celebrations and soccer

scout's bestie turned 9 just a few weeks before his birthday.
to celebrate, his friend wanted to see a professional soccer game.
luckily, chile and mexico were playing at our local stadium.

we made an exception for scout to have a sleepover on a school night,
and scout spent an exciting wednesday night cheering on his favorite
mexican player, javier hernandez, but better known as chicharito
{which means 'little pea' in Spanish}.




of the group that went, scout and spencer's dad, were the only two
rooting for mexico and there were happy to leave the stadium with a 1-0 win.




mr. morton texted me these photos to help scout remember his first
EVER professional soccer game. what a special night it was! 
{he's hoping he can go to one in barcelona next year...me too}  

best buddies: scout and spencer

my best friend is the one who brings out the best in me.
~ henry ford

i am sure i have mentioned the special friendship between these
two boys before in one of my previous posts.

scout and spencer met in first grade and have been inseparable ever since.

they were fortunate to have been in the same 2nd and 3rd grade class as his class 'looped'
{the teacher and class matriculated together}.
i can't begin to describe how grateful i am that this sweet boy came into scout's life.
all i can say is that they are kindred spirits these two.  they share so many things in
common: each has an older brother, are small, play the piano, are the top in their grade,
voracious readers, love math,  are mature for their age and are passionate about soccer.

more than any of these shared interests, what's most special about their friendship
is that they are truly good for each other. they encourage each other 
to make good choices and they genuinely care about each other.

in the last conference we had with scout's teacher, she told c and I {as well as spencer's parents}
that she truly believes their friendship will last through adulthood. what an usual and
beautiful thing to say about two 8 year old boys. time will tell, and my hope is she is right.
that this special friendship will endure.

i'm posting about this friendship today because a BIG event will be taking place next
month that is causing these two boys to be apart for one year.  spencer's family will be
moving to spain, barcelona specifically.  living abroad with her family is something
spencer's mother has been dreaming of doing, so she figured a way to make it happen!
i should note, she's doing it with a family of five too {her husband and 3 children}.
they are renting out their home, the mother is taking a year off from teaching, and her husband
will continue to run his business from abroad.  

though scout and our family has known about this move for no less than 6 months,
it's difficult for scout to talk about even now.  he gets tears in his eyes and tell me
how much he will miss his friend anytime the subject comes up.  my heart breaks for
him.  i acknowledge his sadness and pain, and also remind him that the two can email
each other every day, skype often, send paper letters and possibly even visit.
the sweet morton family extended an invitation to visit next spring.


they'd like for scout to stay an additional week and fly back with spencer's dad as he needs
to come back to the states to check in with his office. i would LOVE to make this happen
and let scout know that if mom can manage to save enough money for even the two of us,
we will go and have a huge adventure in Europe.
{this trip is definitely one way to motivate me to spend less and save}




i will be reporting back through the next several months.

father's day 2016: part 2

the boys and spent a long weekend in sunny and hot arizona
over father's day weekend!  c needed to be there to check on one of
his projects that had just finished construction, and since the hotel was covered
by his company, and we have lovely family members in phoenix and were long
over due in seeing them, the boys and i tagged along with c.



it was HOT...118 degrees to be exact!


still we had a wonderful visit...some much needed downtime for me.
we stayed at the hilton squaw peak hotel, our regular place....because it caters to families
so well.  we've been coming here with the boys since they were toddlers and they know the
property well....very well and we let them run around on their own now they're older. 


to beat the heat, we went to the pool early to find the chairs with the best shade,
then we'd play a competitive game of miniature golf {c and s were the reigning champs}.
afterwards, we'd float along the lazy river,  staying together as a family by linking our feet
around each other. i remember looking at my boys from underneath my giant floppy hat
thinking there was no where else i'd rather be. we were all so relaxed and happy.


after our floating morning, we swam in the pool and waterfalls and the boys went down the
water slides for hours....until they complained of hunger. we drank smoothies and had a snack,
and were back in our air-conditioned room by noon. 

c went to his jobsite and the boys and i snuggled into the comfy king-sized bed and read
peter pan.  scout thoroughly enjoyed it, but finn found it difficult to relate to. perhaps it's for
children who aren't tweens, then again, this is finn oliver.  the thought of living in
neverland forever, just having fun and never growing up sounded awful to him. "who would
want that" he asked?  {i think scout however, would love to be a little boy forever}.


on father's day, we met grammy gerber {GG}, heidi and her sweet family.  oh how i've missed
them!  we got to see their beautiful home, and spend some time with anoka, who is almost 2. 
what a beautiful child she is!  she is deliberate with what she does and says and i was amazed
how clearly she spoke. i could understand every word she said. 
{i know 3+ year olds that aren't as clear.}

i was in awe watching heidi and gregor in the role of parents....they are so good at it.


they introduced us to one of their favorite casual restaurants, hopdoddys which offered
a dozen different types of burgers AND a variety of amazing fries.  it was delicious!
we ate, drank, and caught up with each other. our time together was much too short.
we parted with me wanting more of them.  oh how i love and miss my phoenix family.


the boys and i look forward to going back to AZ to meet duke sometime this fall.
{it will be much more tolerable}. *wink*

father's day 2016: part 1

the boys and i spent this father's day in phoenix with my lovely sister heidi
and her family. there will be more to come on our time together, but until then,
i wanted to post the boy's responses  to the father's day questions i asked them.
{i considered introducing new questions, then decided against it as i thought it
would be more fun to see how their responses vary from the previous years} 

Scout Gerber, age 8  

1. What is something dad always says to you?  he says i love you
2. What makes dad happy?  playing tennis and surfing
3. What makes dad sad?  finn and me fighting
4. How does your dad make you laugh?  he tells jokes
5. What was your dad like as a child?  He was a big reader like me (he even won an award in kindergarten for it).  he also had lots of brothers.
6. How old is your dad? 46
7. How tall is your dad?  5’8
8. What is his favorite thing to do?  play tennis
9. What does your dad do when you’re not around? work
10. If your dad becomes famous, what will it be for?  for being the world’s best dad
11. What is your dad really good at?  building and designing all kinds of things: like treehouse, ziplines, soccer goals, secret doors in the library, and other stuff.
12. What is your dad not very good at?  can’t cook so well
13. What does your dad do for a job?  he’s a Senior Project Manager and works for CBRE
14. What is your dad’s favorite food?  breakfast burrito from taco surf
15. What makes your dad proud?  when I score a goal in soccer
16. If your dad were a character who would he be?  Captain Picard from Star Trek
17. What do you and your dad do together? Play soccer together
18. How are you and your dad the same? We are both very active and we are focused on whatever we do.
19. How are you and your dad different?  He is more of a builder and designer and I'm more of a reader.
20. How do you know your dad loves you? He says I love you and hugs and kisses me all the time
21. What does your mom love most about your dad?  That he takes care of our family, is very good at fixing thing and he takes her on dates.
22. What is your dad’s favorite place to go?  Mexico or the ocean
23. How old was your Dad when you were born?  37

Finn Oliver Gerber, age 12 

1. What is something dad always says to you?  Good morning
2. What makes dad happy? when we do what we are supposed to do without him reminding us
3. What makes dad sad?  when scout and I are fighting
4. How does your dad make you laugh? Mmm, I have to think about this one
5. What was your dad like as a child? he was a Minnesota kid who ran around the neighborhood with his brothers and friends and he played hockey.
6. How old is your dad?  45
7. How tall is your dad?  6’?  honesty, i don’t know
8. What is his favorite thing to do?  surf
9. What does your dad do when you’re not around?  works
10. If your dad becomes famous, what will it be for?  Best architect
11. What is your dad really good at?  surfing
12. What is your dad not very good at?  strong paddling {when he surfs...i'm a faster paddler}
13. What does your dad do for a job?  he manages lots of projects
14. What is your dad’s favorite food?  he loves breakfast burritos
15. What makes your dad proud?
16. If your dad were a character who would he be? dad is unique, he doesn’t fit into any box of a single character
17. What do you and your dad do together?  he watches star trek: the next generation with me
18. How are you and your dad the same? dad can be quiet like me, and we both have strong legs
19. How are you and your dad different?  i have blonde hair, he doesn’t.  i love space and he loves tennis.
20. How do you know your dad loves you?  he tells me and he encourages me with everything i do.
21. What does your mom love most about your dad?  that he is a great scrabble player
22. What is your dad’s favorite place to go?  the ocean
23. How old was your Dad when you were born? 33

billy elliot

a few months back, i saw rent with my theater loving girlfriend aleyda.
on the program, i saw billy elliot would be the next show and i was SO excited!
i had heard this  musical was phenomenal and with elton john having composed
the music, i knew i had to see it.


aleyda too wanted to see it, so tickets were purchased for us mom and our boys.
we made a day of it, meeting for a delicious lunch and then seeing the show
at the lyceum downtown.

the young boy that played billy elliot was 12 and had an amazing voice.
he's still refining his ballet and tap skills. my favorite song in the show is
electricity. it simply won't leave my head. {and that's not a bad thing}.


here's sir elton john performing electricity with professional dancers
in the background.  ahhh...i get goose bumps every time i watch this.

~ one of the MANY things on my bucket list is to see this show on stage in
london someday.

spring piano recital: 2016

today the boys played in their spring recital! 


after months of practicing, they finally had a chance to perform in front
of an audience other than their parents. both boys did well and felt good
about their performance.

here is finn oliver (age 12) performing The Tango Dramatico by catherine rollin.
he has come a long way in 5 years.

though finn's piece was more dramatic, scout's piece was actually the tougher
piece for his skill level. when i tried playing the sheet music scout was given,
i could hardly believe it.  it was full of sharps and flats and tough reaches for
an 8 year old kid who's only been playing for 2.5 years. 


he by far had the biggest challenge this time around.  his teacher, mr. patrick,
acknowledged this publicly at the end of the recital when he gave scout a
little certificate for his dedication and perseverance.  no  matter what challenge
is thrown at this kid, scout gives it his all.


i'm one proud momma!

here is scout benjamin (age 8) performing Valse Semplice by dennis alexander.

southern shindig with my sis

my little sis flew out to san diego for a little rest and relaxation and to celebrate
our birthdays together. i missed her rollerskating party in oakland
and well, we were due for some sista fun.


we got pedis one afternoon and because Girl's Nights are always fun and needed
....especially when one is surrounded by men and boys at home and at work,
i hosted a 'southern shindig' the weekend leslie was in town for some close friends.


we ate fried chicken, cornbread and apple pie, and someone even brought bacon
wrapped sweet pickles {i couldn't muster up the courage to try one even though i
love bacon}.  we ate, laughed and played in the photo booth like teenage girls for
hours and ended the night watching sweet home alabama outside under the stars. 


it was seriously a fun night!


i didn't take a single photo with my camera or phone
{a sign i was having so much fun}, but here are a couple
from the photo booth. disclaimer: i had nothing to do with the confederate
flag. the owner added that without my consent, not understanding the negative
connotation that it has. these cali girls didn't get offended at all...they simply laughed.

~ and where were my boys during all the fun? they ran off to the movies for a few hours.

gladly i'm sure...especially after i dragged finn and scout into the photo booth to pose with

me. they firmly believe those are "for girls". since they read my blog, i spared them any

embarrassment and aren't sharing our photos here, but the photo strips of me and my boys
are safely tucked away.

i must also share that c spent hours cleaning and setting up the backyard

{and training me on the use of our new projector} so that everything would run smoothly

for the night.  he puts up with my bossiness and impatience extremely well i must say.

he loves me an awful lot and well, i am truly grateful.