I took the day off today and it was great. This allowed Justine to finish "Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire" while Lucas and I took a long nap together. Its been a little warm here in San Diego, luckily our house is cool. We woke up refreshed and ready to start the afternoon. I finally finished the 4x6 photo collage for the invitations. I am really happy with how it turned out. As soon as I figure out how to insert images into my blog they will be here. So, one of our tasks today was to find a suitable place to have Lucas' party on the second. There were several places in the running. One was Spanish Landing. We really liked it, but it was missing something. It's in the running. We also have a good feeling about Mission Point Park in Mission Beach. Of course we are also thinking of our neighborhood park Balboa Park. We will let everyone know ASAP. I also hope you enjoy the new experimental website I created from my new .mac account. Until I learn html fully, I have to put up with amature web creation. Thats all for now.

It's good to be back on the blog. Much has happened since I last wrote, most of it good. One highlight of note is the recent vist of my dad. Yes, Art came down to vist. He was solo because his wife, Bearta, was away on vacation in Boston with her freind Sherry. We spent some good quality time together catching up and venting our frustrations with the world. We visited a local pool hall I found while surfing the internet called Jolt-n-Joes. At Jolt-n-Joes we played a round of ping pong, of which I lost 2 of three. Dad revels is winning a game of pong. I honestly think he gages his youth on how well he can come close to or beat each one of his sons in pong. Of course Adam will never admit defeat to dad, but thats another story. Anyway, we also played a few rounds of billiards and drank a few pints of Sam Adams. I of course lost 3 games out of 5. We had a good time.

Dad also wanted desperately to go to the beach and get his feet wet. We are always up for the beach. Lucas has been to the beach at least 4 times in his life so far, which is not bad considering he is only 11 months old. We can't wait to take Lucas to the tide pools in La Jolla, but he will need to walk well in order to traverse rock and surf. We frequent the strand on Coronado Island about a mile from the Hotel Del Coronado. Dad decided not to get in the water but rather talk to Justine about what has happened with Jen, my sister. I will write about that a little later. I went in the water for some body surfing. the waves were pretty decent, 2-3 foot and breaking smooth until the swell pulled. The water temp was around 73 degrees, pretty much golden for San Diego and most likely the best it will get all year. As we were getting ready to leave, the day seemed to slow down and leave room for the moment. Dad picked up Lucas and showed him the waves washing up on the beach. Lucas has been pretty scared so far when we have done the same thing, but this time he was with grandpa. I wish I had brought my camera, but I didn't. It was a nice moment to see them together. Lucas Arthur and Arthur Charles, two people, two members of the Aguilera family, grandson and grand father.

Thanks Dad for coming down to see us.

Justine was so glad to be back home. She spent most of the day relaxing and settling back into her routine. I have added Justine to the list of blog members so she can add her perspective. Look for her first post soon. I missed Lucas today, it was quite a growing experience for me having him in my sole care for three full days. I learned many new traits Lucas possess even at this young age. For instance, I witnessed his intense curiousity in playing with one of his Leap Frog toys my mother bought for him called the "Discovery Ball". It is a plastic ball that rotates on it's stand on a horizontal axis; when you touch it it rotates on that axis and plays music and displays a row of red lights. It quite hypnotic and fun to play with. We approve. Anyway, Lucas loves it and 'discovers' something new about it every day. Thanks mom! It is really a great gift for your grandson.

Today we spent the day in Pasadena at Dave and Erin's. Erin just celebrated her 28th birthday and with it the innagural debut of her newly re-designed back yard. Needless to say, it was a big hit. Because Lucas and I arrived so late, we were both tired, but Justine met our arrival with great joy. She missed her son and husband.

We slept through the night, but we fear Lucas may have had a few nightmares considering he was terribly frightened by the fireworks. The sparklers were not too big of a problem but the flowers and mini fountains were not such a big hit. In fact they scared our little 11 month old boy joy.

The morning was met with a delicious breakfast with Dave, Erin, and family. After little debate, I decided I wanted to see the Edward Weston photography exhibit at the Huntington Library. Dave and I went and were blown away with the images, printing, and prose used to curate the exhibit. I highly recomend this exhibit to anyone who is even remotely interested in photography. Edward Weston is truely a master of his craft.

We drove home in record time and Justine and I talked about the past few days of my solo parenting experience. All I can say is thank god for my wonderful wife. She makes it look so easy and I am truely grateful.

Once Lucas was up from his nap, he was hungry and ready for play. I fed him the usual and we were ready to take a bath. Lucas loves his baths. He especially loves his blue rubber shark in the bath. After the fresh water rinse, boy was ready for drying and dressing. I hurried and showered and we both were soon ready for Jen and Stan's 4th of July BBQ.

Lucas was especially friendly at the party. He received much attention from Jen and Patty. I had a backup team. We played on the grass and listened to classic rock on the radio while stan bbq'd salmon and burgers. I picked up a 12 pack of Newcastle Brown Ale as a contribution to the festivities. We all talked about how wierd it was to not have justine with us and I talked about the challanges and pleasures of having Lucas by myself for a few days. We also talked about the price of freedom, the stock market, property values in San Diego, and where to go for a good ethnic meal.

As night time came nearer, we were anxious for fireworks. Jen offered to feed Lucas (what a suprise...) and I finished my salmon. Stan offered to drive us somewhere where we could see fireworks. We all ended up at a park overlooking downtown San Diego and Florida canyon. The bummer was the streetlights and the downtown high rises blocking the veiw from the harbor fireworks show. Never-the-less, Lucas got a taste of his first fireworks display and his first 4th of July BBQ.

The evening wound down and my boy was getting tired. We retired home and listened to George Norey's Coast to Coast on KOGO until we both fell asleep. George's topic, UFO's and the Government Conspiracy to conceal them.

We both woke up in a good mood. Scot and Holly called and asked if we could meet for breakfast at Bread and Cie. The race was on. Could I get everything in needed to acomplish in 1 hour? I jammed.

I fed crow.
I warmed the water for boy's milk.
I prepared his supliments.
I made the bed.
I fed boy.
I took a fast sponge bath in the sink.
I shaved, deodorized, and brushed my teeth.
I prepared a bottle of prune juice.
I changed boy's di,
and we were off, 1 hour and 3 minutes later!

Boy was especially cute at Bread and Cie. He has taken a real liking toward Scott and Holly. Why wouldn't he, they are amazingly energetic people.

I love the yogurt at B&C and the coffee is some of the best in town. Scott was telling us about his upcomming trip to San Francisco. His opening is July 12 - August 23 at the Shapiro Gallery:

Introductions 2003 Scott Davis
Recent Large Format and Mammoth Plate Platinum Prints

760 Market StreetShapiro Gallery
San Francisco, Ca 94102

So after breakfast we went to my office so I could show Holly my Adobe Design Software Suite. Holly is a graphic designer and dedicated to Yoga.

Lucas and I went home so he could take a nap. That's were we are now, boy is napping and I am starting this weblog.