SPRING IN SAN CLEMENTE!

I know all you people in the cold and frozen East and North don't think we have Spring in California. Nine years ago we made a little excursion to San Clemente because we had been tipped off that there were some great new homes for sale. As we drove up Via Del Rio and turned on Vistazo, we saw the most beautiful green and yellow hills with a few houses nestled at the base of them. I have often said it was the yellow hills that made me fall in love with the house we bought and watched be built. Some years these hills don't get green and yellow, but this year they are blooming in full force. 

It is just mustard weed, but for a few weeks it is beautiful.

These are blooming all over and I hardly  remember them.

I am very grateful for the beauty of where we live.  When I stop and look around it is our own version of Spring.  True we have things that bloom year round.  Our grass and many of our trees are green all year.  But as it warms a little, as the sun shines a little longer, and it rains now and then, our beautiful San Clemente becomes even more beautiful.

I love the bouganvilla.  It is everywhere and radiant

Everything is blooming in profusion. These are all just on our street.

I also love the bird of paradise that does so well around here.

Beautiful pots full of flowers spring up everywhere.

Then there is the wildlife we see around here.  Alan spots the deer as we round the freeway from San Juan Capistrano over to San Clemente.  We have seen deer on our hills on our street lately, but not often.  What we do have is a resident road runner.  One morning he was even in our backyard.  I snapped him on the fence.

We see him most at the corner in the first picture. 

But I snapped him yesterday as I pulled out of the driveway.

We also have quail around.  This one hopped up on the fence and watched us swim last weekend.

These critters are a nuisance, since they have been so plentiful around here.  They are cute however, and it feels like you live out in nature with them hopping in front of you daily.

Can you see this hummingbird?  He was too fast for me to get him in detail.  We love these little birds we have buzzing all over the place.

Of course, there are lots of the domesticated wildlife around here.  This is Bailey.  When he sees us in the morning, he refuses to move until we arrive and give him a little attention.

Our morning walks along these beautifully kept walks are sometimes breathtaking as

the morning sun hits the mountains, or causes the clouds to glow "sky-blue pink."

Palm trees and evergreens are always Cali beautiful.

One of the things I love so much about this San Clemente home is the view I have each day.  I keep my blinds open round the clock so I can see this out my window.  This time of year it is the most beautiful.

Can you see the faint line of the ocean on the horizon? Some days San Clemente island shows up, but not often. It usually shows when the Santa Anas blow all the fog and clouds out to sea.

We love all we see from any side of our house.  We love San Clemente at any season.  But, oh we love the green hills for the time we have them.  A little more rain please.

HURRAH HUNTER!

Hey!  Hunter Alan Hernandez turns 5 years old today.  5 is such a great age.  You get to start kindergarten.  You learn to ride a bike.  You can play at a friend's house for hours.  You don't take naps anymore.
Here are a few things I love about Hunter:
1.  He has so much enthusiasm!!  Enthusiasm for just about everything and everyone

2.  He is so friendly.  Take him to the park and he has a new friend within minutes.

3.  Hunter loves to swim.  He is really a fish in the water, I think.

Hunter, 1, gets a dip in the pool.

Hunter with his mom, Cathy.

3.  Hunter is very coordinated.  He learned to walk very young and to run before most kids could walk.  He is naturally very athletic and physically capable.

4.  Hunter has very advanced soccer skills. Does that surprise anyone?  But to be able to kick the ball with your laces and score goals against older kids when you are 3 and 4 is amazing.

5.  Hunter learns what the rules are and tries very hard to follow them and sees that everyone else does, too.

6.  Hunter adores his little sister, Isabella.  His only problem is that he wants to love and kiss her more than she wants.

7.  Hunter has always had a special relationship with Papa.  Since he was very little he definitely preferred Papa.  Maybe that is because his dad, Mao, has such a special relationship with Papa.

8.  Hunter is a very smart boy and learns quickly.  He loves to have a notebook with him to do his work in.

9.  Hunter loves his family and wants to do what they tell him.

10.  Hunter already can speak and understand some Spanish. What an advantage to be bilingual.

We love having Hunter visit us and keep us entertained.  Hope we get to see him soon.

Happy Birthday, Hunter!  We love you.

Company For the Holidays

What a great holiday season we had!  The Harris family came for almost three weeks.  We had to share them a little with Todd's family, but we had them the most.  Sunny and Steve were scheduled to also come and stay at the beach house, when we were surprised by the Toblers arriving also for a week.  They had arranged with friends who had a wonderful beach house in Laguna so they stayed in luxury.  Now all we were missing were Sam and Lindsay's family in NC since Ruby had just been born and Mao and Cathy's little group because Mao was in Colombia.  What that meant for us was:

Cousins performing on the stairs as Sunday dinner winds down.

Many moments to cuddle on the couch.

Games with Aunt Ashley in the living room.

Musclemen performing on the table.

Lunch at Ruby's Laguna to celebrate Jessie's birthday

Cousins posing for the camera--or not (broken camera can't focus)

Group excursions to the beach and tidepools.

Fabulous talent show acts:

It might be Dec/Jan but there is always swimming with this group!

Snack time, cousin time.  Kayla and Kate

One Adults Night Out

Early morning balloon rides

Evening at the beach

A little football

Babies at the beach

Bonfires and birthdays

Best friends and sunsets

Then baths, jamas, and a story

Then crash on the couch before bedtime.

We love the chaos, the fun, the togetherness.  We hated the good-byes.  We never know when so many will be all together again.  I hope it is soon.  Family is what it is all about.