Dreyer Family Band party pics, take two

Emil took some great shots of all of y'all...

from the video archives..

I think Emmett and Benj must have been 5-6 here, at least
2 years ago...when we used to carpool the girls todance
class in the park. Feels like yesterday! Wish I had also
taken video of the incredible guy on the diggeridoo. (I
have no idea how to spell that.)

a lifetime worth of handkerchiefs...

Old Photographs...

she was a knockout...

...she was a mama...

...she was glamorous at times...

...and she wore the fab glasses at my baptism...

...she made great ham and potato salad and coffee and had
a very spicy and passionate relationship with my grandpa...

It's amazing, looking back through someones life.
Mom and I went to grandma's house today to find some photos for the funeral...
what an experience. I didn't expect to feel so much, well, sadness. Grandma has been ready to go for a long time and actually prayed to go. So what is there to be sad about?
Looking through these pictures, collecting her old handkerchiefs (I will make a curtain for Mac's room with them) and seeing that her life was not just the last 15 years...but so much more.
She traveled, was funny, was a great mom to her young children and was considered bold and curious and a bit sassy. As an older woman, this turned a bit ornery but just look at her life in pictures. It's all of us, isn't it??
And, yah, that's me in one of her legendary wigs for your amusement. I looked thrilled.
Oh, grandma....

Check out Cami and Craig and Finley's new Apt. in Brooklyn!!!

We are all so happy that you GOT IT!

Click here for pictures! Love the blue door!

some things happy...

1. Emmett's project night at school was so great. His work was about endangered species and was very informative and creative. We were relieved that he recovered from the "barfs" so we could go.
2. We planted cucumbers, pumpkins and heirloom tomatoes today and we imagined that GG's soul was still floating about out there somewhere and probably could see us. So we waved.
3. We had some bug time, read some Rangers Apprentice and ate corn on the cob. It felt like summer with the kids home.
4. And part of it looked like this.

Glenara Thoene.

Good-bye G.G. We love you.
We know that wherever she is, she gets
to be new again!

check out the DFB interview !!!

...from OWTK (out with the kids)....
Jeff Bogle who runs and writes OWTK is
so very nice. It seems there are endlessly
cool people in the world of kids music.

great book!

This was recommended by Kate and Erin at the preschool. The author,
Bev Bos, is their mentor/guru and this book is really great! Check it.

Has a lot of great creative play ideas.

a way to judge a kids movie beforehand...

...without having to sit through the actual movie...
kids-in-mind.com

"twilight" is a 4.7.2
"seventeen again" is a 6.4.5
"grease" is a 3.2.3
"nick and nora's infinite playlist" is a 7.4.5

the numbers are for sexual content/violence/profanity

even better than the numbers are the descriptions
which are quite hilarious actually

this has helped me now and again...especially with scary content
since Emmett does NOT like to be scared!

anyway, check it out!

The "Dreyer Family Band" Party !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks Cia, Nana, Cynthia and Deedra for this great party! And Emil for the awesome photos.
We will remember this forever!
xxxxoxoxoxooooxxoxoxo annie matt mac emmett silas


....AND WE MISS YOU ALREADY EAST COAST DREYERS

The DREYER FAMILY BAND 's having a CD release party!

Just in case you didn't get an evite (we probably got your
e-mail wrong...wouldn't be the first time...)or if you didn't
even know about the party...WE are inviting you HERE
and NOW! Come one, come all...and invite your friends.
Thursday April 30th 6:00pm
Plum Pottery 2361 30th Street
food, drink, music, merrymaking
See you there!

Happy Birthday Nana!

Make

A

   

WISH!!!!

we love you!

Mac's hair got a summer clippin'!

They're Here!

...just a tasty snippet of the glee around here over the arrival of
The Dreyer Family Band CD...

mother and daughter!

left,cami's first blog post, newly pregnant with Finley (hence the Saltines)
right, like mother like daughter.
This is just one of the many expressions where I can see Cami so clearly in there. The other half of the time it's Craig!!
Awesome genes.

She's even working on the expressive eyebrows.
And they will be here next week!! YaY!
check out their most recent blog post to see "miss bossy"...hilarious.

mystery melons

Mom got me some melons from Cedros Gardens in Solana Beach and we are
going to attempt to trellis them with panty hose like this.
You absolutely have to click to enlarge...check out the cute hammocked melons.

yum.

delicious.

saute together
kale, mustard greens, collard greens...whatever...cut like coleslaw, thin
olive oil, garlic, onion , maybe mushroom if you've got it
maybe corn too
almonds or walnuts crushed up
dried orange soaked cranberries from trader joes (the key)
salt and pepper

especially delicious if you've got left over couscous or brown rice
to thow in.

p.s. I tried to take my own picture but it looked gross, then I found this
one with beans and mango and all sorts of goodness...I'll have to try it.

spring, can't you tell?!

the eggs...

the snow bunny...

fun...

... spring break in Idyllwild.

spring, can't you tell?!

we like this one.

"I am about to play 'Beethoven's Fish Symphony'."

(emmett)

This is The Tree.

We have played here many, many times.
This is a great tree.
It's low and spread out so it feels like it's
more than one tree, but it isn't.
Kind of like a pepper tree, but no pepper berries!?
There are cars around and you can see houses so it's not as isolated as we would like
but inside or underneath it, the world disappears.

And now we know that if we bring blankets it has a number of spots to make hammocks. Next time we will bring more rope for sure.

Tomorrow we are off to Idyllwild for a few days.
It's supposed to rain/snow so...that will be different.
After all this gardening and sunshine we will be doing some
snuggling and cocoa drinking. Sounds good too.
I love vacation.


Just look at that little face peeking out.
<------------------------------

Love Him.

I know I have passed this name on many times before...but we just love Odds Bodkin. <-------
Our family has started listening to his stories again and again.
Our favorites are "The Evergreens" "The Little Sheppard" "The Three Little Pigs" (in a way you have never heard before) and really every other story he's ever told. Mac and Emmett are into "The Odyssey" but for the whole family, the shorter stories are better. Silas is just starting to enjoy them.
At the online store you can download individual stories.
He's just amazing. He plays all the music and does all the sound effects in one take and performs all over the country at schools and festivals.
I think this guy has been a big influence on Mac...she loves to tell stories. His especially.

a poem

Natural History
(a letter to Katherine, from the King Edward Hotel, Toronto)

The spider, dropping down from twig,
Unwinds a thread of her devising:
A thin, premeditated rig
To use in rising.

And all the journey down through space,
In cool descent, and loyal-hearted,
She builds a ladder to the place
From which she started.

Thus I, gone forth, as spiders do,
In spider's web a truth discerning,
Attach one silken strand to you
For my returning.

E.B.White

(Annie here: Walked into a spiders web tonight on the way home from the studio. I am sure this web will reappear every day across the porch all spring long, so I will do the crazy lady arm dance to get in the house from now on. One of the things I love and don't so much love about spring. But this poem will forever be one of my favorites.)

A little Park trip and some sass...

I bought some cookies. We played soccer and frisbee.




Mac gave me some sass and then we went home.

Papa

just a bit of April Fool's Day Torture.

forest pansy redbud

The banner photo is our tree with the best name. Forest Pansy Redbud.
It's small still and not that noticable in our garden but I like to watch how it changes from day to day.
Starts as magenta buds, turns to orchid petals, then to maroon hearts and then dark purplish green leaves. Just crazy beautiful to me.
And I love this tree completely. So does Silas. We talk about it everyday. Here is the progression.
March is just the best month for this tree. I love March. In my next life I would like to be named Forest Pansy Redbud. Or Leaping Waters. Ok, not really but kinda.

garden blog from school...

check it out! HERE

lots of spring garden loveliness and deliciousness.

Sunday Morning with Nana