Dinner for Nick

We were so sad earlier this year when our friends Michael and Susanne moved to Houston. Thankfully, Susanne is telecommuting so she comes up to the main office every now and then for work. We had the chance to have supper with her the other night, and it also happened to be our friend Nicholas's birthday! Because he lives even further way - South Africa - we had to just make him a sign and eat a delicious dessert in his honor.

Our new Vilakazi video

These are all our incredible board members. We love them!

Because we're pals with the Thunder

So THAT was amazing. Our good pals the Kimballs were out of town the day the Oklahoma City Thunder hosted their season ticket party. Who was the lucky family? The Jacobs family! They gave us their passes and let us take their spot at the event. It. Was. Incredible. We saw Russell Westbrook twice. I failed to say hi twice. We saw Daequan Cook and he was sweet enough to take a picture with us. He even called me ma'am. What! Our boys are the best. Mia was not so impressed with the whole ordeal. It was loud and there were tons of people. But we found some popcorn and all was well.

Best. Thunder. Game. Ever.

First of all, I just want to point out that our friends Michael and Susanne Kimball are fantastic, even if they don't give us their tickets to see the Thunder. But they did. Because they're amazing.

We got to sit in their season ticket seats because Kimball lucked out and got upgraded to the second row. Second row. Like, it was the Kimballs, the first row and then Kevin Durant.

Getting to sit there is amazing no matter what game it is, but it just so happened to be one hell of a game. Watch this video he shot of Kevin Durant hitting a buzzer beater to beat the nefarious Dallas Mavericks.




Yes, it was that amazing. I might have peed my pants.

The no-pants Christmas

Christmas was so fun. We left out cookies for Santa.


And Santa left Mia some great toys in her stocking.


Then we all opened presents. I gave Leigh a new wedding ring. He gave me a James Harden shirt. And Leigh got Mia a really adorable plane.


We went and ate an early supper with the Kimballs because they didn't have any family in town either. It was amazingly delicious. It was so delicious, Mia didn't want to wear pants.

Wine for Wickets!

We hosted our second big wine tasting and it was a HUGE success! We are so excited! Vilakazi raised more than $2,000, which is $800 more than last time. We are so, so humbled by our friends and their generosity. It was really special. We have the best board in the world, and they work so hard for our mission. The wine pull, the auction, the tasting - it was all great. And, not to mention, it was a super fun party. To so many people, things like this aren't that big of a deal. But to the children we'll help this summer, it's a really big deal. And just for a reminder, this is what donations did for children in 2010:

A cake for the Sooners

Even though we really have no emotional attachment to Florida State or the University of Oklahoma, Leigh and I enjoyed making this cake and taking it to our friends' OU-FSU watch party. The Sooners won.

A big day for Vilakazi

Today was a big day for Vilakazi. As some of you may or may not know, the foundation Leigh and I started earned its official 501(c)3 status a few weeks ago. It was an exciting day after nearly two years of hard work by our amazing board, volunteers and supporters! After that, we felt a little adrift. We'd been shooting for our 501(c)3 goal for so long, it was strange actually achieving it.

So we took time Saturday to have our first ever board retreat. We didn't really retreat anywhere. We actually just went to my office. Our fantastic friend, Kelli Dupuy, was our facilitator and we accomplished so much! We talked about board development, goal setting and fundraising for the next year. We've set a lofty goal for ourselves, but it's going to be so exciting when we reach it! We're going to help hundreds - hundreds! - of South African children next summer. (I hope you will all be a part of it!)


After spending all day together, we decided it would be great to spend even MORE time together. Some of our board members joined up with a few friends to play in this annual trivia night fundraiser that benefits an Oklahoma nonprofit that works to prevent teen pregnancy. (Boy, do we need this group in Oklahoma!) Our team finished FOURTH out of 48 teams! It was incredible, if not overly competitive. We also finished fourth last year. Next year we're totally winning medals. Or stealing medals. Whatever.

It might sound cliche, but Leigh and I count our blessings every day. We have the most amazing friends!

Holy Kimball Matrimony

We love the Kimballs. We love them. First of all, they are fantastic people. Second of all, they are amazing friends. Their wedding was absolutely lovely. I mean seriously - look at these two!


We were so honored that Mia got to be the flower girl! We found a fabulous little silver dress so she would sort of blend in with the bridesmaids, who also wore silver. We had a couple test-runs that went OK, but when the big moment came, Mia was not interested even at all. I carried her for a bit then tried to peel her off me. That failed. I decided to just go ahead and carry her the rest of the way, like a toddler sherpa.

Of course, immediately after sitting down with her, she livened up and started chatting. Leigh had to take her outside for the last half of the ceremony. She stayed with us for a while at the reception.

We took to Tiamo Jill's house after supper so she could go to bed and we could enjoy the adult part of the reception. As soon as we got there, Mia got on the phone.


We had a fantastic time, and we were so happy to be a part of the Kimballs' big deal. And then Leigh stole a case of their beer.

A child of the 80s

Leigh's birthday is Saturday, but scheduling a party for him has been pretty much impossible. The city's big film festial is this weekend, and friends have scheduled events for next week. We were busy last weekend. It just wasn't going to work out, and Leigh was getting pretty bummed out about it. So I planned him a surprise party, even though he asks for a surprise party every single year. The theme: 1980s. Leigh was born in 1981, so we had a tribute to that child of the 80s.

Our friend invited us over for dinner as a decoy, and we showed up in regular clothes. I'd been to the thrift store to buy some amazing outfits for all three of us, so they were waiting in the trunk. Our friends Stacy and Andy opened the door, and Stacy was dressed completely 80s. She had a fabulous side ponytail and old Lemondheads shirt. Stacy is one of the most stylish people I know. She's always dressed to the nines, and I have literally never seen her in anything but a dress or skirt. I knew the surprise was blown as soon as I saw her.

Turns out, Leigh just thought Stacy was drunk.

Surprise still on!

We walked across their living room - where Leigh's presents were - and toward the kitchen, where our friends all shouted surprise. Leigh was, sadly, actually surprised. He will not be taking up a job as a detective any time soon.

Sadly, Mia was also surprised. She was not as excited.

I dashed out to the car and got our hilarious outfits. Here are some of the folks who dressed up:

And more party pictures:

This is my favorite picture. I'm guessing that Stacy labeled these drinks. "Sangria" and "Boring Juice."

Garage sale time!

It was time for our annual Vilakazi garage sale, and the second annual might be the last annual. It. Was. Hot. But we made more than $500, which was great!

We spent forever - forever! - pricing things. We were so lucky to have our fantastic board and fabulous volunteers, Jenni and Darla.


Moving everything outside then back and then out and back again was exhausting. But remember, it's all for the children!


Speaking of children, at least one child was grateful for the garage sale. Mia enjoyed touching pretty much everything and wearing lanyards.

Viva Las Vegas!

We took our first trip without Mia this weekend. Any regret about leaving Mia at home was quickly erased as soon as we saw a rolling billboard for prostitutes. Vegas is not a place for children. Leigh and I went for two main reasons:

1. It was our 30th birthday presents to one another.
2. Two of our very good friends went for their bachelor/bachelorette parties.

We had a supremely fantastic time. Here's the proof.

SpongeBob was so happy to see us:

Leigh wanted to point out that SpongeBob was ALREADY drunk when he offered him his beer:

The real reason we went to Vegas was to play Mortal Kombat:

And Whack-a-Mole:

We watched the Bellagio fountain:

I met a guy with a crazy (real!) moustache:

We had a lot of fun riding in what we determined was the tiniest limo ever:

The limo was so tiny, Kimball was actually holding the door closed:

But we all arrived safely and had a really fun time at the casino's dance club: