babes, picnics, tapirs.

well, to put it simply, my days have become not only increasingly more and more (redundantly redundant) busy, but i swear, simultaneously shorter and shorter. i just don't have enough time to do even everything that needs to be done. like blogging! because i know you all set your calendars to my posts.

real quick...of late developments:
2 new jobs: background painter for warner bros., and substitute teacher at maranatha
moving on friday. new apartment! and i haven't even started packing!
large portrait commission in the works
traveling back east in less than 2 weeks
running a lot...up to 3 miles now!
trying to finish 2 other head drawings to enter into a show by the end of the month

and that's not even taking into account all the craziness going on around me with friends and family &c.
ok done updating.

so what am i doing up at 2:30 in the morning?
well, as much as i desperately need my sleep, i am instead lying awake in bed with a mind running 140 mph. because it doesn't seem to matter how tired i am...my brain will not shut down. it's ridiculous. and i'm trying not to get into the habit of taking my anti-anxiety meds before i go to bed every night :D

so i figured i might as well take advantage of the insomnia and be marginally productive. i've been meaning to post this stuff for a week.
therefore, i proudly present, some pictures and 4 amazing videos from last weekend!

birthday gathering for joey last saturday. lots of playing and wrestling on the lawn.
and cuteness.

Caid being a Tapir
(yes, a Tapir)

this one makes me smile

video of Caid pretending to be said Tapir:

Caid being a Water Bat
(yes, a Water Bat)

wondering what a water bat is? well, you can find out a bit about them in this video:


best line: "i live in the night!"


oh, and just in case you were wondering what water bats drink:


leaf!

playing with big brother

bare, charred san gabriel mountains :(

goofing around after church...

what's funny about this picture, is i have one of johnny and david doing the exact same thing when they were about 14 years old...i'll have to find it.

bob REALLY needs grandkids.

sunday afternoon picnic in the park!
i think joey, alec and jeff all just discovered bugs in their burgers.

oh, and by the way, Beatles Rock Band...

...is really fun.

night.

babies in [pool]water

some pictures and videos of when joey brought the kids over to swim a few days ago...

gwennie wasn't really a fan at first...

bless you

joey, caid, gwen, grammie and anna

caid found a grasshopper in the pool...

and the ensuing video...

a little while before the video was taken, one of the dogs did, indeed, have a piece of poo stuck to her butt. what that had to do with the death of the grasshopper...? it's a mystery.

:)

this week's assignment: look at a bug, talk to an emo kid, and sing a cowboy song (karaoke optional).

At the weekly pre-Bible study dinner at the Pikes, Caid and Reid wore uncannily similar shirts!! So of course i had to document it.
Caid was feeling camera shy/resentful and kind of refused to cooperate for a picture. this was the best one i was able to take...which i actually really like just the way it is so it's all okay :)

there were four little blue-grey caterpillars crawling around the wall where the ivy grows...much to Caid's intense fascination...here is a video i took of him...i love how when i ask him what he has, he begins to say "a caterpillar..." but corrects himself and decides he needs to be more specific: "A grey caterpillar".

some awesome emo guys at Chipotle.

i wish you could see their faces...lip and eyebrow piercings scattered evenly between them, the guy on the far right had a cloud of hot pink eyeshadow around each eye (and eyeliner on top of that, of course). i would also like to draw attention to the teal american apparel breifs. Sarah and i were talking about how they were basically just all slightly varying versions of each other. kind of like if you were asked to design a character with the description of "young, emo punk", you would draw these 3 dudes.

Saturday evening found my family celebrating the 25th anniversary of Anna's birth. As the evening winded down we all gathered in Wren's living room and watched a DVD Sarah and i made for her for her 20th birthday. When it was over and we were all sitting there tired from laughing, Caid and Joey began to sing songs together...
(sorry for some of the weird noises on the first one, it's my hand brushing against the input mic. i need to be careful about that...)

Sunday night Jeff and i went to Pataya on Loz Feliz for Thai food. The karaoke there was some of the worst i ever heard (not the singing...the music itself) which just made it amazing.
here is Jeff singing.

and here is jeff showing the guy how to use his karaoke program...the little man who ran the music and played along on the keyboard with every song deserves a mention... after Jeff and i bumbled our way through a few songs and he did a few himself, he came and sat down and we realized that 1-the little man didn't know any of the songs he was playing to and 2-the keyboard wasn't even on. he sat up there and faked accompaniment to every single song, sometimes playing completely off-beat and occassionally stopping and waving to people walking in...right in the middle of a track.
it made me so happy.

oh, here is a video of Cam and Reid from last week (see below)...

snow on the foothills :)

the rain has made things so beautiful. cold, clear air, bright colors, snow in the mountains...the trees are my favorite. they're the #1 reason why i love fall/winter (kind of the same round here)...

joey and gwen...





beautiful family


cam in his school christmas pageant...he stole the show as the unsympathetic innkeeper...

dad and i in laguna looking so very cool...

a few more trees:


just wait until i get out and take some pictures on our street. maybe tomorrow...seeing as i'm not quite up to my full prowess yet.
stomach flu = rather DIE
i was feeling stir-crazy when i finally woke up today and went to the store, and now i feel like i've lost a pint of blood. yaaay!!

Christmas is in 4 days...just in case you forgot.

anyway, that's all for now.

~