Wine Tasting

Jamie's parents and younger brother arrived last Sunday. Jamie and I worked the first few days they were here so they could adjust to the time difference and just relax. So Friday, we decided to take them wine tasting in Temecula, what better way to relax right?

When we first arrived we walked around the old part of Temecula and did a bit of window shopping before we had lunch. It was about 92 F or 33 C, so it was fairly hotter than our place. Once we had lunch we headed down to the wineries.

My parents joined us for the day. This was the group (minus Jamie who was taking the picture) after our first tasting at the Callaway Winery.

By the 4th winery we needed some food, so cheese and bread seemed to be the best choice.

I had some of Jamie's tastings as I was one of the designated drivers. I think of it as he was my screener and only the better tasting wines were past on for me to taste!

Here are all the Griffins - From Left to Right: George (Dad), Karen (Mum), David (Brother), Me and Jamie

It was a great day and we had a lot of fun. Being able to taste the different wines together really makes you appreciate the different flavors and varieties. I think by the end of the trip the flavors start to blend together but it was a fantastic day. We all bought at least a bottle. Our purchase for the day was Almond Champagne- beautiful!

The Griffin's Have Arrived...

The Backyard Battle

Jamie and I were in the backyard one day after work trying to keep cool and enjoying the evening. We had noticed the hummingbird feeder was going down a lot faster than previously but thought with the hot weather it was just evaporating. But while we were out there we noticed a bird coming to drink about every 5 minutes. This must be a thirsty bird or there may be more than one...

Well, we sat there long enough to find out there were 3 birds all fighting over the feeder. They chased each other all over the yard and they didn't even care that we were sat outside laughing and taking pictures. They finished off the feeder in about 4 days! It was about 4 months since we had refilled it last time.

5 more days and we will be invaded by the Griffins

I'm sure they will enjoy our battling birds:)

4th of July

Okay, so a little bit late but Happy 4th of July!!! We had a busy 3 day weekend but it was a lot of fun. The weather was fantastic, a little warm for some but I loved every minute of it. We had some of my family over for the 4th. As we were getting ready and setting everything up, Jamie opened up his bbq and found this little guy enjoying the warmth. This little lizard didn't want to leave his new home either. It took two of us to finally scare him out of it. It was pretty funny!

We had traditional hot dogs and hamburgers to eat and finished off the meal with homemade ice cream sandwiches. Jamie and I made them the day before, they are really messy to make but they tasted amazing and everyone enjoyed them. We didn't have any left over which is always a good sign of success. Here are a few pictures from the day:

Here is our crazy neighbor, Mickey. He likes to visit and talk, talk, talk. His brother and him live next door and they kept giving us so much food. They sent over ribs, chicken wings, shrimp, margaritas; we had so much food but they wouldn't except no for an answer.

Later in the evening we went to the front yard to watch the neighbors' fireworks. The park was heaving and people are crazy when it comes to fire. Lucky no one was hurt but some people obviously do not read the warning labels. We could also see Angel Stadium and the Disneyland fireworks display. We were pretty much surrounded. It was a great party and we were glad it all went well.

Yosemite.....

When we were up at Shaver lake, Angela and I drove to Yosemite for the day. It was a long 2 hour drive up small roads! The drive was worth it as the views were spectacular. Below are a few pictures:

When we get a chance, we will have to go back and explore for a week. I need more holiday/vacation!!!!!!!!! See you all soon, Jamie.

Dinkey Creek

While we were up at Shaver Lake, I had to take Jamie to a place I spent a lot of time as a kid. We spent a few summer vacations at a place called Dinkey Creek. It's about 13 miles up the road from Shaver and my Grandpa has been taking my Dad there since he was a kid and my Dad took us there when we were kids.

We spent a lot of time playing in the creek. We would bring inflatable rafts to float around in and walk all over the rocks trying not to slip.

We got there early and took a small hike up the creek. It really is beautiful and at this time in the morning there wasn't too many people around.

The rocks are pretty massive!

This is one of the "little falls" we used to slide down as kids. We would wrap black trash bags around our waists and then slide down. They are horrible for your bathing suit as many kids found out when they eventually created holes in them. The water is freezing though. It's all melted snow. We walked across a shallow piece to have lunch on the other side. We had water shoes on so we wouldn't slip but the water was ice cold. It's much colder than I remember but I guess as kids you are just happy to be playing in the water.

Later in the week, my parents, took a day trip to explore the lakes further up the mountain. It was a very steep, narrow one way road. They had to maneuver around cars coming down the mountain as they drove up and again on the way down. My Mom is afraid of heights so it was a challenge for here to make the trip but she did just fine. Further up the mountain there were still snow packs along the road and my Parents packed one of the small coolers full of snow to bring down to us. My Dad created two small snowmen on our campsite. They didn't last very long but it was pretty cool.

Island Life

On Wednesday, we headed out on the lake on Aaron's boat, which his parents kindly let Aaron bring (Aaron's only 20 years old, so it was a big privilege that his parents allowed him to bring it, he did a great job taking care it). Milissa, Mike, Valerie and Aaron found these two islands just a few yards apart from each other while they were exploring on Tuesday. So when they asked us if we wanted to see their islands, we jumped at the offer.

So we loaded up the boat with coolers, towels, fishing equipment and even a bbq for the day. The above picture is the island we used for fishing. My Dad and Mike fished all day long. Remember my Dad didn't catch anything on Monday, he managed to catch 6 on his own while on the island, not too bad. Mike caught two, so it was a pretty good day for them. I think they both needed to relax and enjoy a slower pace.

How did they get to the other island you ask? Well, there was a small sand bank. My Dad is crossing at the deepest part so we all could cross pretty easily without having to swim. So we carried all of their stuff over for them and the rest of us stayed on the other island.

Here is our other island, mainly the swimming island. We set up the bbq and easy-up for shade and the rest of us played in the water and laid out in the sun all day. Lily, Valerie's dog, also came along so she was able to roam the island without a leash.

Some of us did take the occasional boat ride.

Valerie and Aaron got a bit of island fever and rented a tube for the day... Milissa and Jamie joined in on the fun as well.

Classic!

The water was a bit cold but it got pretty hot by mid-afternoon so it felt really nice to jump in. Even Lily, Valerie's lab, was in and out of the water all day. She did get a bite on the tail which swelled up a bit but she still had fun in the water and made it to the other island to be with the guys fishing.

The water wasn't too deep around the island until you ventured out further, we mostly waded around and got a much needed tan.

Valerie preferred laying out on the boat rather than the sand.

This picture was actually taken the next day. This is what vacation is all about!