Toothbrushes and socks, ties and camera film; we are checking our inventory, and preparing for our weekend adventure...

Since my brother and his intended live far away, I feel a little detached from the total significance of the coming event. I wish they did not live so far away. I wish I could drop by and hang out, meet them for a bike ride, or for coffee at The Buttery. My brother is getting married. He has met a woman that shares his humor, and his passion for cycling and being outdoors. He has met a woman who can share her interests in boating and water sports. Bill and Alison laugh heartily, lightly, easily. They are both adored by their families, and they return the love and respect. I have always felt certain that Alison is a special woman. She is close to her brother and sister, her mom and dad, and as long as I can remember she has welcomed Bill in that special circle. I am deeply happy for them both; they will be lasting, and forever loving partners.

Wow, some thoughtful individual just emailed me a link to the "best pharmacy on the web!" And further, they have the fastest "Valium" delivery of anyone. Is this my lucky day, or what? I just can't think of anything else to say. I'm speechless.

"Shopping With Children"

We have been checking off items from our list of things that need doing before our drive north and the wedding weekend. Progress is being made, but I think I need to make the jump to 'light speed.' House cleaning is decidedly the most neglected item on the list, but it is not the only remaining chore that needs accomplishing.

One little stop we made today was supposed to be about finding Alison a shower gift. Somehow it became a mission to find a blouse for myself...a silly notion that I could dress pretty at the rehearsal dinner or the shower...

My children are good children, but like me they are not fit for malls and department stores. They could smell my fear and anxiety, and they seemed to be testing the limits of my determination to leave the store with anything for myself.

With William and Alex quietly wrestling outside the ladies fitting room and Max by my side, I entered the mirrored cubicle with a dozen hopeful candidates. The first blouse, colorful and sheer, looked promising. It had the youthful, stylish look I was hoping to adopt.

I asked the nearest person for an opinion, "What do you think Max?"

"That's disgusting." He assured me with sufficient disdain.

This supports my belief that opinions are often useless. Everyone has one, and if you ask enough people you will always hear opposing points of view. And if you ask an opinion of a bored four year old boy, the answer is unlikely to be encouraging. After many disgusting garments, I finally hit success, sort of. I'd stopped asking his opinion as he had started volunteering his thoughts and as I adjusted the sleeves of a very hip little blouse with beads and flounces, he said brightly, "That is the most beautiful shirt I ever saw, even with that haircut of yours."

Wow! Holly left me a very thoughtful gift in my email this morning! Check out our new header for Chicken Blog. Using pictures I took, she did some graphic magic, a specialty of her's, and voila! Then Geoff added his technical magic, (2 geniuses-one family!) and now we are one sharp looking Chicken Blog.

Chicken Blog goes LEGO!



What a day we had! We cannot thank our friend Deanne
enough for the amazing Legoland day she arranged for us.


Tahu Nuva, a Big Red Bionicle Figure

Alex's favorite Lego theme, Bionicle, just got its own corner in the Park and Deanne invited us to a sneak preview party with more goodies and extras than we ever dreamed of.

Besides including Holly, Nicholas, Kristin and Jordan and the rest of us, we were also treated to breakfast and early admission to ride "Bionicle Blaster!"



William, Alex and Max are more than delighted with an ordinary day at Legoland (aka: The Mother Ship,) but this day really was exceptional, for us all. The boys enjoy stopping by the Lego lab where master builders are busy at work on product development and assembly of new creations for use in the Park. On this day we were all allowed behind the scenes to meet the master builders themselves, see the 5 million Legos they work with, witness new creations and be simply in awe of the creativity and fun.



Alex aspires to be a master builder, and I think William wouldn't mind working there either. Okay, even Geoff made some job inquiries. We were able to ask questions and explore a bit, and marvel at all the cool stuff like; adjustable tables, aisles and aisles of organized Legos, and stuff...just really cool stuff!


Notice: 'All over the floor' is not how the Master Builders do it!

Thanks to Chicken Blog, the boys were able to share some of their creations and collections. We opened up the web page where I had posted images of William and Alex's efforts.


Imagine our surprise when we saw ourselves as mini Lego Models!

It was hard to pull ourselves away, but we wouldn't want to delay the progress of the master builders, so we did eventually return to seeing the rest of the fun sights and rides, like Safari adventures, shows in the Fourth Dimension, and other California sights.


Mini Land provides all the best sights.


And on a clear day, it's possible to see San Francisco,
from Mann's Chinese Theater.