Castle cakes & Tiki torches

Nothing says fun like Steve and birthday. Put the two together and you get lots of family, friends, fun, and flowers (in the form of leis anyway). Because all Weidlers love a good surprise and because they all suspect a good suprise, keeping Steve's super-secret birthday bash a secret was pretty tough- especially when there are Davis and Weidler folks involved. And until a little Honda with three Davis' and some tiki torches pulled up next to us at a stop light, I thought we were gonna pull it off. Gotta love the Davis' for always being a little late. (Just kidding, Mom, Dad, and Em- we really needed those tiki torches).
Fortunately, the Weidler's suprise arrival couldn't have been more timely. Wahoo for little miracles! Sorry "Ma Weidler" that the castle cake was a substitute for the "real" deal, but it was oh so yummy anyway (yea Susan!).

Happy Birthday to you and you and you and you...

For those who know both sides of our family, you know that June is the official birthday month of the year. We blow out the candles with 7 of our family members within the 30 day span. In the Davis family, there are 6 immediate family members. 4 have birthdays, 2 are paid tribute on Father's Day and 1 (moi) celebrate receiving a "consolation prize." You see, my mother, the sister of a man who celebrates his birthday on Christmas Eve, knows the significance of throwing a birthday party for her daughter who's b-day is 5 days before Christmas, always serving a real birthday cake as opposed to some icky fruit cake or other desert that someone delivered because it's the holidays, and wrapping my gift in birthday rather than Christmas paper. She is also a woman with a huge heart who believes that her daughter should receive a gift in June along with the others. I have always wondered whether it was because everyone else was getting something she didn't want me to feel left out or if it was because she felt sorry that my bank account was being drained. Surely it's the former as she always emphasises that she doesn't need anything, Dad only needs socks and a Kit-Kat, and that my siblings, well, they don't need much either so I shouldn't be spending much money. Irregardless (sorry Steve if this isn't a real word- neither is "funnily") of why I receive the gift, my annual June "consolation prize" as I call it, is a welcomed gift.

Swwwwwing!

That's exactly what Steve did yesterday in his greatest-game-of-all-time. And he did it a frequently and with a ton of power. He went 3-for-4 with an in-the-park homerun, a ground-rule double (in layman's terms he smacked the ball so far it bounced over the fence and resultantly he could only go to second base), and a regular double- no offense Steve because we all know that making it to second base is not regular (wink)! The team wanted to know why he had been holding his big guns out on us 'til the end of the season. With his tremendous gains this year, the sky's the limit for season 3! If only we had videoed Steve's first trip back to home... If you missed, it was one for the ages. You will have to ask Steve to tell you. It's bigger than a fish story repeated a few times.

Interning and Outturning

Yesterday was the first day of my mini-internship. I loved it. ARMC really seems like a great place to work. All of the staff that I have encountered are wonderful- especially the hot guy in the business services department! My supervisor is fantastic and even allowed me to participate in the first session. Helping people improve their communication and by extension improving their lives is extremely rewarding. Can't wait to go back!

Summer is the time when we head for the great outdoors, right? Well, easier said than done when a)your bed is oh so comfy and your running buddy has to take the week off, b)you can't legally enjoy your fabulous "new" bike because you gave away your helmet, and c)it's 100+ the first week of June!! Seriously, isn't it technically still Spring? Anyone who knows me knows warmer is always better than cooler except when it means the onset of football season. But summer reared its hot head earlier than I had anticipated this year. Well, enough is enough. There are herbs and a pomegranate tree to be planted, calories to burn, and trails to be blazed. Hello summer!