The Best Day Ever

Remember that amazing day? You were a kid, probably a little one. It was probably a warm, Southern California summer day and you couldn't sleep the night before, because your parents told you they were "taking you to Disneyland tomorrow!" You thought, "There is nothing better than this day!" Well, you were right, until you walked back through those ticket gates, a few decades older, with your little boy in tow, and watched those eyes light up, because he thought, "There is nothing better than this day!"

And guess what. He was right!

A Birthday Wish for Wy...

May you live, laugh, leap, love, and learn.

(And have a ridiculous  amount of fun doing it!)

A Cruise Up The Road

"The best way to honor the memory of someone is to live your life fully." A little advice from Henry Miller-pertinent to my life right about now. 

So-here I am. Living my life to the fullest.

Nothing like a trip up the coast to clear the mind.

Little Sister finished grad school, so we packed up the family caravan and made our way up the California coast. Our destination was the former stomping grounds of John Steinbeck.  

Oh,Monterey.

You are a beauty! Ever since our return, I've been brainstorming ways that we could relocate our brood up to that beautiful town.

I'll let you know what plans I come up with... 

I want to live in this picture!

 With the kids in Grandma's hands, we headed out to Restaurant 1883. All sorts of delish!

...and debauchery.(Welcome back to absinthe. It's gotten a heck of a lot fancier since my days in Czech.)

Hooray, little sister!

Is there anything more beautiful than the California coast? 

If you are ever in need of truly being at peace with the memory of someone, this is the place to come. 
Big Sur. Big Love.

Revisiting the place where it all started, Big Sur-where Pete laid it on the line and proposed. This time, we had some kiddies to share the beauty with. 

 And no family vacation is complete without a black eye. That's right, that's a shiner. My first! Pretty exciting! 

 Spending some time by the Big Sur River

Our Heart

I received some news today. News that hit like a ton of bricks. News that stopped me in my busy tracks. News that knocked me down. My family and I learned that the woman who has been a source of strength for us all- since the beginning of “us”- will not be around as long as we had all hoped she would be.


My brother and I were able to visit with her last Monday. She looked tired, lying in a bed that wasn't hers.  I wanted so badly to take her with me, bring her home. When we made eye contact, the first words out of her mouth were, "How have you been?" She is a woman who never offers less-regardless of the situation. 

For those of you who have had the opportunity to meet my Aunt Jennie, you will agree with me when I say-she is truly a woman of infinite hope, generous love, unimaginable strength, and unsurpassable beauty. The obstacles life has thrown in her direction are unfathomable to most of us. Lucky us. However, Aunt Jennie has the gift of turning life into opportunity to offer more love to the universe. More laughter at family gatherings. More phone calls to check on us and our babies. More patience. More tolerance. More words of kindness. More acceptance. More. Never less. 


She is and has been for a very long time, the matriarch of our family. She is a connection to my past, and to my culture. She keeps me grounded. She validates me. When both of my babies were born, she was one of the first people to call to check on me. Each year, on my birthday, she sends me a birthday card, with a little message written in Spanish. I look forward to reading it every year. This year, she sent it early. As I opened the white envelope, I couldn't help but think, this may be the last time I see Feliz Cumpleanos written out in her freeform cursive. 

She is a confidant to many of us, helping us through tough decisions-guiding us to a clearer perspective. Like my sister says, Aunt Jennie "is our heart.” And it is hard for a family to hear that they are about to loose their heart.

Aunt Jennie, believe me when I say, you have taught me so much as to what it truly means to be a woman, a wife, a mother, a sister, and a friend. 

Thank you for proving to me-again and again-that life is an opportunity. 


I love you. Know that you are today, and will be all the tomorrows that I will ever know-Our Heart.
  

(July 2011-Celebrating the upcoming birth of Liam.
One of our many happy times.)

Om

I just got back from a really great trip. My good friend, Kim, invited me to join her on a yoga retreat up in Napa. 
Napa? Really? Kind 

of hard to say no to that. It was a great weekend that started and ended in San Francisco,  some incredible yoga classes in Napa-oh-and the occasional glass of wine somewhere in the middle. 

I gotta say, no city apartments can top what you can find in San Francisco. This is just a snapshot of what Kim gets to wake up to every morning. Lucky!

Here's to 23 plus year of friendship.

Did I mention it is absolutely beautiful in Napa?

A Date

 One of our last afternoons in Chicago. Li and P stayed home, while Wy and I went on a date to our local coffee shop. I love spending time with this little man. 

No more coffee for you, young man. (I'm kidding.)

Chicago is...

My kind of town.

At almost 8 months old, we thought, Oh my gosh! Have we let Liam get this far without having yet to have been on a plane? By 8 months, Wyatt had already been to Chicago and back twice! So, we packed up the boys, and what felt to be about a million things that seems to accompany them and we hopped on a four hour flight to the Windy City to reconnect with our home away from home.

This little So.Cal family went urban!

About a block form our apartment. I had to stop and capture this moment. My little men in the big city.

Elation at the "L" Station. 

Got a 3 year old you need to entertain? Hop on the "L". Seriously, the best $2.50 you can spend in the city. The Brown Line to The Loop. Quick stop to get a cookie, and then cruise the streets.

State Street.

 That Great Street. 

I just want to say, they do things there they don't do on Broadway!

(One of my favorite images of the city...and Frank Sinatra lyrics.)

Michigan Avenue.

How do I love thee? Count the ways, I shall try. But, I don't think the best counter has yet counted so high.

Raising Some Ruckus at the John Hancock

Our view of the City-Sears Tower and All

"I saw a man, he danced with his wife, in Chicago."

What a town!

This is how I roll in this town.

You have not truly experienced the magic of deep dish pizza until you have spent some time at Pizzeria Due!

A Quiet Moment at the Children's Museum