Worship Leader in Training

Jael helped TiTi lead worship last Wednesday night for the first time. She worshipped with her whole heart..........and voice!

I think she's learned from TiTi. :-)

What a Thoughtful Man!

I have a yucky cold today.

The only fresh fruit we had in the house were bananas, of which I had already had one early in the day. I asked my husband if he could stop by on the way home from work and buy me some fruit. I wanted a healthy snack.

He later walked in the door with this display THAT HE ARRANGED HIMSELF! He found the chip plate on sale for 75 cents and put together this presentation.

So much more special than a plastic bag, don't you think?

Can't help loving him!

Diego's First Taste of Crab

Papa and I took Diego with us on our Friday night date. (Grandparents can do that!) We went to The Cracked Crab, a crab shack in Pismo Beach. They dumped the bucket of three kinds of crab, red potatoes, Cajun sausage, and corn cobettes right smack in the middle of our table. It is definitely the way a 22-month old thinks we should always eat!

"This was fun! I got to play with lots of tools!"

"And I really like crab!"
"But, Coke? That's a different story."

Resting From Our Labors

Labor Day around here was full of all the things that make a good family holiday. Warm weather; grilled hamburgers, chicken, polish sausage, and hot links; coolers full of ice and drinks; playing hard in the playground; swimming; ice cream cones; and a bonfire and s'mores at the end of the day.

Here's little Diego, twenty-two months old, insisting that he "swim" by himself:

Luc, stopping for the camera:

Cappy just floating around:

Everyone splishing and a'splashing:

Meg roasting her marshmallow all by herself:

Jael enjoying the end results:

How's this for cuteness sitting around the fire?

Ezekiel figuring out how to get his mouth around the whole thing:

Look closely and you can see Daja leading "Going On a Bear Hunt":

Wonderful day to relax the stresses of life.

Cruising, Part 2

In response to Daja's comment, here are a few more pictures. We took lots, but most aren't that interesting! LOL

In answer to Mary's comment, it was the Royal Carribean's Monarch of the Seas -- the same ship two other "parties" in my family have been on. Royal Carribean is having October (and January) specials. $189 for the Friday through Monday cruise! WooHoo! Let's all go again! :-)


Had to take a picture of my favorite towel animal:

Our last breakfast aboard ship. This couple was so interesting and fascinating. They have done, been, and experienced so much during their lives. They take their entire family (children and grandchildren) on a cruise every year. Their longest cruise for the two of them lasted 29 days. They have cruised the Amazon and another major river I can't remember the name of, and next year they are planning to "do" the Nile. They have ridden motorcycles, owned boats, and collected Corvairs and Jaguars. They were so affable and likeable. They are in their eighties and seem to have no intention of slowing down!

Cruising

I know I have been MIA for about three weeks. One day I may tell you all that has happened during that time, but for now I'll just let you know what happened the first weekend.

We went on a three-night weekend cruise! We went in celebration of our 34th wedding anniversary, but we also went as an experiment. Gabe has always gotten seasick on any size boat. We were hoping that on a large cruise ship, it would be different. And it was! He felt fine and we had a fabulous time. We are definitely going to cruise again -- and soon!

Leaving for the open sea:

We made a round-trip from Los Angeles to Ensenada, Mexico. Here we are on a shore excursion to La Bufadora in Ensenada:

Though they said that our ship was not one of the large cruise ships, we thought it was big! We once lived in a town with about 10% of the population of this ship!

We were very blessed with wonderful tablemates for dinner. We had a grand time with them. Here we all are on Formal Night:

And how can you not have fun with spreads like this?

We are now dreaming of a Mediterranean cruise.....................

Important Things in My Life Lately

Giving kisses,

Celebrating Serena's birthday (with Sarah's cheesecake),

Celebrating my anniversary (with flowers from Gabe's new bosses),

Riding with my honey,
Getting a haircut!