All the schooling and hard work of learning the "ins and outs" of the cosmetology trade boiled down to a 7 hour testing period on Thursday, February 19th.

In case you had not heard, Paige passed the California State Boards to be a licensed cosmetologist in California last Thursday and I have posted a photo for all of you to prove it!

Paige, Holly and I arrived in Fairfield at about 10:30 pm Wednesday night because Paige and Holly (Paige's model) had to show up at the testing site at 6:00 a.m. It was an interesting and nerve wracking experience for all of us, but especially for Paige.

One of the funniest stories that has come from the ordeal is Holly's interpretation of the woman who was monitoring the 8 girls in the room Paige tested in. The first test was the practical. The models and candidates are given strict instructions to not speak during this time period because this is when the candidates prove they know the various procedures. The woman who was giving instructions in Paige's room had a very thick foreign accent. When she began to speak, Holly looked at Paige and telepathically inquired if she knew what the heck the woman was saying. It took every ounce of self control for them not to bust out laughing. Paige later admitted that she was focusing all her brain cells on solely trying to understand the instructions the woman was giving. Holly has since become proficient at sounding like the woman who gave the instructions and we get a good laugh every time.

After taking the practical, the candidates are required to take a written test where they are given 1 hour to complete it. Paige finished in 30 minutes and came out to the car to tell us that she was done. We waited another 30 minutes for the results of the exam -finally Paige emerged from the building with a smile on her face and her new license in her hand. We are all very proud of her - what's next for Paige???? Please submit your suggestions for the next segment of Paige's life in the comment section.

Crystal and Steve came to visit us the Friday after Christmas and stayed through New Year's Day. We had a wonderful time with them and hope they had a good time in Gridley. I know they enjoyed the California sun, having come from the white, wet stuff in Utah. We are grateful that they talked us into spending New Year's Eve day in San Francisco. If we'd been left to our own devices I think we would have all been happy being couch potatoes and watching bowl games, instead, we piled into two cars with the family, including Matt Sannar and headed for the bay area. We arrived in San Francisco about 2:00 p.m. and went straight to In -n- Out Burger for lunch on Embarcadero, we were famished! We then spent the afternoon walking up and down the wharf, enjoying the sea lions, the sidewalk performers and artists and spending time with each other. For dinner at the Pier Market at Pier 39, most of us ordered the sourdough bread bowl filled with clam chowder. Many people claim this to be the best clam chowder on the wharf....we all thought it was delicious. After filling our tummies with chowder we strolled back up Embarcadero Street to Ghiradelli Square where we all got our chocolate fix for the evening. The weather was fairly nice and we had some time to kill so we spent about an hour outside seated at a cafe table at Ghiradelli square. At about 9:30 p.m. we decided to head back towards Pier 39, where we were going to watch the fireworks. But, before the fireworks, Holly and Paige returned to the car to get a guitar and decided to see how much money the could make at a location near Pier 39. As we neared Pier 39, we found a spot where a firedancer was just packing up and leaving. Paige and Holly planted themselves on a bench, opened the guitar case and started entertaining the masses passing by on the sidewalk. After about 15 minutes, a woman approached them and told them that she had heard the music calling her and had come over to see who was singing. She had been enjoying the evening and had imbibed some adult beverages and was feeling quite uninhibited, as you'll see by her behavior on the video. She was yelling to everyone to "throw down some money for these girls who were trying to make a few bucks on the last day of the year". We were all dying laughing, it was a pretty good time. After a bit, the rest of her family showed up. It turns out that most of them were as uninhibited as she was. At one point you'll see her holding up a drawing of Jimi Hendrix and she shouts, "Obama"! Paige and Holly played for about 45 minutes and made about $25. It was getting pretty cold at that point and it was about 11:00 p.m. We then made our way to Pier 39 where we staked out a spot to watch the fireworks which went off at midnight. All in all, the day was wonderful. We arrived home at about 4:00 a.m., grateful that we had made it home safely, tucked ourselves into bed and slept away half of New Year's Day. I know I have not had a more interesting and fun New Year's Eve than I had this year, and I am not sure whether I will ever have one quite like that again. Thanks for the memories, family.

The Band

This is my 12 year old son, he is my youngest which makes him #6. He plays the drums in a band with 4 other 12 year old boys. The band comes to our home (garage) every Friday and they practice. Sometimes I am very impressed with the sounds coming from my garage, other times I wonder where such young boys learn what sounds like "acid rock". There are a couple who really are aficionados of all genres of music and I am impressed by their knowledge of bands from my era (their parents must keep their 8 tracks and albums handy to listen to!).

I am glad we can offer a place for these boys to practice and hang out. I have learned (in 25 years of parenting) that it is important to know where your child is, who his friends are and what he is doing. I figure that if I keep baking cookies and brownies and heating up pizzas for the band I'll at least know where he is every Friday.

Change

I have lived in our area of northern California for much of my youth and most of my adult life. It seems that every autumn I become more appreciative of the colors and changes which occur in the foliage all around me. Perhaps I am just more appreciative of change, period. Having said that, sometimes change is good and sometimes it is not. I don't like all the recent political change. I don't like the changes age brings, and yet I am keenly aware of ALL of them. I often experience wistful feelings as I observe my growing, changing children and family...where did the time go? Gratefully, my parents change very little but their yard is in the midst of a gorgeous change of putting on its autumn color. I have been admiring the change in the beautiful trees and shrubs that surround their home and thought you'd enjoy it too. I also had to include this peach tree which is experiencing a change, (it looks a little withered compared to the beautiful color tinged leaves on the above trees). Life is often reflected in nature's changes which can be beautiful and glorious or dreary, plain and appearing nearly dead. In the cycle of life, I understand that I probably have passed the point of beautiful and glorious (if I ever was) and am more like the withering peach tree....for now.

Beware: A new driver in the family!

This is daughter #4. She just got her license last week. We have been driving with her for the past 6 months and decided that she needed a tank; we got her the closest thing to a tank we could afford...an old Range Rover.

The second day she had her license, she demolished the neighbor's mailbox, traveling at 5 mph. She is lucky that...1. She is number 5 in the line-up, 2. That we have seen a whole lot worse and 3. Her Dad only chuckled when he heard about the "mashed" mailbox. It was a very good thing we bought a tank.

Buy Pumpkins, they will come....

It is tradition in the Havens' home, the Monday night before Halloween, to carve pumpkins and spread a little Halloween cheer. I am amazed that our pre-teen, teenager and young adult will still gather in the garage on a cold October night and create Halloween art with a knife and a pumpkin. Perhaps they are drawn to this activity because of the gooey insides of the pumpkin, or the fact that they can use a knife any way they want. I like to think that family traditions are hard to ignore and that even though our kids may feel they are way beyond the age of carving pumpkins, you just don't break a long standing family tradition.....oh, wait....JORDAN, GET OFF THE PHONE!

Pre-Halloween Activities