Friday Inspiration - Scott Weaver

I'm sure some of you have seen his work. It was recently posted on FB by different people. But, in case you didn't get a chance, it's worth seeing.

Things like this make me stop and wonder at the level of patience in some individuals. I can only imagine the time and effort it took to put this together. Drawing of plans, holding the pieces while drying, starting over again and again when pieces fell apart.

Those of you who either live in San Francisco or who have as the song says, left their hearts there, will appreciate this even more, since it's a replication of the more famous places around the city.

If you have a minute, take the time to watch THIS video. It's a treat to see the full work of art in action.

Happy Friday everyone!

Friday Inspiration - David Emmite

Honestly, I'm not sure how I wound up on his site. It was one of those strange moments where I thought I clicked somewhere and when the page loaded, it wasn't what I was expecting. But, what I found, was such a nice surprise.

I don't know much about this photographer but his client list is quite impressive. He was born in Paris and now lives in Portland, OR. He seems to have a sense of humor about him, in an interesting sort of way.

I hope you enjoy his work as much as I do.....oh, and don't forget to check out the film portion of his site. If you have the time and inclination. David Emmite.

Manton, CA

It was Spring Break last week. No school, no need to wake up early, and the entire family together. Matt took the week off which was awesome. The boys and I were really needing some time all together. It's pretty cool that we like each other so much. I'm pretty sure that if you asked each of us independently what we wanted to do most, the answer would be to spend time together, as a family.

Well, we had an amazing opportunity over Spring Break to do just that, spend time together as a family. And even more amazing, was that my best friend Maya scored an incredible house for a group of us to spend our vacation together. There were four families which included eight adults and five children.

There is so much to say about this trip that it's hard to know where to begin. I've known these people for years. I knew Shaun, Maya's husband, first, and introduced him to Maya back in I think 1997 or '98. I met the rest of the group not long after meeting Maya. Eric and Ericka were with me when I was in the car accident that happened the day after my first date with Matt. Needless to say, we've all known each other for a long time. AND, most of us went through Landmark Education courses together which if you know anything about Landmark and The Forum, you know that we know each other on a deep level. We've shared parts of ourselves that we don't like to look at very often, and through all of that, we've remained close friends.

So, spending time together this past week, was like spending a week with family. It's been a pretty incredible experience to get to know each and every person. The good, the bad and the ugly. And still, in the end, we all love each other. And now, our children are growing up together. Life. It's pretty crazy and amazing.

I do have to mention the house we stayed at. It belongs to a client of Maya's and they were generous enough to let her trade haircuts for the week at the house. It was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.!!! They cleared some space on 10 acres of property in Manton which is just outside of Lassen State Park. They used most of the wood from the clear cutting to build the house and the furniture inside of it. How cool is that?! They have a wrap around porch around the entire home. The kids did laps every once in a while. There's a large pond stocked with rainbow trout and you can fish as long as it's catch and release.

The dining table sat 18 comfortably. It had four bedrooms off of the main floor with a small hallway and double door entry for each room. That little hallway made all of the noise of the house disappear so that when you closed your two doors, you didn't hear a thing that was going on in the house. Excellent for the early mornings! They fully rigged the house with an incredible sound system too. You could play music in the house in two different locations and you could set it up to play outside around the entire house as well. It was the best.

The boys had more fun than they've had in a long time. There was such a freedom at this place. They could go outside and run around the entire pond which was pretty big. They got to feel like they were exploring on their own and we knew they were safe because we could see them the entire time. They ran around, caught frogs, well Amelia caught frogs, fished, took walks and just played on the deck. Oh, and you could feed the fish twice a day, which was fun for everyone.

I hope we get to go back. It would be great to make an annual trip to Manton. It did make me want my own summer home though. Somewhere beautiful, with a pond and a horse shoe pit and of course a sound system around the entire house.

Thank you Maya. You knew that it was going to be an incredible vacation and you were right. We love you and thank you for such a great Spring Break!

Friday Inspiration - Mason

You looked at me yesterday and told me that you think 7 is going to be a good year. When I asked you why, you told me because you're listening more and you just think it's going to be good. Truth is, you're growing up. It's true. I've told you to stop, to just stay put right where you are, but you're growing up.

It's a beautiful and crazy thing to see.

If someone had told me years ago, when I didn't want to have any children, that someday there would be a little boy who would capture my heart they way you have, I probably would have laughed. I couldn't have imagined what today would be like. Today, when I look at you, I feel such deep awe and wonder at who you are.

I think you're big. Not big like the tallest boy in your class, but big like you have a presence. You have a spirit that is large in this world. Your birthday this year is proof of this. You, are someone who loves presents. LOVES presents. In fact, this year you asked us for many smaller gifts instead of fewer more expensive ones because you love the process of receiving gifts so much. But, and this is so amazing, you were willing this year to give up some of those gifts for a greater cause.

As you're growing up and learning more about the world you live in, you're seeing that there are things that happen to people, animals and the planet that aren't so wonderful. You especially noticed that the animals are suffering in parts of the world and you took a special interest in this. So much so that you did two amazing things. One, you adopted a whale in honor of your class for your birthday. Instead of bringing treats to share or a goodie bag filled with "stuff", you educated your classmates about whales and how they're suffering in the world. The entire class loved this and so did your teacher. So awesome.

Then, we had a small party for you with a Star Wars theme and it was so much fun. For the people you invited to your party, you asked them for either a gift or for money to help save these animals. Specifically the dolphins, whales and sharks. You felt strongly enough about helping something other than yourself that you were willing to give up receiving some gifts. I was told by some of the moms of your friends that they don't even know many adults who would do that.

I have to say, we like who your friends are Mason. Who you're choosing to spend your time with. They're all good boys who are fun and nice to be around. Thanks to your Godmother, your wonderful friends and their parents who believe in you and your hope to help the sea creatures, you raised $76.15. This is because of who you are. How amazing is that??!!

Here is a link to the movie I put together from the party to capture some of the fun that we had.

Mason, I love you. I'm in awe of you and I'm so proud of you.

I definitely think 7 is going to be a GREAT year.

Happy Birthday my great big hearted 7 year old!