SUNDAY IN TEMECULA & LA MESA

Ken & I went to Jenna & Samuel's church in Temecula - Rancho Community. A really fun, big church with a beautiful new 'sanctuary'. We really enjoyed their pastor & look forward to many more times visting. We spent some time driving around looking at houses for sale as J&S REALLY want to move to Temecula -- it seems to have captured their hearts. We loved it too.

Ken & I spent the rest of our time on Sunday with Rachel & Trevor & "The Kids" at their place in La Mesa. Another beautiful day --- so we ordered in pizza & shared the remaining hours by the pool with a glass of wine.

We have the best family in the world!

HOTEL TIME

We stayed at this new boutique hotel in Carlsbad -- had a king suite w/2 (count 'em) 2!!! HD TVs! It was such a beautiful place - reminded us of the resort we stayed at in Florida with the McLeans (5 years ago!) when we all went down for Summer & Lukes' wedding, just 6 weeks before Bill went to heaven. The girls agreed that the dark cabinetry deserved an award!

We all just hung out together for the rest of the day/evening .... had a yummy dinner next door @ Bistro West ---- then played a vicious game of Scrabble (while Grampa fell asleep!) Does anyone know the word 'qanat' ???????????? (I think Mimi cheated!!) Samuel won, but perhaps only because Trevor opted out of the game & entertained us with readings from the official Scrabble dictionary ... too hilarious!

I forgot to mention (picture included) that Leo & Trevor looked like they had planned their matching outfits!

SATURDAY in ENCINITAS

......we decided to meet in Encinitas for brunch (MMMMMMMMM) and when we got there, found there was a street fair going on --- lots of people/food/dogs/stuff to do & buy. We had a fun time walking around together -- very relaxing and very warm! which was a nice change from what our weather had been up in Yuba Duba before we went down to SD. Of course, we took lots of pictures & just when we were ready to leave, one of the little 'garage bands' being showcased started playing "OUR SONG"...... 'Things We Said Today' by the Beatles! They sounded so good, we thought at first it was just a DJ ---- made our day!

THE NEXT BEST THING

..... to having kids is having GRANDKIDS!!!

Ken & I went to San Diego last weekend - he hadn't seen Leo since the end of January -- what a difference! We had planned this trip & were really excited about it. The night before we left Jenna called, saying her babysitter had quit & could MiMi stay over the next week? Well, it doesn't take long to answer that question! Ken LOVED his short time with Leo -- and Leo LOVES his Grampa Ken -- seems that Grampa has just the right rockin' method!

SAFARI!

I'm finally getting around to posting about the Faith Christian '08 Auction.

I've been decorating for their auctions for about 4 years now & ALWAYS love doing it. Nita gives me 'free rein' (or that could be interpreted 'reign' too!) to do whatever I want with the theme & she is SO supportive of my ideas. There are always a bunch of ladies to help (without whom I couldn't do what I do!). And voila --- before you know it - it's done.

This was the first time I've done a Safari theme & my idea was to create a look based on early 1900's Africa ie: Out of Africa/African Queen, etc, with lots of textural elements, including animal prints and not too focused on the 'kill' factor, which makes some people squeemish. (is that a word?! - I think it ranks right up there with dollop!)

I think we were successful - I know I loved the results & they did too!

If you want to see more pics, check out my album on shutterfly (be sure to view the slideshow in full-screen mode for the best effect) http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AbuW7Fs2YuGLwQ&emid=sharshar&linkid=link5

Blue Nami

We FINALLY made it to Roseville for sushi with the Afatos! We've been threatening to go for sushi together before Shari ever got pregnant with Nyla (who just turned 1!) We may be slow, but we're sure!

Fou & Shari introduced us to this neat little place called "Blue Nami" (as in blue wave). Of course, the guys ordered a BOAT!!!! and we have the remainder in our fridge, waiting for a midnight snack. Shari was a good sport & tried a little bit of sushi (not a big fan) I ordered a deep-fried soft-shell crab roll (my personal fav) and something new to me from the boat was a roll w/thin lemon slices..... and in my book, anything lemon is the best! To quote Rachel Ray --- "YUM-O!"

Thanks Fou & Shari for such a fun evening --- we especially appreciate the effort it takes for the two of you to get out of town while shepherding your 6 little people at home! You are two of the best people, parents, and friends we know!

Leo -- the Rooster?

Remember the Baby Einstein video from a month ago? Well, now our boy is doing something even cuter! After watching a rooster strut around & crow --- Leo started to imitate the crowing sound after the rooster crowed. Of course, once mom & dad realized what was going on, they had to play that part of the tape over & over -- after about the 3rd time thru, Leo would crow whenever the rooster appeared on the video --- BEFORE the rooster even crowed!
My grandson IS a genius!