Mason's 3rd Birthday

On Saturday we celebrated Mason's 3rd birthday. In following the tradition of birthdays at the park (1st year at Kelly Park; 2nd year at Oakland Zoo), this year was at Tilden Park in Berkeley.

Upon seeing Veronica, she immediately asks why I haven't been blogging much lately. She insisted I must blog about this party and take lots of pictures because it's a tradition. Because her sister, who's overseas, relies on my blog to record this annual event. Oh, and another tradition is that every year I have to remind Patrick to cut the watermelon!

To Veronica and my other faithful readers, I apologize for the lack of blogging lately. It's hard to explain how the blogging mood comes and goes. Maybe it's because my life has been kinda uneventful lately. Maybe it's because I'm trying to spend more than my usual 30 minutes each night with the family. Or maybe it's because my job is miserable and draining due to me trying to maintain a balancing act of dealing with clueless management while at the same time being grateful I'm still employed.

Parties like these are what I look forward to all the time. It's such a blessing to be surrounded by friends, especially those I don't see every week like Pat and Milton. And it's such a joy to see all our children grow up together. I feel sorry for 75% of my coworkers who really don't have a life outside of work. Their goal in life is just to survive long enough to collect their pension.

Thanks Patrick and Veronica for not only a great get-together, but for also giving me reason to blog again!

Grandma demonstrating to Mason on how to impress the ladies.

"We have a LOT of food. I sure hope there is enough charcoal..."

This is like a scene at the start of a horror movie where a bunch of kids
wander into the woods and one by one they disappear.

Look, one is already missing...

In the end these adventurous kids all found their way back.
I just hope they don't go home with poison oak.

Ha! And you thought video games were violent...

For the record, it wasn't MY son that decapitated Mr. Gabba Gabba.

After Mr. Gabba Gabba was decapitated, a few other kids (not mine) decided to
further bash his head in. Their parents must be so proud.

"Um, why are you fools blowing MY cake??"

Jarod is excited to be the newest addition to our annual "Dads Picture."
The other three probably could care less.

He's patiently waiting for us to leave so he can feast in the garbage can.

Free Photo Book

Only one welcome gift per new customer per household. Valid for the first 100,000 qualified registrants. To qualify you must upload 50 or more photos to a new Shutterfly account between May 14-May 18. Free 8x8 hard photo cover book includes initial set of 20 pages. All incremental pages will be charged on a per page rate. Licensed premium photo books, Martha Stewart books, Creating Keepsakes books, Adventure books, leather, padded and soft photo cover books are not included in this reward. Stationery offer applies to 5x7 stationery cards only. Taxes, shipping and handling charges will apply. You have until June 24, 2009 to place your order. 25 free 4x6 prints not valid for in-store pickup and offer is valid 30 days from registration.

LINK

Free Museum Day on Mother's Day

KORET MUSEUM DAYS 2009:
BAY AREA MUSEUMS OFFER FREE MOTHER'S DAY ADMISSION
IN HONOR OF KORET FOUNDATION'S 30TH ANNIVERSARY

San Francisco, CA - Celebrate Koret's 30th anniversary with a Mother's Day trip to the museum on Sunday, May 10, 2009. Seventeen Koret-supported Bay Area museums are offering free admission, encouraging visitors to enjoy the Bay Area's world-class amenities.

The Mother's Day event marks the second time that Koret has hosted Koret Museum Days, offering free admission on Mother's Day to Bay Area museum-goers. In 2004, a similar event in celebration of the foundation's 25th anniversary drew 55,000 visitors to 13 participating museums, inspiring a trend in corporate philanthropy-supported free weekend admission.
Museums participating in Koret Museum Days 2009 include:

• Asian Art Museum, San Francisco
• Bay Area Discovery Museum, Sausalito
• Chabot Space & Science Center, Oakland
• Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose
• The Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco
• M.H. de Young Museum
• Exploratorium, San Francisco
• Legion of Honor, San Francisco
• Judah L. Magnes Museum, Berkeley
• Lawrence Hall of Science, Berkeley
• Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco
• Oakland Museum of California
• San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
• San Francisco Zoo
• San Jose Museum of Art
• IMAX movie at the Tech Innovation Museum in San Jose
• Zeum, San Francisco

LINK

KFC Hates Mother's Day

If you've downloaded the free KFC coupon, you'll notice that the coupon does not work on Mother's Day. In response to this, El Pollo Loco (my all-time favorite) will accept the KFC coupon on that day.

If you need the coupon, you can download it from me HERE. No software install required.

So print out a few copies. Go to KFC today or tomorrow, then to El Pollo Loco on Sunday and enjoy your 2 piece meal plus two small sides, two tortillas and fresh salsa with your KFC coupon.
I think you'll agree that the colonel is no match to the crazy chicken.

Happy Mother's Day.

3 p.m. UPDATE: KFC is now offering rain checks instead. Grrrr. LINK

More free chicken - Thank you Oprah!

LINK

Coupon available for printing from 9am CDT 5/5/09 to 9:59pm CDT 5/6/09. Coupon is redeemable at participating KFC® locations in the U.S. from 5/5/09 to 5/19/09, excluding 5/10/09. Note: You'll need to install a coupon printer application in order to get the coupon.