Art and friends

Vivian grabbed the camera...yes, she is running out of teeth.

Mazie taking in an exhibit in all its marvelous complexity

Dinner with friends.

Exhibit that enthralled our whole family

Lovely friends with their dearie son

Our kids are at ages when they're starting to interact with art differently. They really care about it. So fun to watch them become struck by a piece, or to grab the camera and start taking their own photos. The exhibit I show here is by a work by Sarah Tze called "Book of Parts." This is beauty out of the found; beauty from nothing. Each of us was struck by a different element: Jenn by the landscapes painted on milk cartons. Mazie liked how "everything was propped in a way that kept things from hurting the stuff around it." Vivian liked "how balanced it was." I liked the play on reuse and the smattering of live plants throughout. Also the rows of rocks. Richie liked the architecture of the curving supports. Aaron noticed there was a plane ticket - legit plane ticket - on one element.

You can see the sweet baby in the last picture. He visits our house with his mom and dad several times a week, and is a most welcome visitor. He is king of the house for the bit that he is here. Vivian and Mazie attend to his every need, make sure he doesn't hurt himself, give him magnets and blocks to play with. It's dear, he's dear, and we are so thankful for him. Dear boy!

The dinner photo is from a delicious dinner during which we talked with friends and Miss LJ gave our family a little impromptu warm-up concert...complete with stretching lessons. Her voice is absolutely thrilling. As she geared up, you could practically feel her insides rattling with the force of the sound...utterly on-key and vibrant. Her magnificent voice gave us all goosebumps and brought tears to Vivian's eyes - absolutely thrilling!

Let it be known that if you are our friend (there's so much more for future posts), we love you and we value you immensely. You bring richness to our lives - all our lives. My kids rely on your perspective, on your kindness, on your talents, to help them learn about the world. And Richie and I just love you!