The Thompson Family

Nora and the other kids at the Sippy Cups concert at Bimbo's rockin' out to "I Wanna Be Sedated." View the still photos on Flickr.

Guess what... I'm riding my bicycle from S.F. to L.A. this summer in AIDS/LifeCycle! That's 545 miles in 7 days starting June 1st. Yep. Me. On a bike. For the first time in 7 years (I know, seven years!).

Hear that tin cup rattling? I am trying to raise at least $2,500! Please support me and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation by giving what you can.
Donate online at: http://www.aidslifecycle.org/1613
Your donation can truly make a world of difference in the lives of people living with HIV and AIDS, because the money raised by the participants (over 2000 of us!) will provide critical services to those people via the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.

This bike ride down the coast of California is the biggest endeavor I have ever considered... I took my first ride this past weekend, and it was an amazing day. The last consistently active thing I did was the AIDS Marathon in New Orleans, way back in 2004. My brain, my heart and my waistline are all looking forward to the experience and challenge!

Much love to you and yours this Valentine's Day!

Nora's best Christmas present was a card game called Sleeping Queens by Gamewright. She wakes up in the morning saying, "Can I please have some milk, and then we can play Sleeping Queens?" Truly. Every day starting on Boxing Day. And it is the first thing she asks to play when we get in the house after school/work.

This company makes the most amazing games. Be sure to check them out if you haven't seen them before. Nora has two other games that she loves, also by Gamewright: Wig Out (matching card game) and Feed the Kitty (a dice game). When we filled out our customer comment card after our second Gamewright purchase, they sent back a HANDWRITTEN postcard to Nora with some suggested games and personal responses to her note. Now that is stellar customer relationship management!

The last sunset of 2007 over the hills of San Francisco. Look out 2008, here we come!

Well, it was sad to see em go, and oh so quiet once everyone went off on their airplane... even Otto had the blues!

NOTE: The video no longer works. OfficeMax has taken down the Elf Site.

I know Elf Yourself is a couple years old, and I know everyone and their brother is doing it... but it makes us laugh every time we watch it. Something about Dell's head on the female body just gets my giggle going. Merry Christmas!

Nora, Dell and Otto playing Trouble! Nora is green, Dell is blue, and Otto is yellow. Otto is a ruthless popper... he keeps knocking Dell and Nora back into their home bases.

Shelly & Chad hosted the family for a great evening of crab, kids, and a sighting of Santa! Chris, Liz, Sammia and Isabella came down from Chico. Grandmama Meena and Papa Ray were surrounded by all their kids and grandkids. We shared special Christmas memories around the table, and made a new one in the process. View the photos on Flickr.

Thanks to the Westbrooks for an amazing holiday party! Everyone was in their Rat Pack finery. View the photos on Flickr.

View the photos on Flickr.

Nicki and Andy hosted a lovely Thanksgiving this year. It was a smaller group, but it was still full of love and thankfulness. We missed those who weren't with us this year. Love to everyone! View the photos on Flickr.

HOPSCOTCH!
(if you haven't seen the movie, you won't get it)

Like mother (2005), like daughter (2007). Nora found my Corpse Bride costume in the "Boo Box" and wanted to wear it. So we stitched some elastic to hold it up around the neck. We fashioned a bone arm out of an old pair of tights and an undershirt. The remaining part of the tights went to the bone leg. The rest was straight from my version of the costume. A little blue skin makeup and some attitude... and there you have it! View a few more photos on Flickr.

This is the gratitude dance. Be grateful and have some fun.
Every morning when you wake up, follow this three step process:
1. Think of what you're grateful for at that moment,
2. Watch the Video, and...
3. DO THE DANCE!

Nora's mermaid party was a smashing success! View the photos on Flickr.

(click to enlarge photo)

Nora's JBBP had a huge "sports day" festival called Undokai, and I took the day off to attend and volunteer. The teachers said "if you are going to go to only one of your child's Japanese celebrations this year, this is the one to go to... it truly is a spectacle." I couldn't agree more! Here is a video of Nora and Ketarie at Undokai doing the ball rolling race - it was great fun for the kindergarteners. The music was actually playing in the background over the loudspeaker, and it was strangely like a Japanese cartoon or a video game or something! View more photos on Flickr.



UNDOKAI: This electrifying annual event is held in schools throughout Japan—elementary through high school. The Undokai event stems from Taiku no hi (Health and Sports Day), an official nationally recognized holiday in Japan that commemorates the 1964 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo. Undokai combines the Japanese word undo, meaning exercise, and kai, gathering. Throughout Japan, schools, cities, and other organizations promote unity, team work and friendship through the Undokai. In this same spirit, the Japanese school divides into teams and holds a series of competitions such as bean toss (bean bags into a basket high up on a bamboo pole), races and team relays, dancing displays, obstacle course, and the classic tug-of-war.