Love and Cake

We had the incredible pleasure of spending the weekend in Santa Barbara with Jeff's family for cousin Brian and Elizabeth's wedding.  It was fantastic.  We stayed in a hotel on the beach with the whole family, easily running room to room, meeting for coffee or drinks.  Very, very fun. 

Marco was pretty obsessed with Joey all weekend, following him around, wrestling him and hugging him.  Luckily, Joey is used to admiration.  He was a very good sport.

Trying to explain a wedding to Marco, I said, "A wedding is when people stand up and say I love you, I love you too, and then there's music and cake."  He was stoked at the prospect.

The wedding was gorgeous and simple, nestled all the way out on the Santa Barbara breakwater, where we gathered for the heartfelt ceremony. As soon as it finished Marco jumped up and said, "I love you Mama!"  Perhaps I left out that really only the bride and groom declare their love.  Ah well, I'll take it!

Marco's review:  "My favorite part was getting to sit in the front on the ground with my cousins, spinning on the dance floor with you Mama, the beans for dinner and eating cake!"

Two girls for every guy

Marco and two of his favorite spoilers, the feeder and the reader. 

6-pack

It worked!  Barbara got a lovely(ish) photo of her six grandchildren at Aunt Marietta's 100th birthday party. 

I especially like the reflection of the gaggle of adults jumping, waving, wrangling and coaxing in the background.  Hee!

Not pictured: consumed piles of torrone, cookies and cake.

Map Point

Marco and Jeff joined me in Seattle after my conference.  We pretty much wrecked it, 4-year old style.  (Alright, we had a pretty great time too.)

 We captained the duck boat tour (note the shoulder boards).

 Added our contribution to the Gum Wall.  Blech.

Played at the waterfront arcade and carousel.

Watched some fish get tossed around and ate fresh fruit at Pike Place Market.

And of course, our own brand of Seattle... checked the local fired pizza hole in the wall.

Yep, Marco really started to get into the Seattle experience.

So, if you're counting, that's our fourth traveled-to state in the past year, :) and the second one Marco didn't get a haircut in. :(

We enjoyed beautiful, clear weather and came home to... rain.  We love Seattle!

The Blonde Cousins

We couldn't miss the opportunity to celebrate Amelia's wedding shower!  Aaaaand.... we love traveling, partying and looking dark and tan.

Marco loved seeing "Uncle Roger" and "Grandma Claudia" (hee!)  Plus, he's a sucker for a blond, so we came to the right place.  Here are some pics of our fun weekend in Oregon with the family.

In typical Cecchin fashion, they took us to check out the local Portland wood-fired pizza haunt...

We were trying to replicate the picture Grandpa Graf took of us many years ago.  It was the wine!  Did I mention Uncle Roger and Aunt Claudia live among the vines?  Now seeing it, I think I was on the left.

We added another state to our out-of-state barber shops.  That's Bubba.  Yes, seriously. 

Amelia's family and friends put on THEE most gorgeous shower.  It was incredible and I'm sure just a taste of what's ahead for Silver Lake this summer.  These fantastic photos are from her photographer friend Sonja, lest you think my iPhone pics were suddenly awesome.

In parting, here's a little proof that we had a lot of fun.

Thanks Oregon!