August 11, 2002

I can't believe more than two months has gone by since I last made and entry here! It seems like the summer just started and we're talking about plans for Labor Day weekend.

So, what's been taking up all our time? As you can see from the detailed chronology below, we're *very* busy a lot!

On May 29, I attended the Professional Business Women's Conference. What an inspiration! It definitely gave me some insights into handling change, since it inevitable. Especially with kids!

On June 4, Val and I went to see Ellen DeGeneres do comedy at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, with Judy and Donna. As always, Ellenwas very funny, and we had good seats. I had to go online to get them within 10 minutes of them going on sale!!

On June 6, Glynis and Susan came over for dinner. It's always fun getting a visit from "the Aunties".

One June 7 we spent the afternoon with Shannon and her twins, Seth and Lily, who are just 6 weeks older than Haley.

One June 8 we went to Christopher Amezquita's 4th birthday party. I have a special connection with Christopher because I was there during his birth, taking lots of pictures. And he's exactly 18 months younger than Katelyn, to the day. Francesca and I continue to see each other on a regular basis (saw her on the 19th) - she's a good friend, and the kids have fun.

On June 10, Pam and Samantha Burton came over for dinner. That turned out to be an exciting day because of the solar eclipse. It was strange because it was the biggest eclipse (72% of the sun covered) to be seen in this area for many years, but there wasn't much publicity about it. I found out about it on the way home from work on the radio, and called ahead so Mom could look up on the Internet how we make one of those things to see it without looking directly at the sun. Very cool!

Katelyn had a big day on June 13 - Graduation from Hoover! She officially finished preschool. The following Monday, June 17, she started at A Child's Way. This is the place she will be going for after-school care once she starts kindergarten. They have a great summer program! They have field trips almost every week (San Jose Discovery Museum, Zoo, Pac Bell Park, pizza parlors, etc.) and go swimming every Thursday. She seems to be adapting well, although she misses her friends at Hoover, especially Gabi and Jessica. We're arranging play dates so they can continue to see each other, and Katelyn sometimes stops in to say hi when we pick up Haley.

The following day, Val and I took off for Mono Lake, for our one-year anniversary. (pictures soon) If you haven't ever been, I highly recommend it. The lake itself is magnificent, with awesome geological formations and a colorful history. The surrounding area is beautiful. We went up to the Bodie ghost town, and down to Mammoth Lake. It was a quick trip (up on Friday, back on Sunday), but the drive through Yosemite was great, and of course the company was outstanding!! A nice way to celebrate our first year together.

On June 22, Katelyn started her first karate class. They are teaching basic moves and exercises, but the kids really enjoy learning the Japanese counting and other words, and Sensei Sue makes it for for them.

Later that day, Val and the kids and I went up to Marin county to visit her friends Nancy and Les. They were very fun, and the kids had fun playing in their lovely back yard. The best part was watching their dog frolic in water sprayed from the hose, trying to eat it. The kids soon joined in and were wet and happy.

On June 23, Val and I took her dad Gavin out for Father's Day, of course with his wife Nelee. We went to D'Asaro in Redwood city, a new restaurant for all of us. I'd definitely go back.

June 24-28 was Gay Pride Week at Oracle, which I helped coordinate. We flew the rainbow flag on the main flag pole outside the headquarters building. We also had two concerts by the Rainbow Women's Chorus and the Silicon Valley Gay Men's Chorus.

Sunday, June 30 was the Gay Pride Parade in San Francisco. Once again we all rode on motorcycles in the parade: Val carrying Haley on the bike with me, Kathie carrying Katelyn, and Glynis and Susan alongside. We were quite hit with the audience. Click here for pictures.

The first week in July, Katelyn had an adventure. Aunt Susan (Schneider) came to get her on the 2nd, and she stayed there the rest of the week. In addition to shopping for a flower girl dress (did I mention Susan is getting married August 4?), they did all sorts of fun things, including "girlie" things that my sister never got to do with her two boys. I gather they both had a lot of fun. The week ended with us all (including Lee, Glynis, and Val) meeting up at the Pacific Procession Drum and Bugle Corps Show at Cal State Hayward. We had to head home before the results were announced (around 11pm!), but other than that it was a fun evening. The performances were wonderful, and Susan and I had a good trip down memory lane. And were both excited to hear about senior corps (for the over-21 crowd) in San Francisco and Sacramento. Hmmm, maybe when we have more time...

Glynis & Susan came over for July 4th. We had fun figuring out the rules to Pinochle (which I hadn't played in years, and was new to them), and then 4-handed Pinochle when Val arrived. Later we watched fireworks throughout the area from the deck - little specs of lights, exploding in the distance.

On July 18 I had my final eye doctor visit after my laser surgery. I'm seeing 20/20 in the right eye, and slightly less than that in my left, and my eyes are in good shape. I'm very pleased, and the doctor is too, considering how bad my eyes were to start with.

On July 20, Val and I went over to her stepsister Jenny's because her other stepsister, Debra (Jenny's sister) and her daughter Margot were visiting from New York. This is the first time we'd gotten to see them since visiting them in Manhattan on September 13, so ti was nice to catch up. And the Thai food was really good!

On July 21, Val and I were finally able to hook up with Lynn and Trudy, whose schedules are almost as busy as ours.

On July 22 we went over to Andrea & Mikie's for a BBQ. We got to visit with Antonio, who is getting big and starting to cruise the furniture, and Christopher, who is already big (hahaha), working for the City of San Mateo for the summer as an intern, and will be starting his senior year at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the fall.

On July 23, Pam and Samantha came over for dinner again. No eclipses this time, but we still had fun.

On July 26, Val and I went to Michelle and Giovanni's house for dinner. Val had never met either of them, although I talk about her all the time to Michelle (!), so that was good to all get together. The food was good, we did Shabbat, and Michelle got very tired as the evening progresses. That's what happens when you're about 2 months away from giving birth to twins!

On July 27, Jennifer and I did a workshop at the Ladyfest conference. Next year I might go. It seemed quite organized and had great workshops. The crowd is more 20-something, but hey, I might still learn something and have fun!

On Sunday, August 4, my sister Susan married Joel Siegel. I was the maid of honor, Katelyn was a flower girl, and Mom walked Susan down the aisle. Haley didn't cooperate at all, completely refusing to wear the pretty dress and shoes and disrupting the ceremony a bit. But that's the nature of being almost two years old, right?

On Friday, August 9, I took the girls to Judy & Donna's swimming. Katelyn is really swimming without assistance, although she still wants to wear her water wings. And we had to drag Haley out of the water even though she was shivering and exhausted - she loved it!

On Saturday, August 10, Val set up my new router/firewall, so we're finally all hooked up at home with DSL for everyone, separate from the Oracle DSL I've had up until now. Yay!