Parlor Games of the Rich & Famous

Is that Eva Longoria on our blog? Why yes it is. She's posing with our friend Calvin, who is a contracted extra on the show "Desperate Housewives" with her. Cal grew up at River Valley Ranch with us, and has now made the degrees of separation between us and the stars much fewer.

Besides acting in TV shows, Cal started a hot new fad in Hollywood--game nights. Yes, people hire him to come in and host large-party variations of charades, etc., and on a recent visit home he hosted one and invited US! Di & I stayed out ridiculously late on a Tuesday to have this thrill, and I even took second place (winning a huge Lennox platter on which I served a turkey at Hamiltopia the next night.) Here I am facing off with Cal's mom, Vicki, in the Family Feud game. It was pure fun enjoyed in good company, reminding me that a cheerful heart really is good medicine (Pr.17:22), which comes in handy when one has stayed up late for it!
Earlier that day, the girls and I had met Cal, Vicki, and a good friend of theirs at RVR for lunch in the Buffalo Lodge. It was such a great time of fellowship--and isn't Evelyn's "cheese" face a hoot?

Elmo is a Hometown Boy!

Two posts ago, a video clip of Amelia with her new Elmo computer got me wondering if Elmo was voiced by someone from Baltimore. Well, Mr. Kevin Clash is the voice of Elmo, and sure enough, he grew up right here in Charm City. It was his pronunciation of the word "on" as "ooh-uhn" that tipped me. Around these parts, all "o's" are diphthongs, hon.

Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

Alan's dad's birthday was yesterday, and when Evelyn was talking to him on the phone, she told him she was going to make him a cake, put one candle on it and bring it to him. So today we baked cookies, put one candle in them, and packaged them up to mail them as a belated birthday gift. Evelyn doesn't have much of an understanding of a five hour car ride (she kept saying, as we were making the cookies, "I want to TAKE them to him!" Isn't that sweet?), but both of them knew exactly what we were doing--wishing a very happy birthday to a very wonderful Grandpa!

Amelia is TWO!

So I decided to put a picture of Evelyn at 2 right next to one of Amelia at 2--you'd think between Alan and me, there would have been a bigger gene pool! They look more alike than I thought...can you tell who is who? (Or is it "who is whom?")




On Amelia's actual birthday, I took the girls to the mall. (Lest you think that sounds mundane, Evelyn had gone to the mall with Di once several months ago, and Amelia hadn't been there in who knows when. I, apparently, only go there to celebrate the birthdays of young children. So it was pretty special.) The mall has a carousel, which we rode together (see clip--note older sister's inspirational grabbing of little sister's face), and a pet store, where Amelia picked out her own goldfish that, tragically, survived a whole two days. Afterwards, we went to the Battle Monument School prom and the girls rode bikes in the halls until Alan came to pick them up (so I could chaperone appropriately.)

Later, she opened the birthday gift from Aunt Lisa--an Elmo laptop! Thank you, Aunt Lisa! You are so thoughtful! (For those of you from Baltimore, listen carefully as Elmo says the word "on." Could it be that the voice of Elmo is someone from Charm City?!?)

Happy Birthday to our little one--what a blessing you are!

Mother's Day

Growing up, I remember the sounds of Mom practicing piano and the smell of her famous rolls baking. For road trips, she would make Jon and me each a bag of activities and treats (no DVD players then!), and she always had thoughtful gifts for all occasions. (She still does!)

On Mother's Day, I honored Mom by planning ahead. As I tend to live in a world of spontaneity ("disorganization", "laziness", and "procrastination" are such negative words!), it was a refreshing accomplishment. The menu was planned a whole week out, including side dishes that needed to be chilled ahead of time, & the table was set the night before. Mom brought a fruit salad and a torte that made me want to lick my plate clean. (I didn't--it was Mother's Day, after all!)

But all these things are unimportant in light of what we REALLY enjoyed that day--one another. Jon came (we really missed Courtney & the kids, who were in PA at another family event), and Shelley and Esther, and we simply spent a lovely afternoon together. When the girls awoke from their naps, they dug into the dress-up bag in the basement and came up as ballerinas. Amelia also came up with a piece of chalk she tried to use on everything and everyone (that's what she's doing in the picture.) The afternoon ended with Evelyn constructing and deconstructing milk bubble sculptures (see clip.)

We are so thankful, as we raise our own children, for mothers who loved us and the Lord. "...we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders He has done....so the next generation would know them...then they would put their trust in God." (Ps. 78:4-7)

Party at Matt & Becky's!

Mom & Dad Blackman met us there to celebrate Mother's Day and Amelia's birthday, and it was so fun Evelyn cried when it was time to leave. She wanted cousin Casey to come home with us!

Speaking of Casey, he decided on a whim to spike his hair, and used Becky's mousse to achieve the effect. Check out his coiffe! (He taught Evelyn how to spike her plastic fork, too!)

Amelia loved her gifts--The Little Mermaid ("Ah-yee-ELL!") on DVD from Grandma & Grandpa, and a Disney princess backpack with a princess activity book inside from Aunt Becky, Uncle Matt, and Casey. Jackpot! ("Dank eww!")

Books are among Amelia's favorite things ("I ree books"), and she found some loving readers & comfortable laps.




I love the snuggle pose with Aunt Becky, who likely wore her out playing "Guitar Hero." Becky has a video game super power, and will break out the latest one for entertainment. (I still laugh out loud recalling all of us playing Wii at Christmas--finally a video game I can play!!) Check out the video of Amelia dancing as Becky plays Kiss's "Rock & Roll All Night." I had that song in my head all week! The other video is the traditional blowing out of the birthday candles--always cute when one is two!

What a blessing it is to enjoy being together.

"You're the One that I Want!"

The GREASE production was a HIT! A few shots from the dress rehearsal: Kenicke & the T-Birds show up w/his flivver of a (cardboard) car at the girls' sleepover; the transformation of the car into "Greased Lightning" (one of our most soft-spoken teachers wore a leather jacket & head scarf--who knew he rode a Harley?!?); Danny & Cha Cha movin' & groovin' at the dance contest; and the curtain call, where John--who played Danny--could hardly get on stage soon enough (I think he felt like "Rocky" by the end of the show!), and Amanda, playing Sandy, could hardly contain her joy as she approached center stage in the gait trainer! I LOVE that picture.

(Click here to see the first scene of the show if you haven't already.)

Then it was show night! Shelley was kind enough to take these shots in spite of how crowded and wild it was: the arrival of students on the first day of school; the sleepover at Frenchy's where our version had a "Beauty School Dropout Pageant" and crowned Frenchy due to her pink dye-job; and another GREAT picture of Amanda--our Sandy--in the dance scene before Cha Cha showed up and stole her man. Amanda's mom said she'd never seen her smile that big for that long. In fact, when it was over & they were taking her home, she burst into tears. I felt like that when my high school musical was over, too, Amanda!

Finally, some video clips. First is a shot from the dance contest, when Danny & Sandy are still a couple. Then, the end of "Greased Lightning," where I admit I'd lost track of John--our Danny--and if you listen really closely you can hear me yelling, "John!" as all the other T-Birds gather on stage w/out him. Fortunately he made it up there in time to wave his giant, silver-paper-covered, cardboard lightning-bolt-on-a-stick. I think he was in the hall signing autographs.

Aunties from Abroad

It is incredible to watch one's children being loved--really loved--by others. Seeing them with grandparents and biological families is so precious, and we are doubly blessed to have friends who are aunts & uncles as well. All of these people--biologically related or not-- have one thing in common: they have known us for a really long time. And they love us & our children anyway. It is humbling to us, and AWESOME to our girls.

In April, Evelyn & Amelia were thrilled to have Aunt Amy & Aunt Jenny visit from their new homes in Oregon & New Zealand respectively. (Ok, I admit, I was thrilled, too!!!) We made memories hiking at Gunpowder Falls & breakfasting at the Red Canoe Bookstore Cafe (where Amy inspired some Portland-culture: we took our own mugs.)


Since Amy & Jen were part of the original Hamiltopia weekly meals, Tim & Di hosted a huge one where we were joined by all the regulars & a wealth of other friends, including Mindy & Raleigh. (Mindy once lived in Baltimore--she's been mentioned here before--but she met a dairy farmer from upstate NY & the rest is history. Fortunately for us they visit!) There was a fire pit, guitar-playing, & lots of warmth--which I felt deeply when Jess, Di, Mindy, Jen, Sean, Alex, and Liv all agreed to walk home with me as I pushed the girls in the stroller. It was sooooooooo good to be in the physical company of friends I now commune with mostly in cyberspace.

Evelyn Behind the Camera

So Evelyn has discovered the fun of taking pictures herself. We visited John & Jolene & their crew at the Ranch one day (we were up there to record Uncle Jonnie's voice as "Danny" for "Grease"--he got rave reviews, cool-voiced guy that he is). The other is of a rare Sunday morning when we missed church because the girls were sick. I figured, it's more fun to be sick on a playground than in the house!

Springtime in Hamilton!

Look at this pink carpet! We LOVE how the cherry trees bloom each spring. (I have to remind myself of the splendor daily while vacuuming what tracks into the house.)















We hosted Kevin, Mary, Christina, Caleb, and Sarah on a recent Sunday, enjoying one another's company, a game of "Apples to Apples," and afterwards Evelyn & Sarah got into a delightful petal-tossing match. What a joy to thrill in simple pleasures with friends who enjoy them as well!