A Walk with Dad

A walk with Daddy... and they ended up on the Pebble Beach golf course; surprise, surprise!  Whale watching and dolphin spotting... a great way to celebrate our last day there.

Brothers!

Both so sweet, both so good.

Summer Crop

Tomatoes! We've never had success growing them from seeds before.  It may be just a garden box on the porch, but it is already a prolific crop.  Beans and basil next!

Happy Birthday Charles/Dad!

A relaxing day celebrating a great man.  He said that it was one of the best days of his life!  Nothing fancy... huge breakfast, good dinner (including three entre meses), and then he got to pick the after-dinner movie.  The girls won't forget it either, as he let them each take turns driving the golf cart after he finished his round.  I was happy because he found a cheap golf course (that was also beautiful and, apparently, excellent) and some cheap wine (that he also thought was great).  Happy Birthday, handsome husband!

Tidepooling

Beach Walk

Porpoises and pelicans!  Everywhere we looked, small schools of porpoises playing and pelicans driving.  Lots of beauty in the details, too.  A fun walk with the best company I know.

Delicate kelp

Sea Star amidst the kelp

Crab shell details and patterns

Puck and pals

Let the Summer Olympics Begin!

The girls planned a creative schedule of Olympic events, a few each day.  We concluded with a bit that was my idea... a game of Quiddich (since we are in Harry Potter mode, reading through the series).  Little did I know that my idea wasn't unique and that there are official "muggle Quiddich" games; we made up our own rules and still ended up with multiple injuries, even without the danger of flying broomsticks.  We were all pretty sore too by the end of the Olympic events, at least I was!

Puck got involved, too

After the first 'snitch' was found

G wanted her own photo after she caught the second snitch

Beach Day

It was a most fabulous day, with bizarrely unique weather.  We arrived in the sun, watched the fog come in around us, then actually felt both the wetness of the arriving fog and the heat of the sun, which created a beautiful dream-like haze.  All had fun, perhaps especially the dogs, who shared a common hole that they dug together.

CA History: Whaling in California

A fun little museum in an old whaling shack; lots of information about both whaling and those who did it, which included some of California's diverse ethnic groups. Kids are sitting on a whale pelvis in the one photo below.

Coastal Hike

A gorgeous hike, wonderful day. We saw an otter, egret nest, cormorant rookery, lots of seals, and more.

Happy Indepenence Day

We had a relaxing picnic with Abuela and Granda, including a walk at some local stables with beautiful views, where we found the little lizard pictured. We then watched the fireworks from a ridge high above the fireworks, which was a unique perspective.

Art by G

Baby Lizard

Watching the fireworks

CA History: Historic Trees

Well, the "historic trees" were really beside the point.  We got a last minute invitation to hike with friends in the SF Presidio and had lots of fun just being there together.  But we passed signs declaring that the eucalyptus forest was "historic," built by the army in the 1880s, so why not call it "CA History?"  The kids are playing in an enormous and awesome wigwam someone built in the forest, apparently just for fun.  

Notice G's awesome hair cut?  She wanted it and I took the opportunity of horridible snarls in her hair to oblige.  Next time I came home from work I greeted her with, "hello gorgeous," as usual, and she said happily, "I think that you really mean it this time!"  Always, really, inside and out... but I am glad that she likes it too.  Makes her look so much older - gasp!