Like Mommy : Like Kitty

Java Brigitte, what a silly kitty. I guess you could say she takes after her mom (ME!). Thanks to my mom for getting these priceless photos of the "little Java baby". She's gotten so much bigger from her days of clinging on for dear life hanging off the toilet bowl. Now, she's into playing with plastic bags. At least she has good taste to play with a Target bag! She knows a good store when she sees the logo. I've taught here well, have I not?

So below is the unraveling of the events of Java getting stuck in the handle of a Target baggy. Just wait until she does her "Super Cat" impression. I hope one of these days we can capture that. Picture this: a cat with a bag held around her head, running down a long hallway, with the bag flailing like a cape! Yes, it has been done, now if only she would do it on cue!

Just the beginning-

slowly getting warmed up

Where are those big eyes of yours Java?

oop, there we go, I see you!

wrestling the bag - I'm thinking Java has won the fight

This one is prob my favorite, capturing the moment

Thanks mom for the fun pictures!!!! Bet the two of you are having fun at the house playing, while I'm not there!!!!

Let's Go Fly a Kite!

Happy Birthday Christine!!!

To celebrate the end of Christine's 22 years, and to ring in year 23, we were so kindly invited to partake in a dinner and dessert. We all met down at Salt Creek to have a picnic of Pick Up Stix and wine.

The parents enjoying the food and drinks

After the meal Christine had a kite she recently bought. It was an EXTREMELY windy night which was perfect for kite flying. Well, we did get it up on the first try, but it also ripped after its first flight.

Christine and I

After we couldn't really get the kite up in the air, our dads decided to partake in the activity.




Never in this lifetime had I thought I would see my dad and godfather try to fly a kite :-)



After many attempts, we thought what was missing was a tail. From the nearby palm trees, Dan broke off a branch that had a hook at the end. It was perfect to attach to the kite, but unfortunately it was too heavy.

*Nice try*

Our dads: nice enough to carry the picnic basket back to the car...

After the picnic, we all headed over to The Melting Pot for dessert. Christine ordered the large dark chocolate fondue, and a small Banana Dolce de Leche fondue.

Cindy Christine and Dan

Dad me and Mom

the group!

It was a really fun evening, eating chocolate and lots of dippers and enjoying a fine Port. Christine - I hope you had a wonderful time last night celebrating, and there is only more to come!

The confusion must span across cultures...

~~~~~~~

Ah les hommes!!!!!!!!

*C'est si compliqué !!!

*Les hommes gentils sont laids.
*Les hommes beaux ne sont pas gentils.
*Les hommes beaux et gentils sont gays.
*Les hommes beaux, gentils et hétérosexuels sont mariés.
*Les hommes qui ne sont pas beaux, mais sont gentils n'ont pas d'argent.

*Les hommes qui ne sont pas très beaux, mais qui sont gentils et ont de
l'argent pensent que nous sommes uniquement intéressées par LEUR ARGENT.
*Les hommes beaux qui n'ont pas d'argent sont uniquement intéressés par
LE NOTRE.
*Les hommes beaux qui ne sont pas très gentils, mais (malgré tout)
hétérosexuels, ne nous trouvent pas suffisamment belles.
*Les hommes (malgré tout) gentils, hétérosexuels, qui ont de l'argent et
qui nous trouvent belles, sont des porcs.
*Les hommes (malgré tout) beaux, (malgré tout) gentils qui ont un peu
d'argent (et grâce au ciel sont hétérosexuels) sont timides et NE FONT
JAMAIS LE PREMIER PAS.
*Les hommes qui ne font jamais le premier pas ne s'intéressent plus du
tout à nous dès lors que nous prenons l'initiative de faire le premier pas.

**Alors, je pose la question .... Y A T'IL QUELQU'UN SUR CETTE FOUTUE TERRE
QUI ARRIVE A COMPRENDRE LES HOMMES ????**

~~~

Sheesh, MEN!!!!

*It’s so complicated!!

*Nice men are ugly.
*Good looking men are not nice.
*Nice, good looking men are gay.
*Good looking, nice, heterosexual men are married.
*Men that are not good looking, but that are nice do not have money.

*Men that are not very good looking, but are nice and have money think we are only interested in their money.
*Men that are good looking that do not have money, are only interested in our money.
*Men that are good looking, but are not very nice, and are (nevertheless) heterosexual, do not find us pretty enough.
*Men that are (nevertheless) nice, heterosexual, who have money, and who think we are pretty, are pigs.
*Men that are (nevertheless) good looking, (generally) nice and that have some money (and thankfully heterosexual) are shy and NEVER PULL THE FIRST MOVE.
*Men who never pull the first move no longer show interest in us if we take the initiate to pull the first move.

**Therefore, I ask, is there anyone on this goddamn earth that understands men??

Everyone Has His/Her Own POV...

Why did the chicken cross the road?

BARACK OBAMA: The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a change! The chicken wanted change!

JOHN MC CAIN: My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.

HILLARY CLINTON: When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure – right from Day One! – that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn’t about me.

GEORGE W. BUSH: We don’t really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.

DICK CHENEY: Where’s my gun?

COLIN POWELL: Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road.

BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with that chicken. What is your definition of chicken?

AL GORE: I invented the chicken.

JOHN KERRY: Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken’s intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.

AL SHARPTON: Why are all the chickens white? We need some black chickens.

DR. PHIL: The problem we have here is that this chicken won’t realize that he must first deal with the problem on this side of the road before it goes after the problem on the other side of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he’s acting by not taking on his current problems before adding new problems.

OPRAH: Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I’m going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN: We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.

PAT BUCHANAN: To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.

MARTHA STEWART: No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmer’s Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information.

DR SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I’ve not been told.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die in the rain, alone.

JERRY FALWELL: Because the chicken was g@y! Can’t you people see the plain truth? That’s why they call it the ‘other side.’ Yes, my friends, that chicken is g@y. And if you eat that chicken, you will become g@y, too. I say we boycott all chickens until we sort out this abomination that the liberal media whitewashes with seemingly harmless phrases like ‘the other side.’ That chicken should not be crossing the road. It’s as plain and as simple as that.

BARBARA WALTERS: Isn’t that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart warming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its lifelong dream of crossing the road.

ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

JOHN LENNON: Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace.

BILL GATES: I have just released eChicken2008, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your checkbook. Internet Explorer is an integral part of eChicken2008. This new platform is much more stable and will never cra…#@&&^(C%..........reboot.

ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?

COLONEL SANDERS: Did I miss one?

*Welcome Beautiful Seanna Ann Hohl*

Congratulations Matt and Amber. They had their first born child Monday, June 2, 2008. Seanna Ann Hohl was born 6 pounds 8 ounces, and is literally a wonderful bundle of joy. It was amazing getting to meet her for the first time last night. Amber is doing wonderfully, already walking around a bit. She's has a glow that is even more striking than when she was pregnant (which was already stunning). Matt has turned into "super dad" taking care of his little girl, taking charge of the diaper changes and logging the feeding times. She is such a miracle child, and has the most loving and nurturing parents any child could ever hope for when coming into this world.

the beautiful new mommy, and me holding little Seanna

She is such a curious little girl, already trying to make out the shadows in front of her.

I didn't want to let go...

Seanna Ann Hohl

After spending only 4 hours with the new family getting to know Seanna, she already has so many facial expressions. From the scrunching of her nose, to wide yawns, frowns, to smiles. After some discussion last night, we gathered that she has Matt's eyes, and most definitely Amber's hands and feet. But time will tell, all that we know for sure is Amber and Matt have done such a wonderful job bringing this life into the world, and they will be great at this new chapter in their lives. CONGRATS!

Family Weekend in Oakhurst

For Memorial Day weekend, we were invited up to Oakhurst to spend some quality family time. Arnaud, Jessica and Isabella were in town for a wedding, and all the more reason to take the entire weekend and enjoy everyones presence. Mom, Dad and I left at 11 pm on Friday night and drove all night long, with a couple stops here and there. We arrived at 6:30 am to see the little one for as long as possible. The weather was dreary which meant that we all spent lots of time indoors, playing and being silly with Isabella. The day of Saturday consisted of giving Isabella gifts, playing dress up and going to the park for the little amount of time that it stopped raining.

Isabella really enjoyed the fairy dress up clothing we got her. I showed her how to go around and use the wand, tapping everyone on their head. This little one is like a sponge, you can show her something only once, and she grasps the concept.


Nonno was being silly. They had this little "thing" where Nonno was a horse and she got to take a horse ride. Well, evidently she remembered that, and so could not pass up a free ride yet again.




After the "horsing around" it was break time. Arnaud looks a little out of it to tell you the truth.


But Isabella, being the ball of energy that she is, kept wanting to play dress up. Princess Bella is what we came to call her. She would not put her tiara down, constantly taking it off and having someone put it back on her head.




When the rain stopped for a bit, the Colantonios headed out to a park to get Isabella going. She had a ton of fun it looked like, from the slide to the rocking horses to the swings. I got to ride on the swinging horses with her, we had a race too :-) I think she won though...






After prying her off the swings, Nonnina made it too much fun, we headed to the bridge to look at the ducks. Arnaud and Isabella were closely watching.




Once the novelty of the ducks wore off, she being so independent decided to take off, leaving all of us in the dust.


Sunday was more dreary and rainy than the day previous. We really stayed indoors, and read and played.


Isabella definitely love to get dressed up. What a surprise we had when she came walking out into the living room being a showgirl and wearing a hat.




But with all the play, everyone gets tired. The weekend was full of naps, and quiet time. Nonnina and Isabella took a well deserved nap on Sunday afternoon.



Monday arrived and Dad took me on a whirlwind drive through Yosemite. I had not been probably since I was six years old. The views were sensational, albeit cloudy, cold, and snowy! We took a brief walk towards Blackveil Falls, but it was wet and cold (too cold for the clothes we were wearing seeing as they would have gotten sopping drenched). Then we went to Glacier Point, but there was so much snow, and fog, that even walking towards the point, you could barely see where you were walking to. But some of the moments when the fog cleared up a bit, it was stunning.









It was a great weekend to get away, and have a great time with the family.

Pardon the fact that the clips are sideways from my camera:

Isabella chowing down





Nonno and Isabella "horsing" around: