Pondering

It's a lot of hard work to ponder the next move, but the Prime Minister and Secretary of Defense of Ice Nation will not make a false move - the World Peace Games demands careful consideration.

Stunning Example

Now that's a chalkboard wall!

New Friends

Charlottesville, Virginia - the day has been very long, but we found enough energy to tour the Downtown Mall with Shani. I'm sure Virginia is quite the culture shock for her - it's nothing like Israel , but a glass of wine and a delicious dinner sure helps one cope!

Here's a Tip

OB Street Fair and Chili Cook Off - ride your bike and stay a while!

Mmmmm...Meat...

We say "roar" to the bbq- set in the gorgeous home in La Jolla,,

Pensive Will

The obvious photo of the day would have been the moment they called Will's name to graduate. Or, the cousins and Will with the silly graduation sign.  Or, the sea of green hats or umbrella's that popped up when it started to rain. All obvious choices. But, I like Pensive Will - standing at the window of a classroom in the oldest building on campus.  One foot in his college world and the other ready to make a mark on a brand new world. 

Fathom's Bar

It's a good photo on so many different levels.  We're together. We're having fun.  We were invited to a place that Will holds special - and he wanted us there.  It was a good night.

Expose Yourself to Art

It needed the original poster picture to make sense...

My father had this poster in his home for many years, so when Lee told me he saw the original on the street in Portland - I HAD to go see it.  It's always been a favorite...

Yummy Crochet

Truly one of the most thoughtful end of school gifts I've ever received!  I can't wait to make the cupcake!

Fab 5

Five of the most fabulous teachers in the universe are retiring from SDJA.  I don't know how we will survive without Ellen and Fran's extensive knowledge on every family that ever attended the school, or Ellen's wry commentary on life teaching kindergarteners, or Barb's enormous mountain of information and willingness to help, or Jan's love for all things chocolate and silly.  I'll miss her reminder post-it notes stuck to every surface imaginable and impromptu meetings in our back office. Fall is going to be lonely around our school.

Hannah's Hat

Hannah and her friends were decorating their caps for SDA graduation.  Fuzzy duck was a perfect choice for an incoming freshman DUCK! 

Loving Skype!

Alan won one of the grand prizes in a family tree project and one of the prizes was to go to Israel to accept his award and speak about his project.  The one caveat was he had to be gone on the day of his fifth grade promotion.  Never fear - we set him up on Skype and he was with us the entire time.

Model's Life

Will and I took a quick wine tasting trip through Paso Robles last summer - just the 2 of us on the way to Santa Cruz for a few days.  After a few wineries, Will went back to the hotel to read for a bit and get rid of a headache.  He dropped me off in the town and I found myself at a wine bar at Hotel Cheval.  I was asked if I wanted to be in a photo shoot for Sunset Magazine - the exact words were "Can you stand here and hold a glass of wine?" Ever obliging, I sipped and chatted for 45 minutes and 10 months later - I'm in the magazine.   Cross it off the bucket list!

Piles of Pointes

Ophelie's current collection of pointe shoes...

Amendment 2

The rules weren't so much amended as they were covered by a map of the Paris arrondissements.   Now when we have a question, we can go straight to the map. 

Amendments

The original rules governing the Man B Q were  

1. cats stay in

2. fire stays out

Moments after I left, these rules were amended. I'm surprised it took that long.

Bad Ass Teachers

We've crawled through mud, ran uphill in the sand, and posed with guns. We ran 10K in the heat, scaled walls, and willingly took freezing cold showers. Don't mess with us.

Brave Dad

The little guy really wanted to smack the pinata, but needed a bit of daddy assistance.  Luckily, no fathers were injured in this birthday celebration.

Coronation

Not as grand as the Queen's Jubilee, but just as fun. Wine and Whiners took over the Wine Steals and had a birthday celebration for Fran. 8 bottles of wine and  a few snacks later, Fran was crowned reigning queen of the day.  Long live the Queen!

Bloop

My camera is very temperamental and will take a picture at any moment.

1776

Benjamin Franklin, Betsy Ross, Samuel Adams, and George and Martha joined us for this year's episode of our colonial showcase courtesy of CNN - Colonial News Network.  The ladies made caps, the gentlemen played marbles, and we shared homemade corn bread and butter with visiting parents. 

You've Been Pranked!

Words of wisdom - if you're planning to retire,  don't be absent for a few days - this is what you might find when you return. Barb's office was a great source of amusement to us all - streamers, upside down pictures, emptied shelves, and beefcake screen saver, but the real mystery was the appearance of handcuffs. Hmmm....

Fuzzy Friends

Fooling around with the Ipod camera and the Darby Cat...

Tickets! I Mean Billets!

Lee, Kelli, Will and Ry in Paris, part deux. 6 years ago, we spent 3 weeks exploring the most beautiful city in the world and now we're going back. I'm not sure who is more excited - me, Lee or Ry - he can't wait to hit the flea markets and music festivals and I can't wait to hit the hidden cafes and street markets.  We'll wear red, white and blue for Bastille day and cheer on the finishers of the Tour de France, too.  Vive la France!

World Famous Camp Pendleton Mud Run!

We ran 10K, climbed two five foot walls, crawled through tunnels and swam through a mud pit. At one point we had to climb up a very, very steep hill called "Slippery Hill" - Marines yelling, water spraying, shoes slipping everyone laughing.  At that point, no once cared about the squishing mud in our shoes or the sunburned shoulders - just get us to the beer garden! Thanks to Team 20,30,40,50!

Pre -race shirt decorating - we are Team 20,30,40,50 so we wrote our number on the back.  The front is a giant happy face.  I'll be happy when I'm done!