers work with a couple of the dolphins, we got to just hang out by the water and observe the dolphins just chilling out. The added bonus was Bella, an adorable baby dolphin. She was just as cute as could be, especially as she tried to learn to do some of the same tricks as her mama. Shelley and I just sat back and marveled at this little wonder. It just doesn't get any better than that. It was a trip to remember and I can't wait for our next adventure!

Wordless Wednesday

6 Years Old

Since I just found my digital camera cord (again), I finally got more pictures uploaded. I thought I'd write a short recap of K's birthday on June 6th at Chuck E. Cheese. It was truly a full day of celebration and fun activities. We got up and had a quick breakfast and then began to get ready. K helped me put together party favors for her guests. Then we were off to pick up her cake and then onto the pizza parlor. A few neighbors that were invited were unable to attend, but some of our close family friends did not disappoint. The kids had a wonderful time gorging themselves on yummy food and playing all the games.

The only negative thing that happened was when we realized the bakery had misspelled K's name, even though I had clearly written her name down and double-checked it due to a previous mishap (the agency in charge of her class photo did the exact same thing!). The cake did look pretty awesome though with the horses and all. It was chocolate with raspberry filling.

After the party, DH and I took N and K to see the movie Up! and oh did they love that. After all that, we came home and the kids participated in a neighbor girl's kiddie parade party to celebrate her 6th birthday too. They were too cute. I'm not posting those pics to protect our neighbor's privacy. Since Saturday was so rushed, DH made special birthday pancakes belatedly for K (a tradition for us) on Sunday morning. Enjoy the pizza party pics!

Birthday pancakes for K

Look! K got Thumbelina Barbie!

Except misspelled name, K's horsey cake was very cute.

Blowing out her candles.

Loving that pizza.

Comings and Goings

Back from trip with my BFF to Las Vegas (pics and recap to come another day) and summertime around here has officially begun. The kids both finished their last day of school this past week. I find it tough to come home from a vacation and get back into the everday groove of life. I have been dragging a lot and the weather has reflected that mood with rain for the past few days. My car keys and digital camera cord (that uploads the pics to the computer) have gone missing (again!), so that hasn't helped. I try to put them in a safe place, but guess I forgot to this time. It's like that sporadic sock pair that goes into the wash together, but comes out a singleton. Go figure.




Though we are done with the scholastic side of life for a couple of months, next week swimming lessons begin. I prefer to sign the kids up for the the 5 week course (2 days a week) as opposed to the 2 week (everday) as it lasts longer and gives them something fun to do outside of the house. Come late July, they'll both take an art class. I absolutely love this time of year, not just because I get to be a SAHM, but because the kids and I make lots of memories together. They are still at that age where doing the most mundane things still get them excited, such as picking berries or watching the doughnut machine at Krispy Kreme.


We are planning to visit my family for Fourth of July weekend, so that should be good times. Though we see my family at least a few times each year, this will be the first time since K was first born that we've spent the 4th in Bend. On a side note, my mom called me this week to yell at me for getting her hooked on Jodi Picoult (i.e. My Sister's Keeper). She can't say I didn't warn her! *kiss kiss*. Love ya Mom!


I also am getting excited for our big camping trip in August. DH isn't really a woodsy kind of guy, so it has been no easy task getting him motivated for this one. We are tentatively planning a trip with some close friends and all the kids. We went last year and the kiddos had such a blast together. We finally bought a 2 room tent and an air mattress for the kids. We still need lots of supplies, but the tent was the big one that we really needed. Last year, I had to borrow from my folks and MIL. It's nice to finally have many of our own camping supplies.




I thought DH was going to surprise his friend by treating him to a movie this afternoon, so I went shopping with the kids and got a pedicure. After walking all week in Vegas, the wear and tear were evident. The place I go is awesome and VERY affordable. K gets her nails done in wild colors too, though not the full manicure, just filed and painted for fun. She's into this whole hamburger cole theme. Yellow=mustard, green=pickles, red=ketchup. Not sure what her current blue and hot pink combo are supposed to represent, but she loves it anyway...but I digress. DH's plans fell through, so we went home to pick up him up. We got some groceries and at hot dogs at Costco for dinner.


Now DH is enjoying his father's day weekend a bit early by watching Bloodsport, so not my thing. I figured I was way behind on this blog, so here my ramblings for the day. A hot bath and book sound good right about now.

Class it up!

Okay, so I've been moaning and groaning all year about the tiny size of my classroom (a.k.a. cubicle) here are the pics I've been promising to post (for some of you). In hindsight, I guess I just didn't know how good I had it last year. Now I know I'll never any space for granted again. I've included a pictures of my first classroom and desk, just to see the contrast to this year's digs. It might be hard to appreciate the actual dimensions of each room, but imagine it full of kids and that it's about the size of a typical bedroom. The walls are the same you'd find in an office building full of cubicles, so it can get kind of loud at times. The moral of this story is like any situation you have no control over, you make the best of it and get creative.

Last year:

My first classroom.

Imagine 25 sixth graders filling this room.

My desk is hidden behind the many bins and trays.

This year:

Cute and cozy.
The flowers were a gift for Teacher Appreciation Day.

What you see is what you get.

This is our makeshift hallway.
We fit three classrooms into the overall space.

Spring Cleaning and Catch-Up

Not only did I spend most of my afternoon today cleaning half of my living room, but I found the elusive cord that allows me to upload pictures from my digital camera. Woohoo! It is like my lifeline to friends and family that look forward to pics of the kids and such. So consider this walk through pictures my recap of some of the highlights of the goings on in our life over the last couple of months.

The kids with their baskets on Easter morning.

Enjoying Easter brunch Grandma Jeanne at Embassy Suites.

Easter Bunny on ice.

K at her Kindergarten Celebration/Graduation.

K demonstrating some of her new skills.

She's a budding painter!

Riding the carousel at the Rose Festival down by the waterfront.

N and I holding on for dear life on the ferris wheel.

K kickin back on this ride. She's fearless!

Coincidences

Lately I've been thinking about the idea of coincidences and fate. I happened to catch Serendipity, one of my all-time favorite movies, this past weekend. It's a film about a man and a woman and how through series of fateful events, find true love. Is the universe at work or is it all merely coincidence? Here are some personal examples of things I found coincidental:

• When I was sixteen, I studied abroad over the summer in Japan. While I was sitting down trying to fix my hair, I accidentally set a hot curling iron down on my leg (thigh). The burn caused a scar. When I was seventeen, I returned to Japan. Once again, I accidentally set my curling down on my leg (other thigh) and caused another scar. What are the odds?!
  


• My two children were both born on a Friday, exactly six days past their due dates. A couple hours after giving birth to my son, I found myself watching a rerun of one of my favorite shows, Mad About You. Ironically, it was the one where Jamie gives birth to their child. After the birth of my daughter, I caught a rerun of one of my other favorite shows, Friends. Strangely enough, it was the one where Rachel gives birth.
  


• My cousin Terry and I share the same birthday, December 14th. We are several years apart in age as are our children. However, his firstborn son and my firstborn son also share the same birthday, September 29th. He also has a younger daughter, as do I.
  


• Just last week, we were getting ready to attend K's Kindergarten graduation. While were were waiting to leave, K sat on my lap as we watched a rerun of Beverly Hills 90210's high school graduation episode. I was already feeling mixed emotions about my baby girl growing up too fast and to add the nostalgia of a show I loved during my high school days (I was class of '92) was an interesting walk down memory lane and a little ironic.
  


• Also this past Saturday, I was hanging out at the park with a neighbor friend, while our daughters had a playdate. As it turns out, her 5 year old daughter shares a birthday with K. Both will turn six on June 6th!

It seems as though many of the coincidences that I come across are related to songs or shows that somehow parallel my reality somehow. It's kind of like when you are My best friend and I often joke about how we also live parallel lives in that we often experience similar things at the same time. As I go to thinking more about coincidences, I came across some online during my cyberspace travels. Here a just a few even more fascinating ones:

• On the 26th November, 1911, three men were hanged at Greenberry Hill in London after being convicted of the murder of Sir Edmund Berry. Their names were Green, Berry and Hill.
  


• Mark Twain was born on the day of the appearance of Halley's Comet in 1835, and died on the day of its next appearance in 1910. He himself predicted this in 1909, when he said: "I came in with Halley's Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it."
  


• The British actor Anthony Hopkins [who shot to fame as Hannibal Lecter] was delighted to hear that he had landed a leading role in a film based on the book The Girl From Petrovka by George Feifer. A few days after signing the contract, Hopkins travelled to London to buy a copy of the book. He tried several bookshops, but there wasn't one to be had. Waiting at Leicester Square underground for his train home, he noticed a book apparently discarded on a bench. Incredibly, it was The Girl From Petrovka. That in itself would have been coincidence enough but in fact it was merely the beginning of an extraordinary chain of events. Two years later, in the middle of filming in Vienna, Hopkins was visited by George Feifer, the author. Feifer mentioned that he did not have a copy of his own book. He had lent the last one - containing his own annotations - to a friend who had lost it somewhere in London. With mounting astonishment, Hopkins handed Feifer the book he had found. 'Is this the one?' he asked, 'with the notes scribbled in the margins?' It was the same book.

What Means the Most

Okay, I know I've been a terrible blogger as of late. I'm so incredibly busy with the school year winding down and life always seems to take over. In my downtime, my brain is so zapped that I have nothing left to say. What's more, I've been trying to find my cord that allows me to upload pictures from my digital camera! The little memory card doesn't work with this laptop either, so I am way behind on posting pics. The camera is rapidly filling up on memory space, so I gotta find that stinkin' cord soon so I can clear it up for K's upcoming birthday!

Anyway, on the bright side there are only three weeks to go until I am officially off for the summer with the kids! I work in a different school and district, so I am actually off a week and a half before them. Their school tacked on makeup days to make up for that huge snowstorm we had back in December. As soon as they finish, they'll start their swimming lessons, much to their delight. They'll also be taking art classes. N is signed up for a graphic novel/comic book/manga drawing class, while K will be in beginning drawing. N said to me the other day that he loves summer best, because we get to hang out together and do fun activities. He hit that nail on the head. You have know idea how much this time with them means to me. Work and academics are important, but so is quality time with family in my book. For example, my mom and I made time last year to attend an annual quilt show that she loves to go to. It wasn't so much the activity, it was just the time we had together that meant so much.

On similar note, I realized that one of the reasons my best gal pal and I have managed to keep our friendship strong, has been by making a concerted effort to visit each other whenever possible. Since finances are usually tight for both of us, it is a rare treat. Since I have that time before the kids get out of school, my best friend and I will be meeting up in Las Vegas for a few days to spend some quality BFF bonding time. She treated me to that amazing cruise to Cozumel last year to swim with the dolphins, so I figured it was high time I somehow return the favor. I can't afford to fly her, but at least I can provide snazzy roof over her head in Sin City.

Luckily, DH and I have a timeshare so that makes it easy. If you've ever thought about getting one, Monarch Grand Vacations are awesome! I'm not trying to plug anything here, I am just thrilled to get to share this amazing resort with her. She has blessed me with her friendship in so many ways.

Here's hoping we don't melt on the tarmac upon stepping off the plane from the heat!