Muir Woods

On our way home from the bay area we decided to stop at Muir Woods to let the kids get all their energy out before we glued them to their seats for the next 9 hours. I LOVE Muir Woods and wish I could spend more time there. On the way out we discovered that some knucklehead put a serious dent in my car bumper without leaving a note. Still.....it was worth it for the visit. It was just one expensive visit:)

It's not just "stuff"

We often hear the phrase, "it's just stuff and we can't take it with us." Well.....for most everything in my life that is definitely true but for this dollhouse....it is more than just stuff. It has been in my grandmother's family for over 100 years and I have the fondest memories playing with it as a little girl. I suppose it isn't among the "stuff" category because of the magical memories it represents. Now, I get to watch Amy play with it just as I did.

Sailors in the making

While visiting my grandparents in Marin, we had the opportunity to take Jamison Amy and Becca down to see my grandfather's boat at the Corinthian Yacht Club in Tiburon. My mom helped him get everything ready for racing on the San Francisco Bay the following morning....apparently the wind was blowing at 38 knots so the halyard snapped:( At any rate, it was a special treat for the kids to hang out on their great-grandfather's boat. Afterwards Jamison had fun exploring underneath the Yacht Club....after watching a series of Scoopydoo episodes he loved to pretend in all the spooky hallways. Pretty classic.

Ava's 3rd Birthday

My sister's daughter turned three this week so they had a big shabang at Chuckee Cheese. Amy and Jamison were thrilled and of course figured they too deserved this caliber of party next year. What happened with just having a simple cake with some candles? Anyhoo, we all had a blast and they're were no major meltdowns which was a plus....considering we left at 9:30. My Uncle Gary, Dad and I pretty much commandeered the basketball machine for part of the night as we took turns taking one another to task. Jamison parked himself at the star wars video game the entire time while Amy took it upon herself to claim all of our basketball winnings to redeem them for a giant purple ring and comb.

You know you're Mormon when....

While I was engaged to Greg I was still attending BYU. What was strange for me was the fact that my soon to be nephew would sit with me sometimes at the Tuesday devotionals. Weird. Now I have two nieces who had babies around the same time I had Rebecca. Rachel (pictured below), who is Greg's oldest brother's daughter is visiting this week from D.C. so we got to have breakfast at Dix and Lynn's. We thought we'd take advantage of this peculiar familial situation and take a picture:) he he. Her cute babe Liam was born in January.....and Rebecca in April. Fun times.

Lemonade time!

I've had a bucket of lemons in my garage for two weeks now. My sweet neighbor Ruth picked them from her trees as I had mentioned that it would be a fun project for the kids to make some lemonade. Finally it warmed up a bit to make it sound like a yummy treat. The kids had a blast.....and the lemonade sure was tasty.

Backyard bubbles

Call me sentimental. I have such fond memories playing in my grandparents' backyard when I was little. Now I find immense joy watching my kids build similar memories.

Birthday celebration with lobsters!

Yesterday we had a joint celebration. We celebrated my grandmother's 83rd birthday and Father's Day. We were lucky enough to have the Healdsburg crew down as well so we took advantage and captured many fun moments of the kiddos. The kids had fun throwing water balloons and drawing all over Dee dee's nice clean patio with sidewalk chalk. I think the highlight for my grandmother was the lobster. Aunt Ann flew in 8 lobster from Maine. Jamison wasn't too excited about it but Amy was fairly curious.

Asleep and nowhere to be found

Yesterday at my Grandparents home in Marin, the kids had a nap after a long day. Jamison decided to fall asleep under a bed. Unfortunately he didn't make me aware of this plan which almost sent me into a panic when I tried to "check" on him. At first I checked every room...then again. After a minute or two I expressed my concern to everyone who was there...how on earth did I lose Jamison? Alas they suggested checking under the beds. There he was, sound asleep in the tight quarters underneath a queen size bed. Of course he freaked out when he woke up as he had forgotten his mischievousness as he fell asleep.

San Diego County Fair

The start of the summer

Typically we start our summers with a splash in the pool but for some reason the weather for the past two weeks has mimicked London spring weather. Where is our warm sun?? So we settled for having Ellie and Maddie Milne over only to send them home covered in sand and chalk:) I'm sure their Mom loved me for it.