The Blake Family

Garbage Man?!

August 27, 2008
Gannon is obsessed with the garbage man. Every Wednesday morning, Gannon wakes earlier than usual just so he can get a glimpse of the garbage man and give him a wave. Future career?! On this particular day - Gannon insisted on running outside to wave a hello in his Superman underwear!

Promoting the GAP

August 21, 2008
Today was a fun and productive work day for me. My team at work put in long (approximately one year) and patient hours to assist our community in the formation of a tobacco-free park where children play. This past Spring, the Yuba City Council passed a local policy creating the new Gauche Aquatic Park (GAP) be 100% tobacco-free. Who knew policy work was in my future 10 years ago, however as I continue to work as a Health Educator...policy work has become a forefront of my duties.

As a result of the GAP local policy, I was able to produce a commercial that promotes the tobacco-free park. When the opportunity came to me...I instantly had a concept and the perfect "actresses" in mind (THANKS AGAIN Leah and Casey! You guys were great!!!). I needed real Moms and real kids appreciating the tobacco-free place to play. Below are photos from the shoot. David Essary taped the commercial and is in the process of editing it. Watch for it on our local cable station soon!

Gannon playing around at the beautiful park.

The production in progress.

The actresses!

Splish and Splash made an appearance.

Precious little Audrey.

Special News!

August 11, 2008

Yes, I am pregnant with baby Blake #2 and we are delighted! I am 13 weeks pregnant. Rich and I always knew that we wanted our children about 3-4 years apart, and after Hawaii we said...now is the time, and we were blessed! In 2-1/2 weeks we will learn the sex of our baby...Gannon is certain that "his" baby is a girl and he has already named her Livvy (short for Olivia - a precious little girl at his school that I think he really likes). My Mom, of course, is hoping for a baby girl. Whatever the baby's sex, we are overwhelmed with joy and happiness, and are excited to expand our wonderful little family and love another child!

Happy Birthday Chooch!

August 5, 2008

Happy Birthday Baby!

We love you so much!!!

A Great Day in Monterey

August 3, 2008

Understanding that today was our last day in one of our favorite locations in California, we got busy. The morning was spent back at the Fisherman's Wharf to watch the sea lion's roar and to see the "pirate ships". We then headed back to the Aquarium to see the sharks once again, and to participate in the Creatures in the Deep presentation (think the crazy fish in Nemo that has a light on top of its head - scary stuff) because Gannon is obsessed with weird fish such as the one mentioned. He was loving the presentation and being able to see all of the unusual creatures that the research institute has recently discovered. After the aquarium, we headed to Cannery Row and rented a scurry (a silly family-style bicycle) and rode up and down the coast - wonderful!!! We ended the fabulous day at the IMAX to watch Sea Monsters. The film was produced in 3D...it was amazing.

A Night on the Town

This evening, Gannon and I took Daddy to the Fisherman's Wharf for a birthday dinner. We went to the yummy Old Fisherman's Grotto (which had the best calm chowder that we have ever had). On the way to the restaurant, we encountered a sea lion that was taking a rest on the rocks below. He was so close to us that we could have practically touched him!

The Gorgeous Coast!

After a long morning at the aquarium, we took a walk down to the coast. While Mommy sat on a rock and just listened to the ocean, Daddy watched Mr. G run in and out of the water and make new friends. My little guy is definitely a beach bum!!!

Monterey Bay Aquarium

August 2, 2008

Rich and I took Gannon to the Monterey Bay Aquarium exactly two years ago (2006). He was 16 months old. We decided to spend our weekend in Monterey as a means to celebrate Richard's upcoming birthday, but we were both very excited to watch Gannon experience the aquarium this time around. And boy - he was amazed and in awe with all of the wondrous sights and animals at this world-famous place. Gannon had a great time...his favorite part of the aquarium was seeing the hammerhead sharks. And Rich and I feel in love with the aquarium all over again while watching Gannon learn and grow.

Gannon truly enjoyed every moment of the aquarium. Check out this small film of him being so excited while experiencing the "tidal wave".

The Good Ol' Y-S Fair

July 31, 2008
Our evening was spent at the annual Yuba-Sutter Fair. I was there to judge a portion of the pagent, so I drug my family along for the "ride". Speaking of rides...Gannon loved each and every ride in the children's area. He loved seeing all of the animals close-up too, but he did comment on how smelly the livestock area was! All in all, it was a great evening...full of heat, junk-food and long-lost friends!

Jessie's Birthday at the GAP

July 27, 2008
Today was Jessie's first birthday party. He had a great shindig at the Gauche Aquatic Park (GAP). Believe it or not, I hadn't taken Gannon to the GAP yet. Well, as we assumed, he loved every aspect of the park. He had a smile plastered across his face the entire time we were there. Happy Birthday Baby Jessie...and thanks for the fun day!

San Francisco Weekend

July 18, 2008
This morning we woke-up and headed to Sausalito for brunch. Rich needed a great meal before his fight - we went to one of our favorites (Scoma's...yum!).

It was so wonderful to see some of our very old and dear friends, Will and Jen. They now live in Santa Rosa and were able to come to the city and hang out with us and watch Richard's fight.

Now - the fight. I'm sad to say that my husband didn't win this bout. His nose was broken. His opponent was tough and much bigger than he was, which isn't unusual for Richard's opponents (they seem to only be getting bigger and bigger). The ref stopped the fight in the second round because he thought Rich was being hurt and wasn't able to defend himself accordingly. Rich was so upset with the ref because his strategy was to wear his opponent down and the ref didn't let that happen. As the wife - I'm just glad that once again my handsome husband is alright!

Weigh-in's

July 17, 2008
Dad, Rich and I traveled to San Francisco for the weekend - Rich has a fight at the Kezar Pavillion. Today he had weigh-in's...his opponent is a beast; a big boy

Wall-E

July 12, 2008
This evening, Richard and my Dad attended a fight in Placerville to support one of Richard's friends that had a bout. While the men were gone, my Mom and I took Gannon to see the movie Wall-E...what a sweet and wonderful movie this was! The film was about the beautiful power of love, but also touched on an unexpected cautionary tale of the potential impact of humans irresponsibility and lazy behavior. A wonderful little movie - great for children and adults alike!!!

Fourth of July!!!

July 4, 2008

We began the day by celebrating America's birthday while attending the City of Yuba City's Freedom Parade. This is our second year participating and I truly think that this year was better than last! This parade is such a sweet event - imagine hundreds of children riding their bikes, wagons or scooters down Plumas Street to the Town Center...but what tops it off is the fact that all of the bikes, wagons and scooters are decorated in red, white and blue. People line the street and watch the children. This is a wonderful event to start a great day!!! At the end of the parade are fire trucks, which all children love, hot dogs and birthday cake. Thanks Yuba City for this event. Check out photos of Gannon and his friends at this festive event below.

After the parade and lunch, Mommy, Daddy and Gannon spent the afternoon in our swimming pool. Once Gannon became especially water logged, he napped while we watched a movie. When Gman woke up we went to Grandma and Grandpa's to enjoy a yummy dinner and fireworks with Great Grandma and Aunt Nena.