Crown Beach Annual Sand Castle/Structure Contest

You may remember way back in January that I was going to shake things up and try some new things. One of those things is "Meet Up"...which I feared was a Singles thing, but turns out it's a legit way for people to get together over a common interest using the internet. We've been to a few "Events" and since I bring my "little gang" as one of my friends call it, I'm not meeting new people...which is not my intention. I want to learn how to better use my camera, learn to take better photos, and visit some new places. One great thing is visiting a few of the many outstanding recreational areas in the East Bay Regional Parks. This time we went to Alameda, to the Crown Beach, for the Annual Sand Castle and Sand Sculpture Contest. There were way more sculptures than castles. There were families and other groups and then a few singles....some were having fun and others were super serious about the whole thing.

The weather was a little breezy and warm.  Oh, and we also had Ezra.  He was a very busy boy.  He scooped sand from this "mountain" (which we named since it was nearly impossible to scale with the sand eroding) and taking it to the water.

Then he discovered water holes to sit in and dig sand.

Then he declared he was cold..that happens when you're wet and the wind is blowing.

Pretty amazing work was being done

This is an Olympic swimmer in the making

One of the few Sand Castles

We're done...Grandpa showered him off and changed him in to his shorts so he's warm

No photos but our friends Teresa (Ezra calls her Feresa since he needs work on his T's) and Peter were there too.  We finished off the day with a quick visit to Rosenblum Winery and then lunch at the great Mexican joint.  Alameda is really a great little town.

Fire Station Visit

Like most little boys, Ezra is fascinated with Firemen and Cowboys. Today we indulged his interest in the Firemen. I have a friend from my childhood that married a fireman and then their son has become a fireman. So of course I asked for a favor, which meant a little tour of the local fire station.

This is RJ with Ezra....the little guy said not one word during the entire visit.  He did tell RJ "thank you" at the end.  His mama told us he didn't stop talking about the visit and RJ for days.

Grandma sat in the back seat with E, he didn't move or touch a thing

Grandpa sits in the front seat and E goes crazy!  That boy LOVES to drive.

Theo Update - 9 Months

On Father's Day, Theo came over with his family to celebrate by eating, playing, and amusing everyone. He was able to join us at the dinner table so he feels like a member of the clan now. He can sit up in the Bumbo and feed himself. I really need to put a shower curtain down on the floor, he's a HUGE mess maker! Good thing he's also very cute.....plus he smiles at me and melts my heart.

Here's Theo creating a mess, he had every surface covered by the time he was finished

Here's Mr. Theo just beginning the mess.

This is how the guys clean the baby...in the sink....they hosed him off

Now for a little play time

Paso Robles Ride

Our first ride of 2012!!! Yippee!!! We headed out, with a quick stop at the San Joaquin National Cemetery to place flags on Jesse's grave.  Dave does this every year for Memorial Day.  Hard to believe this is the ninth time he's done this.

We tried something a little different for this ride.  We stayed at one place for three nights and took a one day ride each day.  In the past, we go from place to place, packing & unpacking each time.  We like the way this turned out and will most likely do this again.  Instead of covering a lot of miles, we're taking time to stop and look around.  I know, you can't believe Dave is going along with this, but it was his idea!  After all these years and the guy still amazes me.  He would LOVE to log the miles, but he wants me to enjoy the time too.  What a guy....I think I'll keep him.

We stayed at the Paso Robles Inn which is a great location.  It's right next to the park and within walking distance of plenty of places to eat, shop, and taste wine.  Funny thing, we always thought of Paso as a drive through town on our way to San Luis Obispo.  We stayed in Paso for the very first time last year, and this is our third time staying here now.  It has tons of wineries, which we've yet to visit, and more than a couple of fabulous restaurants.  Our new favorite is Estrella, a tapas place, that has tasty food at reasonable prices with great service.

On our way down it was a bit chilly.  We were only rained on during the last ten miles...not too bad.  The first night we ate at the #1 rated Paso restaurant, Artisan.  I have longed to dine there during the prior two visits, but it just never worked out.  The food was fabulous, prices a bit on the high side, service was pleasant but not spectacular....we wanted spectacular.

The next morning we got on the bikes to head out and our bike was dead....not even a warning...totally dead.  So Dave headed out to the local dealer (on Scott's bike which looked really weird) to get a new battery and off I went to the Boot Barn.  Margaret always helps me spend money.  Dave was back with the new battery in less than 45 minutes, we were still shopping!

Yep, dead as a door nail

Dave borrowed Scott's bike

LOVE this pool...to look at, not to swim in...

Just a little house in the hills

We went on a tour of Hearst Castle.  They have changed it up a bit since our last time.  First off, no longer AAA discounts, bummer...but it was $25 each so not too bad.  Tour #1, the Grand Tour, is perfect for the first time visitor.....Scott & Margaret had never been here before and we were up for the refresher.  The tour now only includes three main rooms and then you get to wander around the grounds at your leisure....very nice.

The hot guy on the left is mine :)

We rode up Highway 1 on our way home, which NEVER gets boring (riding on 1, or going home for that matter).  Seriously one of the most beautiful drives, ever.  We stopped to view the Sea Lions.  They are so entertaining, even when they're just laying around.

The ocean was so calm, and at low tide.

While we were watching the sea lions, a flock of pelicans flew by.  There were at least a dozen, even though I've only captured a few in this photo.  It happened so quickly that I didn't have time to get an artsy shot....not sure that would happen if I had tons of time.  How do they know to fly in formation?  How do they look so elegant when they aren't that pretty?

Our next stop was Lucia Lodge to stretch our legs, potty stop, look at the fabulous view (including flowers), and talk to some of the others hanging around.

Great view while we were waiting for the light where the road is down to one lane.

We stopped for lunch at the Rio Grill, a favorite of ours....great food, easy parking, and good service.  Oh, and I discovered their Evolution margarita, it has a hint of lavender, which I have no idea how they do this.  Well this was so much fun....we can hardly wait to do this again!!!!

While Cleaning Out a Drawer.....

Is this the CUTEST?  We think so!

Have you ever opened up a drawer, looking for something, and just can not find a darn thing?  You start moving everything around and realize it is clutter gone wild?  Well, that's what happened to me the other day.  And I KNOW that Dave is either cringing every time he opens that drawer, or he's just not opening it up.....ever.

I pulled everything out and began to sort stuff.  It's mostly my camera stuff.  I have three different systems, all cluttered up in there.  How can such a little camera have so much stuff that goes along with it?  Battery charger, cables, instruction books & DVDs.

I eventually got it all sorted and bagged separately, each system in their own zip-loc bag (seriously, what did we ever do before this invention?) and stashed them in a cabinet in another room.  Let's see how long it takes for Dave to notice :)

With everything so easy to find, I decided to take the little point and shoot on our weekend ride.  When I transferred the photos to the laptop, look what I found!  A photo from August 2011!  This is E sporting the new Hog wear we brought back from our Ozark ride.  I wonder if he can still wear these?

He is absolutely adorable though!

Lucky's a Hit

E.Boy LOVES his new horse, Lucky.  He's totally in to the cowboy thing now.  That may have something to do with all the cowboy books we're reading....Cowboy Small is his favorite. 

Our "fun Thursdays" have turned in to Ezra Time...which really is the same thing!!!!

So today he was riding (actually WILDLY riding) Lucky while watching a DVD, Spirit the Horse.  He seems to be in a bit more control so we didn't have him wear a helmet while he was riding today.  I mean really wild...he rises at least a foot off the saddle....total boy...and I thought his mama was a wild child..who knew?

Now if you haven't watched Spirit the Horse, it's about a wild horse that's captured by the bad guy (a calvary soldier), escapes, and later meets up with the good guy (a Native American that we used to call an Indian).  Did you ever think the Indian would be the good guy?  A huge change in just one generation.  Anyway, there's a scene in the movie where Spirit is rolling around on the ground while the song plays "Get OFF my back".  The bad guy put a saddle on Spirit, trying to break him.  This is really important for what was to happen later in the day.

We go to the Post Office before taking E.Boy back to his mom....it's not too crowded (which is an oddity) but E.Boy begins shouting "Get Off My Back"...maybe not shouting, but definitely loud.  Dave and I just look at each other...we don't know where this is coming from.  I'm all done and leaving when E.Boy lays on the ground and rolls around, bucking, and yelling "Get Off My Back".  We take him home and his mom doesn't know anything about it either.  Much later in the day, mama called and explained everything to us.  We need to be really careful what that boy is exposed to.  What an imagination!!!!

My Baby is 29!!!! How Did That Happen????

Our daughter and her husband have birthdays that are one week apart so we have a joint celebration on the Sunday in-between their dates.  We have a dinner (lovely prepared by Dave) and dessert (lovely purchased at Safeway by Edie....and I forgot to serve the ice cream), and open gifts.

It just so happens that Ezra was the big winner.  He got a horse!!!! Or as he calls it, a neigh.  We've been reading Cowboy books for months (Cowboy Small is his favorite) and he's loving it.  E wears cowboy boots all the time, loves to read the books, and is now enjoying his new pistols and holsters which we gave him last week.  I know, we're terribly politically incorrect...oh well.

E  was also a good big brother and shared with Baby T.  This horse talks, sings, and makes clopping noises.  E LOVES it!!!