September already???

I'm at a loss for words...how is it September already? This summer has absolutely FLOWN by! In the essence of time, I'll update you on the big events: OIB, Anna's visit/Phish/Yosemite, our recent move and John's new work gig.

3rd week in July I was able to head back East for the annual Sykes family beach week at Ocean Isle. This year was a bit abbreviated b/c I'm low on vacation but it was so great to see the family and get to visit with Avery and Ellie even if it was only 4 days. Avery was just a month old at the beach...she did a whole lot of sleeping. JT sadly wasn't able to make the haul, but next year will be a different story. Enjoy the pics, they're a bit biased towards the babies, but I couldn't' resist!

Ellie and her Momma, Amber

Baby Avery. The picture didn't want to rotate, sorry.

Grandma and Avery

Happy Family: Ken, Amber and Ellie

Happy Family: Momma & Daddy

Happy Family: Jenn, Paul & Avery

The gang, sans John :( but still a Happy Family

First week of August Anna flew out for a Cali visit. As soon as she arrived we immediately departed for San Fran...we had a date with the boys from Phish. John, Anna, Gene and I had an awesome time. The show was great and afterwards we headed due East for Yosemite. We camped 3 nights in Yosemite and couldn't have asked for a better trip. Amazing vistas, good weather, and great company. It re inspired me want to explore more of the great national parks of the West. The Sierras are just awe inspiring. To view all our pictures check out the below link:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0EcNW7JmyasWHP

Phish Concert at Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain view, Ca

Tunnel View, Yosemite Valley

view from Sentinel Dome

Lovely day for a hike, eh?

Eeek, Anna!

John, Gene & Anna in front of El Capitan

Next up, our move. Our move you might be asking??? It was kind of unplanned, but John and I were driving around in one of the super cool neighborhoods in San Diego and stumbled upon this amazing rental. We agreed it wasn't worth our time or the hassle to move unless it was light years better than our current place and of course in our budget. Well it delivered. In a nutshell, the house was just remolded by a gay french couple (enough said on how good the finishes are). One of them got a job offer in Paris to good to turn down and with the real estate market the way it is, they didn't want to sell for cheap...enter John and Karen on the rental scene :) We really love it. We can walk/bike to restaurants and shops, the house has lots of character and a great backyard. Come visitors, come!!! We have 2Br/2Ba great kitchen that's just waiting to do some entertaining. Complete pictures can be viewed from this link: share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0EcNW7JmyasWHe

4773 33rd Street, San Diego, CA 92116

Tour of the new place, hosted by yours truly, Karen Trice. Ran out of room on my memory card before I could give you the complete tour of the backyard, but good enough :)

And in the final exciting news of the summer, John is following his passion for photography and doing freelance commercial photography full time now! He left the ad agency and the crazy hours that came with it and I think we're both really excited about the change. He had a great project right off the bat with the Porto Vista hotel in Little Italy part of town. http://www.portovistasd.com/ The project encompassed fun 50's vintage lifestyle shots, food shots and even a faux wedding. He's been busy with website design, refining his portfolio, and is looking to secure his next gig. I'm soo proud of him...check out some of his recent work:
http://johntrice.com//