Nina helped me pick flowers for the bbq.
There can never be too many s'mores
Sydney, Gracie, Kate, Maisy, and Nina...big 1st graders!
Salmon salad the next day. Tuesday, we had a work party here for some of the marketing team in Zig's group. They were having an offsite all day and came by the house for appetizers before heading to a late dinner at Barking Frog. Zig was stuck in traffic on the 520 bridge and called and told me he would be late but that everyone else was behind him so not to worry. Since I hadn't met any of these folks previously (most work in the Mountain View office, New York, and a few other spots), I was glad to hear he would be arriving first as planned. As soon as he said they were running behind, I decided to feed my kids dinner, and felt relief that I had a few more minutes to set up..it had been a busy day and I was running quite a bit behind. And then I looked down the driveway and saw an unfamiliar car coming up. Turns out Zig wasn't in front so the party started with these kind people, who I had never met, helping me bring all the food out and set up. They were awesome. Oh and Rollin decided to help too and turned the dessert upside down. Love you, Zig. A little chaos is always good, right?!
Wednesday the girls were giddy with excitement for the Davises to arrive. Sela and Nina were with friends during the day and I just had Rollin and Evan here. My friend, Lilian, has had numerous doctor appointments for her new baby so we were excited to be able to watch her darling girls, Anna and Leah, during the day. I think this was the first time Rollin got to be in charge and take friends around and entertain without his sisters around. He kept things hopping and they were all dirty and tired when Lilian arrived. They had so much fun and played "Mom, Dad & Baby" in the treehouse, among other things. I was trying to get ready for Darcie and Geoff so Rollin was a really big helper! Love that boy!
Anna, Leah, and Rollin
After they left and I scrambled to pick up the girls, we flew into the driveway just a few minutes ahead of the Davises. The girls picked up right where they left off and played solid for the next five days. Darcie, Geoff and I enjoyed the few minutes of downtime, usually at night when the kids were asleep, to catch up and visit, although I could still use more time to further discuss a few things! We also enjoyed seeing Heather Parry and her kids and Lori Thompson, Micah and Maverick.
Thursday night we had tickets to Martina McBride with the Thompsons and Sharps. The Davises were able to join us last minute because Dave and Lisa stayed in Wyoming longer than they had originally planned and Geoff finally decided that he liked us enough to endure the twang :) The concert was good, Zig and Geoff don't appreciate country music quite as much as we do (California boys) and Zig kept saying "that Reba McIntire concert was awesome!" Whatever :) We all agree that the company was the best part, of course, and Chateau St. Michele is a such an ideal setting for a concert when the weather is nice.
Friday we had nothing, and that was nice. The kids played all day. We visited and cooked and made snacks and cooked and made snacks and stayed up too late trying to get all our talking in. Sela and Tennie were off most of the day trying to create a natural tanning cream...aka dirt :)
Fun Dips (Emergen-C style)
Saturday we hosted a dinner for a few families who had won a dinner at our house as part of the Microsoft Giving auction. Zig donated dinner and a day at the farm and it was time to "pay up". I got out early Saturday to do grocery shopping. I was running out of steam so I planned to go to PCC and get some salads from the deli to supplement what we were making, but there was just nothing that looked good. It was all kind of blah and that didn't feel right. I hurried and came home and got to work....Well, that is after I searched for a gluten free dessert and gluten free graham crackers. Two of the guys were gluten free and one 9 year girl was a vegetarian who eats salmon. Another guy was lactose intolerant but he didn't tell me until he got here (I panicked). Fortunately he said it was mild and he brought his pills to counteract the dairy. Let's just say the kids got a couple movies in that afternoon. Desperate times, right? Zig had a keynote to prepare for and was occupied till 3 so it was pretty much my auction dinner, which is fine, in hindsight. He has a lot going on and somehow together we manage to get things done. We were scrambling at the last minute and I was kind of wishing I had just bought those darn salads! But it all worked out just in the nick of time, literally. Thank goodness no one was early!We grilled salmon again and I made some salads from the garden, my favorite being a beet orange salad. We have tons of beets and they were in the garden one moment and on the table 3 hours later. I love that! We enjoyed getting to know these families and ended the night with a campfire (notice a theme?)
Sunday we took it easy. Actually, we took it easy until it was church time. Zig flew out to New York in the morning (lucky sucker) and I took the kids to church alone. I knew it would be a challenge and was questioning why I wore heels the second I sat down. Evan and Zig usually spend the meeting in the nursery (Evan likes to shriek at the most quiet moments) so today it was my turn. While in the nursery, I heard a familiar voice and it became clear that the sweet little voice over the intercom was Sela's. She was sharing her testimony and I wasn't even in there to watch. Many people approached me afterwards to tell how much her thoughts meant to them. Sunday afternoon we had dinner when the Davises returned from visiting our old church. The kids filled the remainder of the evening dressing up, performing in a talent show, and I'm pretty sure there was at least one more naked parade. Good times. Oh and what better time for a washing machine to malfunction than when guests are here and the kids have spent the last five days getting filthy.
Ceci likes the spotlight! She's so fun to watch.
Sela singing Taylor Swift something
Adele and Nina
Rollin trying hard to steal the spotlight
Geoff and Tennie having a conversation in French. Tennie's French is really good!
Interesting reactions from the peanut gallery
The audience...Geoff making cookies.
All done!
The three little girls are little exhibitionists!
Ceci leading the naked parade
Adele and Nina are little free birds. Today the Davises headed to San Juan Island. The time went by fast. We're all pretty worn out and I know the kids probably stayed up much later here than they usually do. Same for Darcie and Geoff! But it's always great to spend time with old friends. Our kids have known each other since they were babies and it's so neat to see them all growing up. Tennie is 10! Now that is hard to believe! Where has the time gone?!
Come back soon!
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