Template timing

I don't know if it is the snow, or all the time with family and friends, but I am feeling ridiculously festive. Hence, the change in the blog template. Hopefully I will be able to find my way back to the other one that I liked a lot when the holidays are over...or maybe I will just keep changing it. Anyway, bring on the cheer...Happy Holidays!!

FOOTLOOSE!!

Apparently everything from the 80's is coming back again! Highland High just completed it's production of Footloose and it was fantastic!

My darling niece Emily was Ariel (the female lead, originally played by Lori Singer opposite Kevin Bacon).

She's the one in red. (The shoes were my contribution, she made them look so good!)

My pictures are horrible because I was trying to sneak them and I couldn't use a flash.

Emily was amazing! Her voice is gorgeous, and she delivered her lines like a pro. I am so proud of her!  My family has always been musical and most of us have been on stage more than once...(all my siblings have performed professionally). Her cute mother's family is also very musical and super-talented, so I guess none of us should be surprised, but she was even better than I expected. The whole production was terrific! It was definitely worth all her hard work! Bravo Emily!!

Just a quick couple of seconds of video. I wish I had been able to shoot more. The lovely head in front of me and the lighting/focus made it too tricky, but you get the idea. So much fun!!

Escape--spelled C-O-R-O-N-A-D-O

So thanks to Mare and her Aunt's condo, we gathered at the airport to make our escape.

After some delay, we finally hopped on board...

and landed here. This is our tower,

this is our pool,

this is us on the balcony to take a look at our views:

to the West,

and to the East.

 I know, you're just a little spoiled when everywhere you look is pretty wonderful.

In addition to dolphins, and my favorite pelicans, we had lots of other wildlife--

including these guys.

There are military bases at both ends of the strand. Besides the very fit soldiers, we were lucky enough to see an aircraft carrier, a submarine, several transport planes, helicopters, and F-16s (F-14S?) fly over. They were close enough to see the pilot through the cockpit glass. It was awesome!

We did plenty of walking on the beach, the boardwalk, and along Orange Street (the main boulevard).

When we weren't walking, we were often eating. Some of the edible highlights were Brigantine, Miguels, Island Pasta, and a darling candy store called Fuzzywigs where we managed to find a delicious version of the old school Marathon bar now called the CurlyWurly. The picture is from Cheesecake Factory in San Diego. Sooooo yummy!

These were some sweet little birds that joined us at the Del Coronado.  

One of the minor towers of the beautiful Del.

A quick stop for ice cream on the deck.

It happened to be Nancy's birthday so we fixed her breakfast in bed. Well, sortof. Grapefruit is healthy right? Even if it's candy grapefruit rolled in sugar? Yup. We thought so too. Some of you will notice other aspects of this display. Remember...it's all in the presentation.

Happy Birthday Nancy! We love you!

When the weather turned into this, we knew it was time to leave. (Of course some of us needed to go for a run in it anyway, finished off by a hottub in the pouring rain. :)  

 It was such a wonderful trip! I am especially thankful for dear friends and the opportunity to escape together, even if it is for just a little while. Extra thanks go out to their husbands and children for sparing them for a few days so we could all be together. Love you all!!

Snap-Happy

Creativity and Innovation class started last night and it was outstanding! The reading ahead of time was great, the guest lecturer was super talented, The professors are amazing! Plus, lots of my favorite people are in this class with me. (Those of you who aren't...we miss you!) As part of our case study, we were asked to be prepared to defend one of the people possibly responsible for the sinking of the great Swedish war ship, the Vasa.

I was completely surprised when Dr. Jackson called on me (randomly) to represent the builder of the ship. I had just taken out my camera to get pictures of Darren who was to be the prosecutor. I handed my camera to Todd, and asked him to take some pictures. When I got back, he said he had only taken a couple and he hoped that was enough. I said it was fine, but I didn't look at them until today. The following is an example of what happens when you hand your camera to Todd. (I LOVE it!!)

Here's Jeff's "Monk cut". I'm sure he'd love this!

Darren in his judicial wig.

Dr. Hatch holding my apron...and me, looking like cousin It. Maybe I need a haircut.

Chad, Gwen, Brent, and Mindy. Not sure what Chad and Gwen are voting for, but it was election day. Hopefully they are agreeing with me that it was not my fault, but the King's fault that the Vasa sank.

Looks like Shawn's head. I don't know how Todd got this angle, unless he held it under the desk.

Mindy's texting during class, and Brent is quickly trying to read the assignment. Note the highlighter cap in his hand.

Dr. Hatch finds an Admiral!

Blake is terribly thirsty.

Hey, Admiral...we see you cramming for your part.

Hopefully I had just said something funny.

This time I'm sure I was funny....or maybe Darren was.

My newly notorious camera man. Self-Portrait. Thanks Todd!

Great pants.

Chris looks pensive, Joe is trying to come up with a question to stifle me.

This one just skewered me with a question, but earlier he was whispering helpful notes.

Dr. Jackson looks thoughful, but Dr. Hatch looks unconvinced.

Edgar, and my soda.

Wow, put down the tool belt and find your way to the gym. :) Here I am in my shipbuilding gear. Should've kept the hat on!

Karen came to my defense. Thanks karen! (Chris, the King, is the guilty one.)

H.R.H. on the stand.

Admiral, what do you have to say for yourself?

long-distance off-sides handshake

A prosecutor's work is done for the night.

And so was mine. I'm lucky to have such great friends for classmates!!

Halloween and Happy Birthdays!

Once again that magical time of year is upon us...when we show our true colors.

Mom must be so proud of her "daughters". (And if someone can help me remember the stupid period inside or outside the quotation marks rules---that would be great!)

Sorry about the foot shot...I was loving the tattoos. Hummmmm. What does that mean?

Here's my favorite little German boy! Loving the trains and trucks in the toy store window.

Wills kills me! I could play with him forever!

 Sassy's costume was amazing! Her mother did such a great job pulling this together. How do you turn your child into an exotic bird? Just ask Ann.

From head to tail, this little bird was impressive!

Ella K at her morning time best! Don't wake this one up if you can help it.

Ah, the glorious kids' table. They had a great time together.

Griffy and Charles with matching smiles.

Crimefighting Grady and notorious criminal Aquamarine Annie.

 Everyone got together to celebrate Mom's birthday. We went to the Original Pancake House and had the best time together. We missed Em and Shea. We'll get them there next time though.

It looks like mom had a lot of fun. (Ann picks the best cards ever!)

Speaking of Birth-days......

Welcome Kate!

Sweet Baby Kate Drage was born at 9:08am on the 2nd of November. She is 6lbs.4oz and 19" long. She has darling brown hair, incredible skin, long feet and fingers, a slightly confused older brother, and an adoring family. Kenz and Tay do great work! Welcome, welcome little Kate! We've been waiting for you!