August Sampler

August kept us very busy!  After we left the Cowell Family Reunion, we headed down south for another "Good Neighbor" honors event.  I know that it seems like Paul is never at the office, but he really does work VERY hard & I am very proud of him.

We took an extra day to play at Venice Beach.  There is some great people watching there & we were not disappointed!  As we strolled along, we came upon a couple of camera guys following this dude, filming him.

Paul says, "He looks really familiar, what's his name?"  I'm clueless, he did not look familiar to me.

"Dave, Dan, Don, it starts with a D," he continues..."He looks like that guy on X-Factor."  I'm really confused now - I'm thinking, Simon Cowell?...then another couple walking by jump into our conversation & say, "X-Files."

So I google X-Files & BAM!  There he is...

David Duchovny - Google Image

By the time we figured it out, he had hopped on a Harley & was gone.  His film crew followed...where is my camera when I need it?  Seeing celebrities always adds to the excitement.

I could spend hours watching the skater-dudes...they are crrrrraaazzzyyy!

The street performers are also really fun.  These guys were pretty entertaining with their acrobatics.  They collected volunteers to help with their last trick...the guy ran & flipped over this line of people & landed on his feet!  Nuts!

But the real draw is the beach - we love the beach!

That night we ate at Joe's Crab Shack - great family fun.  They brought our meals in these galvanized buckets & the wait staff entertained the crowds with dance routines, while encouraging everyone to get up & join them...yeah, nobody did...they were too busy eating their yummy dinners!

The next day we went to the Newport Beach Temple - it was beautiful!

Almost as beautiful was the Ritz Carlton, Laguna Niguel - set on the cliff over looking the ocean...truly breathtaking!

We spent hours watching the surfers, there were tons of them & the waves were great!

We had two evenings there with fabulous dinners.  My favorite was the "clam bake" the last evening (minus the clams, but they had other seafoods & all you could eat filet mignons & lobster tails)...

Beautiful California sunset over the ocean...

Once back in San Jose, we celebrated Paul's mom's 80th Birthday with dinner at Maggiano's with Linda, Rex, & Eric (I failed to get a group shot).  A few days later we took Mom & Dad to see Les Miserable in San Francisco.

On our way back to the Riverhouse, we met Linda & Rex & Paul's cousin, Diane & her husband at the Spaghetti Factory in Stockton.  It was fun to visit & hear their childhood stories.

That weekend, the Macias family came to visit (minus MJ & Lisa who couldn't come at the last minute - next time guys!).  We went rafting one day & kayaking the next.  We also went into Hangtown & just enjoyed visiting.

One night we decided to try the Olde Coloma Theatre's Melodrama.  I'll just put it out there...it was terrible! We love corny jokes around here (we call them Dad Jokes) but the melodrama was just pitiful!  However, it's always a good time with Mike & Vicky!

The end of the month, we hosted our Annual Relief Society Riverfloat & luncheon.  We filled two boats & 6 kayaks full of ladies from our ward - the youngest was 18 & the oldest was 81!  It's a great Relief Society activity!

We loved having Ty & Christi with us again this summer.  They are the cutest couple - we are going to miss them, but this is Ty's last year of school so we wish them the very best as he finishes up his degree.  One of our last nights alone with them, we took them to dinner & dessert - Leatherby's Ice Cream Parlor is delicious!

That pretty much sums up our August...things don't ever really slow down or quiet down around here.  We stay busy because I've been told, "Every Second Counts!"  So, we are trying to make them count!