Mr. and Mrs. Ryan Graves

Wedding Weekend

We are ready to go. Tux, check, shoes, check, bridesmaid dress, check,,,, you get the idea. Off to San Diego this afternoon. Rehearsal and dinner at Fillipi's Italian restaurant. Girls prepping at Jess' hotel Sunday, boys dressing at the Admiral Baker Club, also the location of the wedding and reception.

Congratulations to Ryan and Jess officially starting the rest of their lives together tomorrow. We couldn't be happier! We love you!

Kiera's Glow Party

Police Helo chasing the kids down the street with midnight sun




Kiera and her friends having fun in the garage with the black light.

The year of the teenager

As we launch the day of the "Glo Party" for Kiera's 13th birthday I can't help but reflect on the changes in this past year. First of all, she grew another inch and a half and measures 5 ft 7 in, at the moment. Last night she actually stayed up to watch tv after we went to bed,,,downstairs,,,,alone. And managed to turn out all of the lights when she went to bed later. Zoey sleeps in her room, often on her bed. The stuffed animals have been moved to the chair and no longer take up as much of her sleeping space in bed as she does. She owns clothes that we think look silly, but we understand. She listens to music that we think isn't music. She can type using only her thumbs as fast as I can using all my fingers on a keyboard. Her school work has become more demanding as they prepare them for high school, and she is up to the task. She has a great sense of humor and is fun to joke with. She is also developing a great awareness of herself and others and is a warm and loving person. She is tolerant of her friends, while also having some healthy boundaries. We see the child that she has been growing into the adult we believe she can become and it's pretty exciting.

Party Preparations

Next Saturday is Kiera's big 13th birthday party bash. We worked on the garage this weekend, which is where the blacklight, strobe light, "glo" party will be centered. We've established a plan for a "Drama Corner" where anyone who is not keeping in the positive celebratory mood will be sent for a time out.



We've purchased shirts and paints, and this is the result we are shooting for. It's gonna be fun.

We're From France

Get It? Said the the Dan Aykroyd Conehead voice?
Jason, Kel, Naia and Gabriel vacationed in France with Kel's parent's Marian and Peter this month. In the spirit of "a picture is worth a thousand words" the ones Kel has shared were so good, so enticing, that I decided to steal a batch of them.

A view of the French countryside adjacent to their vacation home.

Walking in the neighborhood.

Playing near the village.

Naia and Marian say their Namastas after morning yoga.
And my all time favorite so far. Peter on the patio enjoying a very french meal of wine and brie.

For a full view check out Kel's blog www.water-girl-naia.blogspot.com

Where the vacation way back in July started...

Seriously, I'm going to wrap up this belated posting so that we can move on! On Monday July 5th we threw ourselves into the end of holiday weekend traffic early in the day for the drive to Cambria. Due to the afore mentioned holiday traffic, it took a bit longer and we arrived at our motel right about dinner time.

Our cute little remodeled motel. And while it did feature Wireless internet, in the evening that required sitting on the curb in front of the office sometimes in the dark. We have a little tradition during vacation to plan a fancy dinner out. Due to the time we arrived, low blood sugar, and not caring to spend alot of time figuring out where things were, dinner the first night turned out to be the fancy dinner out at Moonstone Beach Bar and Grill. But Oh My Gosh, the three of us had the most delicious food any of us could remember eating. Even better than the Hyatt in San Francisco.
Kiera, happy to be Out Of The Car.
A shot from the park across the road from our motel. Wonderful walking path along the cliffs and great access down to the shore.
Before our tour of Hearst Castle we stopped to view the Elephant Seals that were summering on the beach. Mike and Kiera talking with the guide who was full of information about these fascinating animals.

Elephant Seal Beach

The photo does not properly illustrate, these guys are HUGE.

Our first view of the front the the main house at Hearst Castle.

The famous pool.
One of the guest houses