Big Day!

It was a BIG day for the us in the Big Apple. I'll dispense with the time, trouble and teammates involved for this post. My Hero played all sides of the theatre (artistic, business, bongo drums?!) Those lucky few in the audience got to see this fantastic cast perform a 30 minute cutting from Berlin (berlinthemusical.com) and an ovation-worthy splicing of Stephen Schwartz' Children of Eden. Highlights included Stephen accompanying himself as he sang "The Hardest Part of Love." For those who don't know, "...it's the letting go."

Family Portrait

Virginia homestead photo
We had one more weekend of wedding parties on the East coast, followed by a H.S. reunion. We forgot to take the camera for that, but since I actually got the time wrong causing My Hero to miss the reunion it wasn't much of a photo-op after all. We always knew My Hero was in a class by himself, but...this was completely my fault. Sorry. We did, however, get in some sweet row boating on the lake and we all progressed towards our various definitions of "tan" after multiple trips to the pool.

Reunion

Families gather for weddings and funerals. Happily this was a wedding and we got to see Grandpa's sisters, Aunt Gale (left) and Aunt Roberta after ....many years. Maybe we'll all be inspired to pick up our personal journals and pedigree charts again. My favorite stories were grandpa being sent to his room and taking apart a sewing machine or typewriter. The other, he was hiding under the stove and unscrewed the legs. Fortunately, somebody noticed before it smashed him and he still slings a mean drill today.

JCPenny

The ever adorable Sparkle
and Torpedo chanelling a JC Penny model (replacing the watch glancing w/fruit snacks)

Married to the mob

We spent some wedding day down time mugging for the camera. Don't report us. We were probably supposed to be doing something useful.

Limo Kiss

Here's one actual photo without any of us in it. It was a lovely wedding AND my first peak inside a limo. (I didn't notice any seatbelts.) Congratulations Jared & Crystal!!

...something blue?

Something old
Something new
Something borrowed
Something blue...
It was freaky wedding clairvoyance that we all wore blue t-shirts the day before this tall gorgeous redhead made my little brother-in-law one lucky devil. Left to right: mother of the groom, me (4mo. prego), bride, bride's BF.

The Denver Center

It's August and the whole family is happily in Denver. One of the highlights was a private tour of the absolutely incredible Denver Center where My Hero hopes to partner on future projects. You theatre people may appreciate the multiple venues and on-site design, construction, lighting, costumes, wigs, props, education camps, etc. It put the magic back into theatre for me. Thanks to their amazing technical directer, Dan, for the 2 hour behind-the-scenes tour. When can we move to Denver?

Beach Bishop

This month, My Hero was made bishop of our favorite single's ward. His parents gave him shirts and ties. I gave him a set of beach chairs. We need both kind of people in our lives, right? P.S. Torpedo doesn't make much of an assistant, but he's a sporty side-kick.

#7

No, not the eminent Baby. This is our nod to Harry Potter 7, Deathly Hallows. Star recieved the book on July 19th at 4 p.m. EST (THANK YOU Herricks) and adhered to our rules that she not read while walking, eating, or using the bathroom. She tried to keep all three to a minimum and finished the book at 2 a.m. Now, we just have to keep her from spoiling any plot points until the rest of us can finish. In the meantime, maybe she could write J.K. and propose a Harry Potter on ice tour. ;)

Decade

10 is a BIG DEAL! So for our birthday girl, My Hero made it winter in July and took Star to engage in her "passion," figure skating. Please note that Star made the gorgeous snowflakes and the sumptuous ice-cream roll cake drizzled in nutella (hungry?) Even for a 10 year old, she's got skills. We love you, Ice Princess!!!

Independence Day

So, of course we went to the beach for a BBQ with friends. It was a cold, rainy, no-traffic day. We made it to the beach in record time and had the whole place to ourselves. However, the wind made the water choppy and too unstable for the firework ferry so all the incendiaries were cancelled. Unable to admit complete defeat, we merely retreated to our place for a home-style picnic and fire-works on the tube. Special thanks to our friends, the D'Agostini family, for sticking it out and making it fun.