Maren's Baptism 5-1-11

Hello!

I must explain that yesterday I said there would be an imminent update, only for Google Blogger to go down for the next 24 hours, not only causing me to delay this post, but also preventing me from taking down my Imminent Update post. Sorry 'bout that.

Anyway, here it is, at last...

Maren's Baptism, May 1, 2011!

For your convenience, coverage of this event is available in three different formats:

1. Pictures

2. Video

3. Heartwarming Slide Show

You can take your pick. Or if you're Grammie, look at all three 800 times!

First up: video, courtesy of famed videographer

Deacon.

It's not quite as daring and avant-garde as his previous effort, but it serves well to document the event. About 3 minutes.

Next: the slideshow shown at church last Sunday.

DISCLAIMER: We did not know our pictures would serve as the sole content of the slideshow, hence the seeming overemphasis on Maren.

Finally, Pictures! Some of these will be repeats if you just watched the slideshow. But for the sake of completeness (and captioning), here they are again!

Maren waits!

I'll have to ask Pastor Tim if his official Baptism Bible is waterproof.

Maren is IN! Here she is with Pastor Brian and Daddy.

Done!

We celebrated at that famed Burbank institution, Dino's Pizza!

Maren waits, contemplating the Contacts on Mommy's phone.

(It is in fact an R2-D2 Droid Phone, for all you geeks out there.)

Happy!

Daddy and Maren, dried off.

It was a great day for our faithful little Valley Girl.

Thanks again for being patient with us. Soon we'll have an epic Good Eatin' post about Derek and Brent's special-ops invasion of the new Burbank Chipotle. Check back soon!

Update IMMINENT

Good Eatin' with the AFB: Hook Burger Bistro!

We have lots of important stuff to cover, like the Royal Wedding and Maren's Baptism, but first things first:

A visit to the brand-new Hook Burger Bistro in Burbank!

Derek had the Prime Burger and enjoyed every bite. Then it was on to dessert...

A delicious Hershey Chocolate Shake.

On a scale of 1-5 caramelized onions, the AFB gives Hook Burger Bistro a 4.5!

AFB coverage of the Royal Wedding and Maren's Baptism coming soon!

MORE from Taco and Talent Night 2011

OK!

We have some catching up to do, so here we go!

Taco and Talent Night 2011. This time with tacos and more talent.

Special thanks to Molly and Grandma for being our photographers for the evening. Oh, and thanks to Deacon for the artistic videography, but we'll get to that in a minute.

Tacos!! Susie and Molly enjoy tacos with Grammie, Grandpa and Grandma (who took this pic).

There's nothing like eating stuff with a plastic fork in a sweltering school gym. As always, Susie is a good sport.

Our hosts for the evening provided high-quality shtick. Including the classic Who's On First in its entirety.

A few never-before-seen pics of The Saga Begins!

Then, it was on to Karina's Karate Kids, which included our very own Maren!

Don't mess with Maren. Really.

Deacon with his flip cam...

For your viewing pleasure, we have edited together the best of Deacon's cinematography from Maren's Karate demo.

We would like to thank Deacon for sharing his uncompromising artistic vision with the world.

He plays drums, he sings, he makes high art films - and he plays recorder! Here's Deacon's class performing Lightly Row.

The grand finale... the St. Paul's Faculty with Saturday Night!

It was funny that in our blog post about Taco and Talent Night 2009, where we made our family band debut with Yoda, I joked that next time we'd have to hire someone to run our multimedia. Turns out it was no joke - special thanks to Pierce and dad Justin, who did a great job running our slides!

Who knows what Taco and Talent Night 2013 will bring?? (Besides a cooler evening in the gym, we hope?)

We have begun negotiations with a special guest, who will remain secret until then.

Update coming soon!

Really!

BREAKING NEWS: MAREN WINS SPELLING BEE

UPDATE 8:05 PM 4/9/11: Here's a poorly edited video!

More coverage, including still pics, coming soon.

ORIGINAL POST:

Maren won the WELS regional Spelling Bee in Wildomar this morning.

The family then participated in an unrelated event: Burbank on Parade.

More coverage as soon as I rest my feet.

Taco and Talent Night 2011!

UPDATE 4:15 PM 4/3/11: Here's the video!

UPDATE 1:35 PM 4/2/11: A new wide shot.

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We made it through our performance of Weird Al's The Saga Begins last night, and pictures are still coming in from multiple sources but I thought I'd put up a few now. o

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Special thanks to Molly for taking these pics! Check back soon for more pics, including Maren's Karate demo and Deacon's recorder ensemble!

Tacos and "Talent" 2009

As we get ready for Taco and Talent Night 2011 tomorrow night, I thought a review of our debut at the same event two years ago might be appropriate.

Taco and Talent Night 2009

This Day In History: March 15, 2003

A movie from March 15, 2003... what we believe are Deacon's first recorded intelligible words... ("I got it!")

BREAKING NEWS: 30-Foot Salami To Reach Burbank Within the Hour

UPDATE 11:50 AM 3/11/11: An individual who wishes to remain nameless submitted this spectacular artist's rendering of the formidable salami approaching SoCal:

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The salami appears to be MUCH larger than the original estimate of 30 feet, and one can only speculate about its catastrophic effects on the Southland, which should occur at any moment now.
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ORIGINAL POST:

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We at the AFB are praying for our brothers and sisters in Japan during these extraordinary continuing events.
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The related news out of Burbank comes from Maren,

who in an honest mistake on the way to school this morning called the approaching Tsunami a "Salami", causing her brother to have a laughing fit and to begin discussing the potential repercussions of a 30-foot salami bearing down on the west coast.
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Rest assured that when the giant salami reaches Burbank, the AFB will be live on the scene.

Good Eatin' with the AFB: IKEA!

Did you know that the Swedish Meatball Meal at IKEA is only $2.49 on Tuesdays??

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We rate the IKEA Meatball Meal 5 out of 5 Lingonberries.

BREAKING NEWS: MAREN WINS SPELLING BEE

Today was the annual Spelling Bee at school. Deacon and Maren were both in the Finals...
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Maren won her EPIC match, which came down to herself and Jacqueline! The winning word: FLOOR.
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The five 1st grade finalists who participated today (and then got to go out to a special lunch at Burger King): (L-R) Maren, Hope, Jacqueline, Micaela and Dan.

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The five moms, VERY relieved for it to be over: Bobbi, Suzanne, Karina, Terri and Elena. Special thanks to 1st-grader Micaela for snapping this pic.

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Maren, Jacqueline, Hope and Victoria.

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Deacon did great, too, coming in 2nd in the 3rd Grade Finals!

He had fond memories today of his First Grade win as well.
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Maren will now compete in the regional Lutheran Schools Spelling Bee in Wildomar on April 9th. The AFB will be on the scene with live coverage.

This Day In History: March 1, 2006

At Jessica's 7th birthday party, March 1, 2006. Jessica, Maren and Deacon.
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Today is also Jessica's 12th birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESSICA!!