Hello Dolly

July 31, 2011


Bree decided to audition for a role in the ensemble of the local community theater's production of Hello Dolly this summer. It's her last hurrah in theater in this town, since she's headed for San Diego for college in August. The rehearsal schedule was grueling, and the dance numbers were intricate and difficult, but the cast pulled off a show they could really be proud of.

Rehearsal for Dolly



Bree with some of her friends from the cast
The very impressive waiters' scene.Bree is the middle chef in all white. The leaps in the the waiters' scene, especially at the tempo they had to dance, were pretty amazing. I was tired just watching them all!

Bowling for Soup Concert With Nicholas

July 31, 2011

When we heard that Bowling For Soup was doing a free concert at the park by the mall, Nicholas and I were very excited. We both love their CDs and we knew we didn't want to miss it. It just so happened that that Friday night was my night to pick the restaurant for Family Dinner Night, so I decided we'd have a Kentucky Fried Chicken picnic at the park while listening to the band. Danielle was gone at a birthday party, and Bree was doing a show (Hello Dolly). Doug had to work and was going to join us when he got home, but he was wiped out from his day and ultimately ended up opting out. That was okay, though, because it gave Nicholas and me our own night out together, just the two of us. When you've got more than one kid, those special one-on-one times together can be pretty special.

Miggy in the Morning, local Radio PersonalityValley Cats--A Mostly 80s Cover Band. They were a lot of fun to listen to.
My boy and me

Evan Zee--cool, mellow acoustical singer/musician

The main event, Bowling For Soup. These guys not only rocked it, but they were hilarious as well, and were really gracious about being personal and interactive with the audience. I was already a fan, but I'm an even bigger fan after seeing them perform live.
July 31, 2011

Bass Lake

July 31, 2011

Last week I decided to take the kids on a day trip up to Bass Lake. We jumped in the Durango with snacks, bathing suits, and beach towels and made the hour-long trek up the road. Our intention was actually to find a paddle boat to rent, but neither of the rental places we went to had those. We settled instead for a rowboat for an hour. I let all of the kids take a turn at rowing, but our progress was a bit on the comical side. We didn't go far, but the fun was in the experience, so we didn't mind at all. Once we were over the novelty of rowing, we returned the boat and waded out into the water sans boat for awhile. Then we got some lunch at a nearby lunch counter, and headed back down the hill. It was a fun little mini-adventure for us!

Baseball With the Royals

July 31, 2011

We got to take Nicholas and Danielle out to watch Dennis' team, The Royals, play baseball recently. They loved the game--especially the fact that they knew some of the players and could cheer for them by name.




Dennis at batDennis pitching

Jimmy out at third

Rick at bat
Lianne, Jennifer, Doug, and Danielle

Happy Birthday Marlo!

July 31, 2011

We got to celebrate Miss Marlo's 1st birthday with her family at Giuseppe Gallo's. The whole restaurant was filled with people who love her! I'm pretty sure her favorite part was getting to dig into her own cake: )

Opening up the presents, and holding the teddy bear from Auntie Donna

Shanda, buried under all the tissue paperThe birthday girl and her cake


Freya giving kisses to Auntie Donna
Love and hugs from Miss Morgan
Freya, enjoying a birthday cake sugar high




Carrie, Debbie, and Emily
Danielle, Bree, and Doug

Undefeated Soccer Champs

July 18, 2011
The Tigers finished the fourth summer session undefeated after a hard-fought battle with the Diablos. This was a very special team of girls--great kids who were all very encouraging and supportive of each other. We also couldn't have asked for a better coach than Coach Michael for the girls. I can't believe how much Danielle learned and grew throughout her time working with him.

Doug and I got all the girls (and Coach Michael) little stuffed soccer tigers to commemorate their team.

Johanna, Cenise, Brittany (?)--Bottom Row. Danielle, Gabby, Amanda, Crystal, Coach Michael, Reina, McKenna, Jamie--Top Row