guys and dolls





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our family had a jam packed weekend but the thing that will stick
with me forever will be our family outing to the avo playhouse to see
guys and dolls on stage.  though I've gone to theater with c since we
were newlyweds, and i've taken the boys, this was our first theater
experience together and all of our first times at this little playhouse.

oh how i LOVE this play!

of all the 'older' stage productions i've seen to date, and i'll define 'older' as plays written
prior to 1950, guys and dolls is at the very top of my list.  it's not flashy, but it's really fun.
it's got gambling, two love stories, lots of humor, and finally, great music by frank loesser.

I am sure I had a cheesy grin on my face the entire show.  i was thoroughly enjoying it,
and couldn't help thinking about my whole experience performing in guys and dolls at
city college  all those years ago {2003}.  those months of rehearsals after work with my
sister leslie were amazing...truly unforgettable. we grew so close during those months -
bonding over our love of music and dance.  we met so many talented folks, and we even
had a little fun flirting with the cutest actors. *grin*

seeing the show for my first time as part of the audience was a whole different experience. 
i was able to enjoy it in a relaxed way, and all with my favorite peeps by my side!    

when adelaide and the dolls' bushel and a peck number came up,
finn and scout's face lite up as they recognized the song.
i've been singing this to them since birth.  though I shared with them
where it came from, hearing it sung in context and where it originated
made it more meaningful.

a fellow theater goer was kind enough to snap a family
photo of us on my phone before we went in.























including this photo for the signage!

~ on the way home i shared with finn that he was actually with me during
my final performances at city college.  he looked confused and i explained that
i was just a few weeks pregnant with him towards the end of the show.  i remember
being so glad we timed it perfectly, so i would feel ok and still fit into my costumes.
it was difficult but i kept mum for 12 weeks not even telling my sister, my mom and
my aunt donna who flew out to san diego from florida to see a performance.
{i can hardly believe it's been 11 years}

the gerber manifesto

happy friday friends!
{i'm so excited i can almost squeal}

i came across this fabulous quote on etsy and couldn't resist sharing.
i fell in love. what a great message/reminder.
it symbolizes exactly the way i want to always approach life.
c and i really try to model what 'wearing our passion' looks like to the boys,
and as children often do, because it comes so natural for them, they model back
to us bigger and bolder, what wearing your passion looks like.

 

 

i've decided to hang this in our kitchen to be a daily reminder.

 

~ lots of fun things this weekend:  uncle troy is in town from minnesota for the day.

christopher is excited to see his brother...it's been a while. i've got my first tennis lesson

tomorrow morning, and tomorrow afternoon we are all going to the theater to see
guys and dolls.  i couldn't be MORE excited!!  and last, sunday is scout's 2nd to last
soccer game.  we can't believe how quickly the season has gone by. 
{easter photos coming eventually...i'm behind!}



 

a wonderful wedding: chris and stacey

this past friday, c and I had the privilege of watching two amazing
people, stacey and chris tie the knot.  oh it was a beautiful evening!!
the ceremony and reception were held on the sternwheeler, which
docked from a hotel right here in our beach community.

the reason this wedding was so special for me and so many present,
is this couple spent many years searching for the right partner and
eventually they found what they were looking for - each other.

though they are fantastic people alone, they are even greater together.
{and they have the cutest baby boy in pacific beach}

we've known the groom since we were in our early 20s
{we met on a camping trip in mexico during our years in tucson}.
watching a lifelong friend marry and begin a new chapter in their life
is such a beautiful thing! 

a few pictures people took with their phones and shared with me.
and as my luck goes, all the ones of c and i together were blurry.
i am crossing my fingers the photo the professional photographer
took as we arrived at the reception turns out. we have so few of us. 





top, left to right: lori, kate {my running buddy} and me,
the cool ferry, me and nic, and just 'some' of the pb gang



auntie jen was there too to watch the bride and groom's baby

after the ceremony.  she stayed in a hotel room with the jackson,

finn and scout until late that night. we ALL thank her from the bottom of

our hearts!! 

~ it's been so difficult to find time to blog lately, and i really miss doing it regularly.   

the boys are busier than ever with their sports {soccer, piano and now tennis for finn}. 
there's simply not enough time in a day. life is FULL...to.the.brim! 
yet, still, it's important to me to document bits and pieces of our life.
when i make time to do it, i know it's always time well spent.   

ah, that voice

i was standing at the stove making chicken stir-fry last
night while scout was playing the piano {and listening through headphones},
and finn was sitting on the couch watching the science channel.

with great enthusiasm, i hear finn say,
"i love him. i love everything about him - his movies,
his documentaries, and especially his voice!"

since i couldn't see the tv from where i was,
i popped my head into the living room to see who he was
talking about and saw morgan freeman on the tv screen.




 

 

 

in finn's 10 years, he knows this man's voice and face well.
he's seem him in dolphin tail, driving miss daisy, and more recently,
the legoland movie. i think finn enjoys him most, when he hosts
the science channel's through the wormhole:intelligence.

 

on occasion, i pull myself away from housework or projects and
cozy up on the couch with my firstborn. it makes him so happy

when i show interest in the things that are important to him.
 

he knows science will be never be my favorite thing in the world,
but my sitting with him on the couch shows him that he is important
to me. it's a small act of kindness i can do that goes a long way.
and as he approaches his 'tween' years, i realize these moments
might not be so easy to come by in a year or two.

so as we sit, and much of the science concepts go over my head,
what doesn't get lost is that my 10 year old is happy having me by
his side, and i'm happy to be there.

if by chance we are watching mr. freeman narrating a program on tv,
i also get the added benefit of listening to the most sought-after voice
in hollywood.  he really does have a beautiful voice.



~ looking forward to this weekend.  c and i are attending the wedding
of friend's chris and stacy tomorrow night.  they are the cute couple
with an even cuter baby. their wedding will be held on a boat
in the san diego bay!  and sunday is easter. i haven't even pulled the
baskets down from the garage's overhead storage. =/ 
{saturday is going to be a busy day}


meet aria

i'm a new auntie today and the boys have a new cousin!
my sister leslie and her family welcomed a baby girl
this morning, april 16th at 7:13 am.  she weighed in at
8lbs and was 21" long.

her name is aria,
and was inspired by her mommy's love of music.
{leslie had this name on her list for years} *wink*




she's a BEAUTIFUL baby girl.
it's going to be hard to wait until summer to meet her!!

today is such a happy happy day.

grade school grossness

parents of grade school kids barely blink when these messages arrive in their email inbox.
{well first time parents might be shocked} but seasoned parents understand this happens.

Hello Families,

We have several cases of lice reported in Room 14.

Please check your child's hair daily for nits (head lice eggs) and lice.
Please note that sometimes the only way you can identify that your child
has nits or lice is to comb through your child's hair with a nit and lice removing comb.
You can find this type of comb at the drug store.  

if you see any evidence of nits or lice in your child's hair,
please do NOT send your child to school.
All nits and head lice must be removed from your child's hair
BEFORE he/she may return to school so we can stop the
current outbreak of lice in our classrooms.     

Please take a few minutes to view the following video that provides detailed
instructions on how to identify and remove nits and lice:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZmHQXcQWUo  

 

Thank you very much for being diligent in
checking your child's hair for nits and lice.  

~ oh life with grade school kids - it's SO fun.  *grin*
we were lucky this time around - we are all in the clear. 
two years ago, we weren't so lucky.

though it was just finn that got them, the whole family
was treated and i spent a full day washing.
as my s-i-l pointed out, at least we don't have girls.
with all the hair on my head, i can't imagine the work it would
take to get through my daughter's hair. {scout's hair is thick enough} whew!
kudos to my mom who raised 5 girls and went through this many times i'm sure.
{according to this article, they are a more common in girls}

 

 

phoenix fun

the desert, when the sun comes up...
i couldn't tell where heaven stopped and the earth began.
~ tom hanks, forrest gump

oh how i love the movie forrest gump.
there must be millions of pearls of wisdom sprinkled throughout this modern classic. 
the line about the desert is something only someone who has spent time in the desert
can understand. it's truly magical, and there's nothing else that compares.

my favorite time of the day in the desert is the morning.
before the heat comes, the weather is cool and dry and perfect for
running, walking or just sitting with a cup of coffee.
during this trip to phoenix, i really wanted to get up one morning
and watch the sunrise.  unfortunately it didn't happen. the boys and i were all
snuggled up together in a cozy king-sized bed and we simply couldn't wake up.

scout exclaimed when he woke up that day he set a Record for sleeping in.
he woke up at 8:22am....that's the LATEST he's ever slept in!  *grin*
{oh life with young children...so glamorous}

we missed the sunrise, but we did get out the door shortly after and went on
a morning hike on south mountain, which was conveniently located across from our hotel.
we only had one full liter of water between us and though it wasn't hot {yet},
we played it safe and only hiked 2 miles.  next time, i promised the boys we'd do more
serious hiking, with daypacks, lots of water, and hats!

after our hike we popped into the visitor center. 
arizona is known for it's beautiful gems and as scout's luck had it {he loves rocks},
he found all types for sale in the center for next to nothing.  for $5.00 he went home
with his pockets full of pretty stones.  new and used books were also for sale and finn
found himself some reading material - a book on fossils and national geographic that
was geared towards robotics.  {no surprise}.

we had a wonderful morning in the beautiful desert.
a few photos of our time together:



























and last here's a photo that a kind stranger snapped for me the
night we had dinner with gg. heidi and greg had been there but
left before i remembered to pull out the camera.  *bummer*

on the road: audible books

about 2 weeks ago, the boys and i started
reading the book chomp together before bed.

when gg sent this book to them for christmas,
i had them promise they'd not read it without me.
being familiar with many of the author's adult books,
i was curious about his children's books.

we all LOVED this book! 
it had us laughing out loud every few pages.

 

what's extra fun for me is in all of hiaasen's books,
the stories take place in florida and are full or references to
places and things that are quintessential to florida life.
{the author is a big advocate of protecting florida's wildlife
and weaves environmental activism into his books}

in a nutshell this book is about a guy named derek badger
who plays a rugged survivalist on reality tv, but he's actually
a phoney who couldn't survive in the outdoors if his life depended
on it.  a father/son animal wrangler team are hired to help him
look good on his florida everglades episode.

they think it's going to be easy money, but it's everything but.

derek gets into all sorts of predicaments with wild animals,
including getting bit by various creatures that he is mistreating.
it's full of physical comedy which resulted in finn howling with laughter.


we finished the book a few nights ago and before finn closed it completely,
he asked if we could get some of the author's other books: flush, scat and hoot. 
the last won a newbery award, and was made into a movie a few years back.

i let them know i'd pass a note along to the easter bunny since easter sunday
is just around the corner.  finn rolled his eyes and i gave him a little wink.
when i asked if he wanted to hunt eggs next weekend, he said "of course"
like i should have known better than to ask such a question.
{apparently he's not too big for that yet}.

road trip, april 2014 {thanks gg}

for most of our road trip to and from phoenix,
the boys and i listened to audiobooks.  it's a wonderful way to pass
the time and it made our 12 hour drive {roundtrip} feel like 1/4 of that.

the boys listened to his dark materials trilogy {the golden compass},
and i listened with complete fascination to uncle tom's cabin,
a book i've been wanting to read for years and years.

during those 10 hours, i laughed, cried, and was horrified as i followed tom
and other characters throughout the story. i finally understand why this was
the best selling novel of the 19th century. it's deserving.

i've never read a piece of literature that was written so thoroughly on the
subject of slavery in america.  horrific, personal, and a blatant call to all
americans to reject slavery and to take a moral stand on such an inhumane
practice. harriet beecher stowe brings to light the detriments this way of
life brought not only to slaves and their families, but to the slave owners,
their children and all of America.

the book gave momentum to abolitionists, angered southerners and laid
the groundwork for the civil war.  no other book or movie has ever moved me
or made me think as deeply about our country's horrible practice of slavery.
uncle tom's cabin will never ever leave me.

~ i finished this book just blocks before I arrived home from our road trip.
i called c ahead of time to warn him not to be alarmed when i walked in the door,
with swollen eyes.

arriving this summer

the boys and I arrived home from our road trip on
saturday evening relaxed and with a little more color
in our cheeks. most of all, we arrived home with memories
of the time we spent together and with loved ones.

the highlight was meeting up with gg, heidi and greg
for dinner at our favorite mexican restaurant  in phoenix
{which has become a tradition}. the timing was perfect as
greg and heidi just found out the sex of their
baby which will arrive this august. it's a GIRL!!

we talked about the excitement, the anticipation and the fears....
all those feelings that come with being first time parents. 
heidi talked about wanting to be consistent in her parenting,
and greg shared that more than anything, he is looking forward to
reading books out loud to his daughter. {my heart melted}. 

they share this cute collage with friends and family.

the unveiling: greg and Heidi

 

hope to post a tad more about the trip and share photos later.

it's official...the boys and i are hooked on roadtrips.

 

about scout

it's known that the shortest person in our household is
a huge lover of books.  what people may not know is he also
LOVES to write.  he announces almost weekly that finn will
probably be an engineer when he grows up and he will probably
be a writer. he isn't sure though if he'll write novels or articles. *grin*

he wrote, rather 'typed' this on his computer a few weeks ago,
and i enjoyed it so much, i printed yesterday to drop into his keepsake bin.
i thought it would also be fun to include here in my blog to share with family
and friends and more importantly, to remember him at this exact age.
the details he shares are wonderful, and give such insight into who he is. 
so here's exactly what he wrote {no edits by mom}

Hello! My name is Scout. I am six years old. I have a brother named Finn. He is ten years old. He  is very nice, although, I do get into a lot of fights with him.

Me and my family [me, Finn, my mom and dad] go to Mexico once a year. Sometimes I wish I could go there more than only once because it is so beautiful there, although, there is one problem. I get a LOT of homework. Usually, I don’t have much homework, and it is pretty easy. But when I am on vacation it is much harder. Sometimes I wish I had no homework at all.

Me and my brother really like LEGO’s. I don’t like them as much as Finn because he is crazy about them. As for me not nearly as much.

Can I tell you something about Finn that is pretty annoying? Yes? Great. The thing is, well, I used to tell him like, well when he is playing video games or something like that, well, after his turn he asks, ”would you like to play now?”  Then I would say: “you can keep playing if you want to.” then he would say: “okay.” and keeps on playing. Well I don’t say that any more and I keep reminding him that. He just keeps forgetting which is really annoying. That's it.

Can I tell you some of the thing’s I love to do? yes? Thank you! 1.Reading 2.Drawing 3.Sleeping 4.School [except homework!] 5.How tiny I am. 6.Building LEGO’s with my brother 7.Playing video games 8.Making music 9. Writing 10.playing with my brother 11.Sleeping in with my mom 12.Movies 13. New years Eve 14. Christmas 15.Halloween 16.Easter 17.My birthday 18.Museums 19.Candy And 20.soccer.

I have played soccer for a very long time, and I would say I’m pretty good at it. My brother has not played as long as me because he does not like the game too much and my mom and dad don't want him playing a game he does not really like.

I love when things take a long time to do. For instance, coloring in a picture. I love taking my time on things like that to make them look more beautiful. I also like to use as many different colors as I can.

Every Halloween my mom buys a new costume to wear. Every year our [me Finn and my moms] costumes match. Last year I was Maverick from Top gun.    It was really fun! I got a lot of candy and I got to go in a haunted house! I saw pretty cool costumes.

 

somehow the rest of his text didn't copy over, but what i shared is a good 99% of what he typed.
his summary on why finn annoys him sometimes made me smile.  they have a typical sibling relationship. and don't be fooled by him saying he"loves school except homework".
i think he was thinking back to his time in mexico.  he had a good hour and a half of homework
every day.  c and i had the boys complete it before we started our day.  scout wasn't happy about it, but that's part the price we pay for vacationing when school is in session. he actually delights in typical homework and wants to do it as soon as he gets home after school.

i must get to bed!  the lil' guys and I are driving to phoenix early tomorrow morning for these last days of their spring break. it is a mom/kids trip, and are also meeting up with my dear friend connie. we will also get to see auntie heidi and her cute prego belly and gma gerber {gg}. it's been so long.
i am super excited!! nite nite