Happy Easter 2015!

Easter egg hunt fun 2015

Pretty painted Easter eggs

The girls enjoyed their fried egg bunny rabbits

The look of egg discovery

The hunt kept them very entertained

The girls were very excited about their Easter egg hunt this year. The morning began with fried egg bunny rabbits, and a special note from the Easter Bunny telling them that the egg hunt was a team effort this year, so basically two eggs in each hiding spot. Even Mr. Bunny is aware that sisters can always improve upon their sharing skills - Hah! While the girls found PLENTY of eggs and goodies, I think their favorite part was the cute fluffy toy chicks they got. The Easter sugar goodness should last them well until the next big holiday. Happy Easter 2015!

The BIG Easter baskets goods

In sync with their Easter finds

The bunny left plenty of treats along with fuzzy chicks

Look who found the Easter Bunny's special basket

Enjoying the bounty of Easter goodies

Gymnastic Tuesdays

Little gymnasts! They love Tuesday night gymnastics classes

The girls started gymnastics classes last month, and now look forward to Tuesday nights every week. Tuesday has become far superior to Friday in fact, all because they get to run, jump, bounce, flip, stretch, twist and get all their pent up energy out. Thank goodness for Groupon. I got a great deal for three months of gymnastics classes at a local gym.They have learned so much already and mom, dad and even grandma have all been able to join in on the fun as Alina's class is parent participation. During class, they especially enjoy the trampoline, rings, and bars. Their next favorite part of class is at the end when they get to chase bubbles and get colorful stamps on their hands and feet. It's the little things; go figure. I am so proud of their progress and hope that this is something we can do long term as long as they continue to show this much enthusiasm.

Happy Mother's Day 2014! Preschool Celebration & Berry Fest

West African drum and dance performance at preschool

Strawberry shortcake cuties

Momma with her favorite girls at Berry Fest 2014

Mother's Day 2014 was such fun. Momma got spoiled by the girls at their preschool Mother's Day celebration. They made me adorable gifts, sang me a song and showered me with plenty of hugs and love. Since the girls are learning about Africa at school, we were treated to a very fun West African drum and dance session and even invited to dance along. It was a nice surprise and despite my blatant lack of rhythm, I gave it a shot. We also headed out to Berry Fest in Roseville on Saturday. The girls love to go every year, and I mainly tag along for the fresh strawberry smoothies, strawberry salsa and to take home a case of locally grown strawberries.

While I love to lavish in a little extra affection on Mother's Day weekend, I certainly can't forget to mention the two most special moms in our lives; Grandma and Nana. We owe our family to them and they are loved and adored beyond belief. The girls love spending time with them and we are so fortunate to live so close and see them on a regular basis. Happy Mother's Day to all the hard-working and loving moms of the world!

Slide, bounce house and hula hoop play time

Miss Elise picking out a crate of fresh strawberries

Two adored moms and two special little girls. Happy Mother's Day!

Lunar Eclipse April 15, 2014

Beautiful phases of the total lunar eclipse on April 15, 2014

The recent lunar eclipse on April 15, 2014 was completely worth sacrificing sleep on a weekday evening. Dad and mom stayed up until 12:45 am watching the phases and progression of the eclipse and we took plenty of photos. Once it reached the final stage, the moon turned from its usual white/gray illumination to blood orange/red in color. It was an incredible sight to see. This is the first of a series of four total lunar eclipses set to occur over the next year. We will certainly be watching the next one on October 8, 2014. A big shout out to Mother Nature for the free show, and for making it a series (hah)!

Spring Fun 2014 at Fairytale Town

Spring fun at Fairytale Town in Sacramento

Beautiful pink dogwood tree in bloom

The cheese does not stand alone

Elise hamming it up

Lovely yellow rosa banksiae flowers

Play time silliness; love Alina's laughter

Pretty pink/purple leaf plum blossoms

Audrey, the happiest little conductor

Thrill seeker Alina loves the slides

Sunny Spring Day at William Land Park, Sacramento

Spring family photo in the lovely daisy field at Land Park

Sweet Elise posing by the flowers

Little Miss Sunshine, Alina

Daydreamers - Alina and Audrey

When it comes to flower power and girlish prowess, we've got it down. Dad is along for the ride, and he's a good sport at that, even if it means posing in a field of dainty daisies just for his girls. The girls had fun playing in the flowery grass with their littlest friend, Baby Audrey. They picked flowers and then went to feed the geese and ducks at the pond. Once they fed the ducks, they made sure to help them run off the snacks by chasing them all around the park. Afterwards, we all headed to nearby Fairytale Town for an afternoon of fun. More photos to come soon!

Future besties - Alina and Audrey

Playing by the tallest tree they could find

Borrowing dad's shades

Feeding then chasing the geese and ducks at Land Park

Elise chasing a mallard. This makes me smile every time

First Big Vacation of the New Year

Gorgeous views of MacKerricher State Park - Fort Bragg

All of us on the trail toward Point Cabrillo Light House

Beautiful plants & flowers at the Mendocino Botanical Gardens

We just spent an extended weekend visiting the gorgeous Mendocino Coast and Fort Bragg, CA. It was a much needed escape, as we have spent the past four months relatively housebound fighting off virus after virus. I swore that I was going to have to call the CDC in to come decontaminate our house; it was that bad. Since both the girls are in preschool, they pretty much brought home new super viruses the entire cold and full season. Mom caught them, dad caught them, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins; nobody was immune and this was a tough flu season. I'm feeling on top of the world that we survived and that we were all collectively healthy enough to take a weekend getaway. The girls did pretty well on the long drive, though poor little Alina got car sick during the windy roads on the drive up. Nana and papa joined us on the trip and it was fun to get to share the weekend with them. As nice as it is getting a short vacation, wrangling two kids under three can be exhausting, especially when they are bouncing off the floor, beds and walls in the hotel room and fighting going to sleep (ahhh, insanity haha), that's when nana and papa came to the rescue and we all enjoyed wine on the balcony. Here are just a few photos from the trip. More to come soon.

Glass Beach in Fort Bragg

Irises and Gunnera Manicata (aka. Dinosaur Plant)

Taking a dip after a fun day of exploring

 

Cupcakes & Kiddos



Alina's first cupcake! She enjoyed it; so much so that we
had to change her shirt and shorts...cute messy baby


"Today is a good day for a cupcake...Mmmm" - Elise

Easter Festivities 2013 - Part II

 

Alina loved her first real egg hunt, she was quick too!

 

The Easter Bunny brought plenty of goodies this year
 

Elise all in pink, and on the hunt for Easter eggs

 

After finding her huge Easter Egg; proud little girl

 

Marshmallow lollipop brigade, don't mess with our sweets! 

We skipped dyeing eggs this year,
in favor of a painted Easter bunny  

Voila - Mr. Easter Bunny all finished