Happy birthday, Nana!

Happy birthday, Nana!  We loved celebrating with you on a sunny day.  

 

Leo's Big Birthday Weekend

It is hard to believe that Leo turned 16 on Sunday.  Sixteen!!!  Time flies when you're enjoying an amazing human grow up in front of your eyes.  

Though this wasn't officially part of the birthday celebrations, the Wednesday before his birthday we took in a mid-week movie.  Just the two of us went to a mid-week showing of Stop Making Sense, the Talking Heads concert film.  It was a remastered version to celebrate its 40th anniversary. We wouldn't normal see a movie on a school night, but it was the last night it was playing locally. 

The theater was pretty empty, but before it started, a few more people trickled in.  We both absolutely loved the film so I'm very glad we made the last minute decision to see it. 

On Saturday, we kicked off the official birthday celebrations.  First up was a trip to the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco to see a Takashi Murakami exhibit.  We saw some of his pieces when we visited the street art exhibit in Brooklyn in 2019

The exhibit was pretty amazing.  I'm very glad we went.  We had the added bonus of seeing the Blue Angels from the museum's roof since the air show was happening for fleet week. 

Sunday was his actual birthday and we started the day with a birthday brunch.  

Nana joined us for brunch.  

When discussing his birthday, Leo declared he wanted a seafood tower for dinner.  Well, a upscale seafood restaurant opened near us during Covid and Leo wanted to try it.  They didn't have a seafood tower on the menu, but Leo was okay with that.  

Serafina was cold so she used a napkin as a shawl. 

First course, oysters.  

That was followed by lobster and another fish dish. Look at these guys ready to dig in.  

We followed up dinner with a visit to Salt and Straw for yummy ice cream. 

It was Tom's first time trying it and he was a big fan. 

Both kids had Monday off from school, so Leo celebrated one extra day with his friends at Top Golf.  Top Golf is kind of like if a driving range and a bowling alley had a baby.  

It was a wonderful, celebratory birthday weekend for Leo. 
 

Auntie Sheila visit

My Aunt Sheila came up for a visit to spend some time with us in the Bay Area and to see my mom.  Since she was here for 4th of July, we did an all-American outing and went to see the SF Giants play.  The didn't play that well, but this hand-tossed caramel corn was delicious.  

Sunny day at the ballpark.  

Our seats were pretty high up, but it afforded us some very nice views of the bay.  I'm glad we got a chance to hang out at the game at this really nice ball park.  

The next day we were off to explore the art museum on the Stanford campus.  We took Grandpa Skip there many years ago.  It's still a great spot to visit. 

This art piece was very uncanny, and a little unsettling.  

Straight from the Gates of Hell to the ice cream shop.  

 We had a really nice visit with Sheila, with plenty of good food and chatting in addition to our adventures.  

Dance Recital 2023

Another recital in the books!  It was an exhausting, inspirational, fun time.  Each year, I get to know the kids and teachers more and more so the recital becomes more meaningful.  It's such a wonderful way to celebrate the end of the dance season, especially on a year when we aren't headed to the national competition just a few weeks later.  The recital was the actual finale to this dance season, complete with an emotional sendoff for this year's graduating seniors. 

Serafina performed all of her competition routines, with the ballroom routine performing in two shows. Because she was a teaching assistant this year for a pre-jazz class, she was also in the opening number.  Her large hip hop routine closed every show. It is one of the most high energy, fun routines and is delightful to watch. 

In addition to her competition routines, she performed with her four technique classes as well.  Here's a few shots from hip hop.  My phone acted up and I couldn't record it. 

Here's her technique class contemporary routine.  I took this video during dress rehearsal so there is a lot of talking in the background. 

Here's a video of the opening number featuring the teachers, TAs and seniors.  This is also from rehearsal so they are all in various costume pieces.  For the actual show, they looked more uniform with matching shirts and bottoms. 

I helped back stage for the two morning shows.  I got this cute picture in the wings before the girls went on for Show Jazz. 

Serafina's school friend Bella came to the first show.  It was really sweet of her to support Serafina. 

Tom, Leo and I got to watch the afternoon show on Saturday. 

Sunday morning I worked backstage again.  I got a few pictures of Serafina's ballet dance from the wings.  She wasn't that please with me about it. 

Her bestie Sunny, along with Sunny's aunt, and Serafina's former teacher Mrs. Ghelfi, came to watch with her daughter Sadie.  Sadie loved the recital and had lots of questions about it.  She had her mom sign her up for a class as soon as they got home.  

They hung out with us during the break between shows. We walked around to the front of the theater and I got this shot. 

Ah these two. 

The final show was Sunday night.  Tom, Leo, Nana and I were in the audience.  The little jazz dancers that Serafina was a TA for performed during that show and I told her I needed a picture of her with "her little friends" (that's what I called them all season when she went to assist in their class).  Serafina was dressed for her Senior Hip Hop Crew dance that went on immediately after their routine. 

After the show we were able to give her lots of flowers and praise.  

That night we celebrated my birthday and Father's Day with one delicious cake. 

I don't really mind spending my birthday at recital.  Next year, Serafina will be old enough to sign up to participate in the "Dancing Dads" routine.  Tom isn't so sure about it all, but it is a crowd favorite and Serafina assured him he'll be towards the back.  
 

Family Gingerbread House Competition

We decided to put a little twist on our annual gingerbread house decorating tradition and make it a competition. I bought a gingerbread "village" that included four little houses, one for each of us to decorate.  Then we invited my mom over to judge our work.  

We all had the same supplies to work with, and there was no time limit.  Here's Tom and Leo hard at work.  

Serafina and Nana.  

Here's the line up of houses.  

Nana choosing a winner and ranking the remaining houses. 

Here's mine.  I had structural issues and went for a monochromic aesthetic.  I came in 4th place. 

Serafina came in third.  Nana declared it "a bit messy".  Serafina was offended. 

Leo placed second.  Though his incorporation of a gumdrop chimney was appreciated, Nana described it as "a little sparse".  

Tom was declared the winner!  

 

Winter Concert 2022

Leo started with the school band at the beginning of the school year and opted to play saxophone, even though this is a completely new instrument for him. Since the school is brand new, they sometimes make plans for events that don't actually happen because the facility isn't ready or they don't have the manpower to pull it off.  But last night, they successfully held their first Winter Concert.  The performing arts center at school is impressive, even though it's not finished.  It was close enough to done to host us last night.  

The school is small since it's just 9th graders currently.  So that means the band is small too, just 16 kids.  

The small band lead to a small crowd so I had the perfect seat to watch Leo perform.  I love an unobstructed view! 

Here they are playing "Holiday Sampler".  Leo is one of two saxophone players.  The other sax kid, Treyvon, has been playing for a while.  It made me extra proud that Leo held his own next to him. 

Star Wars is always going to be a crowd pleaser. 

Leo gave a snarky introduction to the song Seven Nation Army.  He isn't a fan of this song or the band that wrote it. 

Louie Louie was my hands-down favorite because of how Leo moved and grooved while he played.  

The teacher wanted some additional numbers to round out the program.  Originally Leo was going to perform a duet with another kid that plays guitar.  Unfortunately, they didn't get enough practice time to play that song, so the teacher asked Leo to perform a solo.  He played part of Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd.  It was great to see him play guitar as well.  He was one of only four soloist.  

Here's my multi-instrument musical master!  I was so proud.  I smiled the whole time and he was clearly pleased and a little relieved when it was over.  He said he really like performing in the theater because he couldn't really see the audience from the stage and that made him less nervous. 

I'm also glad that Nana got a chance to join us and see him play live.