You and Your Heart Jack Johnson

Until last night, I had never seen this video. Thanks Huz! If anyone knows how to capture the spirit of surfing and singing at the same time it's Jack Johnson. Enjoy!

Moonie

It's not the sun, but the moon. Which reminds me, avoid moonshine at all costs.

Sunset

The beach was beautiful tonight!

Grandparents

"I'm so lucky Nana lives near me," says Gio.  "A lot of kids' grandparents are gone."

"And by gone I mean they're either dead or they live really far away," explains Gio.

3 Bear Cubs Rescued From Dumpster

This is awesome for so many reasons!

A Goat Named Chuck

"Is that goat or a dog?" asks Gio

The next question, of course, was, "can we get a goat?"

"No, we cannot get a goat," I say to Hubby. "Like we need one more thing to take care of."

An Egg Between Them

Internet, this is the craziness I wake up to on a daily basis.

What are they even doing?

Science Class

"Mommy, are you going to volunteer in science class this year?" asks Gio.

"Sure," I say.

The first science class involved seventeen 2nd graders vigorously banging 17 tuning forks on their desks.

Shoving ice picks into my ears would have felt better.

Note to self: BRING EARPLUGS to science class!

Face-Kini

Internet, I'm ordering one Face-kini in purple, and one in yellow. And with all the money I'll save in sunscreen I can buy a new surfboard. Or wetsuit. Or both.

Share It Maybe

Internet, Cookie Monster has his own version of pop song sensation, "Call Me, Maybe."

Cookie's song is all about cookies, of course.

 "You've got cookies, so share it maybe," sings Cookie Monster.

Laundry Basket Envy

Lego Play

Okay, so I'm probably going to need a 12-step program to get over my obsession with GIFs, animated pictures...... Until then, there will be GIFs!

Santa Cruzin'

GIF

Internet, you may see a lot of animated GIFs on the blog in the following days.

Call Me Maybe Capitola Jr Lifeguards

I love this!

Surfing With Mama

All Photos by the Sensational Sunny Smith

Vinny taking off.

School is back in session, and I miss my surf buddy.

Does his head make my butt look big?

Trader Joes

I picked up a few things at Trader Joe's today. There are two Trader Joe's locations within 9 miles of my house.

However, I chose the Trader Joe's inconveniently located 31 miles away from where I live.

"Why?" wonders the Internet.

Because it was the one with the best waves, of course.

Daddy's Boy

Archery

Ever since the 2012 London Olympics began Gio has taken up all kinds of new sports, including archery. This could get expensive.........

2-0

Lemons

When life gives you lemons clean the coffee pot.

Neighbors

I have the best neighbor.  And I'm not just saying that because she helps me clean.

U.S. Women's Soccer Team Wins Gold

Internet, I upgraded my cable package this morning so I could watch the U.S Women's Soccer team win Olympic gold against Japan in a nail biting 2-1 victory.

What an exciting game! I have not really watched any of the Olympic Games, but I'm glad I saw the U.S. Women's Soccer Team win their third consecutive Olympic gold medal.

Goalie Hope Solo had many amazing saves.

As my Mom says, "She's (Hope Solo) the best. She isn't wearing #1 for nothing!"

First Day of School

Internet, it's the first day of school and Mommy is so happy to have some quiet time and a tiny bit sad to be losing her Summer playmates.

Ah, life is such a contradiction. Good luck boys and happy learning!

6th Grader!

2nd Grader!

Back To School Eve

Everyone is going back to school tomorrow.

Yippeeee!

Miraculously, everyone is also asleep, which is a great thing since we'll be rising at the butt crack of dawn.

Walking The Human

If I don't walk my human a few times a day she gets cranky AND constipated. Especially if she misses her daily dose of salt water therapy.

Lazy Sunday

Sssssss!

"Hey look!" exclaims Gio. "There's a REAL snake!"

Hoping for a stick looking like a snake, I turn around, and look where Gio is pointing. There, in the weeds lies a snake.

"I wonder if it's alive?" I ask.

Vinny walks over to the snake to investigate whether it's alive.

"It's blinking so it's alive," reports Vinny.

We got out of there in a hurry, since at the time we didn't know it was a harmless Gopher snake. Or that snakes don't have eyelids so they can't blink.

Though snakes must have an easier time putting in their contact lenses, except, of course, for the no hands part. That would be hard.

Do Snakes Have Eyelids?

The rest of the way home, all I heard was, "Oh look there's another snake!" Proving that frightening your Brother, and Mother, are as entertaining as seeing a snake in real life.

Jelly Belly Surfs Too

While we were in Napa this past June we toured the Jelly Belly factory, which is actually in Fairfield.

As much as I appreciated the Jelly Belly surf art hanging on the wall, I can safely say I will never eat another Jelly Belly again.

The mistake I made was trying each of the five trillion samples the Jelly staff offered me.

Internet, Jelly Belly makes an accurate tasting mojito, though eating the entire box did NOT get me drunk.

Unfortunately, I tried other flavors like Pina Colada and Margarita.

Jelly Belly flavors are like alcohol.   They should NOT be mixed. Ever. Unless, of course, you're going for that "nauseated on the verge of puking" feeling.

Anyways, if you ever take a tour of the Jelly Belly factory in Fairfield, California stick with one Jelly Belly flavor. And remember it's okay to say "No," to the Jelly Belly bean pushers. As cute and nice as the jelly bean pushers are, this might be challenging for some folks. Good luck!

Tennis Pro

Despite living with a bunch of surfers, Gio has managed to enroll himself in a Summer tennis camp. He's loving it.

And it's a fun reminder me of my days on the tennis courts, before skateboards and surfboards dominated my life..............

Who knows, I might even start playing again? You know for my son's sake and all.

Naked Ladies

It's that time of year, again. Naked Ladies are everywhere!