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Weekend Wrap-Up

Published on June 4, 2018 by amyewhitelivecomLeave a comment

One of Quinn\’s 4th grade goals was to learn how to make chocolate chip pancakes. We have made them a handful of times over the year but he has never made them by himself. And Thursday is the last day of school.

So mom supervised while he did the work.

After breakfast we met his buddy Dan for some archery.

Then Quinn went to a sleepover birthday party so Don and I went out and played! First stop in Hollywood, some caffeine to make it through the night. Trying to look SoCal casual. Fake it \’til you make it!

Dinner at The Hungry Cat. We started with this seafood platter. It was so very good!

We had planned to catch the sunset at the Griffith Observatory which sits above Hollywood. However, the line of traffic to get there was unbelievable. We felt pretty lucky just to get a parking spot.

As we got out of the car there was a little bit of orange left in the sky so I quickly snapped a pic.

A view looking towards the observatory with a line of cars waiting to get in and LA in the background.

I love our ghostly selves in this one. Long exposure and movement.

And a look out over downtown LA.

Sunday morning Quinn got home around 10 am but was off again with another friend at noon. So Don and I took the opportunity to go on a hike in Malibu.

The hiking paths were overrun with these mustard flowers. It was quite beautiful.

A glimpse of the ocean.

Point Dume in Malibu.

I propped the phone up with a rock and set the timer. It was a great hike but it was much warmer than we anticipated. We jumped in the pool as soon as we got home.

And what was Quinn doing? He went to a children\’s film festival in downtown LA with a buddy. He saw a series of short films from around the world. He thought some were pretty great and some were duds. Photo courtesy of my friend.

The Magician\’s Cape

Published on May 28, 2018 by amyewhitelivecomLeave a comment

I\’m currently taking an online photography class called The Magician\’s Cape which is all about putting yourself in the picture and capturing your daily life.

I\’m using tripods and timers and intervalometers to capture myself in the shot. Here are some favorites from this week.

I wanted to capture the routine of tying Quinn\’s belt for TKD and we got a surprise ambush.

We had to do a smiling self portrait. Not so easy but I\’m happy with the way it came out. I wanted to capture the cast too because it is currently part of my story and hopefully comes off tomorrow.

All District Band Concert

Published on May 23, 2018 by amyewhitelivecomLeave a comment

Quinn\’s band had their big performance last night at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza. This is the highlight of the semester.

Quinn and his percussionist buddy Dan.

Before the show.

A gaggle of boys. (This isn\’t my picture but shared from a friend.) You might remember that Quinn had a high school student give him some sax tutoring. The brother of the tutor is on the far left of the pic. Love all the ties!

The program from last night. The district has about 4 nights of performances. Last night was Quinn\’s elementary school and the middle and high school where he will attend.

We couldn\’t really see Quinn but knew the general vicinity of where he was sitting. And after their first song Quinn did his signature move and lifted his sax in the air 🙂

The kids were pretty jazzed up!

Hey, I captured Quinn in this pic. Can\’t you see him?

Oh, there he is!

It was pretty interesting to hear the beginning band, then the advanced (elementary) band, middle school and then high school. There was a HUGE jump in skill level from the advanced elementary to the middle school and they are only a year or two apart. All three schools are known for their outstanding music programs.

Here\’s a pic that another friend shared so it\’s not my picture. But a great view from above of the stage. It was great for the younger kids to see in to their future and for the older kids to see how far they\’ve come. Most of the high school kids were seniors and this was their last performance together.

The last song all the bands performed together, Ode to Joy. (This video was shared from a friend.) If you jump to 1:20 you can hear the transition from elementary to middle and jump to 2:20 you can hear middle school to high.