No Doubt Concert

On Saturday night Spencer and I had the rare opportunity to go out to dinner together and then stay out as long as our aged bodies could handle. This was all thanks to Diana and Aaron who volunteered to give us a night out. It was so very fun! We went to Siam Orchid, one of the best little Thai place's I've tried around here. It was delicious as expected and we even went all out and tried some of the deserts. Thai desserts are interesting... not nearly as rich and sweet as American desserts, but they are refreshing and a good compliment to the extremely flavor-rich meals. After dinner we traveled across town to see Paramore and No Doubt play Cricket Pavilion. It was fantastic! I was impressed by Paramores live sound. Some bands (and especially the younger/ newer bands) sound horrible live. These guys were great! The lead singer was all over the stage and had a lot of energy. The only thing I think could have improved their show was more interaction between the band members and more focus on the whole band versus only the lead singer. No Doubt seriously rocked my socks. They did a very good job covering all the different sounds that they have played and in an order that really worked. Gwen Stefani did an excellent job sharing the spotlight, something that may be hard to do in her position... being far more famous as a solo artist than the other members of the band. She was also very gracious with the crowd and thanked everyone for coming so many times. She even took some time out to bring a girl up on the stage that had dressed like her and also to take a picture with a mom and daughter that was on the front row. She could have been faking, but she seemed very sincere and told us we were very inspiring to her several times. Apparently they are trying to get a new album together so they did a tour to be inspired and get a kick start. It was an extremely entertaining concert and Spencer, who was only mildly interested in No Doubt before, likes them so much after seeing them live. We had a lot of fun. After the concert, everyone was hungry, so we went to Denny's. Random... they now have menu items late at night that were created by rock bands... like the hoobaburrito created by Hoobastank ha ha ha. It's pretty cheesy. Anyway, we had a really excellent time and it really recharged my batteries to have some time to just have fun with my handsome husband. I would definitely do a repeat on a No Doubt concert.
to view more pictures check out this album:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=113654&id=534812618&l=deb60bd176

Thanks for Your Patience.

Thanks for participating in the poll. As you can see, many people think Jade looks quite similar to Dakota Fanning. The next majority would be "maybe a little" (which is what I would have voted on if I'd been participating). I agree with Fawn and Diana that Jade is much cuter! Moving right along, we have been up to a lot in the last 4 weeks during which I've completely neglected this blog. Braden finished up preschool the last Thursday in April (also the day we closed escrow) with a delightful preschool luau. We met at a park and had a delicious potluck dinner and then watched the kids perform their Hawaiian dances. They started with a cute one about pearly shells. I loved to hear all the children repeating the lines after Mrs. Camille. Then the girls did the Hukilau while Braden acted like a goof with his friend Max. Then it was the boys turn. They did the Haka and showed everyone how strong they are (between giggles). They were all so cute. Although Braden did a good job, he gets reeeeealy silly in front of an audience. I think it's a nervous reaction mixed with a genetically-passed-on desire to make people laugh and to get attention. I need to help him learn that when he does the performance without being silly he will get good attention and also share the attention with everyone else involved.
After the luau, the kids went with my parents and Spencer and I buckled down and proceeded to move. Thanks to all of the many friends and family members who helped us, we were able to get out new place adequately cleaned, painted, repaired and everything moved in by the end of Saturday. This was despite our water not being turned on until Monday. Let me tell you, cleaning is very hard without running water.

Friday was Jades birthday, but since she was away from us, we had a simple celebration when the kids got home. I hid her gift in the new house and let them explore the house while they searched for it. She loved her "newborn My Little Pony with a stroller". I also made her a cake and we enjoyed being together.
That next weekend was Chelsea's baby shower. It turned out really cute. My mom put most of it together and it was so beautiful! Chelsea's getting closer to the end of the pregnancy. I can't wait to meet little Shea! She's going to be the best dressed and best accessorized little baby I've ever been an aunt to :) Chelsea has many talented and generous friends. I was in awe at all the cute little homemade clothes and accessories that they gave.

After the shower, I did several photo shoots and that was fun. I'm at a crossroads where I need to decide what to do with that. I'm getting more interested people than before and Spencer is wondering if maybe it's time to get compensated for my time. I'm not sure if that's what I want to do since I don't feel like I serve very much, but I also understand that my time is also my families time.
So lately I've mostly been putting the house together and planning for the exciting bridal shower coming up. Braden and Jade got robot suits made out of boxes thanks to Spencer and they had fun with that. I still don't have pictures of the house because every time I think of doing it I'm either involved in a project or it's dark. Don't worry, if you've followed this blog before you know that I eventually get around to showing pictures of our new houses. This may be the last time we do that in a while, so I want to do it justice. Thanks for your patience.

Silly New Poll

Well, I am completely behind on this blog. A preschool luau, a new house, and a birthday girl are all in order, but I want to take adequate time for each of these posts, and time is something I have little of. In the meantime I thought I'd have a little fun. I have been told on many occasions that Jade looks like Dakota Fanning, a child actress. I thought it would be fun to hear your opinion on just how similar they look. I'm starting a poll that can be found on the side of the blog for you to vote. Send a link to your friends and family to have them vote too! I'm not going to poison the well with any of my thoughts on the matter. I want this to have un-swayed results. Hope you have fun with this silly new poll!