Jones at Night

I like watching Jones playing out in the courtyard at night. She thinks the fountain is her own little water dish.
 

My First Art Show

Saturday was a great day as I participated in my first art show at La Cumbre Plaza. I was thrilled to sell four paintings and a bunch of notecards. It was fun to have friends stop by and say hello, and people seemed to like my work. It was an encouraging day! Mom was a trooper and sat with me during our eight-hour adventure. We're off to a good start!  

 

Evening Walk

I went walking up North Fairview this evening. It had cooled down, and the sunset was lovely. I even took a few pictures of flowers (surprise, surprise). 

As I headed out, I saw dad polishing the exhaust pipes on his car. Wow. That's attention to detail! 

College buddies...

After Joel's first preaching marathon of two services Sunday morning, we headed to the Summerland Beach Cafe for a late lunch with Joel's college buddy Ben, Ben's wife Shawna, and their cutie boy Jeremiah. We had fun despite the OPPRESSIVE heat and humidity. Very stormy and tropical!
 

Anniversary Getaway

For our third anniversary, Joel arranged a little trip up to Santa Ynez. We stayed at the charming Wine Valley Inn in Solvang, and headed out to Los Olivos in the afternoon to enjoy the art galleries and wine tasting. We had dinner at the Side Street Cafe, and thoroughly enjoyed our mid-week getaway.

 

We got to spend some precious time with Rachel, Orlando, Canon, and Mom Treick this weekend. It was special to get to celebrate mom's birthday and to spend extra time with our sweet nephew. It's amazing how big he is! Uncle Joel and he are buddies, and I love seeing them have fun together.

 

We got to see a big digger, and then Joel read "Inside A Construction Site" about a dozen times, with the special added characters Squirrely Phil, Angry Jeb, The Pizza Man, Mama, Amad the Welder, and the Booty Man. What began as a where's-Waldo like book is now an epic tale of intrigue.


 

CPC Work Day

Joel and I spent part of the day with our friends at CPC getting things done around the church. We helped with some outlet covers and the vaccumed every chair in the church. When it was finished, the list of work accomplished was impressive! It was good to work alongside our brothers and sisters.

 

 

Happy Birthday to Daddy!

It was such a treat to be able to be here this year to celebrate my dad's birthday. It was a special one, as he turned 65! We had a festive lunch at the Chase with his whole staff, who gave him a "Grandpa Basket" full of prizes to enjoy with their soon-to-be-here granddaughter. Such fun!! Pamela had gathered prizes for WEEKS, and Katie made the most darling pink blanket. We couldn't believe how cozy it is. Do you think mom's ready for the baby to come??

There was just a little attention as the owner sent a beautiful birthday cake out to dad. We all sang happy birthday and let dad off with the minimum birthday embarrassment. In the evening, we headed down to the Beachside. We took a long walk while we waited for our table, and had a lovely evening!

When we came home, it was to find Jones ON THE CORVETTE. Threats ensued. Jones still lives. We went in and looked at the darling "Grandpa" gifts again. Then, MORE ho ho ho as we opened some more presents. We gave dad some bird-watching guides, sure to be a hit as he sits outside with his binoculars on these warm summer evenings. Mom made a wonderful card with one of our favorite pictures of dad as a kid.