Meemaw/Mimi Visits

Being that Cyrus and I are both transplants to the area we live in, we have very little family around.  The family we do have around is a 2 hour drive away, so we have created our own family of friends that we see and do things with regularly.  On occasion though we find ourselves longing for a family visit.  Last week Sophia had preschool winter break, so it was the perfect time for Meemaw to come out and visit.  And boy did she visit.

In addition to many little presents, new books, stuffed animals and other gifts she showered the girls with, she really spent quality time with them.  She crafted and bathed them, played games and even babysat them for 2 days while we had a parent's time out in Napa.  It was a wonderful week with lots of adventures- Half Moon Bay on Monday to fly kites and eat lunch, play dates with friends, a visit to the Children's Discovery Museum, Disney on Ice, and Sophia's first lemonade stand.  Here are a few pictures of our adventures.

Read more...

Meemaw/Mimi Visits

Being that Cyrus and I are both transplants to the area we live in, we have very little family around.  The family we do have around is a 2 hour drive away, so we have created our own family of friends that we see and do things with regularly.  On occasion though we find ourselves longing for a family visit.  Last week Sophia had preschool winter break, so it was the perfect time for Meemaw to come out and visit.  And boy did she visit.

In addition to many little presents, new books, stuffed animals and other gifts she showered the girls with, she really spent quality time with them.  She crafted and bathed them, played games and even babysat them for 2 days while we had a parent's time out in Napa.  It was a wonderful week with lots of adventures- Half Moon Bay on Monday to fly kites and eat lunch, play dates with friends, a visit to the Children's Discovery Museum, Disney on Ice, and Sophia's first lemonade stand.  Here are a few pictures of our adventures.

Read more...

Christmas 2012! (a bit late & out of order)

Decorating the gingerbread house

Eating Ice Cream Sundaes that Nana made

Enjoying their new dollhouse

Read more...

Christmas 2012! (a bit late & out of order)

Decorating the gingerbread house

Eating Ice Cream Sundaes that Nana made

Enjoying their new dollhouse

Read more...

Summer

Here’s what we have been doing this summer:

1) Kid’s birthday parties- so many of them that Sophia expects to have a least 1 piece of cake each weekend.
2) Swimming- the new “park” for us. Daily swimming has led to the kids’ eating more and going to bed much earlier- they are tired!

3) Boxes- unpacking boxes and doing projects around the house are commonplace for us on the weekends and evenings.

4) Family visits- we have had 2 family visits already and 1 more planned. We all love seeing our distant family at our house or theirs.

5) Baby strollers- a favorite pastime both girls right now is loading up their doll
strollers and racing around the house.

Read more...

Summer

Here’s what we have been doing this summer:

1) Kid’s birthday parties- so many of them that Sophia expects to have a least 1 piece of cake each weekend.
2) Swimming- the new “park” for us. Daily swimming has led to the kids’ eating more and going to bed much earlier- they are tired!

3) Boxes- unpacking boxes and doing projects around the house are commonplace for us on the weekends and evenings.

4) Family visits- we have had 2 family visits already and 1 more planned. We all love seeing our distant family at our house or theirs.

5) Baby strollers- a favorite pastime both girls right now is loading up their doll
strollers and racing around the house.

Read more...

Drum Roll Please----We Bought a New House!

For about 6 months Cyrus and I have been looking for a house.  As he puts it “Issy took my office”.  We needed more space- an office to work from home, a guest room for our many visitors & if possible some adult space, not littered with toys.  We looked and looked, but couldn’t find just what we wanted.  We talked about building or moving out of our current area, but decided we liked where we were. Then a house came onto the market and I knew before we saw it that it was the right one.  The neighborhood, location, size, gourmet kitchen were perfect- everything we wanted plus a pool.  So, we jumped and landed a few miles away from our old house.  We are so happy to be settling into our new house- we think it is just the right place to raise our family.

Read more...

Drum Roll Please----We Bought a New House!

For about 6 months Cyrus and I have been looking for a house.  As he puts it “Issy took my office”.  We needed more space- an office to work from home, a guest room for our many visitors & if possible some adult space, not littered with toys.  We looked and looked, but couldn’t find just what we wanted.  We talked about building or moving out of our current area, but decided we liked where we were. Then a house came onto the market and I knew before we saw it that it was the right one.  The neighborhood, location, size, gourmet kitchen were perfect- everything we wanted plus a pool.  So, we jumped and landed a few miles away from our old house.  We are so happy to be settling into our new house- we think it is just the right place to raise our family.

Read more...

Neglected.....

This blog has been neglected, as you can see.  Before updating it thought, “Should I keep writing it?”.  The answer is yes. I write this blog for our out of town family and friends and also for our own memories.  It is just another way for us to track what we are up to in our lives and it is important to us.  In the digital age we take tons of photos and write short updates on websites, but I want a way to capture the stories too.  So, with that I give you a slew of updates from Thanksgiving starting first with we have all been sick A LOT.  We have had everything and visited too many doctors, labs and pharmacies.  We have not had a week in December or January where we have all been well.  It is absurd, but then again it is life.  The positive out of this is that we have been forced to slow down, have more pajama and movie days, and drink tea.  That has been enjoyable. 

Read more...

Neglected.....

This blog has been neglected, as you can see.  Before updating it thought, “Should I keep writing it?”.  The answer is yes. I write this blog for our out of town family and friends and also for our own memories.  It is just another way for us to track what we are up to in our lives and it is important to us.  In the digital age we take tons of photos and write short updates on websites, but I want a way to capture the stories too.  So, with that I give you a slew of updates from Thanksgiving starting first with we have all been sick A LOT.  We have had everything and visited too many doctors, labs and pharmacies.  We have not had a week in December or January where we have all been well.  It is absurd, but then again it is life.  The positive out of this is that we have been forced to slow down, have more pajama and movie days, and drink tea.  That has been enjoyable. 

Read more...

Sophia's 1st Disneyland Trip!

We totally rocked Disneyland. Sophia had a blast for her first trip. That is the short of it.  The longer version is we arrived around 10 am, sans Isabella who stayed with Corina (thank god!), and met up with various other parts of our 8 person group.

We had Sophia ,3, 2 10 year olds, 1 newlywed, Cyrus, me & my mom- we spanned a lot of ages and interests.  I managed to get everyone to write down their top 2 rides & miraculously we managed to cover all the lists with smiles and no tears!  It was like an aria- everyone picked up their instruments at the proper time & played them perfectly!

A huge thank you to my mom, husband and my brother (the newlywed) for managing to get fast passes & standing in too many lines for the kids.

What we rode: 
Carousel
Peter Pan
Casey Jr. Train
Tea Cups
Tom Sawyer island
Winnie the Pooh
Indiana Jones
The Jungle Cruise
Splash Mountain
Astroblasters
It’s a Small World
Autopia
Symphony Swings
Ariel's Grotto
Ferris Wheel
Toystory Mania
California Screaming
California Screaming (yeah, we went twice in a row with the extra fastpasses we had)

      

Read more...

Sophia's 1st Disneyland Trip!

We totally rocked Disneyland. Sophia had a blast for her first trip. That is the short of it.  The longer version is we arrived around 10 am, sans Isabella who stayed with Corina (thank god!), and met up with various other parts of our 8 person group.

We had Sophia ,3, 2 10 year olds, 1 newlywed, Cyrus, me & my mom- we spanned a lot of ages and interests.  I managed to get everyone to write down their top 2 rides & miraculously we managed to cover all the lists with smiles and no tears!  It was like an aria- everyone picked up their instruments at the proper time & played them perfectly!

A huge thank you to my mom, husband and my brother (the newlywed) for managing to get fast passes & standing in too many lines for the kids.

What we rode: 
Carousel
Peter Pan
Casey Jr. Train
Tea Cups
Tom Sawyer island
Winnie the Pooh
Indiana Jones
The Jungle Cruise
Splash Mountain
Astroblasters
It’s a Small World
Autopia
Symphony Swings
Ariel's Grotto
Ferris Wheel
Toystory Mania
California Screaming
California Screaming (yeah, we went twice in a row with the extra fastpasses we had)

      

Read more...