Sushi for Beginners

The day of Lisa and Rick's wedding it rained and poured! Our basement flooded. Our power went out. Before we realized the basement flood, we were handwriting postcards by candlelight, and eating sushi for lunch. Here is a picture of Bremma eating and liking her first California Roll.

Notice that Kevin is wearing a headlamp? It was dark, though the flash more than compensates in the photo.

Precinct Driving

View from the campaign trail:

Last week we were out driving rural precincts. Kevin is out meeting the voters in all of his precincts, which has been the main activity for our summer. Most of the areas have been neighborhoods near and around Brighton. This photo is way out east of Denver International Airport. Here is a photo of the lay of the land, as seen by me, the driver. That particular day we brought the kids along and they watched a movie. What troopers!

Quiet Evening

In the midst of the campaign fury, I decided to take a breath of fresh air - so the kids and I went out for a little bike ride before the Obama speech. Here are some pictures of an idyllic Indian summer's evening. This was Bremma's first bike ride on her own bike! She is using the pedals to propel herself.

Family Photos

New family pictures.

Simple Woman's Daybook

Outside My Window... it is a beautiful, sunny morning.
I am thinking... about the how much I'll miss the Olympics!
I am thankful for... good friends!
From the kitchen... my sister baked a pear gallette - it is divine.
I am wearing... my workout pants, sneakers and a hoodie. I'll change after my shower.
I am creating... a system with my mother to sell her finery on Etsy.
I am going... to deliver peaches and pears today.
I am reading... The Friday Night Knitting Club.
I am hoping... my day is productive.
I am hearing... my daughter having a conversation with herself about not wanting her socks on.
Around the house... the news radio is on, breakfast is served and I'm getting a bit of computer time.
One of my favorite things... a new tea - herbal tisane, called Rose Potpouri. It is spicy, fruity and deliciously refreshing.
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:

Turin

Picture thought to share:

Wedding :)

It rained and rained on Saturday. So much so that our basement flooded and the power went out, too. Around 12 pm I was wondering how I was going to get a shower in time for the upcoming festivities. I was looking a bit like a drowned rat. In the midst of bailing out our window well, the kiddos offered us snacks. That made me smile, as they were sincere in their effort to help mom and dad.

The power went back on, Turin and I hurried to get gussied up and away we went. Dear daughter and hubby didn't need to come early, so they did some campaign work at home.

Turin was adorable in his tuxedo and cowboy hat. My dress actually fit. Miraculous! Thank you, Spanx! However, my feet are still bruised from my shoes (which were worth the pain!).

The bride and groom had a marvelous occasion. All went smoothly and Lisa wasn't even phased by the pouring rain.

Bremma woke up Sunday morning thoroughly disappointed to have found herself at home and out of her princess dress. She danced and danced and danced!

Matron of Honor's Dress that is . . .

Remember my last post? Well, I assumed that my dress was going to fit. Ha.
So, now I've got a dress that is painfully too small, though it does zip - when I choose not to breathe. This dress has been a nightmare. First, I ordered it in February, and one size bigger - just in case I were to become prego. In April, I did get pregnant. So, when the dress arrived in May, I tried it on and couldn't even zip up the back. The bridal shop was very flexible, ordered me a new dress and charged me for a restocking fee (better price than the dress!) and so I ended up with a size 14 extra length.
Ok, miscarriage. A week later. Time goes by . . . and I hoping to shrink a bit.

A week and a 1/2 before the wedding, the recommended seamstress/alterations lady arrives at my home to do our measurements (Amber and Laura's too). She doesn't have her tape measure. RED FLAG!

I picked up and paid for the 3 dresses yesterday. Decided to try it on while the kids tried on their clothes - I wanted to be sure everyone was at ease in their new outfits, and that nothing unexpected awaited in the guise of a missing button, stain or tear.

Made a phone call to the seamstress. She hasn't returned it. Lovely.

I'm bringing a back up dress. I won't survive this dress all night long! And, I am not being overly dramatic - I never do that, do I? :)

So, when I post the photos of the wedding and there is a subtle look of pain in my eyes, it is the dress, or maybe the shoes!

Getting Ready

Tuxedo: check

Dress: check

Silver Shoes: check

Ring Bearer pillow: check

Matron of Honor Dress: check

More Silver Shoes: check

Wedding Gift: check

Flexibility: check!

All in the Family

Back Left to right: Janie Frei, Me, Laura Frei, Stephanie Tedy, Lena Vander Laan, Amber Frei, Marilyn Priola and center The Bride!

Here is a recent photo of the women in the family at the bridal shower that we celebrated in anticipation of my cousin Lisa's wedding which will be on Saturday. I am feeling so blessed to have such a group of supportive, kind and fun women in my family!!

Basement School

My dear hubby has been working from home since mid-May, and this was nice and good as I was wrapping up the school year with my kindergartner. However, waves of panic have been washing over me as the school year approaches . . . sharing space isn't going to work out so well for this school year. Hubby needs a quiet place to be on the phone, we can't be very quite and get our work done (while keeping doodlebop 2 1/2 year old sister busy!)

So. . . I decided to rearrange our unfinished basement in order to function as a school room. So far, so good. Being so pleased with my physical effort, I asked my son to figure out a name for our new "school." He replied, "Umm, how about Homeschool?" with a puzzled look expressing the silliness of needing to name the space. I balked at that and urged him to come up with something else, something a bit more creative. "Oh, I know . . .Basement School!" So there we have it, Basement School!