Something's gone awry....

So something is up - the last twelve months of Whiteside activity is not entirely showing up here. Trust me, we traveled, we laughed, we played, we ate, we ate some more... and there is photographic proof.

Somewhere, in the magics of the internet.

It's just not here right now.

So check back! At a day and time in the near future that is convenient for you!

Until then, eat your vegetables, soak up sunlight whenever you get the chance, and be good to each other.

Lots and lots and lots of love-
!EFGO!

J & B

My sweet sis J did indeed marry B. As proof, I offer the following photos:

My grandma, with Fi and O and cousin V:

My oh so darling O:

One of my favorite photos - my aunt L and Fi, with O giving me a smooch in the background: 

O hamming it up at brunch the next day: 

But who am I kidding, these two are hamming it up too...: 

Sacto Farmer's Market

We went to the Sacramento farmer's market early one morning with my aunt L. Here are L and Fi, both being ridiculously cute as well as selecting flowers.
 

Mama and O being quite serious.

We love farmer's markets!

Califiona in July

 We drove down to Califiona for the Fourth of July holiday, mostly to visit family. My sweet sis is getting hitched in September, and they want to have their patio complete as the wedding is happening in their backyard. We came to help! 

 My awesome G came out to give a hand cleaning old bricks even though he had a nasty summer cold. What a brother-in-law!

My sis excited that we are all working on her patio in 115 degree heat! Okay, it got that hot later in the day, that is why we were up at 6!a!m! to work on this in 85 degree heat. Us Northwesterners are simply unprepared for the heat that is Sacramento....

B calming setting the bricks...

 Once we were done with the patio, we headed out to view the parade in East Sac. I even managed patriotic colors for the kiddos!

After the parade,  we went to a neighborhood BBQ, that just happened to have an inflatable water slide. This is unheard of in the PNW, but so glad they did, the kiddos loved it.

Proof: Fi is in heaven:

B and O heading to the line...

Yeah, these two are about to get married. Can you tell??

Love.

Then, there is this extremely proud mama - I mean look at these two. I love these monkeys.

Papa and O went down the slide together, they were both soooooo excited!

And my oh so darling girl. I mean really people. It is crazy how much I love this sweetheart.

Hurray for the Fourth of July!!

Tia gets married!

 So I had the esteemed pleasure of going to Spain in May to witness my best friend get married.

We visited Barcelona, Zaragoza, Villanua, and Madrid - amongst other places in the 14 days I was there. Plus - I got to see my bestie get married in her sweetheart's mother's village, as well as celebrate at a hotel in Villanua with all sorts of family and friends.

Here she is with her sister J and J's husband, T.

At a public market in Barcelona.... T got meat on a stick, photo as proof:

Walking the streets of Barcelona, we came across this bike:

Lunch and dinner always includes a beer....

And we went to THE cathedral, of course...

Amazing. So lucky to be a part of such a fantastic party.

Si si si!!

Ballet!

Fi and A have been taking ballet classes and had their first recital! They did such a great job... I tried to load the video but it would not cooperate with me, will try again soon.

Lanterns!

We went to see the lanterns at Greenlake. A team of volunteers place lanterns all around the path of Greenlake, and we set out to enjoy the lights with our good friends.

Alas, it was too cold and there were so many people out (wearing their holiday cheer, decked out with blinking lights and bells and whatnot!) that we had to call it before getting too far around. We headed back to their house to enjoy some cookies and drinks. The girls dressed up while O cooked.

We'll try again next year!

A million lights!

O is absolutely talking up a storm, he is so proud of his ability to finally communicate what he is thinking/feeling. One of his key phrases this season is, "Lights!!" which he proudly proclaims any time he sees a twinkling light. We went to Warm Beach Camp this winter to see the lights; there were so many he stopped his announcements!

They also had pony rides. This was a first for O and Fi, although A had been once before. Fi screamed her head off the entire first loop - the guy leading said it was fine, it wouldn't spook the horse. Snowflake did a great job, and Fi finally calmed down. Then she proceeded to request 8 more loops. We had to pry her off the horse.

O, on the other hand, sat on that horse, grabbed the pommel, and said, "Lets go!". We also had to pry him off the horse after 5 loops.

A loved it. She did a great job!

Family portrait in red lights....

Fi and A, best buds...

A brave enough to sit on Santa's lap. Fi wouldn't have it.

Roca Partida!

G and I took a trip to Roca Partida, of the Socorro Islands in Mexico to go diving. We took a boat 280 miles south of Cabo san Lucas and this is what saw....

Endless sky, flat horizon, and a tiny little rock formation.

We also found lots of sharks and manta rays and new friends and relaxation. It was delightful!!

This is what Thursday night looks like...

 Tickle fest. Major tickle fest.

Halloween 2012

For Halloween this year, Fi dressed as a princess and O was a penguin. Love this kiddos!!