lately...

morning

kitty drawings

my dad

Three days. 

Summer lovin'...warm humid morning air, then it feels like summer for real.

Dad's three birthday celebrations... (since we couldn't all get together on one day). This year it was with a mocha ice cream cake, an afternoon walk, Five Guys and lots of love. Dad is truly the very best dad, he could be celebrated every single day. When Dad was little he dreamed of raising baby skunks. I think if he could he would have an owl, skunk, crow and Hermie farm today. xo

Comic Con...it has grown way beyond the comics, we are so lucky to have it in San Diego. I saw stars (yay!) and costumes, parades, art, and people everywhere, too many really...by the end of the day they are just annoying, ha ha. 

{7.21 to 7.23}

happy very much so.

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Instead of sixty-one candles we went with just one perfect one on top of a chocolatey chocolate cupcake (from here) for our sweet Dad. Dinner, stories, laughter, sharing, a light, then singing... to celebrate his day of birth. He has spent his life building with brick and stone, building a marriage with Mom, building lovely relationships with each of his three girls and building a beautiful life for all of us.

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Thank you Dad, Happy Birthday! xo

three days three beautiful days...

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on Saturday a five month old baby fell fast asleep in my arms and I toasted marshmallows with friends around the fire

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on Sunday I laughed until I had tears, then laughed some more, a day celebrating Dad at the fair with the whole family, perfectly wonderful

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on Monday a dear friend and I sat by the pool while her little ones took swim lessons and later Case, Hermie and I enjoyed dinner at the park

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Hello Summer. {6.19 to 6.21}

evening

at the park

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Dad treated me and Case to a Padre game tonight. Along with baseball we enjoyed a behind-home-plate-view, hot dogs, peanuts, ice cream and a hot chocolate for me about half way through.

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We even had a brief earthquake during the eighth inning.

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I'm not much into baseball, but anytime I get to spend a night out with Dad and visit his special brick in the stadium is perfect whether they win or lose (they lost).

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{Thank you, Dad!! xo}

my dad

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.... likes a chocolate cake with blue frosting for his birthday (because that's how it was when he was little), shares his apple on Sundays with Hermie, had a pet crow named John, slept under the stars with his brother, grew up in Pennsylvania, loves to fish, wears a shady brady while building beautiful fireplaces and walls with bricks and stone, wrote letters to Mom from his navy ship during the Vietnam war, enjoys evenings playing poker or toasting marshmallows out back, will come at a moment's notice no matter the time of day, wears blue to match his blue eyes, shares the number 21 with me, sings a funny chicken song, and is the very best dad in the world, has always been gentle and loving and supportive with all of his girls, thank you, Dad. xoxo

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Happy Birthday!!!

sundays

Sunday mornings are something special for Dad and me. Usually we take Hermie on a walk nearby, and occasionally take a new path or a trip out the Wild Animal Park to see the animals waking up and getting fed. With today being Father's Day and the first day of Summer we ventured out to the new Lake Hodges Bridge and trail. Along the path we stopped to watch the swallows squeezing in and out of their nests while bikers and joggers passed by, we were mesmerized by the bees ducking into the purple bursts of color, ducks disappeared beneath the water, a lone fisherman waited patiently for a tug, and we talked and walked as the cloudy sky became one of blue decorated in billowy clouds.

. . .

6.20 Something new I learned . . . Ladybug loves, chewing into the rind loves, cantaloupe! After a quick check online I found out it is okay for cats to eat, of course in small quantities, so there aren't any other sorts of surprises.

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6.19 Oh, Trader Joe's you do have the most beautiful array of flowers, it is almost too difficult to choose, I would like to take them all home with me.