More Music at the Ranch

Here are more photos Valerie V. took from another Music at the Ranch. Even though it is the evening Daniel is wearing his pajama top because he hates changing out of his pj's. I struggle to get him dressed every morning. That day I decided not to fight him on it. Besides, the camouflage dinosaur look is pretty cool. Daniel and Will had a blast eating, dancing, wrestling Tyler and stealing Brian's hat.

Music at the Ranch

One of our favorite summer traditions is attending the "Music at the Ranch" series at Rancho La Patera/Stow House in Goleta with my parents and the Voita Family. We all bring a picnic to share and always sit close to the front so we can check out the band, the dancing, and hop out on the dance floor ourselves. Here are some great photos that Valerie Voita took earlier this month.

Meeting Hayes

This month we got to meet Hayes, my friend Liz's new baby boy. Liz and I first met in kindergarten and have been friends ever since. I hope these boys end up being lifelong friends too!

Cousins

Brian's sister Christine just got to town with her two beautiful daughters. Daniel and Ariana are the same age and seem to really be having fun playing together. Brian and I have loved meeting our new niece Melia and catching up with Chris.

Whose party is it?

Our friend Sarah had a party to celebrate her 30th birthday, but the kids were definitely the party animals of the evening. They had a pinata, got to blow out Sarah's candles on her cake, and stayed up late watching "Happy Feet". The other kids are all bilingual (English/French) so they watched the movie in French. Maybe they will help teach Daniel to speak French?

Viva La Fiesta!

We took Daniel to Mercado del Norte last week to celebrate fiesta. He enjoyed eating tamales and corn on the cob, running into cousins and friends (particularly the "older" girls) and watching the carnival rides. I think his two favorite things at fiesta were the cascarones (confetti eggs) and eating his first churro.

The next day my parents and I took Daniel to watch the fiesta parade. The parade is the largest equestrian parade in the country. We were at the end of the parade route so we got to see many of the beautiful horses up close as they were loaded back up in their trailers. One horse we met even had his hooves painted with bright sparkly colors to celebrate. Again the cascarones were a big hit with Daniel- especially getting to smash it on top of his grandpa's head.

Just swinging