beautiful banquettes

our new {old}home has seen lots of changes since we moved in -
new flooring, a new kitchen, walls ripped down, ceilings raised,
trees removed and new windows coming...eventually.

our next project, rather christopher's next project {the man does it ALL}
is one that is something i've dreamed of having since we lived in our little
900+ SF beach cottage - having a banquette.

i love everything about them - their casualness, coziness, their practicality
and the opportunity to customize them with fabric to make them fit into your
home.

there are a sampling of a few that make me smile:

ideally, we'd love a space that will sit 8 adults comfortably around a table
and for more than that, kids can always sit on the 4 stools at the bar counter.
i'm leaning towards doing something like the top left image. 

i LOVE the striped fabric, the simple butcher block wood table,
the stainless steel bases and the colorful bent plywood modern chairs!
{c find it a little bit too cottage-like for a modern home but i like the mix-up
of styles a tiny bit}.

i've already selected striped sunbrella fabric for the seatback,
and mom helped me select fabric for the seat cushions when she
was visiting a few weeks ago.  she was totally in her element.

i'll be sure to post photos of our banquette whenever it's complete.
hopefully by end of summer....

boys are off to florida: june 2014

the boys' long awaited vacation to florida finally arrived.
they hitched a ride with grandma after her visit here in san diego,
and will be there until july 1st - that's 2 whole weeks!

christopher was kind enough to snap this photo of the boys
and grandma at the airport last week when he dropped them off.

mom, finn {10} and scout {6}

they are having a blast - being completely and utterly spoiled
by grandma and their aunties. i told my sister-in-laws, they might
not want to come back at all. *wink*

i miss them already, but i know the benefits of them being there
are worth it.  they are having great experiences and bonding with
family.  all wonderful things.

i'm taking full advantage of all this free time by spending much needed
time with christopher, with friends, working on home projects, hosting a baby
shower {next week}, and i am working out more than i have in a long time.
{i just might be able to fit into a swimsuit this summer}

father's day: 2014

i'm so far behind in my posts and trying to play catch up.

grandma was in town this year for father's day,
so instead of making c breakfast in bed like we often do,
we visited our favorite neighborhood restaurant isabel's cantina.

everyone must have had the same idea because it was packed!
it was a beautiful morning so we waited outside in the sunshine.
our neighbors showed up with their kiddos so we chatted until our
table was ready.

between our group, our meals were quite eclectic:  i enjoyed a
scrambled eggs and avocado plate, c had a breakfast burrito,
mom enjoyed pancakes full of fresh fruit and finn and scout enjoyed 
french toast.  everything was so yummy!!

though i tried to convince c to rest all day,
he was determined to start the banquette project.
he built one IKEA cabinet and I convinced him to leave the others to me.
i couldn't resist snapping a photo of my socal sweetie...sporting a tool belt
while wearing boardshorts and flip flops.  *grin*

we made sure the rest of christopher's father's day was relaxing.
he watched a world cup game, ate brownies we made for him the night before,
he swam with the boys, and he said hi to aunt jen from the pool while mom and
i were talking to her via skype.  that evening we roasted hot dogs outside and watched
mary poppins.  remember this movie - i hadn't!  after seeing saving mr. banks,
c and i were inspired to watch it and to introduce the disney film to the boys.
they weren't very interested but did enjoy the supercalifragilisticexpialidocious song.

last, i found a previous father's day survey that I thought would be fun for the boys to
answer.  it was fun to compare this to what they said last year.  

 Scout, age 6:
1.  how would you describe dad?  smart, helpful and kind
2.  what makes dad happy?  when he gets to be with the family
3.  what makes dad sad? i can’t think of anything.  dad’s never sad
4.  what is something dad always says to you?  i love you
5.  what makes dad laugh? when i tell him new jokes
6.  what is dad’s favorite thing to do?  mmm, i think play tennis and go to the beach
7.  if dad became famous, what do you think it would be for? doing the best architecture
8.  what is dad really good at?  building
9.  what is dad not so good at?  cooking
10. how do you know dad loves you?  he hugs me all the time and tells me  

Finn, age 10:
1.  how would you describe dad? funny, happy and really adventurous.
2.  what makes dad happy? family
3.  what makes dad sad?   stress
4.  what is something dad always says to you?  i love you
5.  what makes dad laugh?   jokes
6.  what is dad’s favorite thing to do?  playing tennis or going surfing
7.  if dad became famous, what do you think it would be for?  for his architecture. 
i think he would win lots of orchids at the orchids and onions thing.
8.  what is dad really good at?   being a father
9.  what is dad not so good at? cooking
10.  how do you know dad loves you?  he helps me with my school work,
hugs me and tells me he loves me.
 

Angela (i answered these questions with 'my dad'  in mind)
1.  how would you describe dad? intelligent, humble, steadfast and faithful
2.  what makes dad happy?  music and his faith
3.  what makes dad sad?   seeing his loved ones lack faith or struggle in life
4.  what is something dad always says to you? it's been great talking to you
5.  what makes dad laugh?   silly movies/sitcoms: pink panther, monty python movies
6.  what is dad’s favorite thing to do?  listen to music, watch tv and sleep, and geneology work
7.  if dad became famous, what do you think it would be for?  mmm, i don't
know about famous {he likes to be off the radar}, BUT  he could easily
be recognized for being the best neighbor on the block.  he's forever
helping widows with projects, repairs, etc.
8.  what is dad really good at?  repairing things and knowing and explaining
history 
9.  what is dad not so good at? cleaning {at least's what my mom says}
10.  how do you know dad loves you?  he shares openly with me


i feel so grateful to have a father who is the epitome of what a good father is,
AND a husband who genuinely loves being a father and makes it his top priority in life.
his children are secure and confident knowing they have a father who loves them and is
dedicated to family.

finn and scout have men in their lives who show them what being a father is really about.
my hope is someday they will be equally great fathers.

finn finishes 4th grade

i can hardly believe the school year is over and that our firstborn has finished the 4th grade. 
time certainly flies!

it's been a great year for him.  he landed a teacher who was such a good fit for him.
he told the family over dinner month ago that "mrs. jones is strict, but in a good
way.  i prefer teachers that are pretty strict."

we smiled, appreciating that he is already aware of what environment he learns best in,
also that he had the confidence to declare it out loud.

he brought home a project that he worked on a several months ago that i had to journal about.
it was on display in his classroom during explorer's exhibition night.
the project is a 'classic finn'. 

 
 

schematic design 

 



finn drew the schematic, and got a little help from christopher on building
the model. he was hands-on the entire time and very proud when he completed
it. {even without his name on the project, every parent in the room would have
guessed it to be finn gerbers).

i got such a kick out of this project, i shared it with my boss, a few engineers at the office
and uncle todd {who is an engineer}. my boss said "he's hired".  *grin*
if it wasn't clear enough earlier, it is now.
we have an engineer-in-training.





scout's end of the year party: 2014

as the school year comes to an end,
there's been lots of events and activities at explorer.

i attended exhibition night,
but i hadn't been able to make it to on one of scout's
field trips and was feeling absolutely horrible about it.
i let my boss know that i'd be taking a day off work to be with my son.
{and as a father to 3 grown boys, he is always supportive}

there were just two more activities left during the last two weeks of school,
and i gave scout the option of which one he would prefer i attend - field day
OR his end of the year class party.  he chose his class party.

since the party was held at a park and i was already attending,
i volunteered to drive since the teachers are always looking for parent drivers.
my little load included scoutie and two friends from his classroom.
it was tight, but we squeezed 3 booster seats (bottoms only) into the backseat of my prius,
and headed to a brand new park downtown - just minutes from the school and overlooking
san diego's beautiful harbor.

it was a beautiful day!  I sat and had lunch with scoutie and his friends before they all
jumped onto the european designed playground structures and splashed around in the
reflecting pond. 

everything was going wonderfully until about 3pm.
a father came to me with scout in his arms, explaining he had fallen
and hit his head on a metal bar on a piece of playground equipment. 

the egg on his forehead was HUGE!

because there was no broken bones, blood or deep gashes, i didn't panic.   
as a mom to boys, i have seen my share of bumps and bruises.
this one, however, was the biggest bump though and after the wife of an
ER doctor made a bit of a fuss about it, i thought why not have it looked at.

we quickly worked out the logistics of getting all the booster seats from my car
to other parents and the kids i had driven a ride back to school. 

whew!!

scout and i headed to urgent care and got seen in about 20 minutes.
after an assessment by the doc {he looked at his eyes, asked questions like
when is your birthday, what is your address, etc.} we were told scout would be ok.
we left with a really nice gel ice pack and instructions to take ibuprofen to
keep the swelling down and to stay away from sports for the next 5-7 days.
{scout was a little bummed about that}

on his way home scout announced "today was the worse end of the year party
i've ever had". {the kid has only had 2}, but yes, last year's party was without incident.

i reminded him that most of the day went great.
he was having tons of fun with his friends and though he did have an
accident, it was a good thing mom was there today to comfort him.
he agreed.

oh how i love our sweet {and bruised} little scout.
i can hardly believe he will be a big 2nd grader in the fall!




before and after

 

~ grandma arrived yesterday! we are so happy to have her here and the timing

couldn't be more perfect.  today is the last day of school for the boys

and they are out at noon.  i think an afternoon walk for her and me
{and a bike ride along the bay} is in order!

 

hope you have a fantastic friday.

bedtime songs

since the boys were toddlers,
i've been singing bedtime songs to them.

when they were babies, the songs were simple -
twinkle twinkle little star and you are my sunshine were their favorites.
as they grew, the songs progressed to ones they heard in
movies and at home or in the car {basically what c and i listen to}. 

these days, bedtimes songs are pretty rare.
the boys bury themselves in a book for a good hour until lights out.
a request for a backrub {or a massage in finn's case}, might follow.

last night, after the 'lights out in 5 minutes' announcement, 
finn asked if i'd sing him a bedtime song. 
i smiled and thought, he's not that grown up yet. *wink*

i asked what he wanted to hear and he said a song from pete's dragon.
i thought about it for a minute and chose it's not easy.  for all the children
of the 70s and 80s, this song may bring back happy memories:

finn laid in bed smiling and humming along.
i was happy he remembered this song as it has been a
few years since he's seen the movie.
it was a favorite of mine as a little girl. 
so much that in my early 20s i purchased the sheet music
for several of the songs.

as i started to walk out of their bedroom,
scout said :i like that song" and finn followed with we should
watch the movie again because scout probably doesn't remember it.

i smiled and replied "that's a great idea,
maybe we watch it one evening grandma is here.
{she flies in tomorrow}

they loved the idea,
and if my memory serves me well,
i think grandma will too.  she was a fan
of the music in this sweet disney musical too. 

~ oh goodness.  there's so much to post on friends.
i'm so far behind. gma flies in tomorrow from northern ca,
school ends tomorrow, and there's a lot of things to do to prepare
for summer.  it's a busy time! 

a new adventure for aunt jen

i've been trying to find time to post about my sisters recent move to texas!
after moving to san diego right after college and living here for 9 years,
she was ready for a change and took the opportunity to start anew when a job
offer came her way.

she moved just south of austin this past weekend but before she made her
trek across the western states, we visited kate sessions park for a little photo shoot.
i have some wonderful shots of her, but as a courtesy need to get her permission.
i will share one i snapped of her and her nephews.  it was the only one where all
three were smiling. {getting scout to cooperate was near impossible}.

finn {10}, aunt jen, and scout {6}

 

we will miss aunt jen.

she's been a constant in the lives of the gerber family for so long.

beyond c and i, she has been the boys' biggest supporter.

 

when i shared the news of jen's move with finn oliver,

he frowned and responded "but jen is my favorite aunt."

i let him know that she can still be his favorite aunt.

she just won't be physically here in san diego anymore.

we can and will stay in touch with her regularly.

 

then he said "but she basically raised me mom".

i chucked and thought, where was your father and i the past
10 years?  australia?  *grin* 

 

what finn was trying to say is that aunt jen has been there for him

through every special occasion in his life since birth - for every one of his birthdays,

exhibition nights at school, piano recitals, skate nights and they've enjoyed many
sleepovers.  auntie jen is like a second mother to him. 
{and definitely a more fun one}

 

as jen settles into her new life,

there are empty places in all of our hearts as we will miss her.

all those happy memories we have will remain with us and

skype sessions and phone calls will hold us over until we see her again.

 

to make aunt jen's move to texas easier on everyone,

christopher and i only spoke of her move as one big exciting adventure.

our family loves adventures, so the boys could relate to jen wanting one.
 

jk rowling, the boys' favorite author, 

says it so well in her book, harry potter: the half blood prince:

 

"let us step into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure".

 

here's to many adventures ahead for aunt jen!

 

piano recital, spring 2014

recital day finally arrived and the boys were giddy with excitement

this year was super easy for us as we hosted the recital in our home.

c picked up 30 white folding chairs, the couch was turned 180 degrees
to face the piano in stead of the tv, and auntie jen helped with putting
the light snack foods into pretty bowls and platters.

scout was especially excited {and a little nervous} as this was his FIRST

piano recital ever! he's been playing for just under 9 months and doing quite well.
here is our sweet 6 year old playing pedal happy composed by kevin and julia olson

because scout's song required him to use the damper pedal,
he had to stand up to play his piece because he couldn't reach sitting down.

and here is finn, our big 10 year old playing ogg, the caveman 
composed by edwin mclean. 

i realized as finn was playing, he forgot to put his shoes on. *grin* 

and as a surprise, their teacher, mr. patrick, played beethoven's moonlight sonata.

watching him play was inspiring - a really nice touch and way to close the recital.

.

we had a wonderful morning and c and i are so proud of the boys.
all their practicing paid off -they knew their songs by heart and were polished.

i know practicing the piano can sometimes feel like a chore to the boys,

but when i see them sit down on their own to play it for pure enjoyment,
ahhh, it's a beautiful thing.