Showers and More Showers!!

I've always said we bring extreme weather with us when we go places...well, today, it's RAINING in San Diego!!

According to the people who live here, it "never" rains in San Diego. The present weather is apparently due to the hurricane in the Pacific, Ceilia, who is really churning up the water and bringing this unusual weather. The John Deere tractor weather vane is really moving this morning. Hopefully the weather will clear later today, when we're supposed to go to the cottage at Camp Pendleton for a campfire.

The last of the family arrives today as well. Brother J, who was supposed to have arrived yesterday with his crew, blew a tire in New Mexico, so their journey was delayed for a day. We'll also have the always-anticipated family photo today, and open the time capsule from the last reunion, which took place at Gma and Gpa's lakehouse in Ohio, after Cousin JM's wedding, 2 Junes ago. So much has changed since then: the newborn baby that had been born June 10 that year is now 2, and so cute!! He has the Skipper wrapped around his little finger. We've moved, Gma and Gpa have moved, Cousin RD is pregnant and due in September, and the little 2 year old is anticipating the arrival of a new baby sibling in November, just to name a few happenings.

So the shower that was more fun than the present rain was the baby shower for Cousin RD yesterday afternoon. After worshipping at M & D's (and Cousin KT's) church, we girls headed to Gma and Gpa's place. We played a game where we had to look at candy bars melted and squashed in cloth diapers and guess what candy bar was in each one. That was one that I'd never done before, and it was more than a little disconcerting...baby bottle bowling was fun, though I'm certainly not proficient, and of course the ever-popular Guess What Baby Food is in the Jar game was entertaining. The very best part about it, though (aside from our niece getting some really great baby stuff) was the gourmet cupcakes!! I think my favorite was the hummingbird, which was banana-nut cake base with with pineapple and cream-cheese frosting and other stuff that was really yummy. There was also a s'mores one.

RD's husband fortified us with some really yummy pesto pizza last night for dinner, and the Professor's sister's husband made his famous guacamole just in case starvation set in later.

In preparation for the campfire this evening (which is also a celebration of the June birthdays: Gilligan, 2 year-old's, and RD's husband's) Gma and KT had a project of having the kids make birthday cookies for the party. There were some very creative offerings, as well as lots of sticky fingers. I think my favorite was Cousin BWE's (I should clarify that when I say cousin, I mean that they are my children's cousins, our nieces and nephews). She created a watermelon design on a duck. Skipper's UmpaLoompah was interesting, as well.

I spent the morning baking a Red Velvet cake for the pregnant lady. Hopefully it will be sufficient--I was at a bit of a disadvantage because I needed to use a hand-mixer. Tomorrow we head to Legoland; then Wednesday we head out for our next leg of our journey, to Monterey!