4th of July thru the Years

From the album: 4th of July thru the Years

See all the photos via the online album: 4th of July thru the Years

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Woodland Park Zoo - June 2010

This is a very cute photo / video montage put to very fun music of the sights we captured during the Eisenhower Middle School end of year field trip. I was the parent chaperone for Austin's group. We had a very good time and saw some really great animal antics. You will enjoy some very funny moments and some very touching moments. Watch it with your kids too... they will love it.... almost as fun as being at the zoo. ENJOY!

Rice Family Gathering - Jesse's Birthday Celebration

We had lots to celebrate on this beautiful summer day at the Rice house. Bob's brother, Richard, visiting from Virginia and Jesse turning 20! It's always great when we can get the whole family together. Another successful party hosted by Bob & Julie. :-)

Click on any photo below to see a larger view

The Birthday Fairy is here to deliver your cake, Jesse!!!

Push the play button to see Jesse blow out the candles.

Jesse through the years - Happy Birthday to you!!

From the Album: Rice Family Celebration - Jesse's 20th Birthday

Camano Island Pool Party - Ross Mansion

Lance & Reba hosted family and friends for a day of fun in the sun in the cool pool.

From the album: Camano Island Pool Party at the Ross Mansion

A perfect place to be on a hot summer day!

Our Hostess, Reba. Our host, Lance... and nephew, Garet A view of Puget Sound and the Olympics... lots of happy swimmers! Bob is bobbing along in the pool staying cool

Jasmine floating and enjoying some relaxation

Amanda and Austin... my little fishies

Austin... being cool, as always

water ballet with Amanda

Ella & Me posing for the camera.

Colleen takes daughter Mikaela for a fun ride in the pool

Larry checks out the scene

See all the photos and fun videos by clicking on the photo below: Camano Island Pool Party at the Ross Mansion

Lowest tide of the year - Edmonds Beach with the EHS gang & our kids

June 23 was the lowest tide of 2009. So a bunch of us former EHS peeps grabbed our kids and headed to our beloved Edmonds beach for a daying of exploring. Low tide was a -4.1. Enjoy the photos!

From the Album: Low Tide at Edmonds Beach

What a year it has been so far!!

Greetings Friends & Family -
I hope all is well with you. This is such a great time of year... I love a crisp Fall day when the sun is shining down on the trees with their many colors. Although we didn't have much of a summer, and it seemed as though last Winter extended into Spring... nevertheless, we have had a very fun-filled last 9 months:

After we rang in the New Year, the month of January started off with a visit from my favorite wild life visitors--the elusive Bobcat. We celebrated Austin's 10th Birthday in January and Amanda's 13th Birthday in February. This last winter, Austin played on the Everett Youth Basketball league and we really enjoyed seeing him in action on the court!

March was filled with Lots of Fun Events, including a lovely Easter dinner with the Foster & Goodwin family and a lovely snow day just in time for Erika's birthday celebration.
Speaking of no Spring earlier... we also had April Snow late in the month. So much for all my new Spring plantings!!!

One of the most exciting things that happened this year was The Great Penelope... starring Amanda, with her dad playing the role of her dad in the play. Very cool!!
We had a great time celebrating with lots of friends and family at Gianni's Restaurant after both productions of the play.

In Marvelous May, we got a few sunny days. I had a lovely Mother's Day, accompanied Amanda's school choir to their festival, where they scored very high, enjoyed a day at Edmonds Beach with the kids, and was able to spend some time in my garden with the kitties.

On June 1, I hosted a Garden Party in my back yard. It was quite chilly but we ladies had a lovely time despite the cold weather. The rest of June was Jam Packed with lots of end of the year school fun, Father's Day, and more. We lucked out with very sunny days for those events.

Amanda and Bob performed in the Applause Studio annual recital in June and Alyson and Susan hosted an amazing Cousins Tea! On June 29, Jasmine Graduated from Western Washington University!! with a B.A. in Finance and Economics. She is now working at T-Mobile as a Fraud Analyst!!

Once July and August arrived... we were off and running:
* Bob and I saw Stevie Wonder in concert
* Amanda and Bob performed a 45-minute version of The Great Penelope at the the Mill Creek Festival
* We took the family Camping at Kalaloch in July
* Enjoyed the many sunny days of Joyous July when we celebrated Jasmine's birthday and went to two concderts... Ringo Starr & James Taylor at the Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery in Woodinville.
* Bob and I saw Joe Cocker & Steve Miller at the Gorge on August 2
* Had an Amazing August with Family and Friends. We didn't get to celebrate Jesse's birthday with him as he was down feeding the fire fighters in Oregon and California. My Mom and Bill came up for a visit in August, so we got the Ross Family together.
* We took one last summer Trip to Seaside Oregon with the kids in late August.

Now school is back in sessioni and summer is over. We had a Sensational September and are looking forward to the festive season ahead. We finally got to Celebrate Jesse's birthday two months late. It is great to have him back in Washington.

We hope your year has been just as blessed and we look forward to seeing everyone over the holidays.

Much love....
The Rice FamilyBob, Julie, Amanda, and Austin

Awesome August!!

Concerts, Family, Vacation... woo hoo. Bob and I kicked off the month with a trip to the Gorge for a concert. The next day we had a lovely time at Glen & Diane's and enjoyed visiting with all the extended Rice family. We enjoyed having mom and Bill up for the month of August so had a fun day with the Ross Family. They spent one week at a nice hotel with a pool. The kids and I went there every day to visit and swim. Amanda got a new hair cut to start off her 8th grade year and then it was off to Seaside Oregon for a fun family vacation!! We attended friend's Karrie and Eric's beautiful wedding at the Victorian Manor in Snohomish. Alyson took the kids for a day of fun at the Everett Imagine Children's Museum. And, of course, the cats were their cute selves as usual!!

Trip to Seaside, Oregon

This summer we ventured out of Washington to the land of Seaside, OR. The weather was a little rainy at first but turned to beautiful sun. We had fun visiting the sea lions at the aquarium, walking in the rain on Broadway, checked out the shops, rode the carousel, and played miniature golf. We ran into Rob Thompson (my cousin and Bob's friend from school). Small world, eh? The next day we had a sunny day and walked the Prom and played at the beach. The last day I got up early and took a very zenful walk on the beach!!

Ross Family Day at our house

Mom and Bill came to town for the month of August so we got the whole fam damily together for some bonding and birthdays.

Joyous July!!!

We start with the 4th of July festivities in Edmonds. Then, we celebrated Jasmine's 24th birthday on July 10, went to the Stevie Wonder Concert on July 11, and then spent the weekend of the 13th & 14th at the Mill Creek Festival where Amanda and Bob performed a 45-minute version of "The Great Penelope." Then it was more concert fun at Ringo Starr on July 19 and James Taylor on July 22, which were both at the Chateau Ste. Michelle winery in Woodinville. I hosted Bingo this month at my house on the 25th and captured some fun clips of the after-hour fun. We topped the month off with our annual camping trip to Kalaloch. Even though we were really busy... we still found time to hang out in the back yard and enjoy our kitties!! Enjoy the photos.

Camping at Kalaloch in July!!

We went on our annual camping trip to Kalaloch on July 27 - 29. The weather was nice but we were rained out the last day. We woke up the last day to pouring rain and packed up as fast as we could. Enjoy the photos:

The Great Penelope at The Mill Creek Festival

The Applause Players, of Applause Studio in Mill Creek, performed a 45-minute version of "The Great Penelope" production. Starring my darling daughter as "Penelope" and wonderful husband as Penelope's dad.

Mill Creek Festival Fun

Besides the wonderful performance of "The Great Penelope," we had lots of other fun at the community stage as well. Bob helped run sound for some of the guest who performed, Amanda participated in some of the antics of "The Rowdy Refs," and then we were all charmed by the wonderful J.P. Patches... who played a trick on Amanda and company.

An Evening with Stevie Wonder

Bob and I went to the Stevie Wonder concert on Friday at the White River Amphitheater in Auburn, WA. We had wonderful seats and perfect weather. At first, it seemed so surreal that we were watching this music legend live. He put on a 2+ hour show and he sounded phenomenal.

I captured some amazing shots and a few video snippets. I would have had more, however... my batteries were confiscated from me by one of the security folks. Apparently, you can take photos but no video. Had I known that, I would have been much more discreet, such as the other folks around me.

Take a look at the photo album, which tells the story of our night at the show (well... half of the show). The other half of the show will live on as a great memory!!! Here is the playlist from the show if you'd like to groove along as you view my virtual show (minus a few that I couldn't find in the online music library).

Stay tuned for our next concert adventures... Ringo Starr on July 19 and James Taylor on July 22 (both at the Château St. Michelle Winery). We are looking forward to seeing these amazing artists at this fantastic venue. I'll be sure to be more discreet when capturing video snippets.

An Evening with Stevie Wonder

Click the photo or the link below to view the virtual show: http://picasaweb.google.com/JulzNW/AnEveningWithStevieWonder
Enjoy!!





Below is a review of the show from a local reporter:
Stevie Wonder is a living legend and his greatness was on display. Friday night when he delivered a hit-laden set infused with his trademark blend of jazz, funk and soul at White River Amphitheatre.
From "Masterblaster (Jammin')" to "My Cherie Amour" just about every one of Wonder's pop gems made an appearance during his two-hour show. He even managed to make room on the set list of more than 24 songs for a new song, titled "Keep Fooling Yourself Baby Girl." Like the lighter fare in Wonder's back catalog, the track is sure to be a hit on adult contemporary radio stations when it reaches airwaves.
While some of Wonder's music may have made its way into easy listening territory that didn't mean the show was a sit back and relax type of experience. In fact, Wonder made sure it was exactly the opposite. The charismatic singer engaged the crowd with jokes, encouraged multiple sing alongs and had the crowd boogying down to "Higher Ground," which was the first of many songs that got the crowd dancing.
Escorted to the stage by his daughter Aisha, who was one of Wonder's three backup singers, Wonder started the show by dedicating the performance to Quincy Jones. He later sang "Isn't She Lovely" to her, in one of the show's more endearing moments.
The show's closing four songs not only showcased Wonder's musical genius but also cemented his status as a legend. The combo of "Signed, Sealed Delivered, I'm Yours," "Sir Duke," "I Wish" and "Superstitious" were showstoppers. During the latter former "American Idol" contestant Sanjaya Malakar joined Wonder on stage. His voice has improved during his post-Idol days. His hair, not so much.

Jam Packed June

June was a crazy busy month for our family. I hosted a garden party on June 1, which was like a HGTV in my back yard. A local garden nursery--My Garden--did a garden make-over in our back yard. Amanda kept us busy with lots of fun stuff, including the Ike Choir Celebration field trip, Applause Studio recital, and the Ike Choral event--"Welcome to TV Land." Then we attended Jasmines College Graduation ceremony and celebrated Father's Day all in the same weekend. Not to worry - I got plenty of entertaining stuff from Austin and the cats too. Come back to check out photos from Austin's school family night at the Aquasox Game, Last Day of School fun, our Annual Cousin's tea, and Jasmine's Graduation Celebration. Enjoy the many photos!!!

This is what my kids do for fun...

I don't even know how these kids do this stuff. Kids are so darn smart these days!!
Enjoy the show.

Trip to Arizona at the end of August...

The Kids and I spent a week visiting grandma and grandpa in Arizona. Talk about hot, hot, hot!! We didn't have a single day under 110 degrees. So... we spents lots of time staying cool in the pool!!

August Happenings...

August was quite busy. We kicked off the month with a celebration for Jesse. He turned 18 this year!! Boy do I feel old - they grow up so fast. Then Bob did a fabulous job painting our house. It turned out really great. I managed to sneak in some garden time, although not as much as I'd have liked. We also had fun performing at the Taste of Edmonds and hanging with J.P. Patches.

Trip to the ocean in July

We spent a week at the Ocean this year. Our first stop was camping for 2 nights at Kalaloch. The weekend started off quite soggy, but we made the most of it until the sun finally broke through. After that, we headed to Moclipse for 5 nights. We rented a very nice cabin just off the ocean. It was quite windy a lot of the time but very fun. We are still finding sand in our coat pockets even now.

Lazy Street at the 2007 Bite of Seattle

Larry's Band, Lazy Street, Played at the Bite of Seattle. He, Mark, Anthony, Dave, Dennis, & Michael Rocked the Seattle Center. Their fan club did not disappoint. Many family members and friends came out to support the band. Click HERE to see all the photos!