July 4th

Even though she isn't yet two years old, Ava is very patriotic and enjoyed her second Independence Day by getting dressed up in red, white, and blue, and waving her flag.

Even the Founding Father's took time out of their days to have some fun, and Ava honored them by playing outside and enjoying a popsicle.

Strawberry Picker in Training

Most people think of Irvine as a giant suburb - which it is - but Irvine was once ranch and farmland, and some of Irvine's agricultural heart remains.  At Tanaka Farms - a family owned, organic farm - you can take a guided tour of the farm and try some of the fruits and veggies grown there.

The tour starts off on wagons pulled by a tractor, and our guide explained how the farm works and what was grown on the farm as we drove around.  We stopped several times to try out some of the fresh produce including lettuce, purple carrots, onions, and tomatoes.

Our main purpose in coming to Tanaka Farms was to pick the strawberries.  Each older child and adult gets a basket, and as our guide said, you can fill your basket and you can fill your tummy.  And boy did we fill our tummies.

 

The farm is now onto watermelon picking and in the fall they offer pumpkin picking.  We will certainly be back. 

Family and Friends

One of our favorite weekend activities is visiting with family and friends.  In the last couple months Ava we've seen lots of friendly face - both old and new.  We don't always have our camera with us, but here are a few of the people we've seen.

We saw Grandpa Cruz up in Northern California at our Cruz family reunion.

Great-Grandaddy lives in Northern California and has a big back yard that is perfect for running around and playing.

Grandma and Grandpa stopped at Grammy and Poppy's house in Torrance as part of their California roadtrip, so we got to take a big group photo.

Our friend Carly visited from New York, and we met at the Santa Monica pier.

And, of course, Ava's best friend is the one she sees every day . . . Mommy!