Wednesday, June 11, 2008

You know it's been a long time when...

You go to upload photos and you have to turn your camera over and over and around a couple of times before you find that little door that opens where you plug the USB cord in! Lack of motivation and just being busy are my only excuses!



So here's a brief recap of the past month:




The whole Mundelius clan went to Sea Ranch for Memorial Day weekend. There were 7 adults and 6 kids. We all had a blast. It was great to be together, and the cousins played and played, but the real reason was to give Pat a final sending off (well, her ashes at least). It was a beautiful day on Sunday. We walked to this place we call the Secret Bench. Each of the brothers and Fred took turns pouring the ashes into the ocean. After, each of the grandkids sent a rose or rose petals off the cliff. It was perfect. Fred was really grateful to have us all there - especially the grandkids. He felt like they kept the whole thing exactly what it needed to be - short and sweet, not too melodramatic, yet thoughtful.
Annabelle's rose caught on a tree branch and hung there in the wind. It was perfect!

Fred, John, Michael and Matthew took the kids to the beach on Saturday.



Annabelle and Jennifer in their driftwood fort.

The boys being....boys!


Getting wetsuits on to go abalone diving on Sunday.

John and Michael ready to head in.


Michael and John way out there, JJ in the front.


Matthew and Wyatt up on rocks. Brian and Maile in foreground.



Annabelle kickin' it in the sand!
I think I may have been the one most fascinated with the sea stars (a.k.a. star fish!)! They were beautiful!









The girls tide-pooling together.


JJ is such a great cousin!


A HUGE flock of pelicans flying over!



Watching Uncle John come in!


Here he comes!!!

I missed the funniest picture! John lost his balance and fell backwards into the drink! The kids got a big kick out of it, and continued to be mesmerized by the whole process of getting out of the water in a wetsuit and flippers!!!


Here comes Michael with the crowd behind him!

Brian showing off one of the abalone!

Tagging the abalone and feeling how slimy it is!

Michael carving up the bounty of abalone. (This was Monday's bounty!)


The next week and weekend revolved around preparations for a Celebration of Life party for Pat. I think there were about 85 people that came. It turned out perfect...I think exactly what she wanted. Fred and the boys all spoke. They did an amazing job of putting into words what their mother meant to them. No easy task. Quite a few other people shared as well. It was beautiful.

The end of the T-ball season came and went. Wyatt had a great time, and as crazy as I thought it was to have so many games, I think I will miss the mid-week change-up of going to the games. The were a nice diversion! No worries, though...swimming starts next week!

Getting his first trophy from Coach Perry!




The A's!


Wyatt oficially graduated from Pre-school this week. The teachers put on a cute little ceremony for the parents and kids. It was really cute!




Showing his porfolio to Matthew

Annabelle had her last dance class for this sessioin. The Creative Movement class was wonderful. It absolutely fits Annabelle's personality and stage. The teacher would tell stories and give the kids costumes and props to dance around with. Lots of creative energy and dramatic play.





Getting started!



Stretching is important for dancers!


Twelve Dancing Princesses! Well, actually only 7...

Playing a dragon!


Dragons dancing around the Queens!

After the Queens recouped their jewels, they danced with the dragons!


101 Dalmations!




1 comment:

Johnny GoFast said...

OMG--that dance instructor at Annabelle's dance school has a voice that can peel the paint off the walls. Maile had her at one point and I almost couldn't watch the recital...or whatever it was.

I look super fat in that wetsuit. I mean Chieko said I looked fat, but cucamonga...that's damn fat. Ouch.