Category Archives: Family

Julienne

A favorite breakfast destination for my family in Southern California in San Marino is Julienne. Their logo says Fine Foods and Celebrations and it is true. We have had many a fine celebration at Julienne. While in California to celebrate with my family Wednesday morning was set aside for the girls to have breakfast.

This was Laura’s first Julienne experience…

Niece Debbee, Niece Melissa, DIL Laura, Katie, Niece Michelle

We were seated in the Library.

In the mirror…

My youngest niece Hope joined us for the first time here, too.

SIL Mandy, Sister Vera, my mom, and my sister Kathy.

It really is a joy to have all these cousins enjoy each others company. My girls and Little Miss Hope are the out of towners that look forward to any trips when they can all be together. They make the most of these get-togethers. The next time we will all be together again will be for Katie and Andrew’s wedding next March. Miss Hope will be the flower girl, our grand nephew Jackson will be the ring bearer and my brother Steve will officiate. We are all looking forward to it!

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods…

Fun Times in the City of Orange…

Sunday morning we started the day with a trip through Starbucks on our way to Old Towne Orange. We browsed through a couple antique malls and the Army-Navy Store. We later drove to my sisters in Whittier for a family meal with my parents, siblings, and nieces.

It’s always good to see my mom and pop. Mom is having lots of pain in her back and hips and walking is getting more and more difficult for her.

After lunch and lots of lively reminiscing Katie and I headed back to the city of Orange where we are staying. We decided to stop at Orange Hill Restaurant for some refreshment before we settled in for the night.

They take their name seriously here and the fact that they are in the city of Orange. Have you ever seen an orange baby grand piano?

We enjoyed ourselves so much in these orange surroundings we decided to go on Monday night with my nieces who also live in Orange.

It was sunny enough that we had to wear our shades inside for a while until the sun went down some.

Tomorrow our DIL Laura arrives and we are having a bridal shower for Katie. We are looking forward to Katie’s first shower and seeing dear friends and relatives we haven’t seen for a while.

I heard our summer decided to hide again for a few days in the Northwest. I hope it reappears soon…

Casa de la Playa

Katie and I are in Southern California enjoying family get-togethers. One of our favorite places to gather is at my sister Vera’s house in Huntington Beach. She and my BIL Nick are always willing and able to host and cook wonderful meals for our large family gatherings. We call their place “Casa de la Playa” because they live in Huntington Beach within walking distance to the Pacific Ocean.

We were there on Saturday for brunch, the beach, and then for dinner!

Besides Katie and I flying in, Miss Hope flew in with her parents from Texas. She loves Uncle Nick and she loves the beach! Vera made a delicious Chile Relleno casserole. Miss Hope was checking Katie and me out. After brunch and a nap we headed down the street to the beach.

Miss Hope loves the beach.

Hi Mommy! Look at me!

Daddy took the first shift with Hope in the water until her teeth started chattering and they came in to get warmed up.

Katie decided to brave the cold water.

Hope’s cousins took the next shift helping Miss Hope hop over the waves and avoid being toppled by them.

Time to pack everything up and head back to Casa de la Playa to shower before dinner.

Tim, Letty, Len and Kathy joined the rest of us for dinner. Nick barbecued ribs, tri-tip, chicken, mushrooms and zucchini and Vera made mashed potatoes, wild rice and salad. We were introduced to Pinkberry’s frozen yogurt for dessert. The salted caramel and the watermelon frozen yogurt was delicious! Thanks Nick and Vera for treating us so well and thank you Mandy for the frozen yogurt.

Thanks to my cousin Jim in Clovis we are calling our week of festivities the Bag-o-rama Jamboree!  More fun to come.

I have not watched T.V. since we flew into L.A. but I’ve seen some stories on line about the horrible massacre in Norway. My heart and prayers go out to people of  Norway and all the families there who have lost loved ones in such a senseless act of violence.

FFF ~ Summer?

 

Friday already and time to look back for a week and think about blessings in your life. Thank you Susanne for the reminder to think on good things.

 

1. I’ve had the chance to enjoy summer vicariously in seeing photos like these my niece in California shared. Our daughter Katie is visiting my family and enjoying summer where the sun is shining more consistently than our area. The pictures would be bigger if I was there but remember this is a vicarious little experience with the sun and beach and summer…

2. On the same vein…I’m thankful our daughter has been able to spend time with my mother and father while she’s been in California. The girls went to my mom’s for brunch yesterday and my parents were so happy to feed them and enjoy their company. They all spent Father’s Day together around a meal, too.

 

3. I am enjoying all the birds and their songs early in the morning. I was happy to see my little hummingbird friends return just outside the window where I sit at my computer…

 

4. SOUNDERS! Last night I was at the Seattle Sounders game against the New York Red Bulls. What a great game it was. We went up by 2 goals and N.Y. tied up the game with 2 goals and we finally won with two more goals by Roger Levesque. Did I lose you? The final score was Seattle 4 ~ N.Y. 2! A happy night at the stadium.

 

5. Last Friday night Dear and I picked up a couple of long time family friends of ours who happened to be in Seattle to embark on a cruise to Alaska. We went to one of our favorite restaurants and enjoyed a rare for this year sunny evening. These gals are my brother in laws sisters and we grew up in the same Russian community in the Los Angeles area. After they married, Laura and her husband settled in Canada and Ruth and her husband settled in Michigan. It was good to see them and enjoy a good meal together.

I think I can speak for the majority of us here in the Great Northwest and say that we are really looking forward to more nights like these around here….

 

What were the highlights of your week? Are you experiencing summer yet in your neck of the woods?

Tomorrow Dear and I are headed out on a little adventure. I enjoy planning these little day trips. Hope you have a good weekend…

Photobucket replaced all my photos with blurred out versions and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

Locks of Love…

 

Today Katie and I sent her 12 inches of hair safely packaged and addressed to Locks of Love in Florida. While we were at the post office we also stocked up on special boxes to mail overseas along with customs forms. When the postal worker found out Katie is married to a Marine she handed her a miniature pocket flag prepared by the American Legion saying that they are proud of his service and they are praying for him and thanking him for defending our country and our freedom. When we notify them of his overseas address they will mail him and his unit these little flags with the messages to them. We were touched by this thoughtfulness.

I mowed the rest of our lawn today and I am pooped and sitting on the couch for the rest of the night. After watching the weather report for the next few days I’m glad to have had the chance to get the lawn mowed before we have several more days of rain.

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods…

Photobucket replaced all my photos with these blurred out versions and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

The 4 Sisters…

…are all home again and resting their feet. We had a wonderful time and as soon as I get a chance to upload photos I’ll share more.

 

I’ve got quite a list of posts to check out in my Google Reader so I hope to get around and see what y’all have been up to while the sisters were walking about Victoria, B.C.

Blessings…

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

Sisters!

 

My sisters and I are embarking on a weekend getaway to Victoria on Vancouver Island in Canada. The four of us have never had a weekend away or an overnight for that matter and I’m hoping we have lots of laughing moments like this next photo shows.

 

Vera ~ Lana ~ Kathy ~ Ellen

Kathy is the oldest, Vera next, Ellen next and then Lana. We also have 4 brothers. Fred was born after Vera.  Tim was born 7 years after me and then Steve. Lana and Leonard (twins) were the last two born.

We had a sister Kathy who was the first born in our family that died when she was 2 in Persia. My parents decided to name their second daughter Kathy, too. The Kathy we know was also born in Persia.

Both of these photos were taken a good while ago. Vera is several sizes smaller and I’m a few sizes larger. I think Lana and Kathy are about the same. I told my Southern California sisters to leave their flip-flops at home and to bring lots of layers. I’m providing them with rain coats with a hood. Whatever the weather we will persevere and delight in what God has in store for us!

We leave early Friday morning on the Victoria Clipper for a 2-1/2 hour ride to Victoria. We have gardens, castles, walks, and having a proper tea planned. Next week after I catch my breath I will post about our adventures.

Before I get swept away I wanted to share my plate of Baby Back ribs from our dinner on Sunday. So delicious!

 

Maybe plates like this are why I’m a couple sizes larger. You won’t be hearing from me till next week. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods!

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

Missing…

…my mom and pop.

 

This is a photo of them at the family Thanksgiving get together in California. We were in Washington. It’s been a while since I’ve seen my parents in person. I hope to be able to see them soon. Aren’t they the cutest!?

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

Love is in the Air…

…and already stocked in some of the aisles in the local stores. I thought it was a good time to share about a fun party coming up just before Valentine’s Day.

 

Laurie is hosting this again this year. It’s a fun time to let the red, pink, and love flow freely. And speaking of love…

Here’s my sweet niece that I love dearly at Huntington Beach in California. I missed seeing her and the rest of my extended family this Christmas and New Year but at least I have photos to enjoy…

 

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

Carpe Diem ~

Seize the Day…

 

We are taking all the time we can to enjoy each others company for the days we have together right now. Tomorrow we are going to have our Thanksgiving meal early, all together, with 7 more joining us. The turkey is thawing. The yams, potatoes, gravy, green beans are waiting to be prepared. My sister is bringing the rolls and wine. Dan’s long time friends who became our good friends are joining us. Dave and Beth are bringing the pies. Jamie and Sarly are bringing their sweet babe. We’re going to make a champagne punch I saw on Susan’s Between Naps on the Porch. Josh and Laura will mash the potatoes since I’m still having a tennis elbow issue. Dear will carve the turkey. Katie will write the names on the place cards. I’ll make myself a note to remember to take photos. Life is rich.

Have a wonderful Saturday everyone!

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.