How could I forget?

I just realized I did not blog about 2 very important recent events: Ashley's graduation party and Father's Day!

My sister Ashley graduated from Cal State San Bernardino with a degree in Kinesiology. We're so proud of her! My mom and dad had a big party for her at their house. I helped with cooking some of the food and Mom & Ashley had a bunch of tables set up in the backyard. Tons of family and friends came by and we had SO MUCH FUN! We ate, laughed, had some drinks, talked, and tried to keep B-Dog from eating the ENTIRE cake.

Before Bryan dove into the cake, I got some pics of Ashley with the cake. This is my favorite one:













And here are some more pics of the party-goers:




























I admit I kinda was slackin on the photo-taking... I was having too much fun though!

The day after Ashley's party was Father's Day. It was pretty low-key. My parents just stayed home and relaxed (and I'm sure they needed it after the bash on Saturday) and Micah and I went to his parents house. The guys BBQ'd steaks for us all and we had a delicious feast. After that, we watched the Lakers game. That was pretty much it. I did take a few pics of Micah and Kait during a "nose-wrestling" session:













"Nose-wrestling," I think, was invented by Kaitlyn. They basically just use their noses to push the other persons nose. I know...weird. But Kait thinks it's hilarious so Micah indulges her. He's a great daddy like that. Even though he's tired (most of the time), he still plays, wrestles, or does puzzles with her. He's such an excellent father and Kait has no idea how blessed she is. Someday she will though.

Poor Mittens

Last night, our little baby kitty had quite a lot to get used to. We got him a new collar (complete with tinkling bell). He gave us all a good laugh as he rolled around on the floor with that new collar on. :)

Later, we decided to put some claw covers on him. That was quite an ordeal: picture Micah sitting on the kitchen floor holding Mittens and me trying to put the claw covers very quickly while Kaitlyn hovers around us saying, "It's OK, kitty. It's OK." and Mittens meowing his little head off. He chewed at them for a little bit but they were all still on this morning, so that's good.

Now, in regards to the picture above... It's really hard to get a good picture of a kitten that NEVER holds still. So, my apologies. Also, in this pic, Mittens looks a little cock-eyed with crooked little legs. He's very cute in real life. It's just a bad picture. :)

In other news, I posted a new recipe on my other blog. Check it out - it's a doozy! (Typing that just now prompted me to wonder where the heck the term "doozy" came from. Here's your answer. Don't say I didn't ever teach you anything.)

Going on vacation next week... Stay tuned for fun-in-the-sun pics!

Any medical billers out there?

I am thinking about taking a course in medical billing with the ultimate goal of working from home as a medical biller. Do you or does anyone you know currently work in this profession? I want to ask some questions and get advice from somebody "in the know."

What a weekend!

This weekend was a busy one for us! But we had a great time. Friday night, the gals ditched the guys to go hang out at the bar. Sort of. :) Micah and Todd hung out at with the kiddos and I went with Gina, her sister-in-law Lindsay, and in-laws to the dueling piano bar where Lindsay's husband Scott is the door manager. It's called Rock the Keys and we had so much fun! We made lots of song requests, sang along at the tops of our voices, had a few drinks, and people-watched. It's a fun place and Gina and I decided we had to bring our hubbies next time we went.

Saturday we went to the 5th birthday party of one of Kaitlyn's friends from church, Noelle. It was a "princess party" and all the girls wore fancy dress-up dresses. There was also a waterslide, which was a huge hit with the kids. I bet Kaitlyn went down that slide 50 times! I have some pics but they're on my home computer. I'll post a few later tonight.

Saturday night, we went to Todd & Gina's for a Poker Party. Micah played in the tournament (if that's what it's called) but lost. Oh well - it was only five bucks. :) I hung out with the kids in the Loser's Lounge (the Schlesinger's family room). We watched Brother Bear and then when people started getting kicked out of the poker game, we watched the adults play Guitar Hero. It was really fun.

Sunday we woke up at the crack of dawn (well, the crack of dawn for a weekend) and went to the 8:30 a.m. service at Micah's parents church, Glenkirk Presbyterian in Glendora. Micah's sister Sarah and her family were down visiting from Santa Barbara so after church, we all went to the Corner Bakery for brunch. After eating, we headed back to Micah's parents' house for swimming. The girls had a blast in the pool and I had fun taking mid-air pics of Micah as he tried different flips in the deep end of the pool. After swimming, the girls (me, Cathy, & Sarah) left the kiddos with the guys and went to Target.

Here are a few more pool pics:

It was such a nice weekend. But as usual, it was too short.

As a post-script, I'm embedding a video my grandma sent me by email. It's video from a church (Hillside?) and it contains "cardboard testimonies" from several members of that church. It's a little long (8 minutes) but it's awesome so watch it if you have a chance.



One more post-script and it's the BEST news of all!! Our dear friends Darrick & Jenn have been navigating through the adoption process for some time now. But through the awesome power of God Almighty, they have almost reached the end of their journey! They should have their daughter home in just a couple months! Praise God! (There's so much more to the story but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to blog about it. I'll find out and update you if I can.)

Photo show-and-tell

Our super-kitty, Mittens, playing with his feather toy thingy. Isn't he cute?




















Kait & her crazy hair jumping on our bed.




















Kaitlyn + Mittens = BFF.
















I got to go see Wicked (again!) a couple weeks ago with my mom, Grandma Sophia, and Mom2 (Micah's mom). It was lots of fun!

Add this to the list of all-time favorites!

I just finished Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah. I mean, literally just closed the book and dried my tears with a tissue. I know I'm not supposed to read at work but I just had a few more pages and I had to get to the end.

This book leaves me with that cliche warm & fuzzy feeling inside... but in a more beautiful and poignant way. It's the story of two girls that become best friends in the 70s. We follow Tully & Kate through the next 3 decades of their lives and see the intimate friendship they share.

From the author's website:
"Firefly Lane is for anyone who ever drank Boone’s Farm apple wine while listening to Abba or Fleetwood Mac. More than a coming-of-age novel, it’s the story of a generation of women who were both blessed and cursed by choices. It’s about promises and secrets and betrayals. And ultimately, about the one person who really, truly knows you---and knows what has the power to hurt you…and heal you. Firefly Lane is a story you’ll never forget…one you’ll want to pass on to your best friend."

So to all my girlfriends... Adriana, Angela, Jenn, Gina... READ THIS BOOK!! I'm sure you'll love it as much as I did. And keep some tissues nearby when you get to the end. Boy, you'll need them!

SYTYCD, I [heart] u.

I can't even begin to tell you how much I love this show. (I guess I should mention that "SYTYCD" stands for So You Think You Can Dance.) Next to The People's Court, this is my favorite show of all time!!

This season is just as spectacular, if not more so, than the previous ones. Here are a couple of my favorite auditions so far...



In case you're wondering (like I was), that awesome poem is on Lupe Fiasco's The Cool album.

And this guy just blew my mind:

This is posted in my cubicle at work :)