May Memories

These past few weeks have been busy, which is why I haven't added any new posts lately. We've been working on landscaping our yard in every spare moment. On Mother's Day weekend we went over to my parents' house for a nice lunch, and then went home to start working on our garden fence. The fence is finished now and looks great! Here's a picture:
The next weekend (during the HOT weather) Mom, Dad, and I drove down to Fresno to attend Katie's graduation from her dietetic internship and to move her out of her apartment. She is now certified to take her test to become a registered dietician, which she'll do this summer after attending a study workshop. Photos of her graduation are on my dad's camera, so I'll have to get some on the blog next time I post.

This past weekend, Memorial Day Weekend, we kept working on the backyard, including getting ready to plant more flowers around the perimeter of the yard. As you can see by the picture below, Clark loves his lawn. Now that the nights are warmer, he will lay out on the lawn for hours, rolling around and playing with his toys.Below are some random photos from the past few weeks:
-The new chaise lounge looks very relaxing on the deck (although who has time to lie down on it?) Can you find the dog in the photo? - One of Clark's many nicknames is Ferdinand, because he loves to smell flowers. Here he is smelling our cactus, which went crazy blooming this year. - Clark's favorite place to hang out at night is on our bed. This particular night, he made himself very comfortable on Logan's pillow. - We have also found that Clark is good at helping with the laundry. Now if we can only get him to vacuum and scrub the toilet...- This is Clark with one of his very favorite people, his trainer Amelia. Clark will be graduating from the Intermediate class next week. His repertoire of tricks and obedience behaviors is growing by leaps and bounds, thanks to Amelia's excellent teaching. Unfortunately for us, Amelia is leaving PetSmart, so Clark won't be able to go through the Advanced class with her.

The Happiest Places on Earth: Disneyland and our backyard

We had a great time in Disneyland on Logan's spring break. The crowds were small, the weather was beautiful, and we took a wonderful tour called "A Walk in Walt's Footsteps." During the tour we got to take a ride in the "Lilly Belle"- Walt's personal train car. Here is a small selection of photos from the trip:

A view of the Matterhorn from the hub on Main Street

A photo of our tour guide standing in front of the secretive Club 33











The inside of the "Lilly Belle" train car











A very grown-up little boy talks on his Mickey Mouse cell phone while traveling on the Storybook Land Canal boats






I can never resist petting zoos- especially the cute little goats in the Big Thunder Ranch area






There were kids everywhere dressed as pirates and princesses. Here's a little pirate walking down Main Street






Logan and his favorite character, Chip







Although I'd get too dizzy riding the teacups, I love to watch them spin at night. Such gorgeous colors!






We ventured out of Disneyland one afternoon to visit the LEGO store in the Downtown Disney shopping district










Logan enjoying our favorite afternoon snack- a Mickey Mouse ice cream bar- yum!










Apparently, this is what a dog looks like after he has spent a whole week at doggy day camp- playing 24/7!!






Back at work in the real world, I served as a judge for the library's Reverse American Idol program a few weeks ago. Each of the three judges dressed as a storybook character- and I dressed as Mama Bear from "Goldilocks and the Three Bears." Our job was to judge the kid performers and choose the worst singer in Palo Alto. It was great fun for everyone involved!

In our backyard, things are coming along well. Our grass has taken root now, and we planted a tree and some flowers along the edge of the deck. It was quite a task trying to get the 12 foot tall tree home from the store- it stuck up so much in the back of the truck that it was hitting streetlights and trees on the way home. And it was so windy that night that I needed to stick my hand out the back window to keep the tree from flying out the back of the truck!












The new plants along the edge of our deck were just planted this afternoon. They really give the deck a finished look.






Logan the gardener watering the new plants











It's starting to look finished- yay!