Hayes Mansion and the California Coast

We were super-lucky to priceline a hotel for our stay at the Hayes Mansion in San Jose. We had never even heard of it, but we got it for $50 total. It was beautiful!!! We wished we weren't staying for such a short time-- we didn't even get to use the pool, which was gorgeous! Our room was AWESOME though, with a flat-screen TV, a fridge, a beautiful bathroom, all the amenities you would expect. We got ready for the reception there and then didn't get back until after midnight. Ceci and Lala were out by then, but Bella and I walked around together checking it all out, which was fun. After a great night's sleep, we got ready and then wandered around some more, exploring the mansion part of the hotel, such as the piano parlor. We then had their buffet breakfast which was delicious. We wished we could stay a whole night more! But we had to get to our church meetings!







After church, we met up at my Tio Hector's place. We hung out, had lunch and hung out some more. (I had a great time looking at my cousin Tara's beautiful wedding pictures with my cousin Lisa!) Then it was time to get going. Craig wanted to drive through Carmel and Big Sur!








We had a beautiful drive home. Carmel is GORGEOUS, I wish we could have stayed there a week. But all we did was get lunch at this cute store there and drive around the town for about 20 minutes. What a super-cute town. We then went down the coast which was mostly foggy, but still so beautiful.










Just before it got dark, we got to San Simeon to see the Elephant Seals!! It was really cool to see them. One of them did a really cool barking thing that I wish I would have videoed, but didn't. They were so neat to see! We really enjoyed watching them. It got dark, and so we did our best to get home quick-- (about 3 more hours?) What a fun trip we had!!

My Tio Hector's 50th Wedding Anniversary!

We had the most amazing weekend!!! We all drove up to San Jose for my Tio Hector and Tia Petra's 50th Wedding anniversary celebration! My tio is my mom's older brother. It was also his daughter (my cousin) Olga's 25th wedding anniversary with her sweet husband, Javier. (Olga is named after my mom.) What a PARTY my cousins know how to throw!!




It started with a beautiful ceremony where my tio and my cousin renewed their vows. My cousin Olivia and Olga's husband, Javier, sang some beautiful songs while Olga accompanied them on guitar. It was sooooo beautiful!! Their voices are gorgeous!






After the ceremony, we were treated to a wonderful slideshow that showed the many special landmark times of their lives. Then, Olivia's daughters, Tatiana and Penelope danced with their little folklorico group. They were adorable!











Ceci and Zeke decided to do their own dancing while they danced!









We were then treated to a Mariachi band!! They were FANTASTIC, we LOVE to hear Mariachi music. During their playing, dinner was served-- we had a delicious dinner of pollo, arroz y frijoles. It was super rico!































It was so wonderful to see all my cousins that were able to attend-- My mom's sister, my Tia Lula came with my Tio Larry and my cousin Lisa and her son Hunter. (picture on the left.)

I also got to see the children of my Tio Mel, my mom's other older brother (he passed away in 1998.) His children are Hector, with his wife Sylvia, Freddie, Angie's son, Angie, Perlyne, (David did not attend) and Danny, Freddie's son. It was so great to see all these people! (picture on the right.)


So after dinner, Hector, Petra and their children all went out so that they could come back in and be introduced and dance. I felt pretty honored when they asked me if I would be Max's escort!! Since he is the oldest, we were the first to come in. Then it was Olga and Javier, Olivia with her husband, Joseph, and then Hector Jesus with his wife, Sari. Then Hector and Petra came in and started dancing. Then we all danced with them. There was a fantastic live band that played some great latin music.

Can you believe there was a playground where the kids all played for much of the evening when they weren't dancing?

There was dancing all the way until midnight to the great live band. We danced to banda, boleros, nortena, rock, and they even played some Santana-- "Oye como va" and "Guajira." Very cool!! We had soooooooooooooooo much fun!! We LOVE our family up in San Jose!! They are wonderful, and they so know how to party!
















This big picture on the left was the one we got with as many of us as we could get!! The one on the right is of Hector and his family after the toast.





Los ninos-- too many to name!







Las chicas!! Cindy, Angie, Brenda, Olivia, Olga, & me! I love my cousins so much! What a wonderful celebration!

Two Parties!

Today my girls were invited to two summer parties. The first was given by my friend Kikanza and it was a summer solstice party. There was storytelling, lots of singing, and a delicious potluck. I was also very impressed with how well Kikanza's garden is growing. My girls had so much fun, they didn't want to leave!! It was a good thing I was taking them to another party immediately following!





















We next went to an end-of-the-year Girl Scout swim party. It was so nice! It was at the lovely home of my friend Colleen whose daughter is also in girl scouts. Their home is in Altadena right up in the mountains. The pool had fountains that sprayed into the water!! And their dogs loved it!! This pool party was also very special in that it was the first time that Lala "officially" swam!! She's been working on it all summer and using a small life jacket type help, but today she swam without it!! Yay!! What a fun day for my girls today! We are so blessed to have the friends we have!

I loved his music.

I am soooooo sad. I don't necessarily mourn his death. I mourn what his life turned into quite some time ago. I have always been so saddened by some of the awful things that transpired that I prefer not to think about them. And I'm so sorry he felt he had to keep changing his looks. He was so handsome in the early 80's and didn't need to change a thing. I will remember him looking the way he did then.

But his voice and his talent were AMAZING. What a phenomenal and gifted performer! I will always remember him for that. I will remember him for the great songs that are a part of my life forever. I loved "Off the Wall" as an 11 year-old and remember listening to it through all my years, even as a 20 year-old deadhead and still as a 40 year old mom!

His talent, voice, music and the memories associated with his music will live on forever in our hearts.

God bless you, Michael. I wish you peace.

Beach Day!

Today we drove out to Huntington Beach. Brenda's sister-in-law, and our "adopted sister," Angie, lives there with her sons and daughter so we went out to spend a day with them. Yvonne (balancing time between home and Aaron in the hospital) also joined us which was so nice.

It was a beautiful day although a little chilly for me! There were hours of castle-building and swimming. Later, we got everybody changed and we built a fire in a pit to roast some hot dogs and marshmallows for s'mores. YUM! I love the last picture of a bunch of tired kids on their way home!!