School is almost out for summer which will free up a lot of our weekdays. Yet as a summer approaches, it is crazy to see all of our weekends fill up so quickly! This weekend, we drove north to
Sonoma to celebrate a number of different celebrations for two of my nephews. First off was celebrating the graduation from 8
th grade by Seamus and Alexander. I can hardly believe these little guys are going to be in high school next year! When I started dating Damien, Seamus wasn't even born yet! The quick passing of their youth reminds me again to grab hold of my kiddos as best as possible and live every moment to the fullest with them. In addition to the graduation celebrations was Alex's birthday! It was a day full of celebrating! Let's see . . . birthday cake, graduation cake, Swedish fish, yummy appetizers and a full BBQ dinner were on deck and one thing was for certain. I knew that despite all efforts to eat healthy- I was going to derail HUGE from my diet. Whoops!
The party was held at Lani's In-laws home where we always have so much fun. My kids beg me year round to go there so it was no problem getting them dressed and out of the house this morning! The house is perched on top of a mountain offering views of San Francisco, Oakland, and practically the whole bay! They don't call it the Sky Palace for nothing! It truly is breathtaking. But do you know what isn't breathtaking- the very real chance that we will see or even encounter wildlife up there. For those that know me, I am a little skittish when it comes to animals. I know, I know. I should be better at staying calm when I am around them but it is just the way I am! I get the most scared when an animal darts of comes out of nowhere. My freak out is a sight to see for sure! Well, we were all down by the pool and having a good time. The older three of my kids were in the pool and Damien was in a lounger with Emily. My nephew wanted to use one of the floating rafts in the pool so he swam over to the side right in front of Damien and lifted it up off of the hot concrete. Do you know what was under there? A baby rattlesnake! (It was a pretty decent size, too!) It slithered around and everyone was screaming because no one knew where it would go! Would it go into the pool, towards Damien and Emily? Thanks to some quick thinking from my brother-in-law Eric, he quickly handled the situation by dropping a heavy cinder block directly on top of it.
Ewwww! But at least we were out of harms way! Eric explained to us how baby rattlesnakes are more dangerous than adult rattle snakes because they don't just bite you and give you a certain about of venom. They just release all of it when they bite which could very well be lethal! I can't say I ever really fully relaxed after that point but we did have a very nice evening celebrating two awesome guys!
After an amazing dinner which we ate all too much of- all too quickly, we sat down to toast Alex and Seamus. My sister-in-law Lani is such an amazingly strong woman. I knew her in college before I started dating Damien so we have a very unique and awesome history together. From the day she became pregnant with Seamus, I admired Lani's ability to
persevere through anything and everything. I am so very proud of her and proud of the amazing way she has mothered Seamus over the years. As she spoke to the loving group of family and friends surrounding Seamus today, we all felt so moved by her heartfelt speech. She was emotional when she spoke about her son and her emotion spoke volumes. Lani and Seamus have been through so much and they are both very deserving of this moment! Alexander, the oldest of the eleven
grandkids, is such a great kid. Always happy, always willing to help and just a pleasure to be around. We were so happy to celebrate his graduation from 8
th grade as well as his birthday, too! Both of these boys brighten our lives and we couldn't be happier for them and we are so happy we could share in their special day! High school- look out for these boys!
School is almost out for summer which will free up a lot of our weekdays. Yet as a summer approaches, it is crazy to see all of our weekends fill up so quickly! This weekend, we drove north to Sonoma to celebrate a number of different celebrations for two of my nephews. First off was celebrating the graduation from 8th grade by Seamus and Alexander. I can hardly believe these little guys are going to be in high school next year! When I started dating Damien, Seamus wasn't even born yet! The quick passing of their youth reminds me again to grab hold of my kiddos as best as possible and live every moment to the fullest with them. In addition to the graduation celebrations was Alex's birthday! It was a day full of celebrating! Let's see . . . birthday cake, graduation cake, Swedish fish, yummy appetizers and a full BBQ dinner were on deck and one thing was for certain. I knew that despite all efforts to eat healthy- I was going to derail HUGE from my diet. Whoops!
The party was held at Lani's In-laws home where we always have so much fun. My kids beg me year round to go there so it was no problem getting them dressed and out of the house this morning! The house is perched on top of a mountain offering views of San Francisco, Oakland, and practically the whole bay! They don't call it the Sky Palace for nothing! It truly is breathtaking. But do you know what isn't breathtaking- the very real chance that we will see or even encounter wildlife up there. For those that know me, I am a little skittish when it comes to animals. I know, I know. I should be better at staying calm when I am around them but it is just the way I am! I get the most scared when an animal darts of comes out of nowhere. My freak out is a sight to see for sure! Well, we were all down by the pool and having a good time. The older three of my kids were in the pool and Damien was in a lounger with Emily. My nephew wanted to use one of the floating rafts in the pool so he swam over to the side right in front of Damien and lifted it up off of the hot concrete. Do you know what was under there? A baby rattlesnake! (It was a pretty decent size, too!) It slithered around and everyone was screaming because no one knew where it would go! Would it go into the pool, towards Damien and Emily? Thanks to some quick thinking from my brother-in-law Eric, he quickly handled the situation by dropping a heavy cinder block directly on top of it. Ewwww! But at least we were out of harms way! Eric explained to us how baby rattlesnakes are more dangerous than adult rattle snakes because they don't just bite you and give you a certain about of venom. They just release all of it when they bite which could very well be lethal! I can't say I ever really fully relaxed after that point but we did have a very nice evening celebrating two awesome guys!
After an amazing dinner which we ate all too much of- all too quickly, we sat down to toast Alex and Seamus. My sister-in-law Lani is such an amazingly strong woman. I knew her in college before I started dating Damien so we have a very unique and awesome history together. From the day she became pregnant with Seamus, I admired Lani's ability to persevere through anything and everything. I am so very proud of her and proud of the amazing way she has mothered Seamus over the years. As she spoke to the loving group of family and friends surrounding Seamus today, we all felt so moved by her heartfelt speech. She was emotional when she spoke about her son and her emotion spoke volumes. Lani and Seamus have been through so much and they are both very deserving of this moment! Alexander, the oldest of the eleven grandkids, is such a great kid. Always happy, always willing to help and just a pleasure to be around. We were so happy to celebrate his graduation from 8th grade as well as his birthday, too! Both of these boys brighten our lives and we couldn't be happier for them and we are so happy we could share in their special day! High school- look out for these boys!
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