Weekend Pictures
The pics are in. Put up most of the pictures from this weekend in Nevada City. You can check them out here
Monthly Archive: June 2005
Wedding Weekend
A special weekend this weekend. Barb’s niece (and Godchild) Erin was married to Mark Ball up in Nevada City. We made the long drive up early Saturday morning for the 4pm nuptials. We were lucky enough to have close friends Jens and Kelly put us up for the night, saving us the hassle of trying to find a hotel room during one the busiest weekend in Nevada County. Apparently there was a organized bike ride and/or run that booked up every room from Truckee to Auburn.
Got up there early enough to spend some time with Jens and Kelly. We brought them a bocce ball (lawn bowling) set since last time we were there we noticed they had put in a great big lawn out back that would be perfect for bocce. Got in a couple of quick games before we had to get ready for the wedding.Senior Awards Night
The school year is coming to an end very quickly with a flurry of events leading up to graduation on June 17th. The family was invited to the Senior awards night ceremony at the school on Friday night. Since we were invited it meant that there was a good chance that Kelly was going to receive an award. We were very pleased (but not surprised) that Kelly was awarded a $500 scholarship from the booster club for her outstanding achievement and contribution to the high school sports program. We are proud of you Kelly!!
School Board Snubbed
Anyone who lives around Fremont knows that there has been a big stink going on over the recent reassignment of the principal over at the girl’s high school. Connie White has done a wonderful job as principal of American High School. The students, teachers and parents all love and respect her. Apparently the ONLY ones who don’t are the superintendent and the school board. Community outpouring and support of Connie was great. Hundreds packed school board meetings in support for Connie. The school board did the politically correct thing and reassessed the situation then went ahead with the reassignment anyway. I took this picture at the graduation ceremony after realizing what was going on. The speaker was a member of the school board. I think a member of the board has to be on hand at all graduation ceremonies. This guy must have drawn the short straw because any school board member is not very popular at American High these days. At first I thought that PE teacher, Mr. Miller ( the guy sitting with his back to the school board member) was looking for someone, or watching something happening out of my line of site. As the speaker went on, I realized that this was Mr. Miller conducting his own silent protest. If I wasnt sure, it was confirmed when the speaker was finished. I saw Mr. Miller mouth some choice words for our esteemed school board member, then turned back around to face the crowd. Not sure if anyone else even noticed, but I did. THANKS Mr. Miller!Mending Fences
When we moved into this house 20 years ago, our back fence was in need of repair. Over the years its been fixed, braced, held up, propped up and put back together too many times to remember. With the remodel bug still flying around we figured it was time to replace it. I had torn down the old fence, dug new post holes and set new posts earlier in the week. Yesterday, good buddy and across the street neighbor Armando lended his expertise in the final phase. I had bought 6 X 8 fence panels figuring that was the simplest way to do things. Just slap them puppies up and and nail’em in. Definitely a two man job and Mando’s previous fence building experience sure did come in handy. Its never as easy as you hope it will be. After only a few hours of hard work in the hot sun the fence was up. We couldn’t be happier with the end result. A nice, higher fence, that gives us a bit more privacy and no more worries about it blowing down the next time the wind kicks up. We were so happy that we decided to celebrate by taking the Lopez family out for some Toto’s pizza . Thanks for your help Mando!
Licensed to Drive
Kate got her drivers license yesterday.
Nuff said.
Home Improvement
Our home improvement continues. With the bathroom and kitchen remodeled and the living room gussied up with crown molding, new paint job and furniture, the only thing left undone was the hallway. Barb and Kelly tackled that this weekend, throwing a new coat of “warm scones” paint. Nice job ladies! Kate came in at the end to lend a hand as well.
Graduation Weekend
What a weekend! This weekend had been circled on the calendar all year, and really for the last 18 years! Kelly, our first born, graduated From High school on Friday afternoon. It turned out to be a beautiful day for the graduation ceremony. Considering that there was rain in the forecast and a contingency to have the ceremony inside the gym if it rained, we were blessed with sunny and warm weather all day, and the ceremony went off as planned on the baseball field. A cool part of the ceremony that we didn’t see was the “senior walk”. Before heading to the ceremony, the class walks through the school one last time. 
Teachers leave notes for the class on the walls wishing them well. Poster sized pictures of days gone by remind them of their days at American High. Its an emotional time. A time for reflection before going out to take on the world. After the walk, the class, led by the their teachers, heads to the field while “pomp and circumstance” blares from the speaker. That’s when it got emotional for me. Kelly and her buds all sat together. They looked great. It was a nice ceremony, although a bit long since there was so many kids in the graduating class.
Teachers leave notes for the class on the walls wishing them well. Poster sized pictures of days gone by remind them of their days at American High. Its an emotional time. A time for reflection before going out to take on the world. After the walk, the class, led by the their teachers, heads to the field while “pomp and circumstance” blares from the speaker. That’s when it got emotional for me. Kelly and her buds all sat together. They looked great. It was a nice ceremony, although a bit long since there was so many kids in the graduating class.Goodbye Jasmine
Jasmine, our 10 year old cat, had to be put to sleep last night. She had a variety of things wrong with her and the vet said that it was the humane thing to do.
Jazz was one the prettiest cats I’d ever seen. Her fur was the softest that I’ve ever petted. She wasn’t the most sociable cat in the world. Most times she only showed up for the morning feeding then stayed hidden the rest of the day. Either way, we had grown to love her over the years. When she was a kitten, we would find her sleeping with our old dog Kira in our bedroom closet. We hope that Kira and Jasmine are together again, taking care of eachother.
Clear Lake – Cloudy Memories
Just back from our 3 night stay at Konocti Harbor Inn at Clear Lake. This was our third time up there with friends so I guess its a tradition.Pretty much the same bunch of characters that usually go. Us, Shull, Sansen, Diane and her Crew, Lorenzo. New additions this year were Kate’s Friend Lindsay, Nick’s buddy Zach and Lorenzo’s Son Jake. Got in plenty of jet skiing, boating, swimming and sun. Also ate like pigs and drank like fish. Well, most did anyway. Just a total kick back four days at one of the most beautiful lakefront settings. The weather was great and the water was “just like glass”.
One very cool thing that happened (in the long run anyway) was that we got to hang out in the VIP suite for a couple of days. Family d’Lorenzo and Family d’Diane moved to the VIP suite from the cabins after a particularly loud first night with their neighbors. I think Lorenzo called it a cross between the Beverly hillbillies and nightmare on elm street. Either way, the only other “comparable room” was the VIP suite which sits right next to the pool and overlooks the lake. They even have a HUGE deck with a private hot tub as well as indoor hot tub and sauna. Totally cool. Check out a few of the pictures from our trip HERE.
