Guatemala Get Together ~ Pool Party

Papa and Nonnie were nice enough to let my friends and I invade their pool.

Thank you Papa and Nonnie!!!

Lily and Papa had to mow the lawn before our friends arrived.

JC had a little time for a wave.
My favorite picture of the day, O is quite a character.

I am in love.
Beautiful Lily showing her skill in the water.

It is always a good day when Papa gets a nap.

All the big kids took a turn on the diving board.

Like I said all the big kids.

Lily found the table with Cheetos very intriguing.

Future dog charmers.

The only regret of the day is that I did not put on sunblock.

Wow, I am red!

FFF ~ LOL

Peter's brother and family were in town and the kids and the men went to a Giant's game. This man was standing outside of the ballgame. Us girls did much more sophisticated things like, well, shop and attempt to park, and shop and attempt to park. And did I mention attempt to find a parking spot. Anyways you always have to appreciate a good sense of humor no matter the package. Or, well, it is San Francisco anythings possible in this city.

Taking Control

Have you ever had a person of power take advantage of you....

It is a stinky feeling that I just experienced.

I moved from my last rental home

I cleaned until my back hurt and my shoulders ached.

I left the house with a smile.

Last week I recieved a letter in the mail

from my landlord

who happens to be a lawyer.

saying I left the house in deplorable conditions.

Saying when entered it stunk of pee and poo

The carpets needed to be replaced the concrete floor should be sanded and sealed.

The grass was so damaged it cost $500 to fix.

The documentation was all in place

it was signed and sworn under the penalty of perjury to be true.

I knew my home did not smell of pee and poo.

I knew I did not destroy the carpet.

But......

he was a lawyer my word against his.

I felt lost

beaten

depressed.

I even wondered for a moment if maybe unaware to me

my house did smell of pee and poo?

Should I pay him for damages I did not do

should I wait for him to take me to court

where perhaps he would sue my for more....

So I lost some sleep

And then I remembered I am smart

I am powerful

I am honest, truthful, and cleanly :0)

So I drove back to my old neighborhood

I held my camera over the fence

I snapped some pictures

expecting the window on the camera to defeat me once again

BUT.....

instead I found the same brown patch of lawn smiling back at me

BROWN grass never looked so good

BECAUSE...

it proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that

someone was lying

the man who swore under oath that brown lawn was fixed

under oath that damages cost $500 dollars to fix

committed perjury

WHICH.....

makes all accusations void under CA law.

I am no richer I do not expect money to come my way

But....

I got something more

my power back!!!!!

Oh and a lesson that you must always document

take picture picture picture

before you leave a rental unit.

I know silly me expecting people to be honest.

State Fair

Ahhhh, the fair.

It is a must in these summer months.

It is non negotiable to go and stand out in the 95+ degree weather

and melt for a little fried food and some rather cute baby animals.

Oh, and lets not forget the carni's.

Would you believe I have to drag my husband to this event kicking and screaming.

I mean come on he must not know a good time.

I will have to say the vegetation at the fair makes for some cute pictures, and the model who is giving in to her parents constant picture taking helps too.

We knew she'd cave sometime, right?

Lily was convinced she didn't want to go in the petting zoo cause then she'd have to wash her hands. Do you believe nerve of some people first the bathroom then the petting zoo!!!

She saw the baby animals and decided maybe she'd agree to wash her hands.

This sweet little thing was my favorite.

Just where my girl thinks she belongs.

She sorely missed horseback riding this summer.

Who knew an itchy back could be so entertaining.

Why don't we have one of these at my house?

I spared you the photos of our food consumption.

If we don't show it, it didn't really happen.

After we partook in some healthy salad and grilled chicken we went to the rides.

Eating healty before spinning is always a good idea.

Lily was brave once again and rode some rides without the need of adult supervision.

I mean really who needs me anyway.

And for the record everyone I dragged to the fair had a lovely time.

Fair

I enjoyed the beautifly flowers and the people watching and Peter enjoyed the tractors.

This would be why we all had fun at the fair.

This was a specialty built catepillar model 20 that was shown around expositions in the early 1920's.

FFF ~ Big Puppers

Lily is not taking naps.

Every time I put her down for a nap she falls fast asleep in minutes.

But, her new preschool does not give naps

So we have been getting ready for that.

On this particular day she was particularly cranky

So I put her down for quiet time.

After a half hour I opened her door

She didn't even stir.

Stuey (aka big puppers) went in to give wakin her up a try

This is her new big girl bed in her new rooms first appearance on the blog.

Stinson and the beast

On Tuesday we traveled to one of my favorite beaches.

Stinson beach.

While there we encountered a wild beast.

It had no fear it was fierce.

It was very sneaky and attatcked from behind.

My mom was no match for the wily beast.
It took her down.

And then came back for another round.

Oh no baby tiger saw the camera......

and warned the wild beast.

No worries, the wild beast was tamed, and the sweet girl was brought home.

FFF~Scrap

My first scrapbook page done with no help from my online tutor.

And I'm retaking a class with all new layouts.
This was a super easy peasy page,
but how could I pass up the chance to post pictures of baby Lily.

Family Vacation ~ Santa Cruz (beach)

Lily calls the beach "my sandbox." I can not bring myself to correct her. It just makes me smile too much when she asks if we are going to her sandbox. We stayed in a place called pleasure point in a residential area. We rented a studio behind a mans house for a few days. He is a surfer and his mecca was just a few steps away. I am pretty sure this particular man has it made. He seemed to have no job other than surfing to his hearts content. He rents out a studio year round and then lives off of the profit. Now none of this is confirmed perhaps he was on vacation who knows but I'd like to think he leads the perfect surfer life. So via our personal surfer boy we found the perfect beach. Not the one crowded with tourists, but the ones the locals keep a secret. We climbed down some stairs waded through some waves and wallah we were in heaven. Hundreds of surfers to our right and left and a beach all our own with only a few people to share it with.

HEAVEN I TELL YOU!

I love this suit.

And ruffle butt pictures must come with this suit.

Peter and I tried very, very hard to get Lily to dip her toes in the ocean.

It was a valiant effort full of giggles.

Daddy also had a crack at it.

She may have felt a splash of water with her daddy.

But in the end we brought our sandy feet home to a nice warm bath.

I am sure we will make another valiant effort next year.

It is after all a tradition.

Family Vacation~ Santa Cruz (Boardwalk)

Really you can not visit Santa Cruz without coming to the boardwalk.

Lily is not much into rides.

She is really into the ice cream though.

Anyways last year she rode these trucks with my mom.

She would not go alone so I had to ride along with her.

It didn't matter that she couldn't see me.

Peter found this hilarious and took several pictures of me on my phone.

What's this, Lily on a ride without an adult.

She really wanted a boat ride and well mommy would have sunk it.

She gathered the courage to go on her own.

She also rode the pepsi truck and the cars by herself once she found out it wasn't so scary.

I was proud of my little girl.

She doesn't like to try new things, and I could tell she was also proud of herself.

On a whole different topic, to ride the carosel at the Boardwalk you must be 36 inches high.

Peter and I didn't even measure her we just assumed she couldn't be that tall. So we waited together in a line with only one set of tickets. I was quite sure I was getting on as a chaperone. To my dismay my little one has surpassed the height requirement and is over 36 inches tall. Needless to say we had to get out of line and buy more tickets. I am having trouble with this getting bigger thing. She is going to be 5 in a few short months it is impossible to fathom my baby getting so big. Isn't there a way to keep her little and cuddly forever? I am just feeling a little uneasy about the whole thing. With each new age I decide it is my favorite and 4 right now is so much fun. She is funny and sassy at a whole new level, but even so it is hard to see her getting so big.

Family Vacation ~ Santa Cruz (Redwoods)

Our first stop on our little vacation was the Redwood National Forest.

I came to Santa Cruz every summer as a kid and had no idea that the mountains held such a treasure.

Sometimes gigantic is just plain beautiful.

I was thinking of how big my baby is getting.
(Really there is no baby left, but she still lets me call her that.)
Nothing like some very old trees to make you realize none of us is really all that big.

Just some scenery shots I couldn't resist putting in here.

While we walked amoung the trees Lily said

Mommy it is so quiet here.

Lily liked all the twisty tunnels the trees provided.

See what I mean she is not that big after all.

She may protest but I'll call her my baby forever.

On our walk the silence was interupted by a buzzing bush.

Upon further investigation we found a beehive in progress.

And I leave you with this path.

It was our chosen pathway at the fork in the road.

I don't think that you could make a wrong choice at this particular path.

If only life were that way.