Monte Carlo Night

For some bizarre reason, California schools receive the least amount of money per student than does any other state. And so, for The Pinks to have a full-time librarian with an attitude, a computer lab and music our school does an annual auction. While the recession has hit some hard, it was not obvious in our 'burb last night. In past years it has raised more than $250K. Only the Catholic School in our area raises more at its annual fete.

We hadn't planned on going this year. Dave does drop off and pick up so my contact with the school families is limited to when we see them socially, at organized activities like soccer or when I volunteer in the classroom a few times a month.

But Dave really wanted to go and so, after I looked in my closet and determined that I had suitable pair of drop-dead shoes to wear with the bling I bought in Bangkok, I queried the some mommies to see if anyone else was thinking about it. Sure enough, two other families were kinda sorta debating it. And so the formation of our table began. Our next door neighbors ended up joining us and that made it a really fun, diverse group. It was a Monte Carlo theme and Dave loves craps.

We hadn't been to this auction since Eldest Daughter was in kindergarten. The players had changed a bit but the end result was the same: get lit then bid way too much for things you don't really need. The parking spot was a bargain this year: $2K. The black lab puppy was not: $5K. A cake, consumed by your tablemates after dinner, went for $1,200. A weekend for six at Pelican Hill with transportation by Dave Duffield's private jet went for $16K. We wanted it but not to the tune of $16K.

I was on a mission to find out who the winning bidder was on Thing 2's quilt. Several people told me they bid on it. I will find out eventually as the quilt is here and someone will come forward to claim it. I've narrowed it down to two families.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that I bought a few things: a family photo shoot with the talented Sherman Chu and the upper grade book basket. Yes, I'm a book nerd. One of the things I'm really enjoying about parenthood is reading the books Eldest Daughter is reading, the Newbery Award winners that have come out since I was in grade school, and some of the classics that I missed, such as Island of the Blue Dolphins.

Here's a picture of me, Kelly and Paige at the auction. I'm glad we went. It was great to catch up with some of the people we hadn't seen in a long time. And of course the school benefited from it.