Wild Weekend

What a weekend! Marv worked very hard to prepare and complete a century bike ride in scorching temperatures Saturday morning down in Lodi. Meantime, Peter was on the baseball field and Emily and I were meeting with the partner of the woman who cast "iCarly" for Nickelodeon.
The interview with Jenny Treadwell was possible because of series of fortunate events. I had made a contact with Hank Ritter at John Robert Powers to let him know of our plan to relocate to LA. As luck would have it, the casting director from Nickelodeon who auditioned Emily last fall was going to be in Roseville again Sat. morning. Since Jenny had seen Emily earlier and encouraged her to come, he would be able to get us in for her first appointment--could we make it? Only if we delayed attending our Girl Scout Camporee. We were supposed to leave on Friday afternoon and I was going as a leader! In a complete dither, I began making phone calls to see if another parent could cover my duties. Two phone calls later, another mom was able to back me up. One more phone call, and Emmy's favorite acting coach at JRP, Tina Cole from "My Three Sons" and the one of the King family singers, was able to help her to prepare a monologue to present. At the appointment, Jenny called me in (usually parents wait outside during the audition) to talk about some particulars of what our experience will be like. When she heard where we would be living temporarily, she said, "Get out of there as soon as you can!" I guess the place is known for gossipy stage moms who aren't very nice. She really encouraged us to not buy into the Hollywood scene and stay grounded with family first. Almost unbelievable coming from someone who works in the entertainment industry, but just what we had in mind!
As Saturday continued, Peter was a guest at his friend Connor Milnes' home while Emmy and I traveled up to Camp Del Oro. We arrived just in time for lunch. The lunch set the tone for a weekend that was not like roughing it in the least! The food was fabulous--more like a cruise ship than a scout camp. Our accomodations were just as luxurious! Friday night when we weren't there, the troop's original cabin (which was spidery, dingy and cramped) was flooded as it was downhill from the bathhouse! Eww! Salvaging their things, the girls had been moved to a fabulous, clean, roomy lodge with it's own kitchen and bathroom. Saturday afternoon we canoed and did archery, then prepared our dinner together as a troop and presented a cute skit for the camp fire program that night. Sunday, after more terrific food and an orienteering course, I had all the girls in my car for the trip home. They played a game called "Mafia", which is where dealing out cards decides which role you have and everyone has to determine who the bad guy is. They are such a nice group of girls, and the other moms who came, Jenny, Beth, and Molly are such sweethearts!

Mom Knows the Score

I have no idea what happened to the New Year's resolution of making a weekly entry in my blog, but let's just start where we're at, shall we?
My kids are the greatest. I remember an "A-ha!" moment many years ago. I traveled with little Lyle, Diana and Bryan to visit my mom in Hawaii and went to the beach with my friend Patricia Eddington. She had no kids at that time. She watched me playing and interacting with them for a while and said, "Motherhood agrees with you." Yep. I think even if I'd had no children of my own, I would still love children, which is why I adore my job at Tricks gymnastics teaching the parent toddler classes. I had a great Mother's Day. Marv prepared both a big breakfast and a big dinner. He and Peter purchased wonderful flowers. Emmy made beautiful art for me. Diana knit a groovy scarf and found the cutest video tribute. Bryan and Lyle called for phone visits. Lyle was frustrated because his card wasn't on time--I said--DON'T WORRY! My son the dental student! And performing artist! (Please see their blog for the video!) I couldn't be prouder! Bryan was frustrated because he thought he was going in on flowers for me with Kevin, but then Kevin ended up going in on earrings with Jackie and forgot about the flowers! I told him a phone call is enough! He has a job and is graduating from UCLA! Look at the son I raised! I must have done something right! Kevin kept trying to call, but every time we connected someone else called in, or we had just sat down to dinner or to watch a show! He was a good sport as always and we finally got to visit before bedtime. (By the way, the Blue Fairy earrings were fabulous!) For those here at the family dinner, I did a "Hobbit" Mother's Day and had a gift for everyone. It started because I wanted to get the new Rick Riordan book in the Percy Jackson series for Peter, but I ended up with craft supplies for Diana, a book and sewing machine (!) for Emily, a hands free device for Marv's car, and a cool Star Wars card set for Mac. A fabulous Mother's Day was had by all.
Speaking of celebrations, we made Bryan's birthday memorable (5/5) by making his favorite dessert, a pizzookie, even though he wasn't home to share it with us.
As you know, it's baseball season. Since I have never really understood all the excitement (yawn) of baseball, I decided to learn to keep the scorebook at Peter's games. I even bought my own book so I can practice when I'm not needed as the official scorekeeper. It's actually quite complex and I still make mistakes, but I'm getting much more reliable. The by-products of this new skill are my brain is staying awake and I'm appreciating the games more.
Marv is still coaching basketball and the boys have a fun, though inconsistent, team.
Peter missed three days of school with a terrible case of poison oak April 29-May 1. I think he may have picked it up when Lucy got out of the yard one morning. Peter was the one who got her back. (She may have had it on her fur.) Diana has a photo on her blog. Thankfully, he was better in time to have a wonderful time with his entire sixth grade class at Shady Creek Camp last week. One of this favorite things there was playing Ultimate Frisbee and the 6 foot 7 inch twin Naturalist Counselors they called Sasquatch and Yeti . He was in a cabin with a great group of friends, including Blake and Brandon White. It was his very first time away from home for more than one night without mom or dad.
Emily's swim season began officially with time trials on Saturday. After attending any swim meet, I always feel I have survived a marathon. She was spectacular in the IM, her first time to swim this event. She had personal bests in all other strokes except her freestyle which we'll need to work on. She continues her weekly gymnastics. She has taken up sewing, having completed two projects, a pillowcase and tote bag. The tote bag was hard work, but the results made it worth while. She and I traveled to San Diego for a movie audition in April, which was a good experience. It looks as though we've found housing with Kevin, so we plan to go temporarily to LA for the summer.