Okayyy, just kidding. Harvard Law School it is!

My daughter, Trisha, had what she called a "quarter year crisis" and decided she really wanted to go to Harvard Law School after all this fall instead of NYU. So she checked see if she could have her spot back (she had already officially withdrawn) and she can so she'll be off to Harvard in August instead! They start a little later than NYU so she may be able to come on our family vacation for a little while (in addition to the Hawaii trip she and her husband had already planned and now they'll need a house hunting trip back to Cambridge!). Anyway, the whole thing seems so surreal, but apparently Lloyd and Vanessa had wanted her to accept to Harvard all along so there you go! I'll just be happy with whatever she does and wherever she goes from here -- so long as she uses her God-given gifts well!

How to Be a Bone Marrow Donor

First of all, right now, it's FREE to be tested and listed to be a bone marrow donor. I recently did this and paid $52, I think it was, so it's not much, but if cost is your stumbling block, it's been removed for about the next week.

From June 8-22, it's free to sign up to be a donor (while funding still remains to cover it).

If not knowing how to do it is your stumbling block, it's really very easy.

1. Confirm you meet basic registry guidelines.
2. Complete the online form and order your registration kit. This step will take about 30 minutes.
3. Follow the instructions in your kit to collect a swab of cheek cells and return the kit in the postage prepaid envelope.

That's it!

Click here to get started.

Hitting the Open Highway

Tonight I finally got a chance to go out with DH on his baby. The kids have gone out with DH with my gear on, but I didn't want to go out for a spin even just around the neighborhood and leave the kids home alone so tonight for date night, we planned a ride. We headed out to Boulder City, picked up Capriotti's for dinner, and headed out to Lake Mead. We rode along the shoreline road and scoped out a different launch for the boat next time, stopped at a scenic overlook, scoped out secluded beaches to park the boat at some time, then continued on around to the entrance near Lake Las Vegas. The weather was beautiful and we were riding before and during the sunset which was awesome because we had an unobstructed view. The sun was hiding behind an odd-shaped cloud, illuminating behind it at one point. I wish I had my camera. Well, other than on my Blackberry like these pics Sheridan took of us before we left! We hung out at Lake Las Vegas for a while, watched a concert on the green there. It was a Johnny Cash tribute. Not a fan, but it was relaxing and enjoyable, especially when they put on normal music when the band went on break. :-) We stopped for a Target registry scope out, ran into friends with their 9mo twin babies, then headed home. It was great fun!

With Saturdays being so busy and Sunday set aside for church and Sabbath day, it doesn't leave a lot of time to ride as a couple, but Lloyd's been driving his baby every day to work so I'm good. It was fun, I had little or no nerves about the ride, and most of all DH was very happy I went with him and that made me happy. I have to admit it is really fun and I noticed that strangers spoke to us that I don't think otherwise would have so that was nice!Before Our Maiden Voyage Together

Vanessa's Piano Recital

Vanessa had her piano recital last night. I took this on my Blackberry so the sound quality isn't the best since we were a distance away so the volume has to be way up and there are still spots it's hard to hear. She's very good. I can brag because she's not my DIRECT daughter. ;) We enjoy her playing so much. It's so nice to have her music in our home. She got an "Honors" designation at the recent Junior Festival which is a very high honor.

Too long since an update

We have had so much going on that I haven't had time to update! While others are winding down their school year, we're stuck on Track 1 (sore subject!) so while we're glad the pressures of sports seasons are taking a break for a little bit, we're still hanging in there with the whole school thing, though SUMMER!!!! is very much on our minds!

We recently bought a new-to-us boat.
It's several feet longer and wider than our previous boat and that apparently makes all the difference. We were able to launch in Lake Mead instead of going to Lake Mojave on the Arizona side and we were able to take it out Saturday after TWO soccer tournament games of Philip's since it's much closer to launch from Boulder city. The kids brought 3 friends and I had the biggest blast towing the kids behind the boat. I laughed so hard the back of my head hurt so much. I loved that all the kids were daredevils and a lot of fun. Now I can't wait even more to go on our vacation this summer because we can bring this along.

The twins also had their first piano recital ever on Friday. They just started lessons a few months ago after a 6-week session through the rec center last year. They both played much faster than they normally would and made a few mistakes in there. Neither thought they were playing fast, though, you know how that goes.



Here's an update on Lloyd's baby. This was taken once it came home, but before he restored the original Yamaha V-STAR "decals" on it. And, this was taken on my Blackberry so doesn't do the beauty justice. :-) The twins have gotten rides on it now that I got my helmet since that fits them, too. I made them wear my jacket, too, just in case.
Vanessa's almost done with middle school. This is the last week of school. She went to her first ever middle school dance a few weeks ago and these are from the pics I took of her. I'm not a photographer AT ALL and Lloyd had to be a in class that night so I was glad they turned out halfway decent.
Going back a little bit to April, we went to Universal Studios over Spring Break. The kids really loved this vampire. We have a family picture on Vanessa's camera I still need to get, but here's a peak at him as well as "Wisteria Lane" (Desperate Housewives).

His girlfriend looks mad, huh? :-)
Philip wasn't very cooperative letting me take his pics as you can see ...
But, he was probably too preoccupied here to dodge the camera: Vanessa did so much of this ... ... that she got special mention from the TRAM DRIVER! (she's got a little device in her hands in case you are wondering what she's doing ..... -- teens!).

We visited the Griffith Park Observatory and saw the planetarium show. It was very relaxing and nice, but maybe a little too animation-ish for my tastes. I still remember the planetarium in Golden Gate park, but maybe they've changed over to this high tech fancy way of doing planetarium shows, too.
We were also able to have breakfast with my daughter and her husband and then walk over to the Hollywood Walk of Fame and have the privilege of seeing the various freaks out there like this one. :::shudder:::

Now for the best part of the trip ... We got to have Togo's! The kids and Lloyd had it for the first time and now they're hooked. So whenever we go to California, we have to look them up!

My husband's new child

My husband, Lloyd, is expecting a new child. I will help raise and guide it, but this one is my husband's.

This is not the actual child, it hasn't been born yet, we expect that in the next day or two. For now, we'll show a picture of someone else's child (Lloyd's child isn't as studded up), but the coloring is right.

New great nephew was born

Well, he may be great in more than one way, but this is my nephew's son, making it my great nephew. He was due on 5/13, but decided to arrive on 4/18 -- the same birthday as his Daddy and Grandma (Dad's mom). Pretty amazing -- 3 generations in a row! This is my nephew that was trouble for a while. I used to want to smack him for pulling dumb, I mean REALLY dumb stuff. Then he turned his life around and met his truly better half. They have a DD that's 2 and now a new son. I'm pretty proud of them all!

Baby Nolan is in the NICU, born with fluid deep in his lungs, but is apparently doing very well so we will keep him in our thoughts.