Carmel and The Monterey Bay Aquarium

While Josh was away on a Yamasaki Fly Fishing trip the Robertson side of the fam took a short plane trip-- We stayed in Carmel Valley and drove into Monterey one day and Carmel a couple of days. I wish I could say the photo below was the courtyard of our accomodations but that wouldn't be true. Our place was nice for a several day stay with our own kitchen and small yard but not quite so fancy as this. This was a courtyard we passed while strolling the side streets in Carmel -- pretty much everything there is charming. ( side note i'm still new to this blog thing and even though ANNA told me how i could move my pictures about after they got mixed up in the loading all I succeded in doing was enlarging it so they will appear in random order !)

Makenna says "you want me to smile for the camera really now!" This was actually at the end of the trip, taking a break on a park bench in Carmel. SWIMMING . . . in Pacific Grove-- which i must say i liked much better than Monterey. Water was cold enough to turn your feet to ice cubes but Makenna thought it was just great. Was so great to take her to beach 3 days in a row and when we got back to Roseville made me wish for a beach 2 blocks away instead of the train yard. When the delta breeze kicks ups, i watch the tall grasses bend in the wind, smell the lavender, rosemary, and jasmine in the air and pretend the shore is only a few streets away . . .
Grandmere et Grandpere surveying the beach scene.
Extreme close up of the miss.
A taste of Carmel. This was someones gate into their property and i thought it was so unique and intriguing like going into the secret garden.

A happy foxglove plant in a Carmel planter box. Here we are at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Makenna was happiest at the outside exhibits which unfortunately were few -- she just loved watching the scuba divers-- nice aquarium experience. Think we'll try the Zoo next since they have to have lots of outdoor exhibits. We did love the sea otters and the wave machine.

Here we are trotting down to the beach in Pacific Grove-- just love that red tipped iceplant and the rocky shoreline.

This was the first day at the beach in Carmel-- didn't even notice the water at first the sand was so captivating and there were theses squirrels-- very domesticated that kept coming right up to where we were sitting-- i mean like a few inches away-- hoping for snack but we had nothing.

Makenna and Grandpere pushing the stroller up the hill from the beach into town in Carmel in search of a snack-- gotta love bringing the stroller to use as a pack animal. We did this several times while we were in Carmel-- push the stroller up the hill that is and every time that Dad ( Grandpere) told the story the number of blocks got greater-- maybe he should have been a fishermen. . .
Here she is the fashion plate posing by the sea . . . Seriously what a nice trip . . . The coast is always great and refreshing. something about the crisp air and the sound of the waves. If you've never been to Carmel I highly recommend it-- I am so blessed to have parents close by to be able to share and make possible such great outings. Thanks Mom and Dad. Merci beaucoup pour les vacance!

Common's Beach Tahoe City

A couple of days before the 4th of July Mom, Dad, Makenna and I took a day trip up to to Tahoe to beat the heat. It was cool and breezy when we got there and just perfect for hanging out and making sand pies! Here come the geese hoping we have a snack for them.
I'm so cute I can hardly stand it. Makenna is laughing because Grandpere is asleep on the blanket and that's so funny.
And there he is-- it's a tough life napping on the beach in Tahoe before strolling down to Jakes for a burger. Must have been the mocha and pumpkin bread that did him in . . .
Busy making sand soup with Grandmere. Takes concentration you know.

capitol park

On our way back from Yosemite this past February we stopped in downtown sacramento to stretch our legs and wander in the park. Reminds me a bit of the large parks in London and so fun to people watch. However note to self there are no good coffee shops to be found open on Sunday in this area. boo
Here's Makenna comtemplating her next speech on the history of flora and fauna in Northern California! Hmmm should I start with the Camellia japonica and then go onto the Magnolia grandiflora or . . . Let me just smell this pretty pink camellia.

These camellias were like flower confetti covering the ground and so fun to run around and gather up.
Flower girl.

M is for Makenna! She just loves that. Whenever we color and I write M she says Holden and we have to write H for Holden-- cousin Holden must not be forgotton.

Hello I'm Makenna Nice to meet you! Ca va?

Just kickin' it on the park bench.
Eskimo Kisses are a big fav.
Sometimes it's nice to just stop and smell the flowers. And these camellias were just amazing, blooming like crazy in all colors. What an incrediable God to create such beauty for us to enjoy.

Lavender in May

This is my garden girl helping me water our newly planted rosemary and pink muhly grass. This was actually taken in the beginning of the summer but as i said before i'm just going to post photos as i find them so this is probably May. Mud bogging is so much fun and we pretty much do this daily. I think Makenna is a strong believer in the mud spa thing. She is wearing her beautiful flower hat made by Grandmere-- Never leave home without a hat!
Nothing like feeling the mud between your toes!

So this is my "field" of Lavender that runs along the front of our house. I just love walking beside it and smelling the lovely fragrance on the wind and I pretend I am in the south of France walking through the actual fields . . . Well there you have it-- our lavender days and now it is about time to cut it back so it can bloom again, meanwhile we will have lots of dried lavender to put about the house.

Pacifica

So this past weekend we got away ( sans baby) for a mini holiday and ended up in Pacifica. Was really trying to go to Half Moon Bay but am glad we ended up here as it is such a peaceful little surf town and we got to stay across the street from the ocean as you can see from phot0-- this is the deck off our room-- Don't we looked relaxed? I just love this twisted cypress with it's knotted trunk. And this rose is called Purple
Rain and I think it is just amazing how God created all these incrediable details in nature for us to enjoy.

This is next to the pier in "downtown" Pacifica. We wandered around the town taking in the charming beach houses. The next day we watched the surfers and then headed south on highway 1 to Half Moon Bay. Almost got run over by a herd of horses on the beach but other than that had a great time. Might try some beach camping there later in the summer. They have many coffee houses we did no get to check out so I guess we'll have to go back . . .

Easter in June

Love this photo-- while my husband Josh is taking the photos I was trying to get Holden to smile so I am dancing ,waving my arms wildly about and almost took myself out on the deck-- just makes me laugh thinking about it and LOOK at Holden -- nothing, after all that effort-- looks a little dazed . . .

Here we are laughing but I can't remember about what-- this is the problem of waiting so long to post the photos-- ah hum. But we're laughing isn't that good enough.

so i decided since i have so many fun pictures i want to include and have taken so long to get started i'm going to put them in whenever i find them so this means Easter photos in June. This is at my parents house in Auburn where we were with the fam actually taking shots of my brother Tom and his fam but snuck in one of Makenna. Here she is doing her Left Arm Power Walk-- it's a trade mark move.

At Long Last

So i've been trying to start this blog for oh about a month now and my sister- in- law Anna even said she was going to start posting on it for me HMM not a bad idea. Since I am still working on my wedding album from almost 8 years ago I am determined not to let years go by without documenting our memories.

So here you go . . . the adventures of our family, our business and our daughter Makenna . . . okay, mostly endless anecdotes about our little girl.

And here she is sporting Grandmere's lastest fashion creation.