February 21st weekend

Another busy weekend for our family.

Kids' school had a Bingo Night on Friday. It started out a little slow, but once kids got into the game, it got quite competitive. Each kid got one panel to play with, but less than an hour into the night, our neighbors left and handed all of their panels to Gabe. I think he was playing something like 9 or 10 panels at once. We won a "snack bag" set and a Goosebumps comic book, so it went pretty well.

On Saturday we took a train ride to the Diabetes Expo. It happens once a year and it's free, so we try not to miss it. You get a chance to meet other parents and to talk to the companies' representatives about their products.
I made Larissa shirt that read "Extra Sweet, Type 1" which she proudly wore and got a few compliments on.

This year I got to attend Jim Hansen, MD Memorial Symposium with Srinath Sanda, MD. He gave a great lecture on the latest Diabetes research news. Explained the differences in current approaches to the cure. I think I much better understand now where we stand and what possible cure I should be keeping me eye on at this point.
Kids were entertained in another room with a Magic show and crafts, so everyone were happy.
After the lecture we stopped by the Expo, said hello to people we knew and headed back home.

Once home we had to shift gears and get Larissa all ready for her special night. Daddy was taking her to the "Knight for the Princess" dinner and dance. What a great night! I hope she remembers it for a long time to come.

Some cleaning on Sunday finished off the weekend.

Valentine / Shmalentine

Came and gone. All done

:-)

Coffe and Crafts and the Mall, oh my...

I guess that whole Groundhog Day deal is real. After the sunny February 2nd day, we are now entering another cold Winter-like phase. Not quite the heavy snow we had for Christmas, but sure is cold enough.

Saturday was a blur of swimming classes, going out for another sushi lunch and then shopping for new pants for Larissa. Somehow she managed to either outgrow or outwear all the pants we got her this Fall. Once in the store, we couldn't resist a good deal on a winter jacket for the next season, and a few more "useful" things.

On Sunday a bunch of "girls" had a nice day out. We stopped by a coffee house, that serves the most delicious drinks, then we went to a crafts bazaar across the street. What an inspiration! So many cute little things. Makes me want to go home and make some!

Larissa proudly wore my handmade poncho and a hat (I was so happy!) and she got two handmade dolls at the fair, a Mermaid with a "fuzzy" tail and a Zombie. Both really cute.

On the way home, we made a quick stop by a bread factory. Everyone jumped out of the truck and took a picture of a giant rotating breadloaf on top of the roof. We are so funny!

Another year, another Birthday...

So I celebrated another 25th birthday this Monday, for about 10 or 15th time... ahem... but who's counting?

We had a pretty nice day. I took a day off from work, kids had no school, so we all got to sleep in. When I woke up Larissa had set up a scavenger hunt for us, or as she put it on her first clue card "Scabanger Hunt". We had a blast running through the house looking for the next clue. All in all, sounds a lot like something I did once for the kids... Hmmm, I wonder where they get it from?..
After all that we went shopping at the LEGO store in a Mall, had a nice sushi lunch with Daddy, then did some more shopping. Ahhh, I could do this every day...

Go Blazers!

I have the greatest friends in the world! Mary had an opportunity to take one child with her to the Blazer's game and she took Gabe.
Gabe got a chance to go on the floor and "high-five" the Blazers' players before the game. He also got a gift bag loaded with great Blazer gifts. Gabe had a blast! He wouldn't stop talking about about it for hours after the game.

...and because Blazers scored over 100 points in the game, everyone got a coupon for a free Taco Bell's chalupa!

Meanwhile, Larissa, Jon and I got to hang out at the mall, where we found a LEGO's store!! Needless to say we walked out with a few things purchased... Kids are already talking about going back to get more. Where else can you get LEGO pieces by the the bulk? Just load a small tub with whatever funky pieces you like, as long as you can close the lid, it's all the same price.