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.

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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.

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Pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere

Last weekend we made our annual trek to the pumpkin patch.  As usual it was hot, hotter than my mind thinks it should be in October, but this year we were prepared.  The kids had a blast on the rides and playing in the pumpkin patch.  Here are a few photos of the day:

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Pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere

Last weekend we made our annual trek to the pumpkin patch.  As usual it was hot, hotter than my mind thinks it should be in October, but this year we were prepared.  The kids had a blast on the rides and playing in the pumpkin patch.  Here are a few photos of the day:

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Celebrating Fall with Apples and Steam Trains

Saturday, September 22, 2012 was the first day of fall.  We really celebrated this year!

We started out apple picking in Watsonville,CA on Saturday morning.  This year was so much fun.  Sophia ran through the orchards with a point & shoot camera taking photos and stopping to grab an apple or two, while Isabella happily sat in the wagon for a majority of the journey chewing on a fresh picked apple.

Halfway through we stopped for a few photos and both girls embraced the concept and helped us fill our bags up. We are definitely overachievers in the filling department, resulting in 25 pounds of apples!

After the picking we had a picnic lunch and all shared a piece of apple pie ala mode, courtesy of their bake shop.  It was a great day with family and friends, and has definitely become a tradition in our family.

On Sunday, we went to a company event at Roaring Camp Railroads in Felton, CA.  We ate BBQ and rode the train into the Henry Cowell State Park to see the redwoods.  While we all enjoyed ourselves, Isabella seemed most impressed with the "choo choo".

Read more...

Celebrating Fall with Apples and Steam Trains

Saturday, September 22, 2012 was the first day of fall.  We really celebrated this year!

We started out apple picking in Watsonville,CA on Saturday morning.  This year was so much fun.  Sophia ran through the orchards with a point & shoot camera taking photos and stopping to grab an apple or two, while Isabella happily sat in the wagon for a majority of the journey chewing on a fresh picked apple.

Halfway through we stopped for a few photos and both girls embraced the concept and helped us fill our bags up. We are definitely overachievers in the filling department, resulting in 25 pounds of apples!

After the picking we had a picnic lunch and all shared a piece of apple pie ala mode, courtesy of their bake shop.  It was a great day with family and friends, and has definitely become a tradition in our family.

On Sunday, we went to a company event at Roaring Camp Railroads in Felton, CA.  We ate BBQ and rode the train into the Henry Cowell State Park to see the redwoods.  While we all enjoyed ourselves, Isabella seemed most impressed with the "choo choo".

Read more...

Lions, Tigers and Bears, Oh My

Friday night we started talking about our plans for the weekend- this is a rare occurrence as we generally are quite booked on the weekends. I asked Sophia if she wanted to go on a family adventure; her eyes lit up and she yelled yes across the dining table. Cyrus and I both looked at each other and without hesitation said let’s go the zoo. Oddly we have only been to the zoo once in this area & we both thought of it.


Saturday morning we got dressed, packed up some snacks and headed out to the San Francisco Zoo. We arrived just in time to run across the zoo to see the Grizzly Bears being fed. This was quite an experience to see them tossing tree stumps to get to sweet potatoes and lettuce and diving into their pool to get the live fish. It was only up from there- we saw peacocks wandering the park, the hippo coming up for breaths, the penguins and even a tiger roar. I managed to get a few priceless photos of the animals and a few of the kids as well.

All in all it was the perfect family outing.

The remainder of the weekend we spent having a playdate, visiting a new gymnastics place & smoking some pork for dinner with some close friends. It was a great weekend.

Read more...

Lions, Tigers and Bears, Oh My

Friday night we started talking about our plans for the weekend- this is a rare occurrence as we generally are quite booked on the weekends. I asked Sophia if she wanted to go on a family adventure; her eyes lit up and she yelled yes across the dining table. Cyrus and I both looked at each other and without hesitation said let’s go the zoo. Oddly we have only been to the zoo once in this area & we both thought of it.


Saturday morning we got dressed, packed up some snacks and headed out to the San Francisco Zoo. We arrived just in time to run across the zoo to see the Grizzly Bears being fed. This was quite an experience to see them tossing tree stumps to get to sweet potatoes and lettuce and diving into their pool to get the live fish. It was only up from there- we saw peacocks wandering the park, the hippo coming up for breaths, the penguins and even a tiger roar. I managed to get a few priceless photos of the animals and a few of the kids as well.

All in all it was the perfect family outing.

The remainder of the weekend we spent having a playdate, visiting a new gymnastics place & smoking some pork for dinner with some close friends. It was a great weekend.

Read more...