And no she is not crying because we sold her to the Marines.
This weekend we celebrated Auntie Katrina's birthday at the Ventura County Fair. Bea loved just about everything except getting off of the rides. She had walked through her first funhouse and had her first corndog. She even had her face painted. 
I can hardly say how proud I am to see Bea enjoying watercolor painting so much. Should I have bought her an esel for her birthday?
I've never seen her sit and work with such concentration on anything before. So beautiful.
We dropped Dave off at Union Station bound for San Diego on Thursday morning. By Saturday morning we were missing Daddy so much that we decided to pack up the car and head to San Diego for the day.
Bea and I only had about an hour to kill before Dave was done with his shift and the fun could begin. We had a little lunch, did a little swimming (with Ninjas - for real), and played monsters. The above picture is Bea showing her terrible claws. Grrrr!
It was a nice break from the heat and enough of a visit to get us all through the rest of the weekend. Dave's going out of town once more this week but, thankfully (for us - he'll be exhausted) this is not an overnight stay. Here's Dave gnashing his terrible teeth. I can't wait to have my monster family back together.
Dave and I have decided that in a few years, when we're wealthy, and Dave can work from home, we're going to live in Carpinteria. The Motel 6 that we stayed in this weekend was the first place that Dave and I "went away" to, now almost seven years ago. Although it's since been remodled, some things haven't changed. The pool, for example, was still freezing. So, we decided to let the afternoon sun warm it up while we went for a hike. 
We love the Santa Barbara Zoo. We rode the train and saw all of the animals in less than an hour and a half. Perfect timing for a much needed nap.
Here's Bea opening up Dave's Father's Day present - a much needed pair of sunglasses.
Here's Dave getting back to his caveman roots.
Bea loved all the attention she got from her friends Katie and Melissa (and Andy and Jeff.)
We found a sea star with four rays.
Friday was my last day of work for three weeks. After our workdays were done we packed the car and headed up to Jalama State Beach for a weekend of camping with our friends Andy, Katie, Jeff, and Melissa. They had set up camp early in the day so when we finally got there at midnight we were all ready for some sleep. 
Aunt Katrina took us on a hike through Malibu State Park. As soon as Bea saw this rock pool, she knew she'd have to take her pants and diaper off.
This view makes me crazy that we don't leave Pasadena on the weekends. The weather was perfect. Even though the sky looks like it's about to open up, it did little more than mist enough to cool the air.
Here's Dave bravely carrying Bea over the roaring rapids and, below, surveying the trails ahead.
