simple pleasures

nothing beats a west coast summer.

it's highlighted by clear blue skies, bright shining sun, amazingly perfect 25 degree temperatures, and long days. the air is clean, easy to breathe, filled with not much more than the salt of the ocean from which it gets its moisture. fellow west coasters are out and about in droves walking along beaches, walkways and piers, hiking trails and mountains, kayaking, running, riding, and frequenting weekend festivals. incredible fireworks can be seen twice a week for a couple of weeks in july, in addition to the traditional long weekend celebrations. people come here to vacation. there are no scorching temperatures, smog alerts, or humidity advisaries. you don't need air conditioning.

but the best part of it all?
eating fish and chips at the beach.

long overdue

this post is definitely long overdue.





after a fulfilling week and a half with my family, i spent a week trying to catch up with sleep back at home, and get back into the swing of things at work. i have spent lots of time chatting with friends about my adventures with family, answered everyone's questions in the affirmative with "yes, my neice is incredibly beautiful, a real 'cuuutie'" and can't stop recounting all of the fabulous things my nephew said to me. so here's a quick recap of a few pics, and a few quotes, to help me remember.

t: "ben, do you have something special at home that you want to show me?"

b: "yes, i have a purple dragon and a black dragon that flies!"

...few minutes pause...

b: "i have a baby sister at home. her name is rose."

r: "ben, is rose beautiful?"

b: "no daddy, rose is a cuuuutie. a real cuuuutie."

b: "auntie trish, i am going to hug you with my legs and my arms and my tummy."

b: "i'm auntie trish and i don't snore cause i'm a girl."

t: "ben, i have to leave so that i can do a few things before your party."

b: "why auntie trish?"

t: "well, because i have to go out and buy you a present and pick up uncle ryan from the airport. i love you so much that i think you need more presents for your party!"

b: *smile stretches across face* "you're right auntie trish, i do need more presents for my party!"

b: "i'm blasting off to mars!"

after a week of visiting...

b: "auntie trish, this is my sister rose!"

b: "uncle ryan, will you please play with me?"

r: "sure ben, what do you want to play?"

b: "i'll play with the buzz car and you can play with the red train with no name."

...after ryan teasing ben by changing the toys around...

b: "i'm going to go get [...] in the basement. do not touch any toys." hahahaha

b: "i'm a kiss-kiss fish with a kiss-kiss face and i spread the smoochie-woochies all over the place.

smooch. smooch. smooch. smooch. smooch!"

who wouldn't want to smooch that face?!? i could have spent a month with ben and rose, just hanging out and having fun. but, c'est la vie - i will have to wait until christmas to cash in on some more fabulous family time. until then, i will miss these two kids like crazy! (and try and convince their parents to bring them for a visit!!)

adventures at home

who would have thought that my first picture from home would be this:


i certainly didn't. neither did my brother or sister-in-law.
while playing in their basement with my nephew, i heard a scratching sound. when i looked up, i saw this not-so-small baby skunk in the window well clawing at the window. i called my mom downstairs to take a look and she made the phone call. the one that interrupted my brother and sister-in-law's 5th wedding anniversary celebrations. a few minutes later they were home to take care of business. just a few minutes after that, we all left. the skunk didn't. after spraying in the window well, my mom and i packed up the kids and took off to grandma's house. we had to strip and wash EVERYTHING, rob had to buy a new shirt at the bay before going into their movie. happy anniversary!

meanwhile, while my nephew was fast asleep, i had a few minutes to catch a few pics of my niece...

in ben's own words "she's a cutie". ridiculous cutie.

when ben woke up, mom and dad arrived for dinner. then it was time for some brother-sister cuddle time...

saturday morning found us all on the side of soccer field cheering on one cute 3-year old. what fun. sporting the coolest muscle shirt around, and non-other than the "run-faster shorts", it was time for ben to strut his stuff...

and spend some time with his ladies...

and of course with his aunt.

when ben was done, he was sure to let me know.

he even put my lens cap back on. while i was still shooting. enough of soccer, time to go home and start the real chase!