The Envy Of The World

Sometimes you plan for a new addition to the

family and sometimes one just comes along

Say Hello To Envy

If two is good, then three is better, right?

We borrowed Envy for a weekend and now she's here to stay. (She actually belongs to Cindy but she's going to live with us) Envy is 2 years old, well behaved, and so very lovable. We were instantly smitten, and so were Gavin and Gwen. They love having someone else to play with.

Dagny and Dane have claimed Envy as their own. Gavin so clearly belongs to Steve, and Gwen is my baby, so the kids have decided that Envy is all theirs. She is just soaking up all this attention, I think she likes it here.

The Three Musketeers

Gwen, Gavin, Envy

Let The Sun Shine

These lovelies are currently brightening up my kitchen.

They are there courtesy of my father-in-law. He never comes over without flowers in hand. He's thoughtful like that.

I love fresh flowers, and I love that he brings them to me. Aren't I a lucky girl?

iWait

Knowing my great love of all geeky technological things, my friends are surprised that I haven't bought an iPad. Steve laughs at me about "drinking the Apple kool-aid" and tells everyone that I'm secretly in love with Steve Jobs, (it's not a secret, I do love him) and that if it has an Apple logo on it I want it. My lack of an iPad is perplexing people.

I decided even before it came out that I wouldn't be getting one. It comes down to a question of want or need. Do I want it? Absolutely, who wouldn't? Do I need it? Not really. Besides, I would never buy a first-generation anything. I like to wait until they work out the kinks and come out with the upgrade.

My resolve to not buy one was tested when I went into the Apple store and saw all the iPads sitting there just waiting for me to fall in love. It was like a siren's call, they want you to come close and touch them. Dane was with me, and as we walked in the store he said, "this is a bad idea, don't go near them" It's sad when the 12 year old is the voice of reason. I did go near them, and I touched, played, caressed, explored, and ultimately fell deeply in love. The iPad is an easy thing to love, but in this situation love just isn't enough. This isn't a relationship I need to be in.

Not yet, anyway.

The mother-ship of all Apple stores, 5th Avenue in NYC

9 Months

Seriously, is that not the cutest thing you've ever seen?

Whatever Lola Wants...

Damn Yankees was a great success, and Dagny got rave reviews as Lola. She played "the devil's number one homewrecker" with a great deal of class. As always, it's a joy to watch Dagny on stage. She has amazing stage presence, whatever "it" is, that girl has got it.

I was very proud of her performance, but as a mom, my proudest moment came after the last show when her cast mates acknowledged her for all of the help she had given them backstage. That's the kind of thing a mom likes to hear.

6 Months Out of Every Year...

You've Gotta Have Heart

A Little Brains, A Little Talent

Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets

I've Become A Fan, Officially

Never Feel Sorry For Anybody!

Two Lost Souls

The End

New York State Of Mind

Once upon a time there were two friends who shared a love of all things theatrical. They sang, they danced, they acted, and dreamed that one day they would go to New York together and see a Broadway show.

Dreams do come true, look at them now

Dagny and Jenna have been friends since Dagny was 6, and Jenna was 7. The Broadway dream began when they starred together in a production of Peter Pan. Over the years they've seen tons of great shows together, (we do live next to San Francisco, after all) but the dream of The Great White Way lived on, until this year my friend Leslie decided that this was the year to take them to New York. I wholeheartedly agreed, and it was a fantastic decision.

New York is one of the most fabulous places in the world and I loved everything about it. I do mean everything. My experiences were probably very idealized; it was warm, not crowded, clean, and people were super friendly. I can only judge New York on what it was like for me, and for me, it was perfection.

I think I was born on the wrong coast, Manhattan is my kind of place. I could spend days just walking around looking at the buildings, the architecture fascinates me. We saw lots of sights and did lots of things, but a week isn't long enough to even scratch the surface of all the city has to offer. We spent an entire day in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and I'm pretty sure we didn't even see 1/4 of it. I think that if I lived in NY I just might go there every day.

The real reason for the trip was the best thing about the trip, Broadway. We saw 3 shows (Billy Elliot, Hair, Memphis) and each was beyond amazing. Now that Dagny and Jenna have seen NY and Broadway I think the dream is now to live in NY and star in a Broadway show. Leslie and I are all for it, then we would have to come visit them.

- A Peek At What We Did In The Greatest City In The World -

Explored Central Park

Watched Lots of Shows

Saw Lots of Sights

Learned How to Do New Things

Like Ride The Subway and Hail a Cab

Had a Fantastical Time Together

If you'd like to see even more pictures of Dagny standing in front of famous things, there are lots more here.

Belated Easter

Apparently I am quite powerful and amazing, I was able to bend time to my will and move an entire holiday. Due to the fact that Dagny and I were in New York (much more on that later) on the actual Easter Sunday, Easter was moved to today. The move was so successful I may try it with other holidays.

Our Easter was small and quiet. We had a lovely brunch with Grandpa, then eggs were hunted and lots of candy was eaten.

The egg hunt was a solo one this year.

Dagny is too old to run around looking for

eggs, so Dane got all the hidden loot.

She didn't hunt for them, but she still got treats

Nobody can resist a Cadbury Egg

NYC

This Is Me And Dagny

This Is New York City

In just a few hours the three of us will be together.

I imagine that it will look something like this;

Except for the part about being sailors, I think that's pretty much what it's going to be like for us. (all my fantasies of New York look like musicals, you should see the one that's set to N.Y.C from Annie)

Keep an eye on our Twitter for all the Big Apple adventures.