graduation from Loma Linda Medical School. He is now on his way to beginning a six year residency program through Loma Linda. His wife, Lindsey, is beginning her fourth year of dental school at Loma Linda. Such an exciting time! It took a lot of hard work and dedication. Kirk, we're so proud of you and we love you!
It all began Saturday evening. C and I were preparing for one of the biggest nights of the year at WES- the Grand Auction! This is the event where people go to see and be seen. It is fun, awe-inspiring and entertaining. We have gone every year since I first began to work there, but C has never stayed for the dinner part, only the cocktail hour. Being that it is my last year we decided to go for it and stay through the evening. The theme was "Roaring 20's Jazz." I love the roaring 20's fashion and music and wanted to go all out. Lucky for me, my friend Andrea had the perfect flapper dress for me to wear. All I needed was a wig, some fishnet stockings and bright red lipstick. C decided to go gangster, which led us to a tiny little costume shop in Palo Alto. It was there 
that he found his pin-stripe pants, suspenders and fedora. My three co-workers and I had volunteered to be the greeters for the evening. We considered this to be the best job as we would get to see everyone as they arrived. Our duties entailed greeting and passing out bidder numbers. While I was "working", C wandered around looking at the various items up for bid. The auction is the largest fund raiser for our school. There is a silent auction early in the evening where people pla
ce a sticker to bid on a variety of things like class treasures, afternoons with the teacher, or homemade cookies once a month. The live auction happens later in the evening during dinner. That part gets a little raucous- but it's great fun! This is when you hold up your bidding number and wave it around with all your might to bid on things like vacations to Hawaii, a personal parking space at the school, or wine cellar hopping. My polenta dinner was delicious and C seemed to enjoy the fillet mignon as well. We sat with several of my co-workers, which made it all the more fun. We bid several times, but were outbid before the auctioneer even noticed our numbers in the air! 
I don't know the final number quite yet, but I know they raised a significant amount of money that will benefit the school in the coming year. The costumes, the bidding, the food and dancing were spectacular!
ndrea, drove down from St. Helena to join us. We arrived just in time to join the 60, 000+ runners. This is one of my favorite runs, simply because it is so much fun! The miles pass by so quickly and before you know it, it's already the end. Runners run in costumes, nothing, or normal clothing- whatever. There are bands playing along the street, people blaring music from their home stereos and others line the route to cheer you on. If you're ever in the area or have the opportunity to be in the area on the third Sunday in May, take time to join in the fun and festivities. We ran a good pace and finished in 1 hr. 18 min. The guy who won ran it in
34 minutes....the woman who won ran it in 39 minutes. They were done before we even got started! They really missed out! The race begins at the Bay Bridge and takes you through the city and you end at the breakers, the beach. The only part that is less than ideal is the walk back through Golden Gate Park to the bus that takes you back to the starting point. Other than that, it's a great morning. The added bonus is that you can spend the rest of the day sitting on the couch watching movies and eating popcorn without any guilt!
This weekend found us once again in Portland. Tamee and Jason graciously invited us to stay with them even amidst their process of packing. We arrived Saturday morning and went straight to work compiling lists of homes we wanted to look at. We spent several hours driving around picking up fliers and driving around neighborhoods, convinced this would be the trip that would lead us to our future home. Tamee and Jason allowed us the use of their car, which was incredibly helpful. We drove ALL OVER in preparation to meet with our realtor. Sunday morning, which also happened to be Mother's Day, we met up with some friends, Heidi and Tim, for brunch. Heidi was actually in Christian's class all through elementary and high school. I met her in college where she met and married Tim. They have lived in the Portland area for several years now and love it! We had a nice time reacquainting ourselves with them while walking around downtown. We had high hopes of
visiting more homes, but our realtor was called away on a family emergency, so we were left on our own. That afternoon was the "Good-bye" party for Tamee and Jason and we were happy to be able to attend. We enjoyed meeting several of their friends and extended family. C and I are both very sad they will be moving away. They are two incredibly wonderful people! On Monday, I had the opportunity (thanks to Tamee!!) to tour OHSU. Tamee works for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation there and knows everyone! She introduced me to a couple of people who were very helpful and took the time to show me around the children's hospital; particularly the school and playrooms. All very interesting to me. Later on in the morning we were able to connect with our realtor who took us around to several places. In the end, we had a pretty depressing feeling after not finding anything to get real excited about. I know it takes time, but with so much available we were really hoping we would find something...anything! The search continues! We flew home in low spirits but we keep praying that we find a good house that we can make home.
ove being serenaded by friends and loved ones and were it not my birthday it may not otherwise happen. C swears I am the only girl he's ever sung to, I like that. Once a year he will unabashedly burst into song and I absolutely love it! I was greeted at the door by 16 of my favorite little five year olds. They were wearing smiles and came with cards and flowers and lots of excitement. Being that it was my birthday, I got to call the shots today, so we began our day by dancing The Chicken Dance, which we often do and they know how much I love it. We spent the morning in Reader's Workshop and the whole time I was just blown away by how much they have grown. They are so excited about school and learning to read. It is the most amazing thing to sit in the middle of my classroom of little ones and have it so completely quiet you could hear a pin drop because they are all engaged in their reading. It's AMAZING! A beautiful way to begin the day. At snack and recess time
the kids from all three classes gathered together to sing to me and Tina, our wonderful aide, passed out donut holes for everyone (except the teachers...we got yummy donuts!). After our Math/Science/Social Studies block, I was about to have sharing time, when again I was 
serenaded by all three classes and their teachers. They had made a book for me that had "Happy birthday!" messages from all the kids and had some gifts for me to open as well. We do birthdays big in kindergarten! :) Then, of course, we all did The Chicken Dance together! All 47 kindergartners, 4 teachers and parent helpers! It was great fun, I loved it!! The afternoon brought a trip to the crick behind the school. It was the first visit of the year, and we all had the best time! We hunted for banana slugs, fished for tadpoles, splashed, waded, ate strawberries, climbed, played with clay and mud, laughed, and sang! Nobody wanted to
leave. It was beautiful and serene. They are begging to go back! A perfect way to end the day. I sent them home wet, muddy, and slimy.....but happy! After school my co-workers, Tracy and Stacy, treated me to a pedicure. We had a lovely time sitting in massage chairs getting our feet rubbed and scrubbed and chatting together. I cherish those moments. My evening was spent with C. I was so happy he was able to get away from work so we could spend the evening together. He made reservations for us at a vegetarian restaurant called Millenium in San
Francisco, which is where we've been staying for the past week. We have wanted to go their for a long time and it was well worth the wait. Our dinner was, hands down, the best food we've ever had! It was so delicious! Later that evening, after returning to the hotel, I had the opportunity to listen to the many messages I had missed on my phone. I am so blessed. I have the most loving, caring, and thoughtful friends and family any one could ever ask for. I appreciate so very much every card, email, voicemail, and phone call. I love birthdays.
