Ella's Pet Rocks

I found this Rock-a-Doodle box set 75% off at Borders after Christmas. We pulled it out on a rainy day and Ella dove right in and has been loving it. A bonus is that it's an art project you can actually use-- getting to play with the rocks after you make them. So, there you go: another great craft kit recommendation from the VMs, tested and approved by Ella!

Dave's New Screen Saver:

Thanks Amy! Pictures of Delia with a real smile on her face are hard to come by these days! :)

Spring Beauty

A hike around Knight's Ferry was a lovely, but unfortunate, Plan B for us today. Dave is up at the cabin frolicking in 4 inches of brand new snow with the youth group. I'm so happy they got a load of snow last night, but so sad that it meant the roads were too slick for us to drive up and enjoy it for the day with him. So instead of snowmen, we opted for wildflowers. I love this first glimpse of Knight's Ferry one sees when they come around the bend. I never get tired of it!

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Ella keeps proving to be quite the little hiker. She is completely independent now, evidenced by the "Wait for us Ella!" that I had to keep shouting. She is a great combo of nimble yet careful climber and she does not wear out. Sometimes her and I chose different paths and hers ended up being wiser!

To the girls' great delight, we bought Lily along today. With her tugging on the leash, I couldn't carry or backpack Delia, so she got to be a hiker too for the first time. She did great...mostly. Delia's strong will means when she's done hiking, she's done. She'll plop down in the middle of the path and not budge. At least she picked some scenic spots!


It ended up being a fun little outing. That day in the snow at the cabin is something we look forward to all year, so we're bummed, but how could a rapid-filled-river, blue skies and sunshine, fields of orange poppies and a happy dog hanging her head out the car window not cheer us up?

The Gymnastics Party

Before Auntie Heather visited, Ella got to go to her first big-girl birthday party. Most of our birthday parties up to this point have been like playgroups with cupcakes, but I guess we're entering that stage where invitations for elaborate parties come home in the school backpack. This party was super-special. Ella's school friend Avery invited the entire preschool class to her gymnastics place where the kids were treated to a few hours of jumping, climbing, balancing, swinging and tumbling activity led by coaches. Watching from the parent viewing area, I was actually a little jealous of some of the cool stuff Ella was getting to do!

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Ella with her friend, Avery, the birthday girl.

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A long sidewalk of trampoline led to a giant pit of foam blocks. The kids boinged down the sidewalk and were launched into the pit. Looked sooo fun! Ella's favorite was the triple swing.

My Own Private Day Care

Today we provided Jetta with another morning off and got to meet Amy, Jonathan and Grace at the park. This troll bridge is packed with some of my most favorite kiddos. Fun times!

Training

At the 8K last week, Dave was bitten by the Race Running Bug. He was excited to collect all the fliers for upcoming local races and start making plans for the next one. The next race is in a few weeks, it's a 5K and it has a special Kids Fun Run. Dave is starting to get Ella ready for the quarter mile that she'll run with him. It's so cute to see them stretching together and taking laps around the nearby grade school's dirt track. In an epitome-of-Ella moment, when Dave asked her if this run was something she wanted to do with Daddy her first response was, "Yes, but I don't have a running outfit."

And Other Fun Stuff

Well, here we go again. I love having visitors, but I hate that moment where I have to stand on the front porch and wave farewell. Though being a stinker at the time, Delia may have said it best when she pouted, "No! I don't want to!" when we told her it was time to say goodbye to Auntie. Or Ella, when her prayer earlier this week was, "Dear God, help me to not cry too hard when Auntie has to leave." The week flew by and fun times were had every day. Besides the big outings, here are some of the other things we did this week:

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Forts, games, tea parties, poetry readings, Little People, puzzles, dance parties and movies.

Bike rides! And general spring enjoyment. Heather runs now too. Dave was happy to have some company on his 3-4 mile morning runs.
A trip to our friend's tulip fields for a Tulip Time 3 months ahead of what Heather is used to in West Michigan.

Mini golf! And a visit to Jetta's. Also, a babysitter night so we could enjoy a nice adult dinner out and the opportunity to talk without distraction.

Church, Starbucks, H&M, Amazing Race, Trains (12 games!), Wii, and even a sleepover for Ella in Auntie Heather's little house last night!
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It was a great week! Hurry back, Heather, we're sure gonna miss you!!

Outing #2

As the details of our original outing idea at Pinnacles came together, things like "two and half hours away" and "strenuous hiking paths" and "knee deep water in the caves" started to alarm us. We decided instead on the old standby that is Golden Gate Park. We've been loving getting to know this part of San Francisco better and continue to be amazed that no matter how many times we explore it, we always find something new. Today was a perfect day. Weather, parking, the girls' attitudes...everything just went about as well as it could.

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A $2 ride on the historic carousel for Ella and I kicked off the morning.

Next we headed to the awesome children's play area. Ella flew down the cement slide on a piece of cardboard and scampered right up the sky-high spider's web.

Delia climbed all the playground equipment and giggled as Auntie spun her in the bowl.

The big waves and ocean animals were fun to scale and slide down.

We dragged the kids away from the park with the promise of a picnic. We found a perfect spot in the sunshine on Stow Lake. We munched sandwiches while watching birds and turtles.

After lunch, we rented a paddle boat for an hour and rode around the entire crooked-doughnut-shaped lake. We tested our echo in two bridge tunnels, saw about a hundred turtles sunbathing on fallen logs, raced ducks and watched the 3-story waterfall for a while.

We did make a quick stop at the big windmill and tulip garden and then exited the park for a hike around the northern tip of the city-- the Lands End Trail. This path hugs the coast and offers great views of the Golden Gate Bridge.

We stayed on the path a little longer today and made it to a lookout point with an amazing 360 degree view. A spin around showed us ocean meeting bay meeting bridge meeting coast and forest. We sat out on this cliff for a while just watching the waves crash and taking in the scenery.

Dave took the long way home through the city, so we ended the day with a bit of a car tour of Frisco's most recognizable tourist spots-- the Presidio, Palace of the Fine Arts, Ghiradelli Square, Fisherman's Wharf, the cable cars parked at Hyde and Powell, Pier 39 and AT&T Park. A wise choice today made for a great day. We love Golden Gate Park!

Outing #1

We have company which means it's Day Trip Time! Heather's first request was to see our blog-famous Oakland Zoo. A trip to the zoo is always a treat and the weather was even so kind to give us a few hours of blue skies and sunshine for our outing. The cooler weather and weekday morning meant we literally had the place to ourselves.

The Great Rescue

Ask any Midwesterner what month they like least and they'll probably reply, "February." Ask any Californian what month they like best and they'll probably reply, "February." This understanding led to a grand plot to rescue Heather from winter at its dreariest and bring her to California at its spring-y-est! Trees and flowers are blooming! Sun is shining! Coats go back to their 9 month home in the closet! We have a fun week planned with Heather, the first stop being our neighborhood orchard so she could see her first almond blossoms. The late-in-the-season rain and cold predicted for this week are trying to thwart our rescue plans, but we're optimistic enough to say, "At least it's not snow and it's still 20 degrees warmer!"