wine + candy + a barn = FUN

We went to a family friend's wedding yesterday in beautiful Santa Margarita at Taft Ranch. It was a lovely wedding. We had a lot of fun eating candy, drinking wine and taking really embarassing/funny pictures. Melissa might kill me for posting these...but here goes.

There was a cute little kiddie corral area. A really good idea to keep the kids entertained.

Olivia met a boyfriend (Jeremy, the cute little ring bearer)...they played house for a while.

We can't seem to get a family picture with all three of us smiling. I think Livi's shoving candy in her mouth in this one. Oh well!

Flash forward to the end of the evening...us "dancing" (if you could call it that) in front of the swamp cooler. Not sure if this was before or after the chicken dance but I'm pretty sure it WAS after about 5 or 6 glasses of wine. hahahahhaha. Good times.

Cousin Chris

So we FINALLY got to meet my cousin Brandy's baby, Christopher, last weekend. He's 6 months old already! And what a doll he is! He seriously has the most GIGANTIC eyes and smile I have ever seen on a little baby. He's always so happy and is very calm and just hangs out (unlike a little 20 month old I know and love.) And his smell??? INTOXICATING. I forgot all about that baby smell and now I'm hooked. Here are a couple of cute moments I caught on camera.

Nice to meet you, Baby!

See! Look at his gorgeous eyes...and those precious teeth!

Bath time. So cute.

He's happy just kicking his little legs...looks like there's a copycat there too!

I wish we didn't live so far away. I miss that little guy.

Querido Avô

Funerals are hard. As if losing someone you loved wasn't bad enough, now you have to endure seeing your lost loved one in an open casket and have to go through the grieving process in front of many many people. I haven't been to a funeral like this one since my Great Grandma Olivia died many years ago. Five Wounds Catholic Church, which probably has a capacity to fit a few hundred people, was packed. My Grandpa touched so many people's lives and seeing all those people there just made it more of a reality. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do, to see my Grandma so grief stricken it looked as if she could pass out at any moment. I've seen enough sobbing relatives to last a lifetime.

My Grandpa was 72 years old when he passed away last Sunday. He died in his sleep, which is how I would want to go if I had a choice I guess. Although it was sudden, at least he got to live every day of his life knowing how much he was loved. He got to take all of his memories with him. He was such a funny man. He could always make you laugh. He loved loved loved babies...and ALL babies loved him. He just had this magic baby touch. Watching him with Olivia for the last time last month will be one of my most cherished memories of my life. He loved wine, don't think there was a wine out there he didn't like. He loved football...the 49ers...and was the kind of guy who would stand up and yell at the referees and if his team didn't win, he'd be in a bad mood the rest of the day. He loved fishing. I would say that was his passion...fishing and then cooking his catch with my Grandma. Even though he knew I have been a vegetarian for years, every time he saw me he'd give me a hard time about not eating meat. hahaha. I don't think he ever understood why I didn't eat meat, he probably thought I was crazy.

He was so cute and small, but if you saw him you'd know he was a strong man. He lived a full life. He brought his family here from Portugal when my mom was still a young girl. He had 6 children, 12 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He was survived by his mother and his brothers and sisters. He will be missed.

1982 - Grandpa & Me

Mario Goulart Vieira

In Loving Memory of Mario Goulart Vieira

June 26, 1936 - September 14, 2008

My Grandpa Vieira, one of the cutest, funniest, and strongest men I've ever known, passed away in his sleep this past Sunday. I can't talk about it much right now, but I'd like to thank my amazing friends who have kept my family in their thoughts and prayers this past week. We will be heading to San Jose tomorrow for the rosary and funeral. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts as this will be a very trying time for our family. We love you all.

- The McDonald Family

Tunnels and Taco Bell

On a lighter note, I get an extreme amount of happiness from watching these two little girls play together. They have a lot of fun...and even when they get into a "fight" over something they are still adorable. Here are a few pics from their playdate today.

Watching Monsters Inc.

Eating Cheese Roll-Ups

Hanging out in the hallway.

They were hugging...but things got weird.

Ella = out of control cute in this picture!

Little Name Dropper

Owen's Shower

So the baby showers have come and gone. Today I realized that I'm starting to get the pre-baby jitters! I'm not even pregnant and I'm starting to get anxious to see the newest additions to my friends' families. Maybe it's because I'm scared that once I get my hands on one of them, I won't want to let go.

Owen's shower was beautiful. Mia did a wonderful job with the decorations. Amy's games were really funny. As for the gifts, I've never seen so many precious baby boy things in my life. All the Rittenhouse family needs now is baby Owen. I CANNOT wait to meet him.

I don't care what she says, Taryn looked stunning.

Ella's picture smile cracks me up every time.

This was a funny moment I caught on camera...Amy in the Care Bear tent with Claire!

UM...this is too cute to handle.

I can't wait to see everyone else's pictures, since I didn't get as many as I should have!!!

Faye's Shower

I just realized that I had cute pictures of Faye's shower that I have yet to put up! (I know I sometimes lag in the picture department.) Faye's shower was so fun. I know the kids really enjoyed it in that cool playroom!

How cute are these pregnant ladies??????

Serious coloring going on here.

That poor dog! At one point, all of the kids were just pounding on that glass door screaming "doggy!!!". I wish I would have caught in on video.

This is cute. Shaun is not above trying to fit into a baby slide and Ella loves it!

Parkie riding a pony!

San Diego!

Hi guys! We're back from our whirlwind three day weekend in San Diego. San Diego is SUCH a great city for toddlers...I never realized that when I lived there. We had so so so so much fun! We tried to fit a lot of short, exciting activities into our short 3 day stay. Olivia had a blast. However, I AM ready for a real vacation (one that involves sleeping in.) Here are a few highlights!

The view from our room. Olivia LOVED looking at all of the boats. She hung out by the window whenever we were in our room.

A petting zoo at our hotel! She got to pet chickens, baby bunnies, goats and pigs. Oh and she went on her first pony ride.

Seaport Village where she went on her 1st carousel ride. She liked it at first, but it started going real fast and she got scared!

We let her run around at The Del...until she had a meltdown...couldn't eat dinner so....

...we got room service...corn on the cob and pizza...she really had it rough!

She went swimming with Papa and he bought her some grape shaved ice. She would not get up until she ate every last bit.

We found a little train in Balboa Park. She wanted to go on it twice!

The beautiful view from Coronado!

Here we are at Il Fornaio in Coronado...the restaurant where Dennis proposed. :)

Breakfast at Cafe 222. Oh she learned how to say "CHEESE" on this trip which is why she has a crazy smile in most of the pictures.

BYE BYE San Diego!