Jackson's Boogie Boarding Video

Our "At Home" Family Vacation

We decided to spend our family vacation doing fun things close to home. There are so many things to do within an hour's drive and it's great to be able to sleep in our own beds at night! Monday we took a drive out to Oceanside and spent the day playing at the beach. It was in the mid 70's (while back in Murrieta it was 100+). Jackson enjoyed hours in the water being pummeled by waves as he rode the boogie board and dug for sand crabs. We all enjoyed a relaxing day at the beach. Tuesday, we toughed 2 hrs. of traffic to drive to Del Mar and the San Diego County Fair. It was the largest fair we had ever been to with hall after hall of exhibits and more food booths than we have ever seen before! We enjoyed the typical fair foods: hamburgers & fries, turkey legs, cotton candy, carmel apples & funnel cake...which of course, we spent an arm and a leg on! For the rest of the week we are enjoying sleeping in and just hanging out together. We'll probably go and see a movie at the cheap theater...go out for frozen yogurt...and on Friday, we'll head over to Irvine for Kylee's soccer tournament. It's only a few miles away from Michelle & Tim's so we'll get to spend the weekend with them as well.

Chagrin Falls, Ohio

Trip to Ohio

The May's "Front Yard"

The Girls fishing at the river

Maria loves to play soccer too!!

Tony, Deb & Kylee flew out to Cleveland Ohio for Deb's niece, Margot's, High School Graduation. They stayed with Deb's sister & brother-in-law, Mike and Sonia May, in their beautiful home in Novelty, Ohio. Kylee loved hanging out with her cousins Maria and Anni and playing with their 5 doggies! (I can't remember all of their names!) Deb's Mom & Dad, her sister Fern & husband Jerry and sister Carol & husband Bruce also joined us at the May's house and we had a great (if not quick!) family reunion. Tony & Deb were pleasantly surprised by all of the beautiful green woods and meadows and gorgeous old homes in the Cleveland area. The weather stayed moderately warm with not too much humidity until the last day of the trip. If you ever make it to Cleveland, make sure to visit Maggiano's Italian Restaurant. The food is wonderful - especially the chocolate cake!! And make sure to include a drive out to Chagrin Falls where you can enjoy the beauty of the waterfalls while you walk from shop to shop, or sit and enjoy a meal at "Your's Truly" (where they serve the best breakfast in town!). Make sure you also stop in at the Popcorn Shop for - you guessed it - popcorn! Not just ordinary popcorn, of course...One more word of advice if visiting the Ohio area: be prepared to driver a little more slowly as the speed limits on most of the country roads are 40 mph - very difficult for us So Cal drivers to get used to!

Deb's Niece Margot

Jerry Nelson on the piano

We had the wonderful opportunity to enjoy a few evenings around the piano and listen to our brother-in-law Jerry work his magic on the keyboard.

I copied this info from his webpage: "Jerry has recorded no less than 20 CD piano projects. His keyboard artistry has been recognized around the world as he has performed on stage with Dino Kartsonakis, Neilsen and Young and Anthony Burger. His solo concerts have taken him to concert stages and churches on all six continents where his artistry demonstrates an incredible range of styles from simple hymn renditions to jazz, to robust, high-energy arrangements of great hymns. In recent years he has augmented his concert schedule which has become increasingly an extension of his passion for missions and a need to touch people where they live. His concerts achieve this goal through a balanced blend of humorous antics, well-designed, “uncanned” musical flow and a sharing of personal insights that leave his listeners not only entertained but enriched in spirit."
Here's a link to his website:
http://www.eaglesneststudio.com/jnhome.html

Here's a few samples for your enjoyment: