Palm Springs with the boys

As many of you may know, Jen used to be a nanny to two great little English boys a while back. She has stayed in touch over the years and their friendship seems to move from different corners of the world. The young boys', Bryan and Gabriel, routinely move between homes in Madrid, London, Los Angeles, New York and the newest addition to the homes, Palm Springs. We were invited to join the family for a part of their Spring Break vacation and had a fantastic time. There were lazy days lounging by the pool, filled with lunches, dinners and games of football with the boys. It was nice to take it easy and disconnect for a bit, as I've been working like a mad man lately.

 Backyard garden with heated pool

 Beautiful living room

 The surrounding mountains with snow and desert like floor were a nice contrast.

Eager to reclaim a little of our Parian tans. 

 I could have stayed there all day.

 Lots of love for her little men

 Jen and Andrew take on the champs Bryan and Tony.

 Gabe was fond of the white horse

 Haven't been on a horse in close to a decade...

 Ole!

Jen and Gabe

Someone's having a bad day

Louloudi got bit by a pit bull at the park a few weeks ago. There was a little blood and a little whimpering, but we cleaned her up and put a little neosporin on it. It healed quickly and we didn't think much of it.

Turns out there was a little festering rash that Louloudi has been picking on at night, as she does not scratch herself during the day, and it has spread across the back of her legs. While barely visible unless you are an inch away, we took her to the vet to check it out just in case.

The vet said that she had an infection that hadn't healed fully from that bite, so she got a quick shave, a little ointment and is on doggy steroids to help with the itching and to gain a little weight. While the vet was down there, she mentioned that Loulou had backed up anal glands. Most dogs secrete this normally while doing their business, but not all, so Loulou got hers "activated," which equates to about a months worth of farting all at once. A little stinky to say the least...

Here's our little stinker sporting her new kicking head gear.

In lighter news, here is how I usually begin my mornings when Louloudi tells me it's time to take her to the park.

And here is how she usually comes back happy as can be until the inevitable thrice weekly baths.

Pretty sure both our mothers can see the resemblance....

Ketchup: Life with Liebels II

So, my blogging took a back seat to a frenetic pace of work lately, as well as, my inability to carry my camera around with me anywhere.

On March 11th, Jen, Louloudi and I took a trip to go down to my sister in Julie's in Bakersfield for little Jack's 2nd birthday. Although, he looks closer to 4, the little guy was surrounded by family and fun for a great weekend. My dad even flew in from Kentucky on Saturday and drove the 4 hours to Bakersfield. Jen anxiously awaited the little nieces attention and after a day had won them over with a series of fun games, pranks on Stu and plying them with treats to give Louloudi.

More great pictures for the related event on my sister's far superior blog. 

 Jack and Louloudi had a unique interest in each other.

 We never thought LL would cause any problems and she was super well behaved and accident free.

 Zoe and her favorite mode of transportation. I think she missed me a little. 

 Jen fit right in with the easy going nature of the weekend. 

 Athena actually took about 80% of the weekends photos. Just look for the shorter angle an more artistic flair in the following photos, which I whittled down from about 200 pictures. 

 Jen and the girls played girly games and even painted my toes. 

 The star of the weekend got his Batman jammies and Giants gear that he really wanted. 

 My favorite little comedian. 

 Having fun with the mood mustaches I brought for everyone. Zoe will never cease to amaze me with her humor. 

 Family shot

 The birthday breakfast tradition.

 Athena got a globe and world coloring book from me and we got to explore several new countries. 

 Later on, we took the girls to the park for some exercise. The girls loved taking turns walking LL.

 Jack's grandpa and my dad came for the festivities! He is very loved among the kids and LL. 

 There was a pinata!

 And a warm (not rainy) day, which was nice for a change. 

The festivities carried on in to the night as we made the pinata into excellent party hats and had a fantastic chicken tortilla soup and taco dinner. 

I'm truly lucky to have such a wonderfully close family that isn't too far away. 

Hip Hop Academy

So we don't know too many people in our neighborhood, but that number seems to grow every day. Just the other night I was walking Loulou when I smelled some fantastic pizza and stopped in for a bite. The table next to me struck up a conversation (as is the case when you have a dog as cute as her) and one thing led to another, before we were all exchanging phone numbers. One girl in the group worked as a teacher/ nature specialist at the nearby Academy of Arts and Sciences and invited us to the Conscious Hip Hop night. She got us comped tickets and free passes to the Planetarium.

The Academy of Arts and Sciences is a giant museum right in the middle of Golden Gate park that we have passed many times, but hadn't had the opportunity to go in. A Thursday night with service bars set up around the museum supplying plenty of beers and cocktails, while hip hop sounds throughout the museum from underneath the Blue Whale skeleton.

 Sea urchin petting

 Aquarium you can walk under

 Awesome planetarium

 DJ

 Jen and her bug

 Jellyfish

This museum was recently renovated entirely about 4 years ago and I have to say, it is by far the most impressive museums I've ever been in in terms of style and engagement and definitely one of the best for its exhibits. It's hard to top such museums as the Egyptian Museum and the Met, but this is a new favorite. We'll be back.