4th of July

The 4th of July was sheer

perfection this year!

We had a Santamaria family reunion in
the San Francisco area. 

We spent an entire week enjoying

all that the bay area had to offer.

{Pics and more on the trip later}

As for the 4th of July,

we relaxed, went to the outlets in Petaluma, 

had burgers with all the fixings, 

celebrated my niece Sara's birthday {a 4th of July girl!}, 

and finished the evening off with fireworks.

Hope everyone had a great holiday as well!

Happy 1st to Odin!

I can't count all the ways that I love little Odin.

He's absolutely my favorite little boy.

He always makes sure to bring a smile to my face.

He gives me big wet kisses all of the time.

Dances when I put music on.

Always shares his cheerio's with me.

We're the best of pals.

Happy Birthday to the cutest nephew ever!

Aging...

This past Wednesday I turned 34!

Wow...I can't believe it, I'm almost to my mid-30's and you know what....

it feels awesome.

I used to think in my mid-20's the creeping age thirty was the scariest thing ever.

Then 30 came and went and poof I was still Bev.

I wasn't this old, haggard, boring person that I imagined a 30 year old to be.

Over the years I have come to realize that aging is a privilege.

The grey hairs, the smile lines and crows feet I'm beginning to get, 

not sure I'll welcome the saggy ta-ta's... 

but overall I am grateful for another year of life,

another year of experiances, 

joys, 

pains, 

perhaps some more smile lines

and grey hairs.

It means I get to live and change.

Become better and wiser.

Fall down and get back up.

Enjoy the beauty of earth, 

& the simple pleasures life offers.

So here's to 34

I plan on making it another beautiful year.

{Here's some pics of my birthday celebration my roomie organized.  She's a gem and it was a splendid evening with dear friends.}

A birthday celebration.

I had a wonderful birthday dinner last night with my dear friends.

It's gonna be another good year--I can just tell!

Happy Birthday and farewell for now...

Just a little Birthday shout out to my twin brother's Michael & Peter {aka Mic n' Pitt by me}.

These 2 goofballs will be missed around these parts. They are quite the talented lacrosse players and got scholarships to go play for Adams State in Colorado.

I guess that's a good enough excuse to leave.

Until the next happy reunion when we can hear them do this:

One year older, one year wiser.

I just celebrated another year of being born. I am 32 years old.

I know as women we seem to get a little shyer about admitting our getting older. But why be shy? I am getting older, not old. I believe another year of life is always something that should be viewed as a blessing and I do feel so blessed!

My dear friend Brett planned a splendid birthday celebration for me. On Saturday night some of my close friends and I went to The Paris Bistro in Salt Lake to have some delicious cuisine and enjoy one another's company. As I sat at dinner I couldn't help but be filled with joy and gratitude for such wonderful people in my life.

That same feeling of joy and gratitude filled my heart on Sunday night when I celebrated my birthday with my family. My cute mother had been sick with a cold along with most of my siblings. Nonetheless she whipped up the most delicious meal and cake.

So here is to the 32nd year of my life. There are new goals to be met, more wisdom to be learned and more memories to be made!

{P.S. Thanks to all of you lovelies that made it such a special day!}

Feliz Cumpleano's Dad

I think this picture alone explains quite a bit about my dear father and his sense of humor. It's his birthday today and in a bit I'll be heading over to my parents house to celebrate.

A few things about him that make him the greatest are:

• He is like a walking encyclopedia. If you give him a year, he can spout off about who the President was, what wars were going on, music, etc. Us kids are still trying to get him to go onto Jeopardy.
• He has a passion for reading and staying up on current events. He is the one that got me hooked on NPR.
• Quirkiest sense of humor and he laughs at his own jokes.
• Loves to name his cars. When I was in Jr. High my dad bought a VW camper bus. He loved her so much he gave her the name Helga-he thought it appropriate that the name be German since it was a VW.
• He is one of the kindest people I know. If I need anything-I know hands down that he would help me. He is like this with family, friends, strangers. If he sees a need-he is always there to help.

These are just a few of the reasons I adore my dad. He is a man that I admire.

Happy Birthday dad-Love you!