Artist(s) in Residence

As much as I loved the idea of a detached garage at our old house (you know, that whole out-in-the-country multiple building thing) opening to the alley, I didn't like the idea of schelpping all the way out there to do fix-it projects. Bonus points to our new house for having an attached garage! The problem? We can't get a car in there without a) blocking the second fridge, washer/dryer, and workbench or b) being blocked in by the car sitting out in the driveway.
So in the meantime, I've gotten busy with a number of furniture repainting projects (yay, utility sink!), and with Munch's cousin here for a sleepover this weekend, pulled out the easels so they could have some art time. Each of the girls got to choose a canvas and set up a paper plate palette of paints (say THAT three times, quickly!). I also gave them a jarful of assorted brushes, with the reminder to switch brushes when they wanted a new color so that their paint wouldn't get runny, from rinsing, or muddy.

Both girls started out with bright paintings of rainbows. As I dug through my various supplies, I also found palette knives, sponges, paper towel tubes, and other odds and ends which cousin D. eventually experimented with. She blotted paint to create a soft, smudgy effect, dipped the tube into paint to print designs over the painting, and played with scraping away paint with the palette knife. Now that the paint is dry, I think I'll give the girls additional art materials so that they can try adding collage elements or drawn elements to their paintings, followed by another round of painting. It will be interesting to see how their artwork evolves.

Family Vacation- Monterey Aquarium

Day 2 in Monterey was spent at the aquarium. Munch really enjoyed seeing the animals and exploring the exhibits.
Best of all, it was a fun day hanging out with the cousins-

especially when we headed to the Dennis the Menace park-

Wii Fun!

I LOVE my Wii! Thank goodness AudioDad got the hint last Christmas and got it for me, even though I don't get to it as often as I'd like (you know, parenting & housework & a job kind of get in the way...) It's also a challenge to find games that Munch and I both can enjoy and that she is coordinated enough to play. MarioKart is one of our favorites and I finally got around to purchasing an extra Wii wheel- just in time for her cousin A's visit a couple of weeks ago. They were SO funny to watch once I handed each of them a wheel. In deep concentration, they'd use their arm's whole range of motion to turn the steering wheel, frequently ending up with it behind their ears and over their shoulders. Once both got comfortable driving on their own for a couple of races, the trash talk started- preschoolers are SO competitive! "I'm going super faster than you and I'm PASSING you!!!" one would announce as they proceeded to drive the course IN THE WRONG DIRECTION!

Last Round of Vacation Pics- The Hotel Del Coronado & Lynn's Birthday

I was disappointed that my stomach was still feeling unsettled when we went to the Hotel Del Coronado for dinner to celebrate Munch's Aunt Lynn's birthday. However, I was not disappointed with my new dress from Zappos- it arrived just in time for our trip and went perfectly with some navy sandals I bought last year, but just didn't go with anything (until now!)
Everything on the menu at the beach side Sheerwater restaurant looked delicious; even the kids' menu was fun, with a make-your-own pizza option that Munch's cousin D chose-
When our meals arrived, I especially loved the vegetable side dishes- the mix of baby carrots, zucchini, and summer squash was my surprise favorite. Afterward, our waiter brought out a massive slice of red velvet birthday cake for Lynn-
Then after dinner, we enjoyed a walk along the beach and took more photos- these of Munch and her cousins are among my favorites from the entire trip-


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More Easter Fun...

Here it is- my lemon cake with white chocolate butter cream. It was delicious!
We spent the day with my sister and her son. The kids are good pals and so much fun now, with Munch being 3 and her cousin, 4. I love listening in on their conversations- so earnest and expressive!

It seems they spent a good amount of time scoping out the backyard from inside the house, planning their egg finding strategy.

After a late lunch we headed out to the driveway for chalk drawing and bubble blowing-

And luckily, Munch fell asleep quickly, giving me time to put her Easter basket together- an egg-shaped bunny puzzle, a chirping fluffy chick, a bag of balloons, egg shaped sidewalk chalk, hollow chocolate See's eggs that have a little white chocolate chick inside, a chocolate bunny (also from See's), and the special gift- a Dora watch.

Happy Turkey Day!

Whew! After yesterday's baking extravaganza, we spent Thanksgiving day making the rounds to all the branches of our families. It was a great day with great food, which is my very favorite part! We did a quick pumpkin bread drop off to one set of grandparents before heading off to visit AudioDad's family for a late morning brunch.


A picture with the cousins (minus one run-off). I'd also have a photo of Aunt Lara's fabulous cinnamon rolls if AudioDad hadn't eaten half the batch first!

At my parents', Munch quickly got to playing with cousin A. while we worked on getting the meal to the table.



The star of the show.


The pecan pie Munch and I made for Grandpa.


I couldn't resist getting a funny pic of the cranberry sauce in the midst of all the beautiful food!


One hungry girl after all that play time!