Go Sonics!

Caleb started Flag Football this past Saturday. It was really a good time and went so much better than I could have imagined! He's playing on a team with his best buddy Hunter, who has the ball in the photo above. Caleb is "blocking" for Hunter--we'll work on skills as we go along.

Considering this was his first EVER time to play, he did a great job!
Coach had him in the QB position for a while, then as a running back (we'll work on protecting the ball, too), and finally as a center. He played a bit of defense during the game, too.
I asked the boys at halftime to give me their best Game Faces... gotta love what I saw! Caleb's mouthpiece is blue, and he must have thought it was cool to wear it non-stop as he wore it in the car the entire way to the fields, throughout practice and his game, and we had to ask for it after the game.

Saturday mornings are going to be tons of fun this fall!

"Safe Harbor"...

Last Wednesday after saying goodbye to Jon, Sara, and the kids and leaving Bakersfield, I drove to Valencia to meet up with Chris on the NCIS lot. (Chris is married to Ryan's cousin, Kerri.) I was in for a very cool treat -- not only were they filming that day with all but two of their main cast members, but it was also one of the episodes that Chris wrote! Chris gave me a fabulous behind the scenes tour and I was able to watch the process of filming two scenes -- rehearsal with the actors, rehearsal with stand-ins to mark proper camera angles and lighting, and then filming (take after take). We even ate lunch (it was turkey burger day, an apparent favorite for everyone) with the cast and crew. Chris and I sat at the same table as Sean Murray, Cote De Pablo, and Diane Neal. I was pleasantly surprised at how warm and inviting everyone was and how they all seemed to genuinely want to get to know me as well.

Here's Chris!
Most people will recognize this guy! This is Mark Harmon, star of the show. Funny story... I was taking Chris's portraits by the NCIS wall (the set was empty as everyone rushed out to Craft Services for their burgers) and Mark walked up behind me saying, "Oh, this is no good. You need to be in the picture with Chris, Cousin Sara." So he proceeds to take my camera out of my hands and then snaps several pics of Chris and I together by the wall. Chris then laughed about it, and took the camera back and had Mark stand by me for a photo or two. I believe a comment was made by Chris something to the effect of "You know you want to be in a picture with her anyhow, Mark." It was really funny at the time, I promise!
This is Pauley Perrette's wardrobe room for her character, Abby. Well, it's part of the room. I can't get over how many different kinds of platform, combat-style boots they've got crammed in here! She was not on the set that day, which made me a bit sad as I would have truly liked to have met her. She seems like such a fun, quirky person.

I shot this during rehearsal. I won't give away any details of what is happening... but it will be interesting and maybe a bit funny to see it when it airs in late October! The episode is titled "Safe Harbor." Another funny (maybe just to me) story... Michael Weatherly, the actor behind the character Tony DiNozzo, felt the need to serenade me across the set during rehearsals. It just made me laugh and feel awkward, but I was warned that he's quite a character in real life. He likes to cut and splice his lines together on a tiny cheat sheet that he keeps in the palm of his hand, and glances at it whenever a camera isn't trained on him. True story.

Other notes... Sean (Timothy McGee) is very quiet and reserved, but also genuinely nice. Cote De Pablo (Ziva David) is gorgeous and absolutely pleasant, and has a beautiful singing voice. Mark Harmon has the coolest refurbished Airstream trailer parked in the alley between warehouses, and he kept trying to get me to sit in his chair (the director's style chair with his name on it) even when I was seated in another chair. We even talked football for just a bit. ;)

I hope to make it back to the set of NCIS someday -- and with Ryan next time! It is no secret that we are a fan of the show, and have been for a long time.

My Teensy Nieces...

I can't go revealing ALLLL the photos just yet. Aren't they sweet? Skylar is in pink, Spencer is in turquoise, and in the bottom one Spencer is resting on top of Sky.

A Visit to California...

This past week, I was able to spend several days in California with my brother Jon, his wife Sara, and their four children - Jorja, Jude, Skylar and Spencer. It was my first time to meet the youngest three, and I had only been around Jorja just briefly when she was about nine months old. I really enjoyed getting to see them and get to know their little personalities a bit, and snuggling with the one-month-old twins was very special to this auntie.

Here's Jorja, playing with one of my headbands that I brought for some photos of the twins...
Sweet Jude, with another headband. He was having some issues with it at the moment... ;)
This is a horrible photo, but it made me smile to see my brother carrying both of the twins at once. They are soooo tiny still - both just over six pounds. I loved seeing Jon as a dad. (Skylar is on the left, Spencer is on the right)
Sis-in-law Sara was manning the camera here to get a great photo of me with Jon and his crew. I hope it won't be another 2 1/2 years between visits, but we'll enjoy whatever time we do get to spend together, whenever it might be. I can only imagine how much bigger these kids will be the next time I see them!! (Skylar on the left, Spencer on the right)
Last but not least, I was also able to spend a bit of time with Ryan's cousin Kerri and her husband Chris, as well as their son Andrew. They live in the Los Angeles area, and Chris is a writer for the CBS show NCIS. I snapped this sweet photo of Kerri and Andy as I was leaving their home. They live in a gorgeous neighborhood, and dangerously close to a frozen yogurt store. I "had" to walk down there on the night I stayed with them to get a cup of fro-yo. It may or may not have been my dinner.
More pics to come... I know I have family antsy to see more photos of family out West. ;) I also have a post of my day spent with Chris and the cast and crew of NCIS!

Toben's 2nd Birthday, Part 1...

Toben doesn't "officially" turn two until this coming Friday, September 9th, but we had a little party for him a couple weeks early. It had a paper airplane sort-of theme, and since it was just some of our family coming over we didn't go too crazy. We enjoyed cake (a three-layer round cake with white, chocolate, and cookies-and-cream layers surrounded by buttercream icing), Toben had a cupcake, and we also ate homemade pizza rolls. Favorite foods for a favorite nearly-two-year-old.
He loves Mickey Mouse right now, so this was a definite favorite of his many wonderful gifts.


More celebrations to come this Friday!