Wedding Bells For Anthony and Tiffany

July 27, 2013

My sweet nephew Anthony married his sweetheart today--his high school girlfriend--just a couple of months after they both celebrated their graduations.  This is a very big year for them, and I wish them both well as they step into the next stage of their lives.  They'll be getting jobs, setting up a new home together, and starting college.  I hope they are each others' best friends and biggest cheerleaders in the years ahead!  I so wish I had been able to make the trip to Idaho to celebrate with them.

Farewell Lunch

July 22, 2013

Nicholas is getting ready to jump on a plane to Washington tomorrow morning, to visit Uncle Scott and his family for a week.  This is the second summer in a row he's getting to take a bit of a solo vacation, which allows him to spend some quality 'guy' time at the Mayes household, since in his normal, every day life, he is mostly surrounded by girls (having two sisters and three step-sisters).  Since he'll be gone for a week, I decided to take my boy out for a one-on-one lunch date.  We tried out a new restaurant neither of us had been to before, and just enjoyed hanging out for awhile.  I love my boy and I'll miss him, but I'm so excited for him to get to take this trip.

Reunited

July 20, 2013

It has been many weeks since I've gotten to hang out with Rosa, and even longer since I last got together with Jennifer.  Loved hanging out with these ladies at Thai Fusion karaoke.  Jennifer even sang a duet--first time I've seen that!  She and I were 'table-singing' buddies for a very long time, and now we've both gotten up to the microphone.  Who'da thunk?

The Scores are In

July 8, 2013

It's the time of the year when kids find out their scores from the AP exams they took in the spring.  Nicholas took his first AP class last year during his sophomore year, and although it was challenging, he really enjoyed it.  History has always appealed to him, so he was really glad that the only AP class available to sophomores was a social science class.  Nevertheless, he wasn't sure how he'd score--he felt solid on the multiple choice, but thought the written portion might be a bit of a downfall.  Today was the day he could check his score online, and he was so excited to find out the he scored a 5 on the exam.  I am so proud of him!  This is the first step on the way to his goal of starting college at at least the status of a sophomore.  One AP class down, three more on the horizon for junior year.

Summer Art Project

July 6, 2013

Danielle and I tried our hand at a little oil painting tonight.  Danielle has had a little experience in paints, since they had an opportunity to try out a few different mediums in her Advanced Art class this past year.  I, on the other hand, haven't done any painting. Although these represent an initial foray into this art form, she and I had a great time and will definitely break out the brushes a few more times this summer.

Danielle's pieces:

My pieces: 

Field of Flowers

 Storm at Sea

Clovis West Reunion?

July 6, 2013

Wendy Dorfmeier had a little get-together this weekend with some old Clovis West classmates, and although Doug and I are not CW alumni, she knew that we'd love to come hang out with her and with David and Carrie, who came down from the Bay Area for the weekend.  It was very low-key gathering at Wendy's house, feet in the pool, drinks in hand, and memories making the rounds.

Fourth of July

July 4, 2013

We had a pretty quiet 4th this year, opting again to stay home and light fireworks out in front of our house instead of going to see the big fireworks show at the stadium. We have a couple of neighbors who also do a little fireworks show out in front of their homes, so we all get to enjoy each others' light shows as well. It's kind of fun that Nicholas is taking on some of the pyrotechnic role, helping out Doug, while Danielle is interested--as I am--in trying to get some good shots of the fireworks.