La Paz...

Hello, my name is Julie and I'm 40.
That sounds a little weird but it is, in fact, my new reality. I turned 40 last week. I'm not hung up on the age thing, really. Birthdays always make me feel somewhat reflective, especially with "milestone" birthdays. In general, my 30's were better than my 20's and I'm looking forward to my 40's being even better.
One of the best parts about my birthday this year was that I got to celebrate it in La Paz, Mexico. What a beautiful, relaxing, soulful place. We spent a week lounging by the pool, swimming with sea lions, exploring the beach, eating wonderful food and drinking wonderful tequila! Not a bad way to spend any week, but in particular a birthday week.
La Paz had a lot of texture. I was struck by the feeling of so many things there and how authentic it felt. Between the four of us there, we took hundreds of photos and some of my favorite highlight the textures. Here are just a few examples...

These are really completely random... a light fixture on our patio, a grass overhang on a bar, a park bench, some wall art, a candle and a light fixture. So pretty and each of them bring me right back. I'll have more vacation photos soon, but these were the first I wanted to play with!

Disneyland...

We have just returned from a fun (surprise!) trip to Disneyland! This is the second time that we've surprised Alex with a trip and I think the surprise is just as much fun as the trip!
I captured a couple of highlights here, but there are of course many more stories to tell...

From top to bottom: Alex with the gorilla at The Rainforest Cafe, our first family character photo with Safari Mickey, the view from the gondola on the ferris wheel at California Adventure, Tigger with the boys, Alex breaking out of jail at Toon Town, Alex and the pirate, Alex and Donald, Alex chilling out on the giant Lego.
We had a really wonderful trip. Alex was brave enough to go on every ride. In fact, he became a total roller coaster fanatic! First with Space Mountain, then on California Screamin'. I believe that we went on those two rides a total of about 12 times! His reaction was so adorable. At the end of each ride, he would pump his fists and scream "Oh yeah!" "AWESOME!". Too cool.
Two years ago when we went to Disney Alex was still such a little guy. Now he seems much more like a boy. Quite bittersweet to be sure.