Cal Hi Sports Banquet

We were invited to the EA Sports Headquarters for the Cal Hi Awards Banquet last week.
Michael had won a "Play of the Week" award during the year and they were recognizing him along with other high school athletes.
Their facilities were beautiful and it was quite an honor to be recognized by the sponsors of this weekly TV show.
The main facility was set up with various video games and the kids seemed to enjoy just checking all the new games and competition out.
Then we had a nice dinner in the huge gym, followed by awards in the auditorium.

They had a huge movie screen for the audience to see all the plays and stories, as well as 2 or 3 other screens for the kids on stage to see while their backs are to the large screen.

Here is a picture of the screen as they started honoring Michael.

....and a still shot of the video in progress.
The Hubby is always a good sport to bring along his camera and miss seeing things with his real eyes.

The play that won for Michael, was the winning shot against Palo Alto when he scored a three pointer at the buzzer to win by 1. Other athletes had great shots, runs, hits, catches highlighted as well.
We heard from pro sports personalities, stories about high school students that have difficult circumstances, saw some of these kids get awarded scholarship money, and enjoyed 4 other kids from LG who also got awards.

This is a great venue to see and applaud others who share the same interest and love of their games in a non competitive setting. Cal Hi Sports is a one of a kind program that shows of the high school player.
We have watched it for years, and even have it on DVR so we can zoom to the games and events that we want to see each week.

Congratulations, and what a fun ride you have given us Michael.

Last Prom at LG

Michael asked his girl to the Prom by posting this

outside her bedroom window so she could see and not read until going outside to get.
Once she brought it in, she found that it really doesn't ask anything, but is rather a menagerie of random statements.
So, then later when she went out the door to come have breakfast at our house, she stumbled upon two rocks and this note.

On the rocks were written her possible answers. A cute tiny rock with a "yes" painted on, and a large slightly immovable stepping stone with "no" painted on it. She was to pick up the correct answer and bring it to him.
Pretty cute, eh?


Then the day of prom came. I got to fix up her hair in an updo. I was a little reluctant, because I wanted her to be able to state her opinion without the fear of making me feel bad and being uncomfortable.

I recruited my DD Kathryn for the liaison and my other DD Stephanie had showed up a couple evenings before, so we had a party in my bathroom while doing the prom goers hair. We even used a "bumpit" for effect. That was the most fun of all.  There is a picture on Stephanie's facebook of it, I'll try to get it off.

................Oh lookie, lookie I did it!!!

Woo Hoo, quite the picture of the use of "bumpit's" in American culture.

She wanted it loose and curly instead of neat and tight. Turned out pretty and looked great with her flowing dress. I was worried that it wouldn't stay in, but apparently she didn't have any of it fall out until she took it down the next morning.

They looked really cute together as usual. Michael in his free tux from "Men's Wearhouse". (Thanks David - you are a nice brother), and matching her purply dress with his vest and tie.

Handsome kids.
All the kids looked pretty fancy in their prom garb. It is amazing how sophisticated they all look. Really ready for the red carpet.

Can you say, "over the top?"

Childhood friends abounded throughout the great picture taking yard.  There were about 70 kids in the group that gathered here. Thanks, Kevin.

Teammates, and playmates throughout the years, with their dates and parents.
Starting to grow up?

Surprise

Last evening I answered to door to a couple of Stephanie's college volleyball teammates that we were expecting. They had driven to the bay area all the way from Utah, to enjoy a play and have fun in San Francisco.
As I was talking to them and inviting them into my house, my Stephanie appeared in the family room from the other door and said "hello".  So fun that she came on my birthday weekend.
Kathryn was at the house for the afternoon and she soon gave me an invitation for an afternoon tea, which was today.

She had made up this cute little invite and we were all excited to go with all the little girls as well as the more mature ones.

So here we were today at lunch  tea.

Lena stirring her watermelon tea, as she prepares for a fine peanut butter/jam crumpet, and tiny cheese pizza.

Lexy was trying to be patient as the tea was served. "Where is our food?"
They all looked so cute in fancy dresses. Aunt Stephanie had purchased little hairband/hats for everyone. They had feathers and netting and were black except for mine which was white and fluffy.

All sorts of beads pearls around our necks were also part of our attire.

All my girls look like they are rather enjoying themselves. I think everyone likes to dress up if given the chance and excuse.

Very cute set of girls outside the shop.
Thanks for a wonderful afternoon and yummy lunch.

Times Past

When Michael was in 5th grade, he rode his bicycle to school every day save maybe 5 days for miserable weather.  It became a mantle of honor for him and his band of friends.
Two other Michael's who live in the adjacent neighborhood would start out from their houses and drop by our house on the beginning of the trek. It was not just dropping by in my book, because they had to ride up our long, arduous hill before arriving on our doorstep. (or garage step if you are into technicalities


Stephanie's volleyball coach, Shelby, once asked me to tell her the 3 names of the boys so she would be able to call them by name as they went past her employers home upon her arrival each day. I said, "Michael," and she replied that she remembered His name, but wanted to know the other cute kids names. "Michael," was my final answer. "All three of them are Michael, and so it seems like you are pretty safe using it."


They would then travel into the neighborhoods on the way to school, picking up more 5th grade boys along the way. By the time they arrived at their destination of Daves Ave., they had accumulated up to 5 Michael's, or Mike's, or Mikey's, as well as about 6 other various named 10 -11 year olds.


These cute boys are now on the verge of graduation from high school.
I just spent an hour looking for an old picture of them riding their bikes. That is all the time I allotted myself this morning, and I was unable to locate that snapshot in time.


I did take a pix, this am before my Michael left on his bicycle yet again. He wasn't traveling with the big pack, although I think they should figure out a day where they all do it again in the next couple weeks, but he and at least one other friend thought they'd go back in time and ride their bikes to school today.

I used to make him wear a helmet, but now that he is 18 I guess I have to let him make his own, albeit sometimes poor, decisions.
Have a fun day!!

Family is Awesome

We had a nice little visit from our oldest niece (we keep bringing that up, don't we?) on my side over the weekend.
KM is such an even and fun girl to be around. She has grown into a good mother of 4 and is just plain adorable. I'm sure her little people missed her, but it was probably a good thing for her to be able to enjoy a weekend with "the girl(s)." I think most mom's need a little rejuvination once in a while.
She brought a nice friend for a visit to the magical city of San Fran, and they were able to stay with us. "Wicked" was the entertainment of the night on Friday after they enjoyed the city during the day. On Saturday they went to the beach Boardwalk in Santa Cruz. That is just over the mountain from our cute little town, and easy to get to for a nice afternoon.
They brought us this

from Gayles Bakery in Capitola. YUMMY.
That bakery has such a beautiful assortment of amazing treats. They also serve up a mean breakfast and lunch for your eating pleasure.

Thanks, Kel. You've grown into a beautiful woman.

Hoodie Style

So the little guy is 4 months old now.
Growing like a weed and cute as a button.

He smiles on demand.

And apparently sleeps better than his seetors did at the ripe old age of 1/3.

I finished his hoodie, and it turned out very cute. It is supposed to be a 12 month size, but

I received a picture by email today and it looks as if it was made for a 4 month old growing boy.

I also made my first stuffed animal to go with the sweater.

I got this book at a "Stitches" convention. Very cute kid patterns and stuffed animals. As you can tell by the cover photo, I was very imaginative when I chose the colors for Lukies sweater.  They were just such perfect colors. (I say with a little whine in my voice)

Coat/Sweater

I realize I posted a picture of this sweater in a previous "things I need to get off my plate" post, but I thought she looked so cute in it that I had to show and tell.

This shows the back of the hat and all the pom poms on the front,

which she perhaps will not leave alone, and will pull them off. She was obsessed.

"Oh, Hi."

I'm now working an the pink and yellow one for the #1 girl. I am moving quite slowly because I only work on my knitting these days when watching TV in the evenings. If I have any other pressing project that can be worked on while sitting on the couch, that is taking a front seat to my knitting. (although I'll show another finished baby project tomorrow)

Are We Kidding Here?

I picked up my CSA food on Wednesday and decided that I'd like to try the fava beans to the excess. Typically there is enough of one vegetable to feed about 4 people for a good meal,  so I thought I'd get double of them and trade out another of my vegetables. That way we could all try them out on Sunday when I have many family visitors for dinner.
I had heard that they are tender and mild tasting, so this is my opportunity to try them.

PRODUCT PROFILEFAVA BEANS Season: April to June    Fava beans have been cultivated for millenia and are an integral part of the cuisines of Asia, Northern Africa, and Europe. Fava is derived from the Italians, where they are featured in pastas and salads. The Chinese ferment it with soy to create a rich bean paste. Egyptians consume it as a fast food dish called ful madumas, cooked with salt and cumin. The easiest (and most social) way to eat fava beans is to shell them from the pod, parboil them for a minute in their skins, take them to the table with their skins on, and have everyone sit around popping them out of their warm skins, and eating with thin shavings of good parmesan. These legumes are also known as broad, field, horse, or windsor beans. The long flat pods grow up to 18” long and yield 3-12 beans per pod. These beans contain about 25% protein, 2% fat and 50% carbohydrates. While fava beans are good for human consumption, they also provide a beneficial role in agricultural production. Fava beans are frequently grown as cover crops, to prevent erosion of soil and increase nitrogen fixing in the soil. (Nitrogen is one of the main elements in industrial fertilizers). They also produce a lot of organic matter to enrich soils, leading some farmers to consider them “green manure.” You can enjoy these beans year round in dried form, but for the next few months, fresh fava beans are readily available. They are best consumed when young and tender; choose with firm pods with bright green hues. For a taste of spring, try them in this pasta dish

So when I got to my car with my new produce,  I handed  Ellery one of the beans from inside the pod. She didn't want to try it, so I stuck it in my mouth and  chomped down on it. Yuck!! Bitter!! Now, I typically like just about anything, so it is rare for me to react like I did. I have to find out how to prepare these  puppies. It is obvious I'm gonna have to cook them or  something. They are not supposed to be eaten raw. So I went to the website to figure it out. After shelling the beans you have to cook them and then  shell each individual bean again. Seriously.  I have other things to do. I haven't got Michael's memory board done, organized the BBQ for Grad Night, made his t-shirt quilt, or a miriad of  other things for other people in my life. Plus, I was  expecting guests in a few hours. Here I am shelling beans for an hour. Then I have to blanch them.

Then I have to shell each individual one again.

Amazing.

So I spent about 2 hours of my precious time in the name of nutrition and organic food, which I semi don't think much of, in order to eat dinner.

(Do you like my new Fiesta Ware?)

It was pretty good, but .....

SERIOUSLY???

Onesies

This next month my buddies and I are throwing a baby shower. The grandmother of the new baby-to-be is one of our "walking buddy" friends and this is their 1st grandchild on both sides.
So EXCITING.
I, being the invitation guru of the group, opted to do the invites and asked if they all thought a onesie theme for the shower was okay. We could have the guests decorate onesies, make onesie cookies, and best of all I could make the cute onesie invitations that I found on the internet.
They all agreed, and the new grandma even said she and her daughter had attended another shower where they decorated onesies and both would love for us to do that for their new baby.
So FUN.
First, we had to figure out the color scheme, and Laurie, the real hostess of the party because it's going to be at her house, said the yard should lend itself to orange and lime green by mid June. We stuck purple (lavender) in there with the mix because it's going to be a girl and we thought it would be less gender neutral with lavender. Don't you agree? Hello??

I found great papers by basic grey. I won't use some of the more pinks and reds, but these papers are quite beautiful. I'll mix them with ...

these Bazzil papers. The Scrapbook Island store in San Jose has about a million colors of plain card stock. You can find a match for nearly everything.

So then I set to making my cute little onesie invitations.  I didn't have a 1 3/8 inch round punch as called for, but my 1 1/4 punch worked just fine. It left a good amount of space between the larger scalloped punch so the collars look cute.

A couple more added touches, giving a little glitter to the snaps at the "crotch" and purple writing for the

invite itself, 

and then I was done. The lavender ones will be sent for invitations and the others will be used as hanging decorations for the shower itself.

A bit of a long process, but they did turn out ...

So CUTE.

College Grad #3

What a fun and filled weekend we had.  Our Stepher graduated from the U of U.
All Complete.
Fine.
El Duno.
She is a happy camper.

Mom, Dad, and Michael flew into SLC for the big event. Sister Kathryn, (Kiki) who was in Idaho welcoming her brother-in-law home from his mission in the U.K., drove the 3 hours for the ceremony and lunch with the family.

Everyone is all smiles I'd say.

We are on the second concourse of the Huntsman Center, but Dad's camera takes it all in.

Look, look!!! Here I am. Can you see me????

This is the first of our children to actually walk in the college graduation. We watched our son-in-law walk and David says he will for his masters next year. It was very nice.

Jon Huntsman Jr. was the speaker for the main commencement. He is a very impressive man and speaker. He is former governor of Utah, and is currently the ambassador to China for our country.
I'll sum up his speech briefly.

There are no times when you should ever get an "F" in your studies, but today I'm going to talk about 5 F's we should all have if we want to succeed in this life.
1. Find a Cause
2. Follow your Heart
3. Face Failure
4. Find someone to Love
5. Find Meaning

He encouraged the graduates to learn from their failures and to become stronger and wiser because of them.  Quite an impressive man and talk to everyone in attendance.

Here is Steph explaining that the red bandelo around her neck was for the purpose of showing gratitude. The new grad presented it to her Daddy as a token of "Gratitude" to him and his help and support through the arduous process of college.
"Thanks, Dad."
She also wrote a very nice note of thanks on the inside of the satin fabric for him to look at and remember forever.

We then all went to lunch with extended family.

Top picture is Janney my cousin, my parents, Steph, Michael, Nichole, Jake, Vicki (proud mom), Kathryn, Hillary.
Bottom picture is Jonathan, Nate, Andrew, Kelly, Alison, Kathy, Don, Aimee, Dane, Megan.

Thanks for coming folks!

Next day we drove down to Brigham City for another lunch with the other side of the family.

Good times were had by all.