Redneck Riviera Reunion

Webbs reunite!

July marked the culmination of more than a year of planning when we boarded a plane for Panama City Beach, Florida for a Webb Family Reunion!  The first and only time I have been able to get together with all of my cousins since we've started having children was at Granny's funeral two years ago.  We loved spending time together so much that we promised to plan a reunion in the coming years, and we pulled it off!

Every member of the Webb family was in attendance for at least a few days, including 9 kids ages five and under, and three more babies on the way.  My cousins and I have clearly been busy procreating these past few years.  It was great to have so many kids around to entertain each other and a good time was definitely had by all.  We spent the week relaxing on the white sand beaches, playing in the pool, eating delicious seafood, and shopping at Pier Park.  Virginia loved her cousins so dearly and is ready to do it again in 2014!

Bedtime stories with Mimi

Our little daredevil road the bumpy banana boat in the Gulf with 5 crazy male cousins.

Virginia and her Lair cousins enjoy a family dinner.

The cousins enjoy the musical talent in the family.

The oldest cousins hit Pier Park amusement rides.

Anna and Virginia on the Pier Park carousel.

Webb women -- Janet, Suzanne, Leslie, Leesy with Virginia, Jenna & Anna.

Mom and daughter on the balcony overlooking the Gulf.

Virginia loves her Aunt Liz & Uncle Dave!

Chaos ensues when you try to photograph 9 kids under the age of 5.  We managed to squeeze 8 of them in this shot!

The moms to be were surprised with a baby shower at the beach!

Hot Fun in the Summertime

Summer 2013 continued to be a blast, as Baby Harvey 2.0 grew bigger and bigger but we kept right on going.  June was filled with family time and home improvements.  In July, we had a Mack family visitor, Eric, who was in California for work for a few weeks.  We were happy to have him at our traditional Alameda July 4th parade and block party.  Here are a few highlights of our summer.

Celebrating Peter's birthday.

Matching dad/daughter hammers.

Showing off her Black & Decker tools to make Uncle Dave proud.

Eric and Virginia wish you Happy 4th!

Fearless four year old on the diving board at the July 4th block party.

Crashing after the 4th ended.

A Day in Monterey

In mid-June, Thomas took a big leap of faith and quit his job of 8 years at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe to go into practice with his father at Harvey Siskind.  He had a few weeks off between jobs to do some traveling, so we decided to take a mini-trip down to Monterey with Virginia as one of those trips.

Since Monterey is just two hours away, we made it a simple overnight visit.  We spent the bulk of our day at the famous Monterey Bay Aquarium, which was a big hit with Miss V.  Then it was off for a stroll of Cannery Row and a visit to Dennis the Menace park.

We spent the night in nearby Gilroy, where we were able to take a swim in our hotel pool the next day and hit the outlet mall before heading back to Alameda.  What a great overnight getaway!

Pirate Virginia and her makeshift eye patch.

Petting the sea creatures at the Aquarium.

Checking out some fish.

Pregnant lady and daughter in a clamshell.

Lunchtime at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Totally cool upside down jellyfish.

Virginia was totally fascinated with how (male) seahorses give birth.

Posing in front of reproducing jellyfish.  Educational and wacky, right?

Wave pools rock.

The Harveys hit Cannery Row!

Cool girl getting some post-Aquarium ice cream with daddy.

The coolest park ever.

Crazy slide with dada.

Where else can you drink water from an open lion's mouth?

Enjoying a seafood dinner in Monterey.

Swimming in Gilroy.

June Weddings

It has been quite a few years since Thomas and I have had many weddings to attend, but wedding season was back for us in a big way this June.  

We kicked off the month with the hometown wedding of dear family friend, Lizzy Cocks.  Lizzy was Virginia's very first babysitter, and was so sweet to invite Virginia to be one of her flower girls.  Virginia totally rose to the occasion, making sure that everyone up and down the aisle was handed a bottle of bubbles to blow at the bride when the ceremony was complete.  She also tore up the dance floor with Uncle Biggie and Uncle Doug.

Harvey Boys & Charlie Cocks rehearsing for their wedding performance.

Happy flower girl and dad.

The beautiful flower girls.

Beautiful bride & her flower girls.

Resting up with Lizzy before the ceremony.

The next week, we had the honor of attending the wedding of Whit Griffinger, a dear childhood friend of Thomas's.  Whit also happens to be the uncle of Virginia's best bud Griffin, so we had a fun weekend with all the families up at the wedding in Boonville in Mendocino County.

Yosts, Harveys & Griffingers.

Griffin and Virginia ham it up.

Griffin and Miss V on the porch at the rehearsal dinner.

Ice cream was the perfect way to end the evening.

This pregnant lady was tough -- nearly 100 degrees at 6 pm!!!!

The happy couple, Whit & Morgan, dance their first dance.

Celebrating in Boonville

Thomas's toast was crashed by two preschoolers who couldn't NOT be in the spotlight too.

Best buddies chilling in the hammock after a fun-filled weekend.

May Days

After our travels to NYC, we laid low for the rest of the month of May.  I kept myself busy on a committee for planning our preschool's end of year spring festival.  We hired a locally-famous singing cowboy, Cowboy Jared.  Virginia clearly didn't like him at all (she called herself "Cowgirl Jared" for the rest of the month after this performance.)

Getting down with Cowboy Jared.

Playing with friends at the Cowboy Jared show.

Thomas and I had so much fun seeing a Broadway show in New York that we kept the streak going by attending another show in San Francisco.  Mary Poppins didn't live up to Matilda, but it was a nice evening at the theater nevertheless.

It's a jolly holiday....

Virginia has pretty much given up on naps entirely, but she did surprise me one day this month with a super-cute passing out on her bedroom floor.

Tired little Worm.