Celebrated Mia turning 1 year old with a Mermaid-themed birthday party! Clay and I helped make some simple seaweed skewers using some green sour belts on the morning of. All of the under-the-sea-themed foods that everyone prepared came together so well: mermaid mac 'n' cheese, octopus hot dogs, crab croissant sandwiches, starfish sandwiches, hermit crab strawberries, dolphin fruit cups (the dolphins were eating gold fish crackers), oyster & pearl madeleine cookies, grape kelp skewers, and colorful coral reef veggie tray. Everything on the table looked so good, especially with Joanne's teal & purple mermaid cake and assorted mermaid sugar cookies. Of course, the birthday girl looked cuter than ever that afternoon in her new mermaid outfit that Jenny found for her. Mia's grandma Jean made the most amazing photo booth backdrop for the occasion. Such clever use of streamers for seaweed and swimming pool noodles for a vibrant coral reef! Mia was the perfect little pearl to be placed on that light blue oyster. Had a lot of fun capturing her waving around her dinglehopper! Happy 1st birthday Mia! In your first year of life, we've hardly ever seen you cry, fuss, or get stranger danger. You are one of the sweetest babies that your Uncle Clay and I love to hold (and party on the dance floor with at weddings).

A visual recap of our annual Breakaway swimming hole trip through 21 photos (all which just happen to be vertical)! This year, Clay organized a day trip out to Iowa Hill in Colfax, CA per his coworker's recommendation. We spent the day hanging out at two different spots around the North Fork of the American River. The first spot included some small rapids that we took turns riding through on our floaties. This was our mini Raging Waters ride of the day. The second spot we found after lunch was on the way back to our cars along the river. It was an area closer to the Iowa Hill bridge, where the water was more calm, shallow, and perfect for floating around. I was able to snorkel around and find one fish. Overall, I would say that this swimming hole was very chill, mellow, and great for first-timers. Of course, it was also a very beautiful and scenic location by the river. Amazing job, Clay for bringing together 19 people for a fun day of swimming and splashing under the sun! My summer now feels complete.

Walking to Alamo Square to meet up with Dennis before Emily & Josh's wedding!