Testing, testing...

Is thing on? I'm wondering if I updated this thing called a blog, would anyone even read it? If YOU would, let me know by commenting on this. Thanks! :) Oh, and Happy *insert every holiday from December 2009 until now* to you! HA!

Photo Shoot...

So, my kid is fairly adorable! Here are a couple of pics I took while we were having an impromptu hike in Grace's ampitheatre...This is not a butterfly...it's actually two moths back to back...And just because he's so darn cute...
So...what do ya think?

So much going on!

Wow...So, I got a new job. I am waiting for my pharmacy technician license to come from the state. Cole started preschool. Five days a week. I have an upcoming court date. It's Halloween tomorrow. I'm still single. I'm enjoying choir immensely. I still love birding. I would love to go birding sometime soon. I got a seasonal flu shot. I don't like working nights because I can't tuck my sweet boy in every night of the week. I miss far away friends. I love my sweet, double-chinned nephew Jackson. His dad, Brice has an interview with the L.A. County Fire Department in November. My parents are awesome. I'm incredibly thankful for praying friends and family. I saw a new Camaro the other day and was instantly envious. My cats like bringing half dead mice to our door as treasures. I still have 2 tattoos. I played my first game of Settlers of Catan the other night with Shaun & Kristal. I would like to play cards again soon with Emilie, Brice & Randy and whoop the boys booties again. I need to blog more often.

McGrath Family Camping Trip

With that last quite long and "informative" blog, I left off at mid-July. We hung around the house, watched movies, played computer games, read lots of books and drew LOTS of pictures over the hot summer days.

In late July, the family (minus Dad) headed to McGrath State Beach Campground for the week! Our motorhome was vandalized while sitting in it's super protective storage lot, so we ended up renting a "motey" for the week! I went up early Sunday morning to get our sites and long story short, didn't even need to go up early. However, it was not for naught. :) I did get the chance to head out to Ventura & Oxnard and take pictures as the day was beginning. Here are some shots from that morning...

Ventura Harbor fogged into before sunrise.
House Sparrow...
Two snowy plovers scuttling down the beach...
Not quite sure what birds these are, but they were not very afraid of me!
This guy apparently forgot you need to push the kayak into the water first... ;)
Killdeer hanging in a field...
SO cute...a mama sparrow feeding her baby...Vibrant!
Immature gull in Oxnard...
Such a pretty beach...
After the sun rose...I headed up the coast just a bit to the Carpinteria Salt Marsh Bird Reserve and caught some pretty awesome shots!

Here is a turkey vulture...A mama mallard with her six ducklings...four were camera shy!Cowbirds....BOO!
Mute Swan looking quite regal...It looks so inviting...Now...onto the actual camping part of the trip....first night around the campfire!
Cole was pretty concerned about the stickiness of the smores...He really liked his own little bunk bed above the cab!
Jackson had a grand ol' time looking too cute!My friends, Shaun & Kristal came up with their two cuties, Natalie...
...and Landon!
We had a blast playing at a nearby park for a while...
Then decided to take a walk to the beach...
I figured I could practice with my new camera and take some family pictures for the Sawyers...
Cole and Natalie decided they wanted to get a play in the ocean, so I told Cole to take his jeans off...
Natalie apparently didn't care if her clothes got wet at all...she just had a blast splashing in the water!
Cole and Wyatt hung out in their camp chairs...
JJ looked all cute and cuddly...
On the 28th...I got a surprise birthday donut and coffee! :)
We all headed down to the beach to catch some rays and hang out...

A sea monster...Uncle Kyle...emerged from the deep to try and get Cole...
...and then the sea monster buried Cole alive!He then decided to practice his Baywatch run. :)
Mary and Wyatt went to the water's edge to watch Kyle body-surf...And I snapped a pelican diving into the waters!
Brice caught some wicked waves...
And then we all got cleaned up and headed over to the Ventura Harbor to celebrate my birthday! Dad drove up for the evening and we ended up at Andrea's and I had the best fish 'n' chips...EVER!
We continued the celebration back in the motey with some cheesecake, a highlighter yellow shirt, a purple ribbon in the hair and some white fan-friggin-tastic gloves. HA!

On the 30th, Mom and I headed up to Santa Barbara and got our 2nd tattoos each...Mom got an anklet...And I got an amazing hummingbird!
We finished the day off with some dinner at our fav spot...The Palms!
We had a wonderful trip with the Judy, the Richardsons and the Villaflors! Many fun memories were made and many crazy games of Pictionary were played!