a quick mountain get away…

 We are taking a few days away at one of our favorite spots… We are looking forward to unplugging for the week!

Surf Cup 2025

 We spent last Friday to Monday between Oceanside and Del Mar for Eden to participate with her team in this summers Surf Cup! We were in the super black bracket and the talent and skill was so good! This was the first time for this new team to play together and watching them was such a joy! We made to the last day for the Semifinals.

Oceanside photos:

We also got some team bonding in the midst of all the games:

Del Mar:

We got to see our old teammates! We love these girls and their families!

Our goalie teammate is THE BEST!

We came in second but after this being the only 5 games we’ve played with this new team, we are pretty proud of ourselves, especially in this bracket!

Take me out to the ballgame…

On July 24, we got to go to an Angel game with our Rockharbor staff! It was such a sweet time with our community!

July Books

 Here are the books I read for the month of July:

“The Huntress” by Kate Quinn is a historical fiction. On books like this, I’ve realized that I never do these synopsis’ and recommendations any justice. I decided to pull from other reviews:

“The Huntress unfolds through three gripping storylines that converge into a powerful tale of justice, identity, and survival. Nina escapes an abusive childhood in Siberia to become a fighter pilot in the all-female “Night Witches” bomber regiment of WWII Russia. After being shot down behind enemy lines, she narrowly survives a brutal encounter with a notorious Nazi war criminal—known as “The Huntress”—and becomes the only living witness to her atrocities  . A former British war correspondent haunted by war, Ian takes up the cause of tracking down Nazi criminals. His primary target is The Huntress, responsible for the death of his younger brother. In 1950s Austria, Ian enlists Nina—and occasionally her estranged husband—as allies based on her firsthand. In post-war Boston, 17‑year-old Jordan is intrigued—and increasingly suspicious—when her father brings home a new fiancée, German widow Anneliese. Jordan’s instincts—and photographic sleuthing—lead her to believe her new stepmother is hiding a dark past, which eventually ties her to The Huntress’s hidden identity. As Nina, Ian, and Jordan’s paths intertwine, the trio unravels The Huntress’s real identity—a woman living undetected in the United States. Their relentless pursuit culminates in a tense confrontation near a lake cabin in America, where justice is finally exacted, and The Huntress is forced into facing her crimes.  The Huntress is a richly layered, page-turning historical thriller, marked by bold characters, deep emotional stakes, and a resonant exploration of how individuals seek justice long after the guns fall silent.”

I thoroughly enjoyed this story and I would absolutely recommend it!

I read this Agatha Christie mystery from 1926. I love the character of Hercule Poirot and how, like Sherlock Holmes, the character has become timeless over the last 100 years. Lime most mysteries, I love a good twist, developed characters and a story line that keeps you on the edge of your seat until the very end. This has all of that.

my daily walking view…

 When we are on our vacation, I take roughly the same loop and year after year I get to see the different architecture represented in this sleepy little beach town, as well as just other sights to see:

Some of these houses are so beautiful, but the ones I like the best are the funky ones with character that have a story:

I feel lime we see something new every time we look at this perimeter wall:

And then this house, fairly unassuming but has a sweet story that’s just a few houses down from the above house:

I love seeing these spots year after year…

Cousins then and now…

 We take a cousin picture every year. Each year my heart hurts a little more at how fast time is going…

2012:

And a few from the years in between in no particular order:

2025:

Oxnard 2025

We had such a wonderful time e with our family in one of our favorite places. We started with meeting our parents for lunch at the Collection in Oxnard:

We love this house and it was so fun to be back!

After grocery shopping and getting settled, we headed for Toppers pizza, our tradition of the first and last night of vacation:

We headed back for a quick beach walk and to

play games.

On our second, we decided to stay close, enjoy the house and beach. I got to start the day with a 6 mile walk. I love seeing the homes on the beach path. It really is its own post…

These low keys days are so sweet…

Time at the beach…

We spent a day staying local, thrifting, then paddle boarding, we drew family portraits of each other, then ended the day with a rooftop movie night watching the new Jumangi under the stars.

We spent the large portion of a day exploring Ojai. We walked the Ojai Meadows Preserve then headed into town for coffee and Bart’s Books!

We did a short hike to see the Rose Valley Falls and it was so beautiful!

We ended our exploring at Spencer Makenzie’s for lunch. So good and such a favorite! My order is always the fish and shrimp burrito, Brooklyn style.

We had a date at the Ventura Pier:

We headed home for card games, beach time, and family games after dinner…

We got to go to the farmer’s market:

The tradition of father/daughter dates was in full swing at their favorite local boba spot:

We also went with our dad too:

We had a shark week themed evening of making fun drinks with gummy sharks and we watched “Under Paris” and “Meg”:

We hiked Mugu. Year after year it kicks our heinies but we keep showing up…

We came back to nap, paddle board, fish, spend time at the beach, do puzzles and then spent the evening playing games of Skull King and Yahtzee.

We spent our last day enjoying the beach. It was really sweet to savor every last moment  here together.

This place has held such sweet memories for our family. I will always cherish each and every one of them! Oxnard, we hope to be back someday!