Saturday, August 23, 2014

Anna turns 5!


What a wonderful five years we have had with Anna in our lives. She is a brave, inquisitive, kind little girl who brings her family joy!



We had a tame day and enjoyed spending time with one another.  Anna celebrated her birthday at the beginning of the summer with a joint birthday also honoring her friend from school, Sophie. With the formal celebration out of the way, we spent the day on the courtyard playing, as usual! Anna chose a dinner of spaghetti and meatballs and a pink ice cream cake. Her big gift was a big girl bed - a loft bed! Other favorites include American Girl paraphernalia, a bean bag chair, Legos, and of course - BOOKS! Here's Anna using the dunk tank she built using a kit she got from her grandparents:



We included some pictures from throughout the summer - everything EXCEPT Hawaii, which is covered in the last post. Highlights include:
the last day of school, with Anna's crew of faculty kids
  • Anna's gymnastics themed birthday party with her pal Sophie
  • the San Mateo County Fair, where Anna and Colin had a blast eating funnel cake and dancing with one another.
  • Anna exercising her inner artist at the Cantor Arts Museum here on Stanford campus
  • The family enjoying a San Jose Giants (minor league) baseball game 
  • The kids playing on the Pacifica beach
  • Fourth of July parade and fun in Menlo Park, including the kids' first experience with ice cream truck treats
  • Strawberry picking in Pescadero
  • Anna's ballet camp
  • A trip to the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield, CA
  • A trip to our old stomping grounds in Sacramento
  • Colin's Mommy and Me trip to Happy Hollow
  • Anna's Daddy and Me trip to the Exploratorium in San Francisco
What an amazing summer! Anna is thriving and so excited to go back to Sacred Heart for pre-Kindergarten.

Colin just got promoted to the next classroom at Madera Grove- he is now a "Sparrow" and doing so well! He tells wonderful stories and he and his sister get along so well.

Take a look at some pictures by clicking below:

Anna is 5!











Sunday, August 10, 2014

Our 2014 Hawaii Trip

We had another wonderful visit to Hawaii this summer. This time we got to visit two islands. First, Oahu where Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop joined us at Ko Olina. Then, onto Kauai where Grandpa, Grandma Barb and Aunt Laura met us for fun at Poipu Beach. The kids had an amazing time - take a look at this video at the resort in Kauai:

 
Mom and Dad had our share of fun, too: we were lucky enough to celebrate our ten year anniversary with special dinners on both islands thanks to grandparents watching the kids. We also enjoyed an amazing hike along the southern coast of Kauai. Other highlights included a trip to the Dole Plantation, the traditional road trip to the shrimp trucks, and an absolutely incredible helicopter tour of Kauai.

Click on the picture below to see more!

Hawaii 2014

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Anna at Dance Camp

Anna was thrilled to participate in a ballet camp  this week. Here are some videos: