Recital

I have to say - it was very satisfying being proud parents at Michael & Jack's piano and violin recital; you're not only recycling all your efforts through your kids, but seems to go one further somehow.

Anyway, after some rough practices, the boys delivered come performance time.

Mrs. Lloyd hovering.

Kelsey walked Jack through his performance. FYI, piano for 4 yr olds definitely has more bang for the buck; violin being more initially demanding.

Jack performed "Mississippi Stop Stop"

The class performance: Mia, Michael, & Carston

Bravo Michael & Jack!

Sangria

Seems odd to devote a posting to a drink, but consider this a salute to summer and sangria...
I've been making these concoctions since Tacoma, heaping citrus rounds and berries in with cheap red wine. A couple tea bags of a spiced orange flavor (Good Earth works well) gives it a signature kick, as does some cherry liquor when you serve over a tall glass filled with ice.

Goes down very easy - dangerously so - and find a clear pitcher for the visual. I'm trying watermelon wedges, as well as adding green tea bags this time, and I no longer dilute the wine. To deepen the flavor, I sometimes add instant tea, which also sweetens it a bit.

For our friends in the PNW, summer is on the way!

"Caspian" at the Pinewood Derby

Michael entered a pinewood derby race, submitting "Caspian," originally, a 2"x 7" block worked into a blue, green, and red striped "box" car with yellow details. Wasn't aerodynamic to my mind - modeled upon a Thomas tank engine - but while he learned invention, I learned submission in this father/son enterprise.

Actually, it was a good lesson in learning how to guide, suggest, etc without stifling your youngster-partner. Perhaps you have no idea how much energy went into the above; it was my first derby car, as well.

The qualifying table: no more than 5 oz, 7" long, 3" high, and 2 3/4" wide. We glued in weights to gain speed. The track- sponsored by Pennzoil.

Upon hearing your name called, you enter the circle - no adults allowed - grab your car, and submit it for the race. Michael lost the first round (before we discovered the WD 40 trick), then proceeded to win...

earning a handsome, third prize trophy!

So excited.

Buddy, Jeremiah, won for best design. We raced from 6:30 'til 10, devouring great hot dogs and enjoying the evening, punctuated uncharacteristically by light rain and even a tremor.

Although families with a resident engineer clearly had an advantage, there seemed to be no rhyme or reason between design or craft and winning. Jeremiah's dad spent hours finetuning the wheel axles, whereas a lady at the pit-stop - the day of the race - crudely hammered in her son's wheels - and won. My son's clunker did, too.

Odds & Ends

Our neighbor, Paul, is very active: biking, scubadiving, or flying most weekends - he loans his skateboard to the boys,

who love going down driveways, especially if splashing the water in the gutter.
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Jack got his violin (1/16) - a big day

The boys take piano then violin with Mrs. Lloyd and her daughter in Simi valley, a rugged desert suburb, about 15 minutes north.

BTW, due to traffic, Simi (Reagan Library) and Malibu (Getty Villa, beaches) tend to be the recommended sites; nothing past the 405 freeway, a kind of border marking the hell-zone of LA traffic.

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Michael also had his art show recently, an audience judged context (see Jack below) in which he placed 5th in his age bracket (almost everyone's a winner)

for his beloved lion.

"Good job!"

My own Confucian-based, Asian upbringing wasn't based on positive accolades so much as avoiding shame; not wanting to displease. Negativity can be effective motivation, given the warped aspect of our natures; ie the near fatal heart attack that reforms habits.

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Here's a leftover birthday pic of Jack