FIrst Day of School

Sam's already at school.

End of Summer

And no one knows quite what to do.

Naughty Sauce

Oh no, a climber! Yes, she had pulled the stool over to assist her ascent. We find her up on top of tables nowadays.

A New Face

Another cover of Central Coast Family Magazine. But this time it's David!

First Pizookie

Your first pizookie sampling is serious business. @bjsrestaurants

Pretzels and Pazookies

The four youngest boys dove into a pretzel-making experience today, under Nana's watchful eye. And Lexi, on the road with Mom and Dad, had her first pazookie experience. Great day!

AJ's "Olaf" pretzel!

25th Time's a Charm

Annie Jr will be Serafina's 25th production! It's true. OK, that includes stage and film gigs of all sizes. Matt and I counted 'em up last night. Seems impossible (but here's the list). And this time, she lands a lead. Actually, the title role! Yup, she's playing Annie. It's a milestone, and she's gotten here with tons of support from cast-mates, crew-mates, teachers, directors, coaches, companies, and "enablers" from all manner of friends and family. All of whom we can't thank enough.

Annie Jr is a Coastal Youth Theater production that will run at the Clark Center from November 4th through the 13th. See you there!



Oh, and guess who's playing "Dumb Dog"?...

Siscos and Ashes

The entire Foster-side clan came out from Kansas and Chicago and DC this week to give a fond farewell to Papa Bill. We took his ashes to sea with ALL of his (and Francie's) descendants on board! We were on the Papagallo II of Oceanic West, a family experience just as Papa Bill would have wanted, including some great times before and after the sea trip enjoying ourselves at various favorite places around the county. Trevor and Jen hosted us at Daou Winery. We followed that with dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Novo. Following the boat trip the next day we had a quick, excellent lunch at Eureka Burger SLO (you've got to try their brussel sprouts!). Then off to the SLO Little Theatre to see Serafina in The Jungle Book (17 strong!). On our way to Olde Port Inn, an absolute favorite of Papa Bill's, we paused for some good times at Clesi Winery. For the first time ever, despite a number of historical attempts, we brought home an entire Butter Finger Pie from Olde Port. I'm sure Dad got a big kick out of that, though he would always have a dish of ice cream with chocolate syrup for himself. All Jamie's pics are here.

Mid-State Fair

Matt and I took the kids to the Mid-Sate Fair (except Serafina who was in The Jungle Book at the SLO Little Theatre). Man it was hot, but the kids were troopers and we did have a good time exploring the pavilions, food courts, and pens, and arena shows. The "Something Ridiculous" jugglers were, well, ridiculously impressive and funny. AJ kept yelling "Some-thiiiing Ree diiiiik clee us!" David and Johnny spotted a copy of their dump truck with a plant in it. A big thrill for me was seeing the Budweiser clydesdale horses. The slurpees and IPAs at the end were right on point!

All the pics are here.

The Jungle Book

Tempus fugit... It seems like getting ready takes forever and then wham, the first weekend of the run is history! Probably the best ACT show we've seen yet. And our Baby Elephant did great. Bravo! to cast and crew!

New Times review July 20, 2016.

I made the Shutterfly photo book below. You're welcome to buy yourself one if you'd like (Shutterfly gets all the money). The retail price is about $40 plus shipping and tax. You can often find coupons that will reduce that significantly.

Click here to view this photo book larger

Shutterfly photo books offer a variety of layouts and cover options to choose from.

Without a Script I'm Cueless

Always great mottos/tags for PCPA's YPP Jr summer theatre camps! Serafina had a great week culminating in a showcase presentation this morning. All the pics are here. (Last year's motto was "The drama in my life comes with an intermission.")

The 4th

The Gibs threw a pretty big 4th of July bash at their place. I'm sure there were at least 40 of us, with the kids significantly outnumbering the adults. Great time. Learned how to play ladder golf with Serafina - it's fun! And then there was the "controlled chaos" of the fireworks. OMG. Everyone survived. I tried to get some good fireworks pics with the cell phone, but no go (always have your real camera with you). I did manage to get a photo of what become the day's iconic symbol, a helium balloon rocket! It's been a long time since we last made cheesecakes and leeks au gratin.

Here's a great picture of the Littles that Tracy took before we went over to the party - when they were still fairly clean.

Trip to Los Olivos

Serafina is in PCPA's summer theatre camp program this week, starting today. And this evening, their whole group is going to see PCPA's Shrek in Solvang. So Matt, Lynn, and Jamie tagged along! We visited Los Olivos along the way, and ended up having a great time. Enjoy Cupcakes was our first stop, and in addition to taking care of ourselves, we got a set of cupcakes to take home to Tracy who volunteered to watch all the other kids all afternoon and evening so we could go, and go early in the afternoon. We stumbled onto Epiphany and Cinque Stelle wine tasting rooms - loved 'em both and want to go back to visit the Bubble Shack (champagnes) next door, too. Last stop in Los Olivos was dinner at Sides Hardware and Shoes for dinner - a fantastic find. Even Serafina got wrapped up in the gourmet-ness!

A few more pics are here.

Theatre Wall of Fame

Check out the poster wall Tracy got up in the family room! For all kinds of info about our theatre adventures, check out our Theatrics page. Compound dwellers (sometimes up to 4 at a time) have been involved in all of these shows. And this isn't all of them.

Bye Bye Birdie Cookies

Check out the fantastic "character cookies" that MJ Johnson made for the cast and crew of Bye Bye Birdie! Labor of love, and lots of hours. You should have seen everyone buzzing around these pans, marveling. Here's more on Bye Bye Birdie.

Graduating Audition Class of 2016

Serafina had a great week at Mini Melodies Audition Summer Camp. Nana and Tracy said her final "test" (an audition run in a what-it's-really-like manner) was quite impressive. Sometimes she even surprises us - and we're big fans to begin with.

Drive-In

Getting summer started ASAP. Finding Dori. Front row. Popcorn and candy galore. Dead battery. Great family outing!

Johnny

13 days after David came home from the NICU, Jonathan busted out! This boy has made the last 4 years quite a ride, can't wait to see where he takes us this year.

Summer Hike

Sunday morning. With the dog. At the beach. Last bit of cool for a while - it's heating up.