Martin's 40th Birthday

Well it was not your typical 40th birthday. As you will see it started out in the traditional manner with birthday cake and candles, but then there was a progression away from the norm. I guess when you are a kid at heart you never grow old.

THE BIRTHDAY BOY

 The birthday party

                 WATERFIGHT!!! (notice Martin in the doorway)

                                       

         Yes that is Martin on the other side of the fence, Caedon in the front of the battle line

That is Martin and I wrestling as I tried to cut the water supply of the opposing team

                              Tracy the fearless leader of our team

  Caedon couldn't decide which side he was on,
as long as he was using his squirt gun he was happy

                Maddy taking a break,
wondering why the adults have gone wild

Santa Barbara Trip

Martin has been obsessively researching and searching for the perfect camper. We found something we could agree upon and made our way to camp on the California coast. I have to admit the pop-up trailer was a good call on Martin's part. You can't beat the price for beach-front living.

 At the end of the week we met my family in Santa Barbara for my grandmother's memorial. My mom rented a house and all the cousins had fun together in the pool.  I wish I would have taken pictures on my aunts and cousins who joined us but there was so much chaos, it was hard to even finish a conversation. My grandmother would have been so happy to see us all together.

Our campsite at Jalama:

 Inside the not-so-tidy trailer:

 Biking in the morning by the beach:

 A walk on the beach:

 Enjoying the sun after the clouds passed:

 Another fun day at the beach:

 Toasted begals for breakfast in the trailer:

 More beach.....

Next stop the beach house with a pool!

 Riley and Kaitlyn floating in the pool:

 The play structure behind the beach house>>

Caedon practicing his flip the from the rock..

Happy Birthday Stacy and Tracy

Here are some pictures from the July 5th celebration of Stacy's and Tracy's birthday.

Grandpa's 70th Birthday

My dad turned 70 on July 1st. We had a nice party for him on July 2nd.  The cousins had a great time together. Today we all went up to the lake. Typical of my dad, he worked and painted the not-yet-remodelled cabin while we all had fun at the beach.
  

Napa Valley

After our last family vacation, Martin and I decided that it was time for the two of us to have a mini-vacation without children. We headed off to Napa last week. The first day was rainy and I feared our trip would be ruined, but the skies cleared the following day. We had a wonderful lunch at Aburgue du Soliel on the balcony and visited several wineries. Unfortunately, on our way home Thursday I found out my grandma died earlier that day. We will all miss Granny dearly, but I know she would have been the first one to want us to celebrate in style in Napa.

Maddy's Song

See if you can recognize these classic songs as Maddy sings them. Her exit from the "stage" cracks me up.

Here she is hamming it up with my sunglasses.

Happy Father's Day!

Can anyone guess what Martin wanted to do on his special day? If you guessed biking, you were right. We took our bikes and rode along the path on the Truckee River from Squaw to Tahoe City. After lunch we fed the fish at Fanny Bridge and Martin took a picture of our fannies. We dipped our toes in Lake Tahoe for the first time this summer. On the way back Caedon over corrected and crashed right in front of me. I went over my handle bars and landed on my knees. We all survived. I won't be able to wear skirts to work for a couple of weeks to keep the bruises covered. Despite the minor injuries we had a great time.