Logan's big boy bike!

This weekend we finally got Logan a new bike.

He was very excited to have a big boy bike and his new flame helmet.
His bike came just in time for our Fourth of July block party parade.
While the block party was kind of a dud this year, the kids still had a blast with all the fireworks Uncle Gary brought.

And then there was the water balloon fight!

California here we come, right back where we started from . . .

The kids were so excited for our California trip.

We were going to see Grammy and Trent, Taylor, Deb and Uncle Pete, our friends Gary and Inge, Jen and Al, Rachel and Cesar, James and hopefully many more that we love and miss! Oh, yeah, and Ruby's and In and out!

(yes, they are counted among those we love and miss!)
Our first morning we went directly to Ruby's in Huntington and met Grammy for breakfast.

Random shot! The Junior Lifeguards were having try outs. They had to swim around the pier (the water was 65 degrees, mind you!) , run down to Balboa Pier and back, then swim around Huntington Pier again. Damn! Craig and I once roller bladed from Huntington to the Balboa Pier. I swear it almost killed me.
Okay, back to our trip . . .
We were very happy to see our Grammy again!

Taylor's Graduation!

So one of the main reasons we journeyed out to California was for Taylor's graduation. We joined Grammy Dee, Trent and his girlfriend Kacey, James, Debra, Sherri and Ron in cheering on Taylor as he got his diploma.

Yes, Uncle James is sporting a black eye in the picture below. Left over from the final Ultimate Fighting Champ fight in Vegas. Did we mention HE WON! If you didn't see it on Spike TV, check out all the posts now on YouTube. James won a 3 year contract and has become quite a celebrity. Of course to us, he'll always be Uncle James who does some pretty cool magic tricks.

We are so proud of you Manses!

Chloe and Logan were so excited to be with Trent and Taylor, they never left their sides!

After graduation Grammy treated everyone to a wonderful lunch in the private cabana at Javier's in Irvine. She sure knows how to take care of us!

Trent and Kacey (who was nice to finally meet!)

While our time to visit was short . . . it was very very sweet!

Boys, we love you.
And Taylor . . . the sky's the only limit to what your future holds!

Dana Point Harbor

Saturday began with a very nice breakfast at our friends Kirt and Tina's.
(Thanks guys, it was so great to see you and the kids!!)

Then Uncle Pete took us all on a dingy ride about Dana Point Harbor. We had tons of fun . . .

And even saw Lumpy, their resident seal looking for some fish . ..

Pete was a great tour guide and had lots of fun stories about the boats and the people at the harbor.

Pete even let Chloe drive. . .

He doesn't look at all stressed, does he!

It was a great way to spend the day, after all the running around we'd been doing.

And the view's were quite impressive!
We ended our day at Ruby's.
I don't think it really gets better than that!

Dinner at Javier's

Jen, Al, Rachel and Cesar drove up to meet us at Javier's at Newport Coast. Man we miss you guys!

After dinner we weren't ready to say goodbye so we headed up PCH to a little dive bar in Newport Beach were the drinks were a bit cheaper
As you can see, the clientele at Javier's changed a bit from when they were in Laguna Beach,

So did the drink prices . . .

But, spending time with our friends was truly priceless.

Thanks for making the drive you guys.

We love you!

Disneyland!

Yep, we were sure due for our Disney fix.

Last year we went to Disney World, but I gotta say, it wasn't the same as our old stomping grounds.

Logan was so brave. He did every ride
(except Indiana Jones, he wasn't big enough)

These were his two favorites.
Big Thunder Mountain and Star Tours

Chloe, of course, loves every ride she goes on.

Taking a much needed break with some Dole Pineapple whip in the Tiki Room . . .

Logan even did Splash mountain, although it was his least favorite.
(I totally agree with him. Not enough bang for our buck if you ask me on this one!)

Logan kept saying "I'm such a good driver" as we kept bouncing off the rail . . .

It was a pretty perfect day. The weather was beautiful and the lines went quick.

Ah how we miss our Disneyland . . .

We hope to be back soon!

Ruby's (again) and the beach!

So Saturday we headed over to Ruby's (yes, again!)

And met up with some friends to enjoy a yummy breakfast and then enjoy some beach time.

Paul brought Lukas and Quentin and the kids had a blast!

Chloe was, needless to say, thrilled to see Lukas again.

Josh and Julie were kind enough to drive out to see us.
(Thanks guys, it was great to see you!)

And after a few more pictures, it was beach time!

We went over to Bolsa Chica.
Gary and Inge, Mark and the kids, Jen and Al and Taylor and Debra joined us. And, even though the wind was wicked, we had fun!

The water was a brisk 67 degrees (a bit warmer than the other day) . . .

but the kids didn't see to mind at all!

(Chloe and Kaitlyn )

Logan, Lukas and the Q-man

The kids, of course, decided to dig a big hole . . .
and the big kids helped things along.

(Craig and Allen)

Allen and Gary

Sorry this photo is a bit out of order . . .
the original hole crew

Logan was smart enough to realize that the hole shielded most of the wind and he spent a lot of this time in here, just watching everyone else.

Ah, just like old times. I'm guessing we'll be hearing a lot about Lukas for a while.

So after about 3 hours of being sand blasted, we decided to call it a day and packed up.

Paul and the kids, Deb and Tay and Gary, Inge and Kaitlyn all came back to Dee's and we just vegged. It was great to be able to just sit and visit

while the kids ran around doing God knows what.

It was a great day. We even brought back In and Out to enjoy in the front yard.

After a few final pictures, everyone went home to get the sand out of their butts!

So the next day we enjoyed one last trip to In and Out, then boarded the plane for home.
It was a wonderfully busy, crazy vacation and we loved it! And, while we missed seeing a few of our friends and Keith and Kathy suffered a terrible attack of a bad flu bug and had to turn around and head back to Utah without seeing anyone, we did get to spend some great time visiting with those we love.

On a sad note, we had the great misfortune of loosing a very priceless item . . . Logan's blanket. It disappeared at John Wayne Airport. That ratty old thing became an important part of our family and it will be greatly missed. (Logan's doing amazing well, by the way. I, on the other had, have actually teared up a few times! ) This, in addition to a lost pair of favorite sunglasses and a sand filled BRAND NEW digital camera, was the only dark spot in an otherwise very happy vacation!

Final count: Ruby's 3 In and Out 3

2009 Summer Snake Count: 4

Fossil Rim Wildlife Center

This past weekend we headed off on a road trip to Glen Rose Texas to get up close and personal with some wildlife and some dinosaurs.

The bird did a great job teaching these three how to say 'hello'

This little guy scared Chloe. She was looking out the front window,

then turned around to find someone waiting for a treat!

We couldn't feed these guys!

. . . probably best . . .

Dino World!

Dino World!

After we spent 4 hours driving from Houston to Glen Rose, Texas and then a couple of hours in the sweltering heat learning more about Dinosaurs, Logan explained his favorite part of the day.

Buying this $4.95 Dinosaur at the gift shop.
Ah, the things we do for our children!

But then, look at them,

How could we not?

Logan was so in his element!

This was a perfect way to spend the day for our little Dino enthusiast.

Even Chloe had fun!

You weren't supposed to touch the Dino's.

Was it wrong the we encouraged the kids to climb on over the ropes . . . ?

Nah, we didn't think so either!

After our Dino nature hike, the kids had fun at the fossil dig.

They were very proud of the sharks teeth and fossilized sea shells found.And after a quick romp through the Dino play land . . .

We set off to find some air conditioning!

The Darned Texas Heat

It's supposed to get up around 107 with the heat index.

This is the only benefit of it being this hot, that I can think of!

They practically dry in minutes!
Of course the heat really doesn't seem to bother the local marine life!

I came home from San Francisco to find Logan swimming in the deep end. Well, not just swimming . . . but DIVING into the deep end!

Some cute . . . and some not so cute!

Logan is really into dressing himself lately. Here he is in one of his more eclectic outfits.

I particularly like the goggles over his sunglasses!
Just all around cuteness!

Yes, they were dancing on my table. But they were so cute I didn't have the heart to kick them down.

And, Dawn and I taking the matching look to our PJ's.

Yes, this was another total fluke .

I know. Weird doesn't even begin to describe it!

A few more pictures from last weekend.

Since I had a very early flight to San Francisco on Friday, Logan spent the night at a friend's Thursday night. This was his first sleep over and I was pretty concerned that he'd be scared. After I finished packing, I came to put his stuff in the car, and this is what I found waiting for me.

I don't think he even gave me a second thought after I dropped him off!
Here are a few more shots from when Trent took Julie and I around his town!

San Francisco City Hall.

My Jules and me!
(Dewey, thanks for making the drive, it was great to see you!)

Talk about a perfect day for sailing . . .

Some film shoot we passed on our way to Haight Ashbury

The famous Painted Ladies as seen on

Too Close for Comfort . . . Full House . . . So I Married an Ax Murderer . . .

and countless other shows.

China Town

(which we walked through to get to dinner . . . it went on FOREVER . . .)

Another shot of the Golden Gate bridge.

The World.

If you don't know about this ship, it's basically a floating condo complex.

The very, very rich buy apartments and live on it and just sail around the world.

The travel channel always has shows about it.

Ah, if only I had a few hundred million . . .

The lobby of the Omni.

Again Ally, great job.

Ally, Annie, Jer, Lisa and Kathy,

That's for inviting me on your girls weekend! I had a great time!

Our Walking Tour of San Francisco

What a Wicked weekend it was!
So I'm finally getting around to posting pictures of my very fun weekend with my sister-in-laws and mother-in-law.

We had such a great time exploring San Francisco and Wicked was fantastic.

I just wanted to start out this post by showing you a couple of the many, many hills that we hoofed up (and down) throughout the weekend. They were killers on your legs and butt!

Okay, and now on with the tour.
We stayed at the Omni right on California Street.
(Many kudos to Ally for booking this hotel. It really was beautiful and perfectly located!)


Saturday Morning we walked down to the Ferry building to the Farmers market. This had to be my most favorite place in San Francisco.

Everything organic, with recycle and compost stations throughout, with everyone carrying their reusable bags. It was like the mother ship, calling me home.

There were many different options for a freshly made, 100% organic, truly yummy breakfast. Which we enjoyed with a view of the bay bridge that was pretty incredible.

Then we started towards Pier 39 and was lucky enough to see The World cruise liner that was docked there. Here's Annie and I with the World at our back . . .

Alcatraz . . .

The sea lions at Pier 39. Very entertaining.

I can't remember a time when we didn't see the sea lions here.

We continued walking up through Fisherman's Wharf.

To Ghirardelli Square.

(Jer, I'm posting this because I think it's a great shot and because, well . . . damn it, we just don't see enough of you on the blogs!)

Ghirardelli was another one of my favorite spots.

Not because of the views, which, don't get me wrong, were fabulous!)

But because we decided to have a giant ice cream sundae for lunch.

Of course, afterwards, we burned it off by trekking it up to Lombard street . . .

I know it had to be about 8 miles, uphill . . .

Of course, the views, once again, made it totally worth it.

We then hopped on a the Muni (bus) and headed over to see the Golden Gate Bridge

and the Palace of Fine Arts

and a much needed rest!The Palace of Fine Arts

Another one of my favorite spots.

I'd never seen this before and it was

Awe-inspiring, to say the least.

I was so surprised at how big this was.

It really was very impressive.

And that's the end of our tour! We all headed back to the hotel room to feast on a couple of cupcakes we had bought as dessert after the sundae. It was a nice way to round off the day!

Here we are heading out to see Wicked.

If you get a chance to see this play, do.
You'll love it!

You'll never watch the Wizard of Oz and see the characters the same the same way again after seeing this play.

Happy Birthday Inge!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful friend! Life keeps us busy, but your friendship still means a lot!

No doubt Gary and Kaitlyn will do something extra special for you, you deserve it.

Have a great day!

Trenton's new place!

One of the first things I did (after walking about 36 miles - all up hill!) was go see Trent. The girls and I enjoyed a nice lunch at CPK and, in my opinion, had the best waiter there!

The next day I finally got to see Trent's new place. It was very cool. Right next to Union square, he's within walking distance to everything.

Here's the front of the building. Sorry for the dark shot, I should have taken the picture BEFORE we went to dinner.

My bad!

Trent was great. I'm sure he could have found a better way to spend his evening instead of spending it with his very uncool step mom. But he was very tolerant of me and my camera.
His studio has some really cool features, like this arched doorway into his kitchen.

And he building was filled with character. It was kind of like stepping back in time a bit.

Everything was very quaint and well maintained.

His studio consisted of one large room,

and a really good size kitchen.

A nice little bathroom (you have to go up two steps to get to)

And a big walk in closet.

There's a desk on the side of the living area and an area that you can slide the bed into
(which is why you need to step up into the bathroom)

It's a great place for storage if you leave the bed out, which is what Trent does.

It's a great place for him.

He's only been there a few weeks and I know he'll have lots of fun personalizing it.

We are so proud of him.

Thanks for putting up with me., Trenton. Although, I really wish you would have let Julie take that picture of us at Haight/Ashbury, but I guess I can only ask so much of you!

I love you!