Five long Years

It doesn't really seem like it's been five years that Mary and I have been together. I could make some joke about how it seems like it's been longer, but I will refrain. It's fun to think back and remember a conversation we had when we were engaged, wondering where we would be in five years. I don't think either of us could have imagined living in this great place, having two wonderful daughters, and being finished with grad school.

For our big day, Mary arranged for our kids to be baby-sat, and took me up to Huntington Beach. We rented a bicycle built for two and cruised on down the beach. It was a perfect day; practically no one out, a cool cloudy sky, and each other. We rode for a while and then stopped where we walked on the beach and Mary sang me a song of true love. Then, we took the bike back (much harder going into the wind) and walked over to Ruby's for some lunch. Our friend gave us a coupon for Surf City, a little shop on the pier going out to the diner. It entitled us to a free gift from the store, but when we got there the guy said he'd never seen a coupon like it before in his two years of employment. We didn't know how old it was, but her told us he'd give us a free sticker. Mary wasn't too thrilled with that, and there was another guy in the store that told the clerk not to give us a raw deal. Mary told them it was our anniversary, so the clerk told us we could have a coffee mug. Well, Mary said, "We don't drink coffee." So then the clerk offered us a free T-shirt, which he said we should hurry and take before his boss got back. It always pays to live the word of wisdom. Turns out, our friend had clipped the coupon around four years ago. Still, it was a cool anniversary gift.

We had lunch at Ruby's and had to go pick up the girls. It was a great five year anniversary, and I can honestly say it's been a great five years. We've had our ups and downs but through it all Mary has been right by my side. Here's to another great five years!

Red Headed Memorial

For Memorial Day we headed up to Garden Grove for the Strawberry Days Festival. They have a Red Headed Roundup every year for red headed people. Since we think that Emily is fairly red in the hair, we decided to enter her (and hey, it's free). We put her in the "strawberry blonde" category after getting there and seeing all the really dark and red headed people floating around. There were some 30 contestants in the toddler category, and only four in the strawberry blonde one. It was fun and, no Emily didn't win. The crown was stolen by some curly-locked blonde haired girl (I didn't think she had any red in her hair at all, but I'm not a judge). Still, Emily didn't seem to mind, and Natalie got a ride at the Carnival out of the whole deal. (Four bucks for a ride!!! You got to be kidding me!!!!) Sho rode on the little ferris wheel all by herself. She also got to escort Emily out on stage when it was her turn. The announcer asked her where they were from and she stated "Aguna Niguels". Aren't these girls the best?

Post Graduation Shennanigans

Graduation week brought a lot of activities and it feels like we were running from one place to the other. Both our parents were in town and stayed down at a time share at Capistrano beach. We got to spend some time with them and are glad they made the trip out here. After graduation we went to visit family that we don't usually get to see, and then had to run back home to have an open house. A friend of ours in the ward volunteered their home to host an open house for my artwork before it went up to the Thesis show in Santa Monica. It was very kind of them and we enjoyed having ward members and neighbors come and enjoy the art. Then we spent the next couple of days fixing cars, going swimming, and hanging out with Grandmas and Grandpas. Later that week I had to take work up to Santa Monica to hang, which is a whole 'nother story for 'nother time. Let's just say I don't like dealing with people that don't keep commitments and I don't like sitting in traffic for three hours for a drive that should take one hour. LA traffic, you shall not be missed. Then we headed back up to Santa Monica that weekend for the opening of the show. It went well and I sold a painting. After that week was all said and done, I realized how stressed I'd been and after I stopped running felt like I shut down. It was kind of like a semi breakdown, and I was pretty non-functional for a week. But now that things have leveled out some, I am back to normal and ready for the summer. By the way you can now see my thesis work on my website www.michaelsparker.com under the "paintings "section.

Some of my Models showed up at the open house

Watching Sleeping Beauty with Grandad

Hanging out at the MFA Thesis show at Arena 1 Gallery in Santa Monica

Gradiation!!!

Graduation 2009! We're finally done with grad school. While it feels good to be done, it's with a little trepidation that we venture out in the great unknown. We have plans for the future, but we want to focus on this moment and enjoy it a little. It's been two years of hard work, and Mary and the girls have been the most supportive family anyone can ever have. Mary deserves this degree as much as I do for having to put up with my late night painting sessions, long hours, and candid discussions about my frustrations with art.

Graduation was great. It was at the school and both our parents made the trek out here for it, as well as My Uncle and cousins from over the hill. It was warm and sunny for the ceremonies. There were around 100 or so undergrads, and only six graduate students. After commencement the family headed down to our favorite beach for food and fun in the sun. It was great to have the family together and enjoy the weather and our locale. Thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate with us!

Natalie is Four

Natalie is four and we had a monster princess bash at our house. Mary went all out getting games and decorations for our big girl. We turned out porch into a castle with cardboard towers on the corners and a canopy overhead. It was the talk of the town, and the girlies loved it. We had Natalie's gal pals come over to celebrate and it was a blast. It was Sleeping Beauty themed, and all the girls dressed up in their best princess get-ups. The best thing was when Sleeping Beauty herself showed up. Natalie had mailed an invitation to Sleeping Beauty c/o Disneyland and had high hopes of her coming. When Beauty showed up all we had to pick up Natalie's jaw off the floor. Ol' Beauty stayed for a while, read some books, gave her gift to Natalie, played a game, and helped to pass out Natalie's presents. Natalie still hasn't stopped talking about how Sleeping Beauty came to her party. It was the look on her face that made all the work worthwhile.