Look Whos ONE!!!

We had an obnoxious luau party for Jordyn for her first birthday! It was quite a gathering of friends and family...about 35 guests in all...and it was a lot of fun! We BBQ'd burgers and dogs and there was lots of other yummies to accompany them! It was the first time we had a giant get-together with the family up here, so it was great so many folks could make it! Jordyn had a blast playing with her cousins in the kiddie pool from grandma, and she loved being held by everyone :) She is already quite the fashion plate, having three wardrobe changes during the party...and with all the new clothes she got for her bday, she will be even more stylin! She seemed to enjoy her cake, though much neater than i expected her to be. She even enjoyed sharing her cake with the other guests, even though there was a big cake for the rest of the gang. She received many wonderful gifts and has been playing with them ever since. As for opening the presents, well....she didnt really care much about that.....the first present she opened kinda distracted her from the rest of the unwrapping, so justin and i did most of it with a little help from the other kids! The whirlwind of activity kept me from truly visiting with anyone much, so as the evening approached and the warm weather cooled, i sat down with the remaining guests and we enjoyed some cocktails...some fireworks...and shared fun stories of old times! I know little ones dont remember their first birthday...its more for the parents...but i think jordyn will enjoying looking back at the photos someday and feel honored that soo many folks showed up to celebrate her big day! I know i will! I would like to send out a special thank you to Jordyns Godmother, Christy, who helped me tremedously with the party, the decorating...the cleaning...and even the cake! She truly is the coolest Godmother ever!!!.........You Rock Christy!
Happy Birthday Jordyn!!! We Love You!!!
Mommy and Daddy :)

More Neighbors ~

Here is a shot my cousin took when she was visiting (over jordyns bday weekend)....we were having dinner out on our patio, when up from the island wandered our neighbor! He has been bedding down there, and usually around dusk he pays us a visit. He likes to chase our cat Princess and steal yummies from my garden! doh! Im missing a few lilies because of him, but his visits are worth it. He seems to enjoy our company and finds us intriguing as well. I love living in the mountains :)
Well....back to Harry Potter.....im on Chapter 20 and loving every minute of it!

Dont Feed The Bears~

We had a guest this morning for breakfast......around 10:30am, yogi stopped by to check out our waste management facility! He did a very thorough inspection, and was quite impressed! Hung out for about 1/2 an hour munching and ransacking plastic bags...then he headed off to our backyard, no doubt to take a nap in the shady trees! Well.....back to my Harry Potter book!

San Pedro loungin'

another Cali adventure.....

Sunday was spent loungin around with the family in pj's...playing in the pool....water balloon fights....and take-out food! :) A perfect ending to a perfect trip! Here is another shot of Jordyn with her cousins....she really enjoyed hanging out with them so i guess we will have to come back again soon! We miss you guys already!

Love Lisa and Jordyn :)
xoxoxo

San Diego

More tales from our trip to Cali.........

On Saturday we had a family reunion in San Diego. My Great Uncle Frank and Great Aunt Charlotte were turning 90 and their kids decided to have a family luncheon on a boat in the San Diego harbor. San Diego is about a 2 hour drive from Los Angeles, so at 9:30, Denise, the kids and i loaded up one vehicle, while Mom, Teresa and her family piled in another, and off we went. It was decided the night before that we should travel with walkie-talkies in the cars so we could entertain ourselves. The kids played with them for a few minutes, but somehow the adults ended up with them and needless to say the kids didnt get them back for the entire rest of the trip :) My family are all big movie buffs, so for several hours in the car we did movie trivia.....first we did most of the lines from Trading Places.....then on to Its a Wonderful Life.....then some Ghostbusters lines.....and then the Godfather (I and II)......then we just threw random lines at each other to see if they could figure them out. At some point we realized we werent nearly as close to San Diego as we should have been....we had been traveling very slowly in ridiculous traffic for what seemed forever....and now it was quite possible we werent going to get there in time. This would be a problem since it was a boat excursion that left the dock promptly at 12:30, so there would be no way for us to join our party. Denise and i were trying to decide who was more panicked in the other car....Mom or TJ. At that moment they called us on the cell phone and said they were just going to try and weave in and out of traffic to see if they could make it. Denise and i laughed, as we had decided there was no way we were going to make it in time. It was already noon and we werent even in the Heart of San Diego yet. We lost site of them in the traffic and continued on at a normal and safe pace. After a few minutes the phone rang again and we were informed that the traffic was beginning to dissipate and they were making some good time....Denise and i were still convinced that we werent going to make it, but we kept going, and sure enough the traffic was no longer traffic. Why was there traffic in the first place, and why was it gone now? Didnt matter, we were hauling ass and gaining miles! We pulled into the harbor and saw the boat we were supposed to be getting on....mom hopped out and flagged some of the family down to let them know we were coming. The captain said he would stall as long as he could but when the last person got on the boat he would have to set sail. Denise pulled into a parking lot and the kids and i got out and headed towards the boat while Denise parked. We jay-walked across a busy street and ran down the gangway.....I CANT BELIEVE WE MADE IT! When we had jumped out of the car, Denises clock read 12:28..........Doh! Teresas family made it too.....and then we were off! Whew! It took us three hours to get there! Ugh! Once the rush of racing to the boat settled we were greeted by all the family.....folks i hadnt seen since Denise's wedding some 15 years ago! It was great to see everyone and catch up....and Jordyn had a wonderful time! This was her first experience with the ocean and she loved it! All she wanted to do was look out at the water. She was also quite a hit with all the cousins....who took turns carrying her all around the boat. In fact, i hardly held her at all....so it was a nice break for me :) There were two choices for lunch...Salmon or Chicken......Jordyn and i shared the Salmon (which she devoured) and then we were off to socialize more! There was an unfortunate incident with one of the kids....got his finger slammed in the door and it damn near took the top of it off....we had to dock early to so that he could go to the hospital....havent heard from his family yet, so i hope he is doing okay! The captain decided to let us round the harbor for an additional hour since we had our trip cut short, so this allowed us to have more visiting time! I am so glad we made the boat....it was a great time and the boat ride was cool! We even saw some sea lions as we were cruising around....Jordyn liked them! As the trip ended, emails were exchanged, many photos taken and hugs abound...the next generation of cousins has decided to step up to continue these fine family get-togethers, so im sure i will see them all again soon! Once again, i raided another gift shop...this time getting a onsie with pirate on it that said San Diego for Jordyn...and a couple of tye-dye t-shirts for Christy and i. Christy, who always makes time in her life to take me to and from the airport every time i travel....i figure she deserves a prize! :) Once on the highway, the walkie-talkie trivia continued..... "is this the man who wrecked the buffet at the Haro club?"......."this was no boating accident!"........."oh sure, like HE went to Harvard"............