It's been a long time...

It's been a long time since my last post. I'll try to catch up on all the major events.

1. The band trip to California went very well. While the weather was a bit cooler than we'd all hoped for, it was a memorable trip. After we landed at LAX (some kids saw Keanu Reeves at the baggage area) we went to Venice Beach and then to Santa Monica Pier for some sightseeing and meals. It was at least 70 degrees that afternoon, so we watched the sunlight bounce of the ocean waves. Very nice. The next day, we took a long bus ride down to the San Diego Zoo (the bus driver was lost but we finally found the zoo) and saw a lot of the zoo in a short amount of time so we could leave early and beat the traffic to get to downtown LA and Hollywood for some more sightseeing. The tour guide was excellent. She took us to see the new Disney Theater and pointed out some of the arts attractions in that area. The first picture on this post is of Jason and me in front of a sculpture dedicated to Disney's wife who donated a ton of money for the theater. It's made of broken pieces of china (the blue and white kind....I don't know the name). After the downtown LA tour, we went off to Hollywood to the Chinese Theater where we saw all of the hand/footprints of the stars and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. We also saw the entrance to the Ford Theater where the Academy Awards Ceremony is held. Some kids saw Tom Cruise going into the Chinese Theater. I didn't believe him, but the guy at the door said it was really him. One will never truly know. There are a lot of look-alikes in that area. The next day started with clinics at a local high school that was organized by Sal Lozano of the Gordon Goodwin Band the Dancing With the Stars Band. He had some guys from the Big Phat Band and other area studio players come in and do clinics with all of the kids, followed by a jazz clinic with the top jazz band. Excellent clinic. After another bus snafu, we finally arrived at Universal Studios and City Walk for the afternoon/evening. It was pretty cold but we still went on the Jurassic Park ride even at the risk of getting wet. The last day was spent at Disneyland. Both bands did a recording clinic and the jazz band played at Carnation Plaza with Sal Lozano as a guest soloist. It's always a magical day when at Disney. I laughed so hard on some of the rides and enjoyed spending time with Kathi and Sarah Campbell throughout the trip. We left for Milwaukee the next day and everyone made it back safe and sound.


2. While we were in California, Sarah spent the week with my folks in Iowa. They had a great time with her despite the fussiness due to cutting a molar. I did laundry and repacked when I got back from California and got down to Iowa as soon as I could since I missed her terribly. It felt so good to hug and kiss her when I saw her. I spent the rest of the week in Iowa where I met my girlfriend, Serena and her daughter, Michaela for lunch at the restaurant that Kenny (Serena's husband) opened on the west side of Iowa City this past December. He owns the Mid-Town Restaurant on the east side and decided to go in with some partners to open the Mid-Town 2. So if you're ever in Iowa City, check it out. Nice family restaurants with home-made mashed potatoes. :) It was great to see them. Kim, Cleo, and Jason made it down to my parents' house for Easter and to celebrate Kim and Cleo's upcoming marriage with my Grandpa Whitehead, my Great Aunt Gladys, and my Aunt Jan and Uncle Wayne. It was good family bonding time with absolutely no shortage of food. My mom completely outdid herself! Mom and Dad had huge news for us after the celebration for Kim and Cleo subsided. Dad is retiring! Yeah!!! They're very excited for this new chapter of their lives to begin and we're looking forward to seeing them more often. I already told Dad I have a long list of projects he could help with around our house. HA!!!


3. Mom rode back to Wisconsin with us to help Kim get ready for the big move to Richmond. We helped pack her kitchen and worked on some wedding planning. The big job came with move out day. My girlfriend, Andrea, watched Sarah all day while we went down to help pack and clean. Bless her!! I was worried about how Sarah would behave since she's reached the tantrum phase. I was thankful to hear that she had a 2 1/2 hour nap and did just fine with Andrea. Whew. Anyway, after we got the truck loaded and house cleaned, we scurried back to the house to clean up and go out for Mexican and Kim's favorite restaurant, La Perla. I'm sure it wasn't a very relaxing dinner for Kim since Sarah was pretty fussy and I looked stressed out. The margaritas tasted great, nonetheless. We celebrated Mom's birthday with a piece of flan which Sarah attempted to devour. It was hilarious! She wouldn't let Mom hold the spoon and she kept shoveling the flan into her mouth. She would've eaten the entire piece had I not grabbed her and handed her off to Jason to distract her in the other room. Too funny. The picture of Kim kissing Sarah and the picture of Kim and Cleo, and Sarah eating the flan are from our La Perla night. The pictures above those are of Easter and the stay at Mom and Dad's. (The last picture was taken by Andrea who has taken so many of our professional pictures. It's nice to have a friend who uses your daughter as a guinea pig to test out her new orange background. Too fun.) Kim and Cleo came back to our house for their last night in Wisconsin before the long drive to Richmond. We all put on a brave face and didn't get too emotional since we'll be seeing Kim the weekend of April 17th for her dress fitting and brunch shower,etc. I'm sure the tears will flow heavily when she leaves that weekend since she won't see Sarah until sometime this summer since Sarah isn't coming to Jamaica with us for the wedding. The fact that Kim has moved is starting to gradually sink in. It's now becoming real. I'm so happy to hear that her first two days of work have gone well, that her cat survived the traumatic trip, and that Cleo's family welcomed them when they arrived. Of course we'll continue to talk every day. That's the kind of close relationship we have and no amount of distance will ever change that.
4. We had a nice dinner out with Jason's sister, Meghan and husband, Bob on Saturday night. We met at the Texas Road House in Kenosha. Great hot rolls with cinnamon butter. We met to celebrate Meghan and Bob's February b-days. It was great to be out without the kids so that we could enjoy good conversation and laughs without interruptions. Meghan was a good sport to come out since she was still getting over being sick. She was also a good sport to get up on that saddle as the people around us all wished her happy birthday. Sorry about that by the way, Meghan. I really didn't know they made people get up on a saddle. :) Anyway, good times.


5. I started my babysititing job today. I'm watching a 3 month old named, Jacob, two days a week until the end of the school year. Jacob was adopted by friends of ours from our small group at church. Silvia had to return to her teaching position after being on adoption leave so she needed help on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Jacob was lovely. It's Sarah that may be a problem for awhile. She wanted to sit in the bouncy seat, his swing, take his socks and bib off. Of course she wanted to be held when I was holding him. She never wants to be held...she always wants to be on the go. This will be good for her since she's been the center of attention up until now. We're hoping to try for baby #2 soon so this will be good training for her. Wish me luck. :)

I'm sure there's more to tell you, but I need to hang it up for tonight. Keep in touch!