Here is the slideshow from our meetings with our Xanga friends on the way to and from our cruise.

The first meeting was a dinner meeting with Tim and friends in the Irvine area.  On the way back we met with Kenny Ahn, his cousin John and Victor. We had more time that day so we spent time walking around the Promenade in Santa Monica wheer we had time to check out the locals.

I’m working on the cruise pics and will have those to post up in the next day or so.

It was so much fun to meet everyone!
Now we need to have you drive up to our area!!

 Wow – what a week! We had so much fun on our trip…

We drove down to Southern California and stopped in Irvine to meet up with some Phranga’s
(Photographers + Friends + Xanga = Phranga’s).

We have more pics once I’m done editing everything from our vacation but I wanted to get a couple posted up.

Tim put the meeting together and there were several people waiting for us when we showed up at the restaurant. It was so much fun to meet everyone! We have more pics, but here is the group shot we took (after Tim finished negotiation with mall security to let us take the shot…)

left t right in the back is David, Lindsay our daughter, Me, Janet, John his wife Susan and baby Noah, Matt and his fiance Joy, Brian our son, and in front is Tim and Victor 

We then drove on to San Diego and the next day boarded our ship for the 5 day cruise to Mexico and back. The weather was perfect – 90 degrees every day - 45 in the morning and 45 in the afternoon….so not what we were expecting but we did have one good warm day in Cabo.

Here we are on the boat getting ready to leave: I dont think anyone was happy about it except maybe me cause I was ready for home. Plus the camera was set on timer so perhaps no one was ready except me of course! lol 

Then on our way back home we stopped in Santa Monica and met up with Kenny Ahn, his cousin John and Victor (who drove up again to meet with us – thank you Victor!!)

After treating us to an amazing lunch at a restaurant Kenny picked out we went over to the 3rd St. Promenade to walk around – it was great to just walk around and visit.

Kenny decided to make a button for himself
to wear at the next wedding he shoots:
 

Then Kenny was drawn to this cart to see what they had to display.
Unfortunately they didn’t have his color or his size.
 

We’ll post more up in a day or so, but thank you to everyone who drove out to meet us in Irvine & Santa Monica - it was such a pleasure to see old friends and meet new ones!

There are so many shots I want to post up, but you’ll have to wait!
I need to get them edited and into a couple slideshows to post up.

We interrupt this blog to bring you the latest news on the Lydell Fam Adventure!

We will return to our regularly scheduled programming after all of our Southern California Xanga friends have had a chance to look at this and post up to let us know who is coming and who isn’t.

Don’t miss the last post we just put up with Kelly and Tim’s slideshow from their engagement session – be sure to look at it and post up your thoughts!

Here are the details:

As you know from some of our past posts, we’re trying to meet as many of our Southern California Xanga friends (and other friends – yes, we have friends outside of Xanga…) on either side of our trip down South. Here is the current plan:

THIS SUNDAY, JANUARY 20TH:
We’re headed to Southern California on Sunday the 20th. On the way to San Diego we’ll be stopping in Irvine for dinner. Tim Park has been coordinating this and suggested we meet at Pat & Oscars Restaurant which is located in the Marketplace. If you need more info or want directions post up on Tim’s site so he can get back to you. We plan on being there around 6 PM. Don’t be late and someone bring a camera!!

SATURDAY, JANUARY 26TH
On Saturday the 26th on our way back up we’re stopping to meet Kenny Ahn at the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica. After a cruise we’ll need to get a beach fix.  We’re planning on being there around 1ish, but that depends on how fast we get off the boat, get to our car and get on the road.  If you want to meet up, post a comment on Kenny’s site he can include you in any plans!

We hope you can come out!

Hey there all you SD/OC/LA (sounds like a disease…) Frangas!*

As you know from Kerri’s last post we’re headed down south this weekend to start out vacation! (You can click on the link to see it ’cause you know how hard it is to scroll down…)

We’ve talked to so many of you through Xanga for the past several years we feel like we know you! But we’d love to meet and break bread with you on our way down to San Diego.

We’ll be in the LA/OC area next Sunday the 20th and we want to set up a place for us to meet for dinner before we head on to San Diego that night.

I’ve been talkng to Tim Park about setting this up. (He’s been great to give me suggestions as well as help us geographically challenged people understand how big and vast the LA/OC/SD area is.) Before we set up a place to meet we’d like to know how many are able to meet for dinner this Sunday evening. Depending on who is available Tim will help us find a place that would work best for everyone.

If you’re available next Sunday night for dinner, then post a comment letting us know. Please also put where you are located – it will help me when I look at a map!

We hope to see as many of you as possible!!

*Friend & Xanga = Franga!

First of all I want to thank all of you

for all your heartfelt wishes and prayers for my health. I have been taking care of myself and watching the stress and other things that wack my health. Your love and support has gotten me through some pretty down days.  I am feeling so much better and realizing I have to encourage the good things and watch the not so good things in my life and take it a day at a time. What a difference a week makes.

Last year we signed up for a photography cruise which is this next Monday! 

It leaves out of San Diego for Mexico…never been to Mexico before….

What better time to take a cruise than at this moment in my life. I am looking forward to warming my bones a bit and just hanging out. If I want to take pictures I can and if I want to sit and read or sleep…I can! But I am planning on walking as much as I can as I am tired of sleeping and laying around because I hurt. This is going to be one of those turning point months for me. I have several things I am doing to make sure I dont have a month like Dec./Jan. again! what a painful way to end the year. But what a way to start a new year.

Whenever we leave I hate leaving the doggies but since they cant come we did the next best thing and got a housesitter so they will be well loved and cared for so I wont need to worry. Worry is such an enemy of our well being!   

We are so excited to have our kids come with us again (took them to Alaska with us in ’05). Since they are employees in the business and this is a business expense trip (photography cruise) this will be fun! We are also planning to map out our year, businesswise, personally and individually. We are gonna talk about our hopes and dreams and our plans for ourselves and each other and as a family. I get to do this without having the distractions of planning and cooking meals and cleaning! I gotta say that has got to be the best way to do it!

Since we are driving down to San Diego to catch our cruise we are hoping to see some of you! We will be be posting all the info soon so hopefully we can meet up with some of you!

Thanks again!!! I cant tell you how much better I am feeling as each day goes by…. 

So Jay was over today, and I finally sat down to get a shot of him I’ve been planning, but of course he would have no part of it…so here is the first attempt, and I’m sure there will be more.

Have you ever seen the movie “Joe Dirt?” Not a memorable movie unless you are a mullet fan…well there is a wig hanging around our house and when I put it on Jay the first time he just sat there and stared back at me, so of course I thought he would do the same. Well, no. Here is Jay and what inspired me for the shoot:

After that Jay got down on the floor to do one of his favorite things – play ball with the doggies! It’s been amazing to watch the development of his motor skills. He’s gone from swiping at the ball to make it move, to pushing it, and now picking it up and throwing it! Which of course means that he is Josie’s new best friend as he loves anyone who will throw his ball over and over again…

OK, that’s it from Jaydenville for today. I’m back to finish up this paperwork that keeps trying to take over my desk. Gotta get the year end reports done so I can send them off to the taxman.

P.S. Kerri looks MUCH better today. Thank you to each and every one of you who lifted her up, whether you posted a comment or not. Prayer works!!