Surprise!

It was a surprise birthday for my brother Ben (or Uncle Gna, according to Jane) this year! Bridget orchestrated an awesome shin dig at my folks' place and Joe/Aja, and Chris/Jane/me all drove in late the night before Ben's birthday and then surprised him in the morning. However, the biggest surprise came when my brother Danny and his girlfriend Katie (who live in Bellingham, Washington) pulled into the drive way 1/2 hour before the actual party started. They had decided the night before to hop in the car and make the 16+ hour drive from Bellingham to Mariposa. A great surprise for us all! By Sunday afternoon we were all making our way back home, but not before we went for a dip at one of our old swimming holes...so much fun.

Jane enjoying a little time with Dusty, pre-party!

H A P P Y C A K E T I M E ! ! !

Early in the evening, the party took a wild turn.

Another awesome surprise, my cousin Hayley was able to make it to the party. Hayley is spending the summer working at a law firm in Fresno and Joe and Aja picked her up on their way up the hill. It was great to see Hayley, and I know Jane really enjoyed getting to know her.

Playing with Uncle Danny.

Relaxing at Hornet.

A Visit to Grandma and Grandpa's

Dad came down to see Grandma and Grandpa so Jane and I took the opportunity to head up to Escondido and visit all three of them. Grandma is in the middle of sorting through all sorts of wonderful old photos. I hope I can go up there on a regular basis and help her archive all the wonderful images. Jane thoroughly enjoyed poking around Grandma and Grandpa's place discovering all their treasures and just hanging out.

Reading the newspaper with Grandpa.

Here is Jane with Babu and cousin Jake (it was his birthday!)

Playing with all of Grandma's vintage dolls.

And of course we had lunch at Cocina del Charro. Muy rico!

The Getty and Los Angeles

This April we met up with my folks and brother in Los Angeles for a day at the Getty Center, http://www.getty.edu, (amazing!) and a little time in LA.

Jane was thrilled to find receptacles filled with umbrellas throughout the Getty's grounds. These umbrellas are provided to guest to protect them from the sun which reflects off the beautiful buildings, but Jane used them as a conversation starter.

Meme brought bunny ears.

Here we are back at Uncle Coco's house playing around.

Jane and the Dude.

Out to dinner.

That's right, she was allowed to take as much as she wanted from both cakes! It was not an early night.

At the height of the sugar rush, Dude was forced to wear the bunny ears.

Bubbles!

Jane practices walking Dude.

Jane walks Dude and Coco walks Jane.

Babu and Jane take in the stars.

The Dude and Jane

Uncle Coco (Joe) and Aja came to visit us and brought along their new dog, The Dude (White Russian, anyone?) Jane immediately fell for Dude, who is probably the only dog she has ever encountered who is smaller than her. Here they are with one another.