'Nastics Outfit

One day, Tanner is going to kill me for this post but he loves his 'nastics suits and insists on wearing it to dance to "Rockstar" by the Fresh Beat Band. The gymnastics outfit was given to Kayla from her cousin Cate but our little boy bander sort of borrowed it. You can't see it here, but the outfit definitely sparkles in person. Kayla has some beautiful ballet moves that she does while Tanner runs around like a crazy man. They are such a cute team!

My Baby's First Day of School

Tanner had his first day at Marina Tots today! His Mama was a little sad when she left him there:( Of course, I am thrilled that he transitioned well when I left him. He was so excited to go to school that he jumped right into the train bin when he got there. He appeared to be one of the oldest kids in the class so he should do great (as long as he shares!). Kayla was also excited. She got to drop Tanner off with us and say hi to her old teachers. I can't believe I have a few hours to myself now twice a week. It's pretty quiet in the house right now as I blog. Too quiet!

Crick's 40th Birthday with the Kids

I spent my birthday doing what I love...spending time with friends and family. Between hanging with my friends in Sonoma and going out to dinner in SF, I was able to have a little birthday celebration with Kayla and Tanner. First, we ate their homemade cupcakes together and then we opened cards and gifts. Tanner gave me an ice cream truck birthday card and said his favorite thing about me is ice cream trucks...hmmmm. Kayla gave me a princess birthday card and said her favorite thing about me is everything....can't beat that.

After Kyle and I got ready to go out to dinner with my sisters, the kids piled on us for a photo!

Swimming with Floaties

As I mentioned in my earlier post, the kids are starting to love swimming. We bought some arm floaties a while ago that didn't work. They kept deflating so I wrote them off. Libby insisted that they work so I went to Target last week and bought a different brand. Well, of course, they work. Check out the kids in the video below. Kayla loves being independent with her floaties...adorable!!

Weekend at Aunt B's!

On the carousel with Aunt B (above)

On the choo choo in the playground (above)...didn't get a photo of the actual steam train we went on

In the airplane at the playground.

While Kyle was away at his 25 year high school reunion in Conway, Arkansas, I took the kids down to Libby's to hang out in the sunshine! We went to the park and rode on a choo choo and a carousel, played at the playground, swam in B's pool, took walk after walk in the neighborhood and ate a great dinner with Libby and Steve. The weather was absolutely perfect and the kids are starting to love the pool...which makes mama verrrrryyy happy.

Los Altos Art & Wine Festival

We found ourselves at the Los Altos Art & Wine Festival late Sunday afternoon. We met Libby there and hung out for a couple of hours. The kids loved the rides, snow cones and face painting.

Choo Choo!

Dragon Ride

Kayla looks a lot like my mom in the above photo.

4th of July in Russian River/Guerneville

We took our summer vacation at the Russian River with the Whites, the Hylands and the Retchlesses. The kids had a blast. Our rental house had a pool in the backyard and a big stretch of lawn in the front yard. We swam and also explored the area from Armstrong Woods all the way out to Jenner, where the Russian River meets the ocean.

The Gang: Kayla, Hanna Hyland, Reed Hyland, Paisley Hyland, Charlie White, Henry White and Tanner

We ventured over to Francis Ford Coppola's winery in Geyserville and spent the day at the pool there. Yes, a winery with a pool! It was very upscale and we were able to order gourmet pizza and drinks poolside! It's also a very family friendly place believe it or not.

Our umbrella set-up at Johnson's Beach. Sorry about the shadows but the sun was so bright and hot that we needed all that shade! The temps were into the 90's while we were there and might have even hit 100!

Kayla insisted on a kayak ride with her dad. She loves boat rides!

Johnson's Beach had great food....mostly because the cheeseburgers cost $2.50 and a giant soft serve was $1.50. The kids only wanted to eat ice cream...no surprise there.

Kayla and Paisley in the backyard posing in their 4th of July outfits.

We saw some gorgeous scenery around where the river meets the sea in Jenner.

Here are the kids at Armstrong Woods aka the Redwood Forest. The kids started running the minute their little feet hit the trail. They are their happiest in nature!

Family photo in the woods!

Kayla and Tanner in front of the Armstrong Tree - oldest tree at Armstrong Woods - over 1400 years old.

Getting ready for Kayaking!

Soccer Tots Team Photo

Is there anything cuter than a team photo for 2 year old soccer players? Funny! Tanner is to the coach's right.

Mother's Day

We spent Mother's Day at Angel Island. I knew this would be the perfect day since I could spend time with my little family, get some nature in and squeeze in a little hike for exercise!

The boat ride from Tiburon to Angel Island. The Golden Gate Bridge is in the distance.

This is the view from our hike - looking back at Tiburon with Mt Tamalpais in the background.

The day was pretty windy but that didn't stop the kids from getting ice cream after the boat ride....never seen them sit still for so long.

Kyle is smiling because the kids took a nap the whole time we hiked:)

Mother's Day ended on a great note! Kyle made me steak, broccoli and mashed potatoes....one of my most favorite meals and the kids gave me the cutest hand painted gifts.

Stow Lake

Kayla eating ice cream during our first visit to Stow Lake

On a particularly warm day in May, I walked the kids over to Stow Lake. I knew they would enjoy walking around the lake (ok, let's face it, kayla's favorite part was the ice cream/snack shack). Tanner slept for the first half of our journey but woke up when Kristina and Jon, Hannah and Zoe arrived. We had a great day hiking around in nature and enjoying the nice weather. Kayla kept asking if we could take a pedal boat out. I wasn't feeling very confident taking two toddlers out on a boat by myself so I promised we would come back with Dad on the weekend. Well, we did (pictures above) and it was well worth the return trip! We had so much fun just pedaling around Stow Lake for 40 minutes. It's the little things.

Ever Find a Robot in your Bathroom?

This one speaks for itself.

Bubble Trike

Kayla's new game is popping bubbles while riding on her trike. Tanner just runs around like a wild man trying to catch bubbles. We are using our backyard a lot more now that the kids are a little older.

Choo Choo

Kyle took off for a conference so Crick loaded up the Little Strands and took them to visit Aunt B. We had dinner at The Counter on California Street in Palo Alto and then took Mr and Ms. Little Legs down to the train station at the end of the block. The evening was very warm...still in the high 70's at 7pm. We waited about 20 minutes for the train's arrival but when it finally came, both Kayla and Tanner were overjoyed!

Make a Wish!

A post dedicated to blowing out the candles....

Kayla's Royal Birthday Guests

Kayla opening presents with Princess Reece.

Baby Sloane!

The Roayal Basketball Team?

Princess Hug...awwww.

The Royals! (Sir Tan-a-Lot had to get in the act!)

Kayla's 3rd Birthday Party!

Kayla LOVED here Princess Party. Here are the basics: the cake, the activity table for painting, the party favor bags (brought to you by Aunt B) and the Lunch Table. I spent the night before making those pink and white puff balls - and had to make extra because Kayla wanted to play with them, throw them around and, most importantly, squoosh them so I couldn't use them! Ha ha. Thanks to Cortney for telling me how to make those things. Aunt B made a special CD for the girls as a party favor with some GREAT songs on it. She had all kinds of other goodies in there including M&M's (Kayla's favorite), a multi--colored pencil and other treats. The cake was an ice cream cake from Baskin & Robbins (Crick's favorite). Next post will feature the Royal Guests:)