Good Fun

As always, summer weekends are busy, busy, busy! But I love that we've had the opportunity to get together so often with family and friends. Last weekend, we celebrated my sister's birthday-
would you believe my parents had NO birthday candles in the house? I guess it's time to buy them a box!
AudioDad's been busy with a project I've been wanting done for so long- we removed our gross, old, broken hot tub (hasn't worked since before we moved here) and he's ripping out this multi-leveled deck that left Munch with small, odd spaces to play. I didn't have to ask twice if he wanted to use the hot tub at my parents' house-
Since we were off to see Gina and the boys the next day, I decided to skip the commute home and stayed the night. Munch loved having a sleepover at Grandma & Grandpa's house. What was really nice, though, was that my brother and sister were both there too- we couldn't remember the last time we were all home at the same time for dinner together and we enjoyed our Chinese take-out (yay! no cooking!) on the deck overlooking the San Francisco bay on a gorgeous summer evening-Munch was especially relaxed after a nice dinner
The next morning, Munch and I headed off to Gina's parents' house, where she's staying while visiting from Hawaii. They have an incredible backyard and the kids quickly climbed on to the swing together
Next we loaded them in the wagon for a walk to the park After kids got good and tired out we came back to the house for a delicious lunch and the kids tried on the adorable grass skirt and coconut bra that Gina brought for Munch Good fun! But I'm starting work again next week- the summer goes by way too fast!

Don't miss a bite- Become a FOLLOWER!

More Fun With Gina and the Kids

Next stop of favorite blog trips for Gina & I (with kids in tow) was Scientopia and lunch at Oxbow Market. It was a pretty quiet morning and we were lucky to have Scientopia almost to ourselves for the first hour. The boys headed straight to the train tableand the digging pitwhile Munch painted and beaded.
All the kids had fun in the dramatic play area with puppets, costumes, and instruments.
At lunchtime, we headed down the street for lunch. Munch had her standard ham & cheese mini arepa with yucca fires from Pica Pica and I had a cachapa filled with steak, plantains, and black beans.
After lunch we walked around. Munch loves checking the tanks at Kanaloa Seafood, so we made sure to stop therebefore heading off to Kara's for some delicious cupcakes (thanks again Gina!)

Old Pals

I haven't posted much (at all) this past week- I've been running around the Bay Area, Munch in tow, with just 2 (!!!) weeks left before I head back to work. My very dearest friend is visiting from Hawaii (rough, I know) and I've been grabbing the opportunity to have lots of time with her and the kids. What's especially fun is that we've been meeting up at so many of the places I regularly blog about. Last week, we took Munch and Gina's oldest to Marine World (Discovery Kingdom- what a random name! I just can't get used to it, and when I do use it, no one around here knows what I'm talking about!)
Anyways, I never can get over how much our babies have grown every time we get them together.It's so sweet to see the kids go through the same routine every time- the first few hours are spent warming up to each other. Munch and I talk about her Auntie Gina and the kids all the time, but we only get together a couple of times a year. But the kids quickly fall into their own little friendship, especially now that they can play independently and both chatter away with each other more.
We did the usual- Thomas Town, Looney Toon land, the butterfly building, the fountain & rides in Jungle Land, but especially fun was that Munch's friend M. was tall enough to go on Cobra- one of the "real" coaster rides and her very favorite!

Best Friends

Munch's Auntie Gina was in town recently. She's been my best friend since high school. After we graduated, we both did our own thing. After my childhood of frequent moves (dad was in the Air Force), I've been pretty content to stay put and never really went farther then 50 miles or so from home. Gina is now a Navy wife and has lived everywhere (usually much too far for me!) and loves the adventure. But I especially miss her now that we both have kids. Her boys are just adorable and the oldest is just a few months older than Munch. When the kids were younger, it was difficult for them to keep each other in mind since they only saw each other twice a year at the most. Now that Munch is older, it's easier for her to remember and she'll talk about them often. Hopefully they'll be close too as they grow up- Maybe they'll even get married someday...

Say Cheese!

Munch loves her Auntie Gina- she ALWAYS sends the best gifts. I thought the bike that Santa brought would be the gift of the day, but once she opened up her VTech Kidizoom camera, nothing else existed. Munch has been carrying this with her everywhere she goes. Actually, it was really cute- she hopped on her bike for a first ride around the waterfront and would stop every so often to take a picture- like a little tourist! She filled up the memory by Christmas evening- more than 400 pictures! It's a terrific camera for kids- A cute, but tough exterior with rubbery "handles" that take drops and bumps well. Easy for little hands to hold. And easy to operate! There are cute frames that you can select, and the picture quality is not bad for a kids' camera. Cousin A. wanted to get his hands on this the moment he saw it- guess what he's getting for his birthday? Here's a little sampling of the pictures Munch took on Christmas Day-



we still need to work on aiming! But she's got an interesting perspective...

Here are a few that I'm guessing were taken by her cousin or other people trying the camera out-