Major update continued [The Incident with the Bird]

such a beautiful place. We very much enjoyed our stay there. We walked along the beach at night, we went to shops, we had barbeque burgers, we ate at some very nice restaurants.
We played in the waves with family.

We took the kids to a playground by the public beach.












And then there was an incident with a seagull. We were enjoying some breakfast on the balcony when I (stupidly) fed the birds some food. One of the little buggers became VERY BOLD.

He even took some food right from my fingers, and I was not expecting it, so I got a little pinch. No blood or anything.

But we got some seriously cool pics.



WHAT YOU LOOKIN' AT? WANNA PIECE OF ME?????





Julie-belle snuggling her kitty.

One night several of us went to the beach and the kids played in the room. When we got back they were passed out.

And my poor daddy scraped his foot badly on the shore when he was tumbled by a wave. The waves were pretty intense, and this got pretty badly infected. Thankfully our next stop was seeing my Aunt and Uncle in Placerville. My Aunt is an MD, so she was able to help. More on that tomorrow (or Friday).

Major update [Picture Heavy]

Ok. I know this will take a while. *sits comfortably*


There are a lot of things I wish to post about today. Hopefully once I am 'caught up' I will get in the habit of posting more frequently. *Sips Lemonade*



Pictures to tell a story:


We went on quite a long trip to California recently. We were celebrating my Grandma Nonie's life. We visited many places that she loved and spent time with family (one of her favorite things to do). The above picture is traveling toward Nevada- as Grandma LOVED gambling.

We stayed at Primm, Nevada. Some of my favorite memories with my Grandma take place here. We'd travel from SoCal to Stateline and there was always plenty for me to do. What with crazy rollercoasters and an awesome arcade. Not to even mention the pools.
Here we captured a PRICELESS look on my hubby's face:

"Me? Ride Desperado? LOLWut?"
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Next stop: Disneyland. Now this was not so much a part of the memorial trip as a chance for us to do something with the kids that will probably not happen again until they are MUCH MUCH older. My parents graciously provided for all of us on this trip- including Disneyland. Amazing generosity!
We stayed at a low priced (but amazingly beautiful) hotel nearby and spent most of a day in the park.

On our way in, Joseph caught a little snuggle with Donald Duck. Donald looked sad that he didn't want to hug him, so Joseph decided he wanted to make him feel better.

"Why do you have such a big nose?"

Joseph did not quite understand why we had to stand in lines. This picture was taken just after we rode Alice's ride and were in line for It's A Small World

Somehow the local critters were turned into hedges there.

So

Much

Fun.

We were so busy having fun that we did not get very many pictures.

Mom and I escaped to ride the 'fun' rides. As in the rides that are actual rollercoasters ;-) We waited in a very long line for Space Mountain. We also rode the Matterhorn. Later on JOSEPH rode the Matterhorn with Nana and Pop-pop. Can you believe that!
Later on we got tired, and there was so much more that happened... it was so very fun!

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The next day we headed to LAGUNA BEACH!

First I shall put in the pictures of the memorial we had at Pacific View Memorial Park.

Grandma's Ashes. This is a picture of her when she was much younger.

Here we all are (Left to right): Dad, Mom, Uncle Randy, Me, Juliet, Aunt Valerie, Kim (top), Julia (bottom) Aunt Carol, Kyle, Joseph, James, Emily, Aunt Lynn, Uncle John. Ellie is in her mom's lap, but you can barely see her (her mom is Aunt Valerie). Matt is not in this pic because he was behind the camera.



We miss her very much.

The cemetary is simply gorgeous. And it does have a view of the pacific ocean.

My Cousin Emily and Joseph had great fun together:





My handsome daddy.

Ellie with roses.

Julia with flowers

Julia praying.

Juliet 'improving' the arrangement on my Uncle Gary's grave.

Matt and Julia

Kyle and Ellie


Grandma's Gravesite, and the flowers we all brought for her.

The graves are: Uncle Gary, My Pop-Pop, Grandma. Then there's my biological grandfather and his wife.
-----------------
back to the beach!
We stayed at the Capri Laguna and enjoyed many wonderful days playing at the beach.
Playing at the beach makes little children tired:





Joe was unsure of what to do when he was being fought over by two beautiful girls.

One of The Beautiful Girls and her Beautiful Mama

The view from our room:



To BE CONTINUED: The rest of the trip, and what has gone on since then.

Semi-Update

I really should post a longer post at some point soon, many many pictures and lots to say! But for now I give you this: Juliet is walking! She's getting so good that I suspect she'll be walking more than crawling within a few days. She's just amazing!

Paul Cardall created an awesome video and Juliet is in it! She's in the names that start with a J :-)

I found this over at forevernevernalways

When I say..."I am a Christian"
I'm not shouting "I am saved"
I'm whispering "I get lost!"
"That is why I chose this way."

When I say..."I am a Christian"
I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble
and need someone to be my guide.

When I say..."I am a Christian"
I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak
and pray for strength to carry on.

When I say..."I am a Christian"
I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed
and cannot ever pay the debt.

When I say..."I am a Christian"
I'm not claiming to be perfect,
my flaws are too visible
but God believes I'm worth it.

When I say..."I am a Christian"
I still feel the sting of pain
I have my share of heartaches
which is why I seek His name.

When I say..."I am a Christian"
I do not wish to judge.
I have no authority.
I only know I'm loved.

-Author Carol Wimmer - Copyright 1988


It is so true... So many times I think when people hear me say that I'm a Christian, that it means I am going to judge them, that I'm thinking I'm superior to them. It's so not true! It means I'm unable to live without my God. It means I'm weak and I need His strength. It means I'm flawed and I fail. It means I need to know I'm safe in His arms. It also means I'm capable of SO MUCH love.

So, here are some pictures from the birthday party! Also included are pics from the weekends and such surrounding the party. Happy Birthday to my Joseph (turned 3 on the 25th of June) and my Juliet, who turned 1 today!

This week's theme is a Favorite Photo. Here is one of mine:

I love this picture because when Juliet was that age, it was very rare to have them both look at the camera. She was freshly off of oxygen and a feeding tube. He was enjoying being able to touch and love on his Sissy, and I had just woken up from one of the few nights that I actually got to get a lot of sleep....

In other news, I am going to try to post my pictures from their birthday after I
Clean this (computer) room,
Set up a turtle tank,
Clean the living room,
Laundry....
So who knows when that will be!

What a few weeks!

Wow. We did a lot! We went to Lava, we went to Island Park... We had a lot of fun since I last posted- and most of all we had the kiddo's birthday party!

Pictures to come!