Shawn and Yadira's Wedding

Today we went to our friends' wedding. It was held in Laguna Beach, very close to where my sister got married. Very nice spot. The reception was at Las Brisas, and per usual when much good food is in front of me, I'm stuffed. I'll post picts of the wedding tomorrow, for now, here are a couple shots I took this morning of my folks' back yard:

Parent's House Update

My parent's have officially started their kitchen/backyard remodel. Yesterday quite a bit of dirt and leveling went on and today the onld patio and staircase by the kitchen went bye bye. The contracter states he can have the job down in 3 months...we'll see.

Here's picture after the destruction of yesterday: The first break into the concrete:

The aftermath of today:

143

Sherri and I went in for our week 14 exam today. No ultrasound, which was kind of disappointing. Amy told us yesterday that normally there are not many ultrasounds, but Sherri and I were used to the once a week thing. I was positive they would give us one today.
Our next ultrasound will be week 19.
Today, though we listened to the heartbeat; it beat at about 143. There is a wives' tale saying if the number is low, it is a boy, and higher it is a girl, but the wives' tale means numbers like 120, anywhere from 140-170 does not mean anything one way or another.
So, we'll wait 5 weeks until we can get another ultrasound, and hopefully the baby will be positioned so we can find out what color to paint the nursery.

Amy's Birthday Party

Yesterday we celebrated Amy's birth; merriment, gaiety, mirth, hilarity, glee, jocularity, jollity and joviality was had by all. Here's some picts from the party. Today, Sherri and I go in for our week 14 exam.

Sherri at exactly(?) 14 weeks

The spread included cupcakes by Sprinkles and carmel-corn and chocolate-chip cheesecake by Sherri

Mmm, Popcorn

I like this pic. It looks like Jana might be trying to blow out the candles too

Here, I snuck in and got my picture taken with Celebrity AmyBut she was cool AND ACTUALLY POSED FOR A PICTURE WITH ME!!!

Raitis and Shannon with the really soft pillow

Cambria was of course making the rounds:

Shawn's B-Day

Yadira held a surprise birthday party for Shawn today. Shawn was surprised too. It was a fun day; I ate too much and got too much sun, and almost immediately slept when I got home.

Amy with Cambria Cambria made rounds: Yadira and Cambria

Picnic with the McMichaels

Shawn's REALLY good cake made by his step-mom

Shawn the pirate, Aaar!

Group shot

Day O' Fun

Yesterday we went to my Aunt's for the afternoon. Sherri was very excited because this was the first time she was allowed to swim in many months. She really enjoyed it. I had a ton of fun from the spring board. They used to have one when I was growing up, but it's been broken for years. They recently (within the last 2 years?) replaced it, and my legs are still sore from all the jumping and diving I did.
After my Aunt's party, we drove down for a surprise party for one of Sherri's sides family friends. It was a very nice party at Newport Beach Back Bay (forgot to take pictures). Amy, you'll be jealous to know, they had Sprinkles.
All in all, it was a great day, hanging out with family.

My niece, nephew and cousin (once removed) My Aunt and her hiding granddaughter

My nephew running really fast

Me flipping out

Me, taking the plunge

Tree Removal

My parents are having some trees removed from their yard so they can remodel their kitchen and patio. Two of these trees are pine which have been growing for about 34 years. It is a large understatement to say they were big. Here are some pictures and a very long video (3 minutes) of one of the trees. My parents, Sherri and I were camped out in the backyard observing. It was an amazing process, and a TON of hard work.
Later in the afternoon we went to see "A Chorus Line" at Orange County Performing Arts. It was okay. They did a fine job, but my brother described it best when he said it was like the performers were just going through the motions. It was okay, but it could have been better. I like the musical in general, and that made up for quite a bit in the lacking performances.