(This is part two of our weekend reunion with old friends…see part one here.)

The next day we got together again for a barbecue. Madame was excited to visit again after getting to stay up late to play the night before…she said she dreamed about the marble run.

The guys lounged in the backyard while the kids played and our hosts cooked…sushi and barbecue.

The weather was perfect, sunny but not too warm. After dinner we strolled over to a nearby park.

Did I mention their almost grownup kitten, Smores? She’s so cute!

Last weekend we saw some old friends we hadn’t seen in a long, long time. We had a great get together that stretched over the whole weekend.

On Saturday we were invited to check out a golf club, and ended up being treated to dinner by our friend who is a member there. Note the plaque – Chris is very proud of his win.

It was a tranquil, beautiful place, with wild deer roaming about. The weather was nice so we explored the grounds while waiting for our meal.

Look at the food!

As the sun went down, we headed back to meet up with the rest of the gang.

The kids stayed up late playing with a marble run while the grownups played Mille Bornes. We had so much fun, everyone decided to get together again the next day!

Stay tuned for part two of the story…

Lucy (sniffing air): “PYEWWWWW!”
Mommy: “What? I don’t smell anything.”
Lucy: “Maybe you turned your nose off for the night!”
— Another heart to heart between mother and daughter

Life with Lucy: Year 5, Part 1 from Mike C on Vimeo.

We’ve still got a couple of weeks of June to slog through. However, I needed a weekend project so here’s the latest chapter of “Life with Lucy”. In this ongoing series I post a video collage of pics and videos from the past half year.

This latest installment contains approximately 191 photos and 18 video clips and clocks in at 9 minutes and 46 seconds. Hmmm, not a bad use of time for a lazy Sunday!

Previous “Life with Lucy” installments can be found here:

1. Year One: 2007 Part 1 (Jan – Jun) | Part 2 (Jul – Dec)
2. Year Two: 2008 Part 1 (Jan – Jun) | Part 2 (Jul – Dec)
3. Year Three: 2009 Part 1 (Jan – Jun) | Part 2 (Jul – Dec)
4. Year Four: 2010 Part 1 (Jan – Jun) | Part 2 (Jul – Dec)

All pics and short videos used in this collage were taken from January through June, 2011.

Music used:

• “Live Forever” from Definitely Maybe by Oasis
• “Boy About Town” from Sound Affects by The Jam
• “Evergreen” from Methodrone by The Brian Jonestown Massacre

“There are millions and millions of candles sparkling with jewels!”
— Lucy describing the two candles on Jim and Tisa’s dinner table in Kauai

We just got back from Hawaii on Monday night. I’m sure we’ll be posting a video and more pics shortly. In the meantime I wanted to write a quick post featuring Wubie-related messages from a good friend of mine, Chuck, who I’ve known since I was about 14 years old.

In addition to being an all around swell guy, Chuck has helped us out on a number of occasions by agreeing to watch our cat Wubie while we were out on holiday. So, when we went to Hawaii, Chuck kept tabs on Wubie to make sure he was OK.

A Wubie update from Chuck:

Hey y’all,

Just a quick note to let you know that Mr. Stinkybreath Poopsalot is doing quite well. He is as regular as the sun shinin’ in the mornin’. Or something.

Just a few things in case I forget:
He’s missed the box a few times. He’s about a 50/50 shot – which is Shaq-fully dreadful as a free throw shooter.

He also seems to like pushing half the cat litter out of the box and onto the floor. Goof.
I found some disinfectant in the hall closet to clean up the mark of Zorro he created on the bathroom floor.

There was a smallish barf spot last night on the floor kind of between the table and the hallway. Maybe he was partying too hard after the super bowl. Anyhoo, I cleaned that as best as I could, but if you have some better stain remover you might want to go over the area again.

And a non-Wubie note – The TV situation kicked my butt. I tried it to see if I could catch part of the Warriors game, but I couldn’t get it to do anything but NBC and no audio. Minimizing the eye TV stuff, you had some software update boxes up, so I figured I’d leave well enough alone. I had everything shut off on Friday, or so I thought, but when I went over on Saturday the sound only was on. I refuse to believe that Wubie was just messing with me… But, um, you might want to go over all the settings when you return.

Hope y’all are having a great time!

See ya.

From Jill:

Hi Chuck,

you are hilarious. Mike wants to do a post called ‘confessions of a catsitter’ on our blog (permission granted?)

Yep, Wubie has some box issues. Glad he is making 50/50, that is better than average for him! Yep, we noticed the ‘digging to China’ too…I think it might just be that kind of litter that he does that with. Mike just changed the litter the day we left.

There are some cleaning wipes in the bathroom strategically located on the toilet for easy access when there are “misses”. No worries about carpet stains, we’ve pretty much given up. It was cheap carpet anyway!

The barf is probably a hairball, he does those maybe once a month, so hopefully you will be clear for a while.

Mike says for the TV, you can close or cancel the random update things. I find the TV does those ghost noises to me too. I dunno, too many things to control! don’t worry about it.

Now you see why we wanted to pay you!

We are having a lovely time, just switched islands to the Big Island today….and guess what, there is a Wubie here! He is a stray, and has a gray friend, but it was so nice to see that little siamese face when we got here. We have been feeding him and his friend cheese. I suspect other condo dwellers feed them too, he seemed to regard this place as his home.

Mike may have more to add, we’ll see when he gets on his computer (we have cheesy corded internet here, so have to switch off using the cable.)

thanks again for taking care of our cranky old man,

Jill, Mike and Lucy

Jill

From a later email:

In fact, the Wu-Bot has been much neater the last couple of days! However, he seems to have offset the messy behaviors with a rather talkative-roaming-around penchant. Sadly, the volume and the vocabulary is about as inspiring (and mellifluous) as the most cantankerous old school dalek. A dalek in bad need of a breath mint.

Have fun.

Chuck

And there you have it. See, even when he’s out of sight and thousands of miles away, Wubie is always on our minds. Thanks again, Chuck!

“You throw yourself in the diaper champ and in the garbage truck with all the dirty diapers!”
— Lucy telling me how she really feels

Life with Lucy: Year 4, Part 2 from Mike C on Vimeo.

It’s been about six months since I’ve posted a “Life with Lucy” video, so here’s the latest chapter. In this ongoing series I post a video collage of pics and videos from the past half year. Previous “Life with Lucy” installments:

1. Year One: 2007 Part 1 (Jan – Jun) | Part 2 (Jul – Dec)
2. Year Two: 2008 Part 1 (Jan – Jun) | Part 2 (Jul – Dec)
3. Year Three: 2009 Part 1 (Jan – Jun) | Part 2 (Jul – Dec)
4. Year Four: 2010 Part 1 (Jan – Jun)

All pics and short videos used in this collage were taken from July through December, 2010. Some happenings from the last six months:

• July: Mike got rid of some junk, visits to the SJ Obon Festival and Academy of Sciences
• August: Jill’s early Christmas present and an outdoor movie
• September: A special trip to Filoli and Lucy got a bike and went for a swim
• October: A recording session, Halloween, a story on how we met Wubie, an interview with Gma Vita, and a pumpkin patch visit
• November: The Dickens Fair, two Thanksgivings, Mike’s yellow belt test
• December: The Nutcracker Ballet, Christmas, a visit to Skywalker Ranch, a school visit, and a pirate birthday party

Music used:

• “Picture Book” from The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society by The Kinks
• “Dandelion” from Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2) by The Rolling Stones
• “(Drawing) Rings Around the World” from Rings Around the World by Super Furry Animals

Lucy: “I don’t want to have a birthday!”
Mom: “Why?”
Lucy: “I’m afraid it might be at night and I’ll be tired!”
— A conversation with Lucy once we pushed the clock back an hour and it started getting dark a lot earlier

We got together with some friends last night to celebrate a couple of recent birthdays. The kids had lots of fun, running around and playing (it paid dividends later when Lucy went to bed without too much fuss.)

In many ways, the night was an extension of the previous day’s Thanksgiving get-togethers, full of food and loved ones. The BBQ was fired up, there was plenty of good conversation, and I extended my holiday break see-food diet for a bit.

A special treat: our friends had a projector they were able to hook up to a laptop and voila!—the kids were watching The Year Without a Santa Claus projected on the big screen/wall. Lucy’s snack of choice during the show: a plain hamburger bun. Yep, she’s a breadatarian, that kid.

It was pretty neat.

A few Lucy quotes from August:

“Someday I’ll be four!”
– the first words out of Lucy’s mouth one morning

“Poopy old man!”
– Lucy talking to Wubie

“I feel refreshed and ready for anything now!”
– Lucy after pretending to nap for a few seconds

“Let’s make one side of the floor rainbowy colors, because girls like rainbows!”
– Lucy throws out marketing ideas while creating a “store” with her blocks

August is done, finito, history, so last month. Here’s an end-of-the-month post/collage to commemorate its passing. Some stuff from the past month August, 2010:

• Lucy went to her Gma Vita’s Birthday celebration/family get-together
• New iMac and Macbook Pro (and we got iChat to work)
• Mike bought some beef
• Lucy’s mommy made her a swell dolly
• Lucy had a birthday party for her Gpa Peter and Auntie Laura
• Palo Alto Obon Festival
• Two firsts: Lucy’s first movie and first time in a swimming pool
• Movies seen: Paper Heart and Hot Tub Time Machine
• TV Shows: Rome: Season 1 (Jill) and True Blood: Season 1 (Mike)

A few Lucy quotes from July:

“I can dance beautifully—and that’s why I’m a cool ballerina.”
– Lucy, describing her dancing style.

“Some of the ballerinas are nighttime ballerinas and some of the ballerinas are cat-toy ballerinas and some of the ballerinas are friendly ballerinas. I’m a princess ballerina.”
– Lucy, explaining the various types of ballerinas.

“What are you doing here, Wubie? Screwdrivers are not for cats!”
– Lucy, instructing Wubie to stay away as she tries fixing the fridge handle.

Can ya believe it’s August already? Sheesh. Since July’s in the books, here’s an end-of-the-month post/collage about it. Some notable happenings from July, 2010:

• Lucy participated in her first Bon Odori. Pictures | Video
• We got to see some Fourth of July fireworks
• Lucy attended a family get-together/birthday party for her Gma Vita (post to come)
• We said goodbye to our trusty old iMac and got…another iMac (post to come)
• Lucy’s been making the most of her summer
• Movies seen: The Runaways, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Män som hatar kvinnor), both of which I liked, and Whip It (Disappointing!)
• Mike’s books: Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern, The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee by Sarah Silverman, and Naked by David Sedaris.
• Jill’s books: The First Man in Rome and The Grass Crownby by Colleen McCullough

“Wubie crushed my wand — no magic show for him!”
— Lucy’s response after she waved her ‘magic wand’ (stick with a ribbon) in front of Wubie one too many times (he destroyed it).

We went to the SJ Obon with friends recently and had loads of fun, especially Lucy…she got to dance in her first Bon Odori.

Lucy went to her first Obon fest way back in 2008, when she was still a baby. Grandmommy had suggested we go, she had cut out a clipping from the newspaper for us, and urged us to go that very day (it was a Sunday and we had been visiting her in the hospital). We went and had a lovely time. Shortly thereafter Grandmommy got out of the hospital, so we all went together to the Palo Alto Obon fest. That was about a month before she passed away in September, and it was our last big outing together.

The Obon festival is held to remember ancestors and loved ones who are gone…so it seems appropriate that we keep going in memory of Grandmommy. (Posts from last year’s visits here and here.) If she were still here, she would surely be dancing with us!

“Nice hairdo, Daddy!”
— Lucy smiling (after I’d made an effort to look less unkempt). When I asked if she was making fun of me, she said without hesitation: “Yes!”

Last weekend we met some good friends at the San Jose Obon Festival.

Lucy’s been to a few Obons in her time (she’s 3 and a half, ya know) so she’s an old pro now. (She even has her own yukata.)

In addition to seeing the sites, playing games, having her parents chase her to and fro, and chowing down, Lucy participated in her first Bon Odori dance. She was very excited about it.

The San Jose Bon Odori was huge, with hundreds of people. Lucy had a blast attempting to duplicate the movements of all the dancers. I think she did an admirable job, though her concentration may have wavered a bit in parts.

Pics:

The kid will be busting her yukata out again this weekend for another festival. Actually, I think she also has a birthday party to attend, so her dance card will be full for the next couple of days. I’ll make sure to bring along my trusty camcorder.

Video:

SJ Obon Festival from Mike C on Vimeo.