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Friday, June 28, 2013

Happy 4th Birthday Elise!

Sweet Elise at 4-years-old
Photo by: Memories By Michelle
 
 
Today, we celebrate our first born baby girl's fourth birthday. It's hard to believe that four years have passed since we first welcomed you into our world. From the day I found out I was pregnant, you changed the person I was. At that moment, my life became enveloped with dreams of making your little life amazing, and nothing less. Looking back on these first four years, I can see that so many of our dreams for you have already come true. The most important being your happiness and childhood development, which is right on track...if not clearly above the standard :) We couldn't be more grateful for all the moments of pure joy and love we have had the pleasure of sharing with you. Elise, you are our first born and will pave the way for our family in future generations. It is a big title to carry, but you little lady, are doing it well!
 
You are quite excited to be four, and have set big goals like learning to read and write sentences. You also wants to ride your bike with no training wheels, swim underwater, and "climb a mountain" (your words exactly heheh). We are so proud of the little lady you are becoming. You are incredibly smart and extremely driven to succeed. You continually finds new ways to challenge yourself, and refuse to give up on a task until you master it. One of your biggest joys is having mommy and daddy read to you before bed. You love books, and laugh and giggle uncontrollably through every fun story. You are so eager to learn to read, and already recognize and point out many words in your books.
 
As for your interests, right now you are the ultimate girly girl. You love princesses, dolls, and playing dress up. In fact, you have declared that you will only wear dresses or skirts (the fancier the better). You love to have your nails painted, wear lip gloss and flowers or bows in your hair, (which you intend to grow out to Rapunzel-like length). You can pull together a highly styled outfit in less than a couple minutes, and are great at coordinating and accessorizing. 
 
At four-years-old, you are full of childhood dreams and wonder. You tell me on a weekly basis the things you want to go see, do and achieve. As you grow remember these dreams and know that you can accomplish anything. Our goal as parents is to encourage you to pursue your dreams and help you reach your goals. We are your biggest supporters and dreaming those same big dreams right along with you. We love you so much, and are as proud as ever to be your parents. Happy 4th Birthday Elise!!
 
 
The playful birthday girl, all smiles and having fun
Photos by: Memories By Michelle
 

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Angel Island Family Camping Trip - June 2013

Angel Island in Tiburon, CA
 
View of the San Francisco Bay from Angel Island

Live music at Angel Island Cantina
 
The girls found caterpillars on the trail to our campsite

Angel Island view of the SF Bay
 
 
Earlier this month, our family got together for a summer camping trip at Angel Island near Tiburon in the San Francisco Bay. Grandma planned the trip, and things turned out rather amusing throughout the course of the weekend. Let me start by saying that Angel Island is a very scenic destination, and quite an interesting place to explore. There are many abandoned buildings on the island as it was once a location for immigrant processing, POW camps, and quarantine stations. It is also home to a Nike Missile Site dating back to the 1950s. This creates great opportunities for exploring past relics, but without a vehicle or bicycle it takes quite a while to get around the island due to its size. With kids, and no stroller it wasn't possible for us to do much exploring beyond our initial trolley car site seeing tour.
 
There are only eleven campsites on the island, so camping here is pure seclusion. Grandma booked a winner in terms of location. From our campsite we had a great view of the San Francisco Bay, and there were trails near the site leading down to a small rocky beach as well as a trail leading up to stunning views of the Golden Gate Bridge, Tiburon, Sausalito and Marin. While it was freezing most of the day, and a bit overcast (it is SF after all) the views were gorgeous! We were only able to stay for the day, but Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Colin and Aunt Darcy all camped overnight. None of them were able to fully sleep that night, between the foghorns and raccoons fighting and growling outside their tent, they were jolted awake multiple times throughout the night. Grandpa even had to go out and chase off the raccoons a few times. Although I was initially sad about missing out on the camping experience, after hearing how difficult it was to sleep, I think it was best that we missed this overnight adventure. Two toddlers running on little to no sleep is a recipe for chaos. We would definitely visit Angel Island again and recommend it to others, but make it a DAY trip!
 


The view from the trail above our campsite

The Golden Gate Bridge from Angel Island
 
Enjoying family time at the campsite; find the deer
 
Angel Island view of Tiburon and Sausalito
 
Sweet Alina by the beach

Saturday, June 22, 2013

16th Avenue Tiled Steps of San Francisco and Uncle Colin's SF State University Graduation

Elise at the beautiful 16th Avenue Tiled Mosaic Steps in SF
 
The girls enjoying the lovely view
 
Alina had fun climbing the tiled steps
 
Stunning mosaic tile detail of the 16th Avenue Tiled Steps

View of the sun and moon near the top
 
Simply gorgeous, a true work of art!

Lovely tree lined view at SF State University
  
The girls enjoyed playing on the colorful benches
 
Exploring the flowers in bloom on SFSU campus
 
Colorful floral displays
 
Alina picking flowers

Congrats Uncle Colin; 2013 SF State honors grad!

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Sacramento Zoo - Celebrating Father's Day 2013

Celebrating Father's Day at the Sacramento Zoo

Zoo flamingos, zebra and two cute kids

Mama tiger with her little cub

CJ the tiger cub; just adorable!
 
The resident giraffes

Girls scaling the croc's back

Baby hedgehog, kookaburra and one gorgeous snake

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Point Cabrillo Light House - Mendocino, CA


Charming Point Cabrillo Light House in Mendocino, CA

Daddy and Elise by the sea

Point Cabrillo Light House is beautiful from every angle
 
This is how the girls "hike"; they hitch a ride
 
The imposing cliffs where land meets sea

Inside Point Cabrillo Light House Museum
 
Great little aquarium by the light house.
This was our first time seeing a live abalone
 

On our third and final day in beautiful Fort Bragg and Mendocino, we visted Point Cabrillo Light House and Russian Gulch State Park. The light house has been beautifully restored and the interior is now a gift shop and museum detailing the history of Point Cabrillo Light Station. The girls each picked out a stuffed animal as a souvenir. Elise got a cute sea lion and Alina picked out a cuddly blue whale. There is also a small aquarium right next to the light house, with some fun activities for the kids. In the aquarium inside we saw sea slugs, anenomies, starfish, and our first live abalone. We were also able to tour inside The Head Lightkeeper's home. It was all nicely restored inside, and the girls had fun exploring the rooms and asking about some of the uses of the vintage appliances. We had a picnic right outside and managed to finish most of our lunch before the rain came down. Momma braved the rain to get one last photo at Devil's Punchbowl in Russian Gulch State Park. It is a huge 100 ft wide by 60 ft deep collasped sea cave or sinkhole. After all this fun, we made the drive back home in the rain We had sunny and clear days the majority of our trip, so it was nice the rain held out until our final day.


Heading toward the lightkeepers homes

The Head Lightkeeper's workstation with a view

Exploring the restored interior; Alina dug the wash bin

Charming dining room in the Head Lightkeeper's house

Alina and Whaley saved us a table for our picnic

Devil's Punchbowl in Russian Gulch State Park

Monday, June 3, 2013

Beautiful MacKerricher State Park - Fort Bragg, CA

Entrance and visitor center at the state park

Massive gray whale skeleton at MacKerricher State Park

Beautiful yellow flower fields in May

The girls roaming the park and searching for flowers

Pretty girls and bright flowers

Exploring MacKerricher State Park tide pools

The girls loved all the hermit crabs

Much to mom's dismay, daddy and Elise scaled this steep rock
  
 
We spent day two, of our Mendocino trip, visiting the very beautiful MacKerricher State Park in Fort Bragg. I can't emphasize enough, how incredibly fascinating this park is. Upon our entrance to the park, we were greeted by the massive gray whale skeleton. The girls had fun posing next to it, pretending to be eaten (a la Pinocchio), and climbing through its belly to make a quick escape. We spent the rest of the day exploring and admiring the natural beauty of the park. With every turn we were met by the most stunning views and the May weather was nothing short of perfect. There were fields of bright yellow flowers; wooden pathways leading to scenic ocean lookout points; colorful ice plants blanketing the shore; tide pools; an idyllic lake; and perhaps the most exciting part of the day was watching the seals from the cliffs above the beach. There were close to fifty of them just sleeping on the beach and basking in the sun. A few of them had pups, and watching the interaction between mother and baby was wonderful to see. I would love to bring the girls back again someday. They had plenty of fun on this day trip and really enjoyed spending time with their grandparents too.
 

Bright yellow ice plants cover the beach of MacKerricher SP

Nana and papa scored a great seal watching spot

We saw tons of seals and even a few pups on the beach

More stunning views in MacKerricher State Park

Little Alina caught a ladybug

Idyllic Lake Cleone