Race for the Cure II

Hey all- it's not too late if you would like to join Team Miracle Miles or donate to the cause as we join Race for the Cure on June 7th!!! Come and join us- make some joyful noise, take a walk on a beautiful course down by the water in Downtown Seattle- you'll be glad you did- promise! :)

Check out this link to video- from the Komen Foundation- Good stuff!

http://www.pugetsoundraceforthecure.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Videos

I can tell you that even after this many years- it never gets old- watching the Survivor Parade at the end- I cry every time- it's sooooo powerful to watch- to know that our efforts to raise funds and awareness for early detection is what helps that parade of pink- grow every single year!

I'm rooting for so many this year- including my co-worker's husband who has it- remember- it's not just related to women's health!!!!

So come and walk with us- sing, dance and laugh our way through the4 3.2 mile course- it's not hard and it's fun!!!!

Enjoy the sunshine and find something to make you giggle! xoxo D

Murder Mystery Party

Mysterious deaths, bitter divorces, quickie marriages, crime bosses, short skirts, some cocktails and lots and lots of feathers.......and that was all before 9pm!

Our dear friends John & Allison hosted a "Murder Mystery" dinner party- and converted their basement- in the the Four Deuces Speakeasy. They made sure every detail was perfect-

I played Carrie Crooner-Ravioli the climber Caberet singer who had slept her way to the top....and yes- I did sing- I hear I did great- will have to see the video for myself tho... been over 10 years since I've sung for any kind of event! And in between songs, solving the mystery and trying not to get myself killed off...... I was shooting photos!

There were prizes for best costumes, best actor, most money won, etc.....

We all had sooooooo much fun! I aged the photos to match the mood- love real, old vintage sepia-tone photos and tried to get that feel with these.

Everyone looked so great Saturday- we all shopped well!

Believe it or not- I let Onika take this shot of me (yes- I just handed over my brand new camera to my 9 year old....around her neck- yes-) and she did a great job!

Here my handsome man tries to look bad...... he's too cute to look mean!

The crime syndicate...

And the gaggle of ga-ga girls....

Some of the Ya-Ya's... we've been friends for years & years!

John & Allison- our hosts with the most!

Beth with a bone to pick with me.... or my character anyway... I stole her husband... I let you know how it turns out!

Seriously tho- if you get invited to one of these- go- have fun! It was a blast!

Glamour girl

Just had to share a few more shots of Tiffany- I'm sure she'll be thrilled to know- I'm done with her pix- hooray!!!! I absolutely love these post production tricks from Totally Rad- making my life a breeze going through photos today!!!!

These muted, old Hollywood style colors meshed so beautifully with these pin-up shots we did weekend before last.

This bottom one here is definitely a favorite..... love this shot big!

The Trouble with Bubbles.....

The trouble with bubbles...and kids..... is that there is a good chance you are going to have some clean-up involved. And with clean-up- comes water... and with water and kids.... you generally get one big pile of suds... and a big pile of wet kids and laundry......

Such was the case when my sweet neighbor Angel was trying to hose down the area where my girls were playing with her little one- and then several other little ones joined in- and before we knew it- we had bubble soap every where!

Soon it was an all out wet-fest- and while my first instinct was to scold them and tell them to quick playing in the gutters..... my second was to grab the camera- because- gosh darn it- they were having a ball- and it was sunny and gorgeous..... so I get the crappy parent of the year award today- at least it was good clean fun!!!!!

Bare feet in the stream of water- it begs for summer to be here......

Ellie and her daddy Doug in the vintage Harley Davidson Golf cart that he's been restoring.... he was zipping around the neighborhood tonight- had to give all the kids a turn in it- hilarious fun!

How can you scold them when they are having this much fun???

It all started with the blowing of some innocent little bubbles........

Hope you all found some laughter today and played in the glorious sunshine! xoox D

The Fine Print of it.....

You know- most of the time- I feel like I'm a pretty quick study... but tonight- in the crush of excitement at the Benefit Auction for Mr. Hodge- I failed to read the fine print- OK- let's face it- I must not have read any of it...... I got coffee indulgence out of the quick glance at the title and first couple of items in the list...... I quickly put my bid down and continued to socialize with staff and friends from school. And as the evening came to a close- I noticed the gi-normous basket I had made a bid on in the silent auction was still there.... so I waited patiently in line- chatting with folks from school to see if I had won my COFFEE basket..... I did- only it was a CHOCOLATE BASKET!!!!! and this is like a small laundry basket- FULLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL of chocolate everything!!!!!!

OMGosh- might hyperventilate- I'm a choco-holic like no other... but had just this week- sworn to start taking better care of myself and eat better- well- this is certainly better grades of chocolate! :) The SLC department put together a phenomenal basket- I will be stashing it all over my house- if I were to die tomorrow- people would think I have much deeper issues as they pull them out of the linen closets and liqueur cabinets..... haaaahaaaaahaaaaa! (oh- smile- you know it's true!)

There was a great turnout for the auction tonight- the classrooms did an outstanding job of pooling their donated items to create stunning baskets (some of these baskets went for as much as $275 each!!!!) And the Skyline staff who pulled this together should be commended for a great job- it was a smoothly run operation- and it was so fun! I love my neighborhood- our community and school is a tight-knit group- and they pull each other up and help out in times of need.

Here's the man of the hour- Mr. Brad Hodge- our beloved PE teacher at Skyline. He's made miraculous strides in only 5 months!!! We're sure glad to have him back!

The tables were decorated with wonderfully colorful center pieces created by the students

And the donated deserts were wonderful- a little but of everything!

Here, my girls get a piece of the desert action.....

The bidding reached a fever pitch for a while there- all in good fun- I'm anxious to know how much we all raised tonight- it will all go to helping Mr. Hodge cover the massive medical bills and augmentations to his home to make it wheelchair friendly.

Well done Skyline family- well done! :)

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

What a GLORIOUS day yesterday!!!! One couldn't ask for a more perfect day to go to the Tulip fields in the Skagit Valley. My girl Nicole and I both took the day off- and we picked the kids up early from school (had to make sure they were done with their WASL testing first...) grabbed snacks and packed the six of us in her van. We hit a few traffic snags on the way up- but it was a blessing in disguise- because it was still too bright to shoot the flowers..... But the sun periodically dipped behind the clouds- and showed us this living rainbow......pretty cool, huh?

Here Gabbi & her buddy Samaya cheese for the mommies and their cameras

And no, we did not plan the co-ordinating outfits.... they are just that good. :)

Samaya & her big brother Brooks

Our Motley Crew

Tulips, Tulips everywhere- what a glorious sight!

Girls just wanna have fun, right???

Gabbi and those copper colored eyes!

The girls appeasing me with the obligatory shot for the scrap book

These hyacinth were just dreamy

and these cherry blossoms

Nicole being adorable as usual- love the way sun plays in her hot hair color!

Couldn't have planned this one if I had tried....

Hope you found some little patch of sunshine yesterday and enjoyed. :) xoox D