...when you've got a cardboard box full of packing peanuts??? Aunt Barrie sent her Christma-Hanukkah gifts to us a couple of weeks ago, and the girls had a blast! Next holiday season, this is all that's going on their wish lists! :)
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
better late than never, right?
Well, since it's already Hanukkah and Christmas is just around the corner, it's probably a good time (or about time already!!) to post some Thanksgiving photos! Sorry for the delay getting these up!
For Thanksgiving, we went up to Seattle for the week, to spend the holiday with Ellen, Barrie and Paul. Brrrr! It was cold! The sun was hiding until the day we went back home, but we had a great time! Here are some of the highlights:
Barrel tasting at J&M Winery
Friday, November 6, 2009
gettin' our candy fix
Our Halloween fun started the weekend before the day of candy, when we took a little family trip to Uesugi Farms and their enormous Pumpkin Park. Yes, "park". This is no mere "patch"; it's a full-on, rides-for-everyone, at-least-twenty-different-varietals-of-pumpkins-to-choose-from Pumpkin Park. Think a 'roided up pumpkin patch.
We had a great time, taking the hayride through the beautiful grounds of the farm and riding the train around the pumpkin patches. Then we grabbed a wheelbarrow and picked out our big orange gourds -- two big ones for carving, two smaller ones for making pies (more on that later), and even a few mini white ones just for fun. Here are some pics from the day (our camera ran out of batteries early on, so some are taken from our phones -- hence the picture quality):
We got prime seating for our hayride!
This beautiful marigold field is apparently cared for by hand!
Haven's first carousel ride (Gracelyn is an old pro!)
Daddie, I want this one!
All smiles at the Pumpkin Park
Our friendly ghost says, "Boo!"
On Halloween itself, Gracelyn got to dress up in her Dora the Explorer costume for her morning dance class. I was a little concerned that she might feel self-conscious, being the only little girl not in a frilly dress, but she didn't seem to care at all! Miss Erica taught the kids a special "Halloween Dance", and parents and siblings got to go in at the end of class to watch! Aaaaaaand, being a silly emotional girl who doesn't get to dance nearly enough and who misses teaching dance to little kids, I cried!
Checkin' out the other kids' costumes
We're so gangsta, we dance with our hands in our pockets!
Halloween night, we went over to The Cooper-Allen house for some time with friends. We had dinner, went trick-or-treating, decorated cookies, and even caught a rock band show in Mt. View! It was quite a night! Max & Molly were the cutest Cowboy & Cowgirl, and Makenna had an adorable Indian Princess costume (that her mommie made! Go, Booboo!). Gracelyn rocked her Dora ensemble, and Haven lived up to her nickname as Godzilla!
While we were there, Hilary called from India, and we got to Skype with her! It was so good to see her and talk with her! We can't wait until December when she comes back home from her travels!
During our trick-or-treating, Haven was a rockstar! She walked the whole time, carrying her little pumpkin bucket. She figured out how this whole trick-or-treating thing works -- taking the candy and putting it in her bucket. Then she would try to go inside the person's house, probably to check out what else she could get her hands on to put in her bucket! Here are some pics from our fun Halloween night:
Group photos: an exercise in timing -- can you catch all of them smiling at once? Yeah, right!
Gotta love Max's smile!
Yay for trick-or-treating with friends!
Our little Godzilla -- look at how big she is!
Sisters!!
Candy -- Yummy!!!
We hope everyone had as fun a Halloween as we did!
Friday, October 9, 2009
and......they lost :(
Last weekend, we made our way to Stanfurd, in the hopes that the Bruins would dominate the Cardinal, courtesy of Judd's mom and sister (his birthday present from them). (On a side note, I still don't understand how the color "cardinal" and a tree are in any way related, but I guess that's Stanfurd for you -- completely irrelevant.) We even donned our matching UCLA gear, complete with "eyeblack" to fight the glare of the sun (yes, even I, a Cal fan who only roots for UCLA to support my husband - unless they're playing Cal, of course - dressed in the UCLA garb; it was for his birthday, after all). But, it was all to no avail; UCLA didn't win. Final score: the dumb trees - 24, the not-so-mighty-that-day bruins - 16.
Our hopes for a beat-down on the Stanfurd campus crushed, we headed over to Ted and Lesley's house to watch Cal's homecoming game against USC. We were hoping for a Bears victory, but that didn't really pan out, either. Unfortunately, my Bears seemed to be hibernating, allowing those silly Trojans to walk all over them. Final, embarrassing score? 30 to 3. Good thing we have a bye tomorrow; we really need it!
Here are some pics from the UCLA-Stanfurd game:
Tailgate party! PBJs for everyone!
Wow. Just wow. She looks so grown up here!
Walking to the game, from our $10 parking space across the street
Gotta post up in the shade to beat the heat!
The birthday boy with his favorite girls
Mommie and her big girl enjoying the sunshine
Well, fine! If the Bruins can't win, I'll just steal a Stanfurd water or two! Take that, you silly Cardinal!
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
a nice place to get married
Last weekend, we took a short (too short, if you ask me...and I'm not talking about the rapper) trip up to Groveland for a stay at The Lake House, a not-so-rustic cabin owned by my dad's friend. The cabin is right on the water, so the scenery is absolutely gorgeous -- serene and perfect for a weekend of relaxing in the sun. And that's exactly what we did (along with eating and drinking and watching football and drinking and...did I mention eating?)!
Daddie and Haven enjoying an early morning snack on the deck
Now that's what I call a breakfast! Who needs the Ahwanhee???
Oma and Haven catching some college football...Go Bears!
Check out those flames...
Even Bessie decided to join us!
Someone needs to work on his tan...
And, I'm spent!
P.S. If you're wondering about the title of this post, ask Billy. But don't tell him that I told you to. He'd kill me.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
bbqs, sneakers, and more
Here are some pics from our Labor Day weekend trip down south, visiting friends and family in LA.
We BBQed with some UCLA friends:
Haven enjoying the shade with Jinny
They were as excited to see us as we were them!
We went shoe shopping:
Gracelyn posing with the "disposable-trying-on-shoes" socks
At least now we know we won't lose him anywhere...
We visited the campus:
Gracelyn in front of UCLA's library (which is not nearly as impressive or extensive as Cal's, of course)
Daddie and Gracelyn having a moment near the Inverted Fountain
We hung out at Aunt Judy's:
Sometime during the trip, Haven decided that her big sister shouldn't be the only one who gets to push the buttons!
Poolside at Aunt Judy's
We rocked our tiaras:
Our naked little princess
Big sister looks pretty with it, too!
It was a great trip, and we can't wait to do it again!
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