Visit From Some Dear Friends

This summer has been so fun reconnecting with friends. We had Tim (the best man from our wedding) and his wife Emily and their son Mark stay with us for a few days. We packed our short time with beach time, aquarium time and hanging out until late in the evening.

We were also blessed to see our dear friends Stephen and Roxana Perdue since they were visiting California to see some family. I was the first time I met Ana, and I cannot begin to tell you how much Sol and Eva have changed!! The great thing about dear friends is that even though time passes they are still as dear and true as when we last saw each other. Unfortunately I never got a picture...but I will email Roxana and see if she has some I can add to the blog. Thanks for taking time to come and see us!! We love you all!

4th of July

We started our fourth with a bang:

And after the failed attempt to get a picture of the girls we walked over to watch the Mira Mesa parade. It was an interesting street parade with lots of local business advertising and Filipino women who won beauty contests for various years. Odd way to celebrate the fourth, no? At one point a real estate company had a person dressed like Uncle Sam following a truck with their sold signs all around and Hannah said, "Look, it's Santa in his summer outfit!" I cracked up laughing!! Kate also liked the "Princesses" even though one of them was Ms. Filipino 1982...I'll you do the math there. Overall I think it reflects the community in which we live: eclectic, enthusiastic with a touch of oddity.

After the parade we went to the street carnival that Mira Mesa was hosting, and on the baseball field a Christian group was organizing some free events for the kids. Turns out that Hannah won the raffle and received a free Chuck-e-Cheese doll. Kate went up with her to collect her prize as moral support. I love how much these two stick together like glue!! class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">

Truckin' Down the Highway

My dad is the coolest dad. He is funny, he is witty, he is a mean griller and he drives a semi truck. Yep, coolest dad EVER (sorry Jeff, but being a scientist just isn't as cool...love you!). I've taken Hannah and Kate to see dad's truck before, but this time we were able to see him in action: moving a machine into a shop.The girls loved riding on the fork lift, and later we even rode in dad's truck together. I loved going to work with my dad and it is so fun getting to take my girls to see what their Grandad does. Thanks for taking the time, Dad! Love you!!

Biking with TWO Wheels

I love running at the lake with the girls. I push the double and one kid (Hannah or Kate) alternate riding a little 12 inch bike next to me. I have been encouraging the girls to ride the 16 inch one since it would allow me to run faster, but Kate really isn't ready for the larger one. The other day while running we were passed by a little girl (probably two or early three years old) and Hannah said, "I want to bike like her!" Well, that's all I needed and I was taking her training wheels and pedals off and letting her kick around on the bike to gain her balance. Once she was zooming all over the park and gliding with her feet up I put the pedals back on and she was off biking! She never fell, and I never ran behind her holding her up. The only down side is now she bikes about 5 or 6 miles per hour, and I can no longer keep up with her while running. It's a lot like giving a mouse a cookie...

Our New Park

We have been watching the city redo a park close to us. I would run by the park in the mornings and report back to the kids that it was still not ready...until the other day. The city finally took down the fence that was preventing us from playing at the park and we were able to enjoy all new play equipment. Hannah said the highlight was all the things to climb on. Kate liked the sand and the bouncer. Rachel Lee liked the swings. Overall it was a fun park where everyone was able to find something fun to do.

More buble and water play

Heating Up...

It dawned on me the other day that we are half way through our summer vacation and I have not accomplished nearly half the things I thought I would. We have been busy. But, we have been having fun, so I consider our summer together a blessing. One of my favorite times with my girls is when we just splash around in the back yard. The girls have enjoyed adding paint, various toys and ice cubes to the water to play nd explore. It is fun just being together, and it helps us beat the heat!

Life is good when...

You can have a Pet Shop party...

...splash in a puddle...

...be zany and silly...

...and drink iced coffee.

Okay, maybe you need to drink iced coffee to keep up with the partying, splashing and silliness that goes on here, but I can sum it up by saying: life is good.