Tyler's Birthday EXTRAVAganza

EXtravaganza:

Tyler's Birthday Extravaganza began with a small family dinner before Dennis left town :) Ghetto homemade cake and all

the boy and papa ;)

Lita and Tyler had some fun in trying to say goodnight - he got poked in the eye because he's so tall that she didn't see where her hand was going as she was trying to touch his face :) so...he came down to her level to help her out :)

And the lovely (half eaten) ghetto cake

(I know, mom, it's not ghetto just because we used butterscotch chips to write out Tyler's name!)

ExTRAVAganza:

I thoroughly enjoyed myself in planning a weekend get-a-way for Tyler and I. To start, Friday after work, he was handed a red envelope telling him we were about to set off for a fun weekend.

We spent the weekend following google maps - just making sure that we knew where we were going each time we got moving ;)

Sadly, we got there after dark, so the excitement wasn't quite there upon arrival :) Our first stop was to Ann & George's B&B in Paso Robles. Their home sat atop a hill with vineyards surrounding them. more b&b pics down further

Saturday, we got on a trolley and went wine tasting. So much fun!! We met some fun teachers and peeps from our group (no pics of the peeps).

Us at the Robert Hall winery

...Tobin James winery....

....and Mr Tobin James - he seemed a lot younger than I imagined he'd be.
We learned that we have a new favorite wine: the Syrah or Petite Syrahs were our favorite in each winery. -fun Boyd fact, I guess :)

Sunday we had birthday mimosas with Ann (who shared a birthday with Tyler!) and the group. They were so cute! They sang happy birthday and were just a really warm and sweet couple. It was very nice to be around them.

After breakfast we headed out to take a walking tour of the grounds.

- a view from the back yard.

and the start of our walk

a view of the house...from half way through our walk :)
...and from another part of the walk (can you see the house?!)

While we were out and about we saw this sign and thought, wouldn't this be a neat name for a girl? (no not sneaking in news, just a thought!)

It's definitely MUCH easier going downhill than it is up!! Here is me being dramatic :)
(or was i?!)

After our walk it was time to say goodbye to Ann & George - but not before Tyler got a birthday present from Ann!! She gave him an artichoke plant! He's so excited - now we just need to learn how to 1. grow them:) and 2. marinate them!

this post is getting long...and if i wait to post until i finish putting this together it will be a bit - so stay tuned to part II of Tyler's birthday!

In This Newsletter:

Got this in an email from a girlfriend today...thought I would share :)

1. Take a 10-30 minute “Thank you” walk every day. While you walk practice gratitude. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to.
3. Buy a TIVO, tape your late night shows and get more sleep—it’s the ultimate energizer.
4. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement: My purpose is to___________ today.
5. Live with the 3 E's. Energy, Enthusiasm, Empathy.
6. Read more books than you did in 2007.
7. Make time to practice meditation, yoga, tai chi, qigong and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.
8. Do the “one thing” you have always wanted to do.
9. Dream more while you are awake.
10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less foods that are manufactured in plants.
11. Mentor someone and be mentored by someone.
12. Engage in daily random acts of kindness.
13. Clear your clutter from your house, your car, your desk and let new and flowing positive energy into your life.
14. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
15. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
16. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.
17. Smile and laugh more. It will keep the energy vampires away.
18. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements:
I am thankful for __________.
Today I accomplished____________.
19. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.
20. Enjoy the ride. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy it.

Another 25th Anniversary Celebration

April 10th was the 25th year anniversary for my sister Diana and her hubby Chico. I seriously cannot believe they've been together that long! I guess I was young (apparently 6) when they got together, but still just seems like there's no way it's been that long!

On Good Friday, they host an annual fam potluck dinner - and this year it was an automatic celebration night for them since we were all there :)



Tyler experienced his first massaje from Lita :)
(he started to get a migraine on the way out to their house)

Shirley, their oldest, put together a neat collage - she did such a great job all no her own since I was only able to help for oh about 20 minutes on one day :)

So she presented it to them, gave a little speech.



Diana also did a little of her own decorating for the evening...

And Chico surprised Diana with having a little live music for the night. Everyone sat around and enjoyed...and some even got out and danced.

...And there was some singing along too...
Seemed like everyone was in the mood for photo opps - there was lots of posing for the camera!

The Happy Couple:And them with their 4 kids :)

Hard Working Man

Tyler had to work this weekend :(

If you look closely at the pic below, you can see him focused on something back there!

...here's a closer shot and him manning the 'behind the scenes' camera.

lastly, a shot of his screen. I know he was working on programming in the midst of editing and putting together behind the scenes shots for our new video.

The good thing about this 'working weekend' was that the video shoot was in Modesto, and didn't run too late - so we're still getting to spend evenings together :)