March 15, 2006

Well, 2006 has already been fun and busy and crazy. But it started out sad. Although January 6th started out with a beautiful sunrise, that afternoon we had to put Tommy to sleep, after it became clear his quality of life from the cancer was no longer making him happy. We took three last pictures of Tommy with Val before we went off to the vet, here, here, and here.

We've spent all of this year dealing with a big yard makeover. As of this date everything is done except some final cleanup where they had to re-run some electrical, and fixing up the electrical at the fountain which was installed today. We're *really* enjoying our new hot tub, and the wonderful ambiance in the yard now. We're realizing how much we disliked the dirt pit we had back there for over 2 years.

On Saturday, January 14, I attended a variety to benefit my friend Heather MacAllister, who is fighting ovarian cancer. Heather has such an incredible community of people around her who help with all of her needs, and who are totally there for her. That is the measure of the impact she has made on the lives of those around her. We should all strive to have that. How many of our friends could we count on to do *everything* for us if we needed it?

Over the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, Glynis and Susan took the kids to Palm Springs to be with Susan's family for the weekend.

On January 28th we all went to visit Susan, Joel, and Lee, catching up on holiday (and birthday) gift exchanges.

On Friday, February 3, Haley's class did a short dance before the Shabbat service at Temple. You can tell by this picture and this picture that Haley had fun!

The next night, on the 4th, Val and I got to see the SF Symphony perform Mozart, including one of my favorite pieces, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.

On Sunday, February 5th we had a handful of friends over to watch the Superbowl on our new 50" plasma TV. We had a great time. It was particularly difficult for Val, who was watching the Superbowl without her dad for the first time in many years.

On February 18th we flew to southern CA to celebrate Grandma Frances' 99th birthday with her. You can see pictures from the trip here. We stayed for two additional days in a condo right off Laguna Beach, the Blue Agave. It was a great place, and we had two relaxing days hanging out and playing on the beach.

On February 28th, Kate received her orange belt in karate. You can see pictures here. Then on March 4th she participated in a huge tournament. You can see pictures here.

On Tuesday, March 7 we had a joint birthday party for Adrien, Joanie, and Kayla, at Lai Lai Restaurant in Millbrae. You can see pictures here.

On Wednesday March 8, Val left for a week-long business trip to Rio de Janiero, Brazil.

On Friday, March 10 we had unprecedented cold weather, with two inches of hail coming down while the girls and I were in the jacuzzi. We had hail on the deck, on the plants, on the furniture. We also got some the next day.

On March 11, I went out to dinner to celebrate Pam Burton's birthday at El Torito. Funny picture #1, Funny picture #2.

On Sunday, March 12, I once again judged the St. Patrick's Day Parade in San Francisco. It was very cold and rainy, but still fun, as always.