A Rodeo in San Diego...who knew?

Our friends Hugh and Jennifer invited us up to their house today for dinner and a stop at the rodeo first. The girls were very excited about this adventure and Allie was asking all day when the "radio" started. We have just been to one other rodeo at the Kitsap County fair which was a pretty big event by rodeo standards. This one was much smaller in Poway, CA. I honestly have to say that I find rodeos a little disturbing. Now, don't confuse me with a member of PETA but it is hard to watch calves being tied up, wrestled to the ground and bucking horses that must be bucking for a good reason (like they are being hurt before they come out of the shoot). At this rodeo we saw an event that was called mutton busters. This is where small children ages 3-5 ride bare back on a sheep until they fall off. The girls (Lauren, Clara, and Allie) none-the-less had a great time watching all the activity.



Dinner on the other hand was really excellent at the Winkels house. Hugh prepared cedar plank salmon with a potato and carrot mash and a really fresh delicious salad. They are a part of a farm co-op where they get a box of fresh produce weekly from Be Wise Ranch. I made a chocolate silken walnut tart with vanilla ice cream. It is always so fun to get together with friends for dinner. Thanks Hugh and Jen.

Farewell to Stephanie

Our skipper and his wife and family are leaving and heading to Newport, Rhode Island for the Navy's War College. I think that is where you go to learn how to fight a war. They are leaving us in a couple of weeks. The wives and significant others from the squadron got together to say farewell to Stephanie. We ate at a really great Mexican Bistro in Hillcrest. They had table-side guacamole and $2.00 margaritas to boot.

Red Bull Air Race

The Red Bull Air Race came to San Diego this weekend. We didn't know too much about it, but I guess this is a pretty big deal internationally. This is one of only two stops in the US. We rode bikes down to the ferry landing to watch these planes fly REALLY low over the San Diego Bay. They could have only been about 50 feet above the water at times. The girls enjoyed watching them and had a good time wading in the water. Today by the way was our first rainfall since moving here the middle of April.

We are being fumigated

Last week half of the units in our complex underwent fumigation for termites. Chad was out on the balcony smoking a cigar while this was all being done (not sure how smart that was). When I went to light the grill, I was hoping none of the chemicals were leaking from the tent (not sure how smart that was either).



We are getting our unit done Monday-Wednesday. We have to take out all of our food, bedding, and anything that we would ingest (i.e. medicine, vitamins). Luckily our fantastic neighbor Ray is going to let us put our things in his garage and fridge while this is going on. We will be headed to the Navy Lodge on North Island to stay while the chemicals are doing their work. Hopefully the infestation of moths I brought in with the flour don't survive the Vikane.

Coach Daddy

Today was Lauren's first soccer game and since Coach Marc was out of town, Chad stepped up and was the coach. Her game was at 8:00 which I thought was a little on the early side. They play three on three soccer on two fields with refs that looked to be about 10 years old. The team did really well considering how chaotic practice has been. The other team we played was outstanding and if we had been keeping score probably beat us 20-3. One of the three goals though was scored by Lauren. She was so excited to score and got high-fives from her teammates. Allie and I cheered from the sidelines.

Now it is Allie's Turn

Today Allie started preschool. She was excited to say the least. I didn't have to worry about her starting to cry as I dropped her off. She asked me for a quick hug and kiss and off she went with Mrs. Marty to find some friends to play with. She is in "school" 2 days a week from 8:30-1:00. It was weirdly quiet at the house today with both Lauren and Allie gone. I guess this is something I will get used to.

Wine Tasting in Santa Barbara County

With Chad having a four day weekend we knew we wanted to take an overnight trip somewhere...but where was the question. Finally, we decided on going wine tasting. We have taken the girls to several tasting rooms in the past so they are versed on what this is all about (bubbles, drawing, picnics outside, their own drink tasting).

We left Sunday morning around 7:30 and had an easy trip up to Santa Barbara. Chad is very patient with me while I had a "stop" to make at a taco shack that Julia Child used to frequent during her last years living in Santa Barbara. Lunch was delicious and we continued up to Los Olivos where the wineries we picked out are located. We were a little out of practice in dealing with the temperatures as it was close to 110 degrees in the valley. Crazy how just 20 miles west on the coast it was only 78. We visited several wineries and had such an incredible time. The girls were fantastic during our adventure. For dinner we stopped at an outstanding restaurant called Los Olivos Cafe (which is featured in the movie Sideways). We spent the night at Vandenberg AFB. My favorite winery was Beckmen Winery and here is a shot of their land.


Mom and Dad had a fantastic day and I think Lauren and Allie didn't have too bad of a time either. We will be planning a trip back before we leave San Diego.