by laura beth

Oh little Sarah is growing up. Pretty much the whole fam partied it up at Chase and Carrie's to celebrate the little one. Gifts, food (pizza soup!), cake, Hokey Pokey, Pin the Tail on the Huge Inflatable Donkey, Kenny stuck with a newborn baby on his lap, and one bloody nose!!! I love this family!

by laura beth

Hoorah for cousins! My cousin Mitch is from Massachsetts, but his family visited Oregon often enough that we're not total strangers. He studied film at BU, and moved out to sunny California to try his hand in "the industry". He lives in Santa Monica, which had completely slipped my mind. We got in touch through Facebook, and made plans to get together. After spending the weekend with an aunt in Dana Point, he stopped by Buena Park where spent the afternoon at Portillo's, eating and visiting. He's seems to be doing really well, content, and grounded, and he's gotten his foot in the door working as a writers' assistant for a television series called Gossip Girl. I am very proud of Mitch, besides being smart and handsome, he is an all-round great guy, who loves his family and is seeking a career doing what he loves. Mitch, we love you and wish you the best!

by laura beth

So Twilight was released on DVD yesterday and, of course, Chris Rice threw a viewing party. She and Heather worked hard all day, cleaning, decorating, making themed food, and a beautiful sparkly cake, all after waiting for Target to open early in the morning to ensure getting a copy. There was quite a turn out, male counterparts included. We ate and visited for quite a while, and eventually started the movie. I really expected the guys to complain and make fun of the movie through-out, but really, silence prevailed (other than a couple of giggles and several sighs from Kenny). It really is a terrible movie. Terrible. The story is decent. Maybe with a bigger budget it could have been more palatable. But I'm glad I read the book, and I'm glad I watched the movie, and I'm glad to have friends that love it so much. It's quite endearing to know 20- and 30-something women that still love little girl romanticism. I am bummed I didn't take photos. Thanks Chris, for a good time!

by laura beth

I don't even know what to say. I have loved the vocal stylings and lyrical gift of David Bazan for nigh on 11 years. I have seen him perform as Pedro the Lion a handful of times of over the years and last year for my birthday, Kenny bought tickets to see him here in California. I would say I was pretty satisfied with my Live Bazan experiences. Little did I know...

Logging onto Facebook one afternoon I learned that DB was playing intimate house shows throughout the country, and several were within reasonable driving distance from Grandma's. With a limit of 30 tickets per show, I wasn't surprised that they sold out in minutes. My amazing husband came through though, and stealthily snagged tickets for the house show in Chino Hills during the second round of Southern California shows. We invited friends Mike Merryman and Heather Kelly and met up with Jonathan and Susan Deane, first for some delish dinner at Fresh Paradise (cheap & awesome vegetarian Indian food), then for a cozy backyard sit-down to listen to the man and his guitar. I left my camera battery charging in the moho, so thanks to Mike for sharing the photos! Thanks Jonathan Deane for giving Kenny the proper head's up! Here's a little ear candy, albeit semi-sweet:

by laura beth

Part of the time Kenny and I were dating, he lived here at Grandma's. He got to know the mail lady, and she got to know me a little. Kenny and I constantly sent silly packages and postcards to each other, and Veronica helped our little love notes reach their destinations. We got to see Veronica again last winter while we stayed here, but this winter we were dismayed to learn that she had moved to Arizona. This afternoon, to our delightful surprise, she showed up for a visit. It was great to see her. She's happy and doing well in Arizona. Jesus loves Postal Workers!!

by laura beth

Matt had a birthday too, which I failed to document with photos, which leaves me crippled since my memory is shabby. Quick synopsis goes like this: food+games+friends=good times. It's been so great to spend time with Matt & Chris these past months. They are fun friends.

Btw, we met some friends of the Rice's, James and Valerie. They have cool proposal story. Legos never get old.