Sarek's Electric Slide

Another funny video from the afternoon with the magician. Can you imagine what their first garage rock band will be like?

Lisa Visits!

Lisa Theophilos is in town for a few days. Here she is meeting Nola and loving up Sarek.

Mother's Day 2010

Our first family hike was on Mother's Day in the San Bruno Mountains. It was a bit rough but worth it once the kids settled down. The rest of the pictures are from later on in the day.

Magician

We spent Saturday afternoon at the annual picnic put on by the kids' family daycare. It was near a lake with all the lake stuff....ducks, moss, turtles, and a platform to sit or lay on for a better view of the fish. A magician-clown stole the day, though, with tricks, games and a boom box which churned out cheesy but catchy tunes. Sarek is wearing the cow head....consistent with his reputation of having four stomachs! Don't miss the videos at the end. Hilarious, so Sarek and Dex.

Basket Cases

The video audio is messed up...turn up the sound all the way, ignore the whoopie cushion noise, and what you hear will make your day. Here's to you, Grandma Tarah and Banu!

Cajun Cornbread Boy

Sarek is in the middle of a love affair with cornbread. He loves the cornbread from my work cafeteria, so Brett started baking cornbread with Sarek this month. Cornbread bread, cornbread muffins, cornbread this and cornbread that. So it was very synchronous when I saw the perfect present for him in New Orleans last weekend....Cajun Cornbread Boy, a book based loosely on the gingerbread man story. Cajun Cornbread Boy runs away from home and into the bayou where he encounters a rascally raccoon, fierce fox, and artful alligator. All want him for a meal. He is a fast one, though, and gets away everytime. His song: "Run, chere, run! As fast as you can. You can't catch me---I'm full of cayenne!" His spiciness saves him in the end. New vocabulary words: chere, mon amis, snout, boudin, bayou, skillet. Sarek is mesmerized by this story. We have read it on average 2 times a day since Jazzfest. Imagine his delight today when he got to make a California Cornbread Boy with his dad and sister! Hair=carrots. Eyes=unsulfured apricots. Ears=mandarin oranges. Nose=Fried tofu cube. Mouth=green bean.

Does This Carseat Make My Butt Look Fat?

In another flurry of milestones, we switched out car seats this week. Both kids had outgrown their current thrones. Sarek got a new, cush Britax and Booah got the orange hand-me-down. At least Deena washed the cover for her. They were well traveled in those seats, with trips to Ohio, NYC, CT, Boston, Ashland, New Orleans, Tahoe, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Redondo Beach, LA, Las Vegas, Zion and Bryce Canyons in Utah, Mojave Desert, and all the way to India. More travels to come!

A nod to trying to mark as many 'lasts' as we can:

Sarek's last ride in orange seat was to the beach for a play date with Aunty Jaretta. Nola's last ride in the infant seat was up to Cortland Street for food and the park, but this was just after taking her seat to JazzFest with mommy.

Nola in NOLA

It's girls' weekend at Jazzfest! We are inside today because of a tornado watch, but it is panning out to be nothing on this last day of the festival. Nola's partner in crime in this picture is Stella, 10 months, and daughter to Deena's dear friend, Anne. It's Jazzfest #1 for the girls and certainly a different experience for their mommies. This weekend is evidence that you can take the mommies out of their daily lives, but you can't take the mommy out of the mommies, even at Jazzfest. However, I am thrilled to be here with the additions. The balmy weather is luscious, the music is unbelievable, and we even got out until 3 am last night. (We are paying for it bigtime this morning, though.) Hopefully, this is a tradition our children will continue on long after Anne and I are arthritis-ridden and sipping Maalox on the couch. I love this city and am so proud that it is my daughter's namesake! More pictures and stories to follow....don't have a way to upload my pictures yet. Miss you, Brett and Sarek!