A Harry Potter Weekend Vacation

Due to bad scheduling coordination, I managed to make this past weekend the only time Tom and I could take a vacation together this summer. Luckily, I was able to take my scheduled Saturday off and we headed up to Big Bear for three days at the cabin. Even though it was short, we managed to do most of the things we do on a regular vacation - hike, eat out, take pictures, read, and relax. Speaking of reading, we stayed up most of both nights to read Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows. We also made time for a short canoe trip on the lake (my first ever). Too bad Tom wasn't able to drop a line in the water nor was I able to take pictures from the canoe because it was too windy and choppy. After bringing the canoe to shore and enjoying the mild weather and watching the clouds, jet skiers, and ducks, we went to the theater and saw Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix. We concluded Saturday by picking up Chinese food and getting to experience a microburst of rain at the airport. After dinner, drinks, and champagne, we read Harry Potter for the rest of the night. (Tom finished first and I finished a little after sunrise.)Okay, so April's probably right - we're geeks ;-)

Billie Boy Isn't the Smallest Anymore

Not only is Billie Boy no longer the youngest and smallest fish in the pond, but El Negro is no longer the only black fish!Here he is with the other kindergarten goldfish - the big one moved into the pond after the school year last year. (Billie Bob came home in June and was named by Tom's former Kindergarteners who were graduating 5th graders.)

Happy Fourth of July!

The weather was perfect - warmer than usual but so apropos for this summer holiday. Tom drove down to Costa Mesa to get Dad yesterday, and Jane and her friend, Don, came up this morning. There was time to weed and water (me), sightsee (Tom with Jane & Don), nap (Dad), go to the street fair, and visit. Tom barbequed steaks and we had a huge dinner before Jane, Don, and Dad went home and H and I went looking for fireworks.

Cal-Pac Annual Conference 2007

Another annual session of the California-Pacific Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church took place at the University of Redlands last week and I was once again blessed to be part of it. This year, it ran from Wednesday night to Sunday noon, a shorter time, but we got a lot done. It got up to 106 degrees one day but because I spent so much time in the freezing cold video room, I came home with a cold :-( That was the only downside to this year's experience for me, so once I get all the photos edited and my report written for tomorrow's worship services, I'll make the links.

Graduation Time

This past weekend was a time of celebrations and great times with old friends. We drove up to San Luis Obispo on Friday and enjoyed Julie's celebration dinner at the 1865 Restaurant. After dinner, we joined Julie, Gabe, and Jenn for drinks downtown. We then had the luxury of walking back just a couple of blocks to the Victorian house we were sharing with them and Julie's grandma. Commencement in the stadium was at 9 the next morning, followed by a smaller ceremony in the Rec Center for the Physical Science departments. Then lunch at Holly and Julie's house with more friends and family. Link to all the SLO pictures.

After we said our goodbyes to the Messers we started the slow drive down to Ventura. Between the Cal Poly and UCSB commencement ceremonies, all the beginning-of-summer-vacation travelers, and all the high school graduations between Ventura and SLO, it was a slow go up and down the 101. We finally got to the Francis's at 7:00; the Pattons left the 4:00 ceremony and got there at 9:00. It was party time again! More pictures from Kelly's BBQ.