Lyndsay Lou

Chalk

2012-02-17T07:00:00.000-08:00

This month I finally decided to bust out a large pack of sidewalk chalk because the weather has been so darn good. Mags and I have been outside as much as possible these days because who knows when the temps are going to change and actually make this area feel like winter again.

Let's Go Bowling (Andy)

2012-02-15T07:00:00.000-08:00

Last Wednesday Maggie and I met up with some friends from our moms group at a local bowling alley. Because the kids had never been bowling before, the alley staff put up bumpers in the lanes and provided a little rail/ramp contraption for the kids to push their bowling balls from. Everyone started without using the rail/ramp and simply pushed the ball from the end of the lane, but after we saw how long it took for the balls to roll to the end, we decided the rail/ramp was a better way to go. Maggie's team consisted of Maggie and three other friends but the entire group of kids totaled about 10. Maggie did a great job and enjoyed bowling with her friends. And, I must brag, Maggie was the youngest on her team and totally won the game! Yeah! (Next time I'm bringing my bowling ball and shoes. I totally wanted to play.)

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-13T07:00:00.000-08:00

Maggie, Chad and I hope you all have a wonderfully sweet Valentine's Day tomorrow. Here is Mags helping me stuff her valentines for her little buds.

Walk in line

2012-02-10T07:00:00.000-08:00

This past fall our neighbors put in a cement border in their front yard. Maggie thinks it's the BEST. She can walk the border over and over again when I let her. Creatively, she calls it walking in line. Maggie even got Chad to play it with her last weekend. They had to be careful with their balance because the grass, according to Chad, was hot lava.

Jason Wu

2012-02-08T07:00:00.000-08:00

Oh yes I did. Bright and early Sunday morning I waiting with others outside of Target for the debut of the Jason Wu collection. And it was such a fun experience! I was nervous that the people in line before me were going to buy everything to resell on eBay, but that was not the case at all. We all worked together. Even before the doors opened we knew who was looking for which styles and in which sizes. In the dressing rooms we were sharing the clothes that didn't fit/we didn't like and ultimately I ended up with a dress and 4 tops. I'm really excited about each of them. Yeah!

crafty gals

2012-02-01T07:00:00.000-08:00

Last week my friend Amy organized a little craft night at her house. She had the supplies for fabric Valentine love banners for our mantels so that's what we made. It was fun hanging out with the girls and getting crafty for the evening. Hopefully we'll do it again soon.

Smashed

2012-01-30T07:00:00.000-08:00

A little over a week ago Maggie and I went to lunch with friends. Everything was great: the food, the company, the kids' behavior...and then it happened. Just before we were getting ready to leave two of Maggie's fingers got smashed inside a heavy industrial strength metal door. CRAP! She was immediately able to move and use them so we knew they weren't broken, but the skin on the underside was torn-the-heck-up. She didn't cry right away. She looked at me in shock. Then the tears came and she was super sad. I was sad for her. I ran as fast as I could but just couldn't get there fast enough to save her.

It's funny (just slightly) because Maggie is all about safety. She loves seat belts, helmets, etc., but for some reason her little fingers are completely fascinated by the cracks in doors. Maybe this incident will stop this fascination? We can only hope.

Art Club

2012-01-27T07:00:00.000-08:00

For January's toddler art club we painted butterflies. Chad drew the butterfly template, I cut them out, and 11 kids painted them. Seriously, they loved the craft. In fact, a few of them painted two because they enjoyed it so much. Basically you let the kids paint as they want, then fold the butterfly in half and press the wings down. After pressing, let the child open the wings to unveil the neat pattern they designed. At the end we taped antennae to the back of the butterflies and then let them dry while the kids ~~destroyed the house~~ played with Maggie's toys and chased each other around. The children played so well together that the moms got to (mostly) relax for a few hours and chat. Fun art club day for everyone.

oranges

2012-01-25T07:00:00.000-08:00

Last week, because our area has been freezing overnight, we picked the oranges that have been growing in our backyard. Maggie helped me. Our tiny trees produced 12 oranges this year, all full and round and bright and, well, slightly sour. Not sour enough to toss, but not sweet like the few we had last year. Darn! Fortunately I like fruit, even when it's slightly on the sour side, so these oranges will not go to waste.

fun visit

2012-01-23T07:00:00.000-08:00

Last week Maggie and I spent the day with my grandma (GG) and my mom. We went shopping, had lunch, and Maggie got to show GG some of her new and favorite toys. Always a good time when the four of us are together.

Monarch butterflies

2012-01-20T07:00:00.000-08:00

While we were at the coast we took a side trip to see the monarch butterflies. Since it's the time of year they migrate to the sound end of Pismo Beach, I really wanted to take Maggie so she could see them as I did many years ago. Chad and my parents had never been to the grove either so it was a first for most of the group. Anyway, I have to be honest: I was not impressed by the grove. While they've made many improvements (like fencing in the trees, adding paths, opening a gift shop, hosting lectures, etc.) the butterfly population itself was nothing to get excited about. Where there used to be huge blobs of butterfly clusters everywhere in the mid-late 90s, there were just a couple this time. And I remember butterflies swirling around like falling snow, and this time we saw just a few flutter here and there. And at the risk of sounding old, I have to say it was a much neater experience way back then. Oh well! (Oh, and unrelated but funny, while there Maggie needed to find a good hiding spot so she could poop, and apparently this small cone/sign combo fit the bill.)

Central Coast

2012-01-18T07:00:00.000-08:00

A few days ago we returned from a long weekend at the Central Coast. While there we ate plenty, walked around San Luis Obispo, Avila Beach and Morro Bay, hit up a few parks, saw some monarch butterflies, and spent time with the family. The purpose of the trip was our annual get-together with my dad's side of the family. As always it was a brief reunion, but we enjoyed spending time with them.

Helmet Head

2012-01-11T07:00:00.000-08:00

The bigger kids all wear helmets (as required by law) when they ride their bikes on our street. Maggie noticed and excitedly decided that she wanted to wear one too. Lucky us! My parents bought her one for Christmas and boy does she love it. She always wears it when she rides both of her trikes and her red car. Proud as can be.

(It looks huge but is really quite snug. And yes, in these photos it's on backwards. Didn't realize it until I took it off. Ha!)

Maggie's Gym

2012-01-09T07:00:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of the month we started Maggie in classes at My Gym. (<--Click on the link if you want more info about it.) We started last Monday and will go once a week. Part of the hour-long class is structured and the rest is free play with the teachers (and parents). Fortunately Chad had the day off for her first class so he got to play with her while I took the photos. Maggie loved it. Let me know if any of you have more questions about it or the classes. They are lots of fun and not far from our house.

Sew Craft Create!

2012-01-06T20:41:00.000-08:00

2012

2012-01-06T07:00:00.000-08:00

Maggie stayed overnight with my parents on New Year's Eve. Chad and I went to a movie that afternoon, had dinner reservations that evening and then were off to a party for the rest of the evening. These are the hats I brought home for Maggie to play with the next day. She thinks they're beautiful. Happy New Year!

Last post from 2011

2012-01-04T07:00:00.000-08:00

For some reason at Christmas I neglected my camera. I had it with me, in my lap even, but still forgot to take as many photos as I wanted to. I did manage to take a few, so here is the best of Christmas 2011.

holiday luncheon

2012-01-02T07:00:00.000-08:00

Just before Christmas Maggie and I were invited to our friends' house for lunch. It was a moms/toddlers Christmas luncheon with Christmas tree decorating, homemade mac and cheese eating, playing and, of course, a little dancing.

special visitors

2011-12-30T07:00:00.000-08:00

Before Christmas we had the pleasure of spending time with my long-time (and far away living) friend Tami, her famous-in-New-England husband, and their super-duper son. Their son was, in fact, born just a couple weeks before Maggie and sadly this was the first time we've met him. When he got out of the car Maggie's first words were "oh, he's cute!" That girl. Anyway, they made the effort to come see us for the day and we had such a nice time catching up in person, having dinner and letting the kids play a bit.

for Maggie's buds

2011-12-28T07:00:00.000-08:00

Maggie and I made some Christmas peppermint play-dough to give to some of her friends this year. We had fun making it and hope they are enjoying it too.

for Loren

2011-12-27T07:00:00.000-08:00

She was distracted at the park and this video is the best I could get. Hopefully you get the idea?

Meet Manny

2011-12-26T07:30:00.000-08:00

This year we jumped on the Elf on the Shelf bandwagon and started the tradition for Maggie. My mom bought Maggie her first elf and he magically appeared in our house at the beginning of the month. Manny, as Maggie named him, has been all over our home, but particularly loves to hang upside down in our house. She thinks he's hilarious and is always enthusiastic when she looks for him each morning. She also loves showing Manny off to her friends when they come over. Unfortunately he had to leave us on Christmas Day and Maggie was disappointed. The good news is that I'm sure he, or one of his friends, will come back next year. (Sorry for all the poor snapshots of him here. He's cuter in real life.)

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T04:00:00.000-08:00

We hope you are able to relax and enjoy this special day!

the shiner was worth it

2011-12-23T09:27:00.000-08:00

Maggie's friend turned three this month and we got to help her celebrate at a local kids gym. She had a ball and I had a good time taking a few action shots of her playing. As you can see she absolutely loves jumping on this (as did most of the other kids) and I was able to capture a few shots of her catching air (look closely). At one point she did bonk heads with one of her buds, but they were both fine and no one cried. Maggie got a little shiner as a result. She's tough.

Garden update

2011-12-21T07:30:00.000-08:00

Our lettuce has been growing steadily in our garden. Baby romaine is great. And easy to grow!

Pom Poms and Pine Cones

2011-12-19T07:00:00.000-08:00

Earlier in the month Maggie and I hosted our moms group toddler art club again. I thought it would be fun to make pine cone Christmas trees with the kids and I think they enjoyed themselves. I was able to photograph a few of the finished products before everyone left. The kids were proud of their trees and were enthusiastic about taking them home.

Holiday Baking

2011-12-16T07:00:00.000-08:00

Last week my mom came up for the night so we could do our annual holiday baking. This year we made lemon cookies, ginger snaps, oatmeal bars and rocky road.

Jingle Bells

2011-12-14T08:30:00.000-08:00

Two weekends ago my dad sang Jingle Bells to Maggie. I'd say he sang it a total of 4 times. Here she is repeating what he sang the next day. She's a fast learner!

Decorating for Christmas

2011-12-12T07:46:00.000-08:00

After we returned from our Thanksgiving trip to Shaver, Chad, Maggie and I decorated our house for Christmas. Maggie's favorite item from the boxes was a Christmas item from Chad's childhood. It's an angel candle holder that spins due to the heat from the flame. And as it spins, it dings a little bell. Maggie was fascinated by it and sat and watched it for awhile.

Santa

2011-12-09T07:30:00.000-08:00

Over Thanksgiving weekend Maggie met Santa. He was in Shaver that Saturday ready to take pictures, talk to the kids, and give out stockings and candy canes. Maggie was excited to meet him. I was super curious about how she'd react to sitting on his lap because last year she didn't think it was the greatest. This year, however, I really talked him up for the week or so before they met and she lit up when she saw him sitting in his chair. Here's the funny thing: she was way stoked to sit on his lap, but would not look at his face. Even once. She smiled and giggled and talk to him, but was totally timid when it came to looking at him. At least she was brave enough to sit on his lap and talk to him. After the kids all met the big guy they took their gifted stockings to the shops in town and got treats from the store owners. It was basically like trick or treating for Christmas candy, pencils and hot chocolate. No one complained.

Thanksgiving

2011-12-07T07:22:00.000-08:00

Our family had a great Thanksgiving weekend. We were able to spend it with Chad's parents, siblings, and nieces and nephews up in Shaver Lake. There were four people out of the 24 who couldn't make it this year and they were certainly missed. We went early on Thursday and left Sunday afternoon. The holiday weekend was filled with eating food, playing games, doing crafts, riding on the swing, playing in the snow, making bracelets, seeing Santa in town, opening gifts and spending time with each other. So much fun.

Pump It Up

2011-11-25T07:00:00.000-08:00

One of Maggie's buddies turned 3 on Sunday and we helped him celebrate at Pump It Up in Madera. After hearing so much about it for the past couple years we were excited to finally check it out. Such a neat place to go and Maggie loved it. Actually, we all loved it. There are eight huge inflatable slides, obstacle courses and bounce houses that the kids (and adults!) can play on. Chad, Maggie and I climbed up the slide a number of times and man, that was fun. Chad recorded Maggie going down a slide for the first time. The end looks pretty rough, but she was in her glory.

A quick hello and...

2011-11-24T07:00:00.000-08:00

First Snow Day

2011-11-23T07:00:00.000-08:00

We spent the past Saturday and Sunday with my parents at the cabin. Saturday was overcast and cool, but stayed dry. We woke up on Sunday to a snow storm with the ground and trees covered with soft white snow. After Maggie woke up we dressed her in some warm clothes and let her play in it for awhile. She tried to eat the snowflakes as they were falling, jumped in the snow, rode around in a sled with Chad, helped my dad shovel the snow layer on the front deck, and picked up more than her share of snow with her gloved hands. Unfortunately the gloves were more for style and cool weather rather than for snow because her little hands froze after about 20 minutes of playing. Hard to believe the first snow of the season (for us) has arrived before Thanksgiving.

Yo Gabba Gabba

2011-11-21T07:00:00.000-08:00

On Friday we took Maggie to see the live action show: Yo Gabba Gabba, It's Time to Dance! and it was awesome! We all had so much fun, especially Maggie, and we are so glad we made the effort to go. Mags was in her glory, singing and dancing and screaming with the best of them. The band, Yacht, performed a song and Biz Markie performed for us too. So cool! Next time they come to Fresno we're taking Maggie, for sure.

Turkeys Making Turkeys

2011-11-18T07:00:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the week-long lag in posting. Maggie and I have been busy preparing for Thanksgiving. Hard to believe we're less than a week away.

Anyway, yesterday Maggie and I had our art club friends over for the morning. She was so excited for their arrival and absolutely loves having her friends here to play. The craft I planned for the kids was a little painted hand-print turkey I found online. The kids enjoyed themselves and made some cute little turkeys to hang up at home.

Summer Shoes

2011-11-11T07:00:00.000-08:00

Now that it's fall and the temps are cooling down, I think it's time to start packing away some of Maggie's summer shoes. I figured, just like I did last spring, that I'd document what she's worn in the past season for her baby book. This time we're showing off her purple Keen sandals (her favorites), her pink Target Circo flip flops, her rainbow Keen sandals, her pink Nike strap shoes (that she could put on all by herself, making them fun for her to wear), and finally her OP water shoes. Goodbye summer!

Uhhhh...

2011-11-09T07:25:00.000-08:00

On Sunday we worked on our garden. We thinned the plants so that the garden veggies would have plenty of room to grow. Maggie helped us by putting dirt in a bucket. Additionally, she pretended to eat some of the food that we are growing. Pretended so well, in fact, that she believed it herself and took a nice big bite of dirt. If only you could have seen her tongue before I was able to grab my camera. Yum.

Cars

2011-11-07T07:15:00.000-08:00

In September Chad put together the two Plasma cars we bought for Maggie last year. She's finally old enough and agile enough to ride them and, since they are appropriate for both kids and adults, Chad practiced riding it with her. She's definitely getting the hang of it. And I'll be honest: I'm having fun on them too.

Blue Steel

2011-11-04T08:12:00.000-07:00

Last month at the pumpkin patch Maggie worked on her Zoolander Blue Steel impression. Not bad.

Trunk or Treat

2011-11-02T07:57:00.000-07:00

This weekend our moms group organized a fun trunk or treat for the kids. The little ones (as well as the parents) enjoyed spending time with friends, wearing costumes and collecting candy. Maggie's favorite treasure from her sack of loot was the small bag of goldfish crackers. Good thing I like the rest of what's in her bag. That candy won't go to waste.

Pumpkin Carving

2011-11-01T07:04:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we carved our pumpkins. Chad did an awesome job freehand cutting the cat face on the small pumpkin. It looks even better in real life. I did the buck-toothed happy faced pumpkin, as usual. I also carved a crooked M. We tried to get Mags involved this year but honestly, she wanted nothing to do with it. She was excited at first, but once she realized she was going to have to touch the pumpkin guts, she changed her mind. She did reach in once and pulled out a seed. One seed. And that was enough. You can tell by her face. Later in the evening we went to our friends' annual pumpkin carving party (but cheated and brought our pre-carved pumpkins with us this year). It was still a fun party!

Check here, here, here and here for my previous posts on our pumpkin carving.

Howdy...!

2011-10-31T09:00:00.000-07:00

...and Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-28T07:44:00.000-07:00

Saturday Maggie, Chad and I went to the pumpkin patch with our friends. The same friends, I should add, that we've gone with to the patch the last two years. (see here and here!) There was lots of chasing and wrangling the kids this time but still lots of fun. Below are some photos our friend Matt took for us:

Paper Jack-O-Lanterns

2011-10-26T07:49:00.000-07:00

On Friday Maggie and I had our mom's group friends over for a little craft time. The children created collage pumpkins on paper and surprisingly really enjoyed themselves. Sometimes with toddlers crafts can be a little hit-or-miss when it comes to interest and enjoyment, but I chose well with this one, fortunately, and the children liked it. After the craft we headed to the backyard for the activity that is ALWAYS a hit: running wild and playing.

Bunnies

2011-10-25T07:47:00.000-07:00

Recently a member of our mom's group organized a time for the kids to visit with a litter of two week old bunnies. Super cute and super tiny. Maggie didn't have much interest in holding one, but she did enjoy petting them. Tiny bunnies are cute.

Dry Lake and Friends

2011-10-24T07:15:00.000-07:00

Chad, Maggie and I spent last weekend with our friends at the cabin. We mostly caught up with each other because they live in the Bay Area and don't see them as often as we'd like, but we also squeezed in quite a bit of eating, dart throwing, block stacking (with Mags) and hiking. Before our friends arrived Chad, Mags and I took a drive to the lake. It is being drained, the first time since 1920, to repair the dam and currently looks pretty sparse. They won't let anyone on the lake bed and, as you can see from Maggie's reaction about being held and not allowed to run wild, she wasn't happy about that.

Lodi

2011-10-21T07:50:00.000-07:00

Last week my mom, Maggie and I went to Lodi to visit my grandma (GG), aunts, uncles and cousins. It was a quick overnight trip but we managed to pack a lot in and have a great time. We ate, visited, played a card game (Maggie enjoyed helping us), hit up IKEA and watched our cousin and her high school team win their water polo game. Yeah! Of course I found a sign near the high school pool that I HAD to take a photo of. You've got to love the schools in California...ha!

Montana de Oro

2011-10-19T06:13:00.000-07:00

Before heading home from the Central Coast Chad and I went to Montana de Oro in Los Osos for the morning. Notice my second brave stop in a porta potty. Ew! Anyway, the trails were a rad way to end our trip and a great way to celebrate our anniversary.

Up the Coast

2011-10-17T07:11:00.000-07:00

For one of the days during our anniversary trip we decided to drive up the coast and see where we ended up. We both had done this many times in the past, but it had been awhile since we made the time to visit the smaller, charming coastal towns.

We started in Cayucos. The primary reason I wanted to go there was to check out the candy shop I've always known and loved. The bummer news is that it moved and, even though it's fancier and in a larger retail space, it is no longer the same candy shop I remember. Darn! After going there we decided to walk along the pier and then check out the cookie factory. We have eaten the cookies before at our friends' house, but now we know where they got them. A neat little place.

After Cayucos we drove up to Ragged Point. Wow has that stop changed in the last 10 years! What used to be a pull-over lookout point now has a hotel, wedding reception area, two restaurants and a gift shop. Still a pretty stop, though, and I'm glad we drove up to see it.

Then we drove to the small (population 18) town of Harmony. There are two shops in town, a pottery shop/art gallery and a glassblowing studio/gallery. It was also there that I used the first of TWO porta potties during that trip. Yuck. After Harmony we had lunch in Cambria at Robin's before heading back down to Morro Bay for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

Morro Bay

2011-10-14T07:31:00.000-07:00

While we love the city of San Luis Obispo, we decided to make this trip a little different and stay in Morro Bay. The town is known for being foggy and cold nearly year round, but this weekend it wasn't meant to be. It was cool (upper 60s) but the sun replaced the typical fog during our visit. Lucky us! We ate two delicious dinners over the weekend, one at The Galley and the other at Dorn's. Highly recommend both if you find yourself in the area. We were able to easily walk to the shops and restaurants on the Embarcadero because we chose to stay down by the water. The top left photo is the view from our hotel balcony.

Weekend Trip

2011-10-12T07:21:00.000-07:00

Chad and I began our anniversary trip in San Luis Obispo. We had sushi for lunch at Raku and afterwards walked around downtown for the afternoon. It was neat seeing which parts of the town have remained unchanged and which have matured, been upgraded or just completely changed. I love that town. We also happened upon one of the best new places I've seen in awhile and was floored and excited to see that it was thriving in our old town: Kreuzberg CA - a book bar and coffee lounge. Rad, rad, rad. It's busy, arty, hip, youthful, spacious, vibrant, indie...ah! I loved it! And before I forget, a BIG thank you to my parents for watching Maggie for the weekend so we could celebrate our anniversary!

Happy Anniversary to Us

2011-10-10T07:56:00.000-07:00

This weekend Chad and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary. We decided to head back to the place where we met and began dating 13 years ago...the beautiful Central Coast. More photos to come.

Harvest Festival

2011-10-07T07:10:00.000-07:00

We spent the afternoon on Sunday at the Great American Harvest Festival. The proceeds from the fair went towards the Childhood Language Center, a local non-profit agency. The free event had bounce houses (Maggie's favorite), face painting (or hand and leg, as Maggie chose), music, games, booths and food. They chose the perfect day for the event because the weather was mild and sunny and totally pleasant.

Fall Planting

2011-10-05T07:02:00.000-07:00

Chad, Maggie and I finished tearing out our summer garden (goodbye tomatoes) on Sunday and prepped the box for our fall/winter garden. We've mostly skipped cool weather crops in the past so this year will be interesting to see how they turn out. We planted baby romaine lettuce, carrots, broccoli and peas and Maggie really enjoyed helping us this time, especially with the big the pea seeds. It'll be fun for all of us to watch this new garden grow and we'll keep you updated on how things are turning out.

Beach Party

2011-10-03T07:55:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we celebrated the birthday of Maggie's friend. She had a beach party and we all had a good time partying with her. Maggie enjoyed drawing with sidewalk chalk, swimming, decorating a visor, eating lunch, and most of all, playing with the other kids.

Pirate Party

2011-09-30T07:00:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday one of Maggie's friends turned three. He had his pirate themed birthday party at a local park and his mom went crazy with the decorations, food and activities. I wish I'd taken photos of everything before the kids enjoyed it because it was so stinking cute. Maggie got to make a pirate hat, search for some jewels in the pirate's booty tub, spot treasures with her scope and, of course, play at the park. The food included the most adorable blue jello cups with orange floating pirate ships, cupcakes, tons of fruit, crackers, etc. Cute cute cute.

Monopoly Mania

2011-09-28T07:25:00.000-07:00

Chad and I have been to a number of fundraising events lately. Friday night we went to HandsOn Central California's annual Monopoly Mania event. It was F.U.N. and I hope we get to go again next year. Food, drinks, Monopoly, prizes, auctions, raffles, going to jail...they had it all. Such a wild event and I hope HandsOn earned lots of money that night. I was sent to jail three times ($5 to get out and back in the game) and Chad was there a couple times too.

Courtesy of Mike Scott

Fire Station

2011-09-26T07:09:00.000-07:00

On Friday Maggie and I went with our moms group to a nearby fire station for a tour. The three men were expecting us and had an age-appropriate talk and tour for the nearly 30 of us who came. All of the kids received fire hats when they arrived (a bit hit) and before leaving they were given stickers (another big hit). They know what kids like. The kids got to go inside a firetruck, see the living area for the firemen, and learned that we need to have an official fire escape plan for our house. The only part Maggie didn't like was when a fireman tried on his full outfit for the kids. He started with the suit, then put on a beanie, then a gas mask and it was over from there. Maggie ran to my arms and said she wanted to go home and take a nap. It was 10:30am. Hilarious. Once he took off the mask she was OK again and happy to be there. It was a fun morning with our friends.

Hot Air

2011-09-23T07:11:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning, Chad, Maggie and I met up with our friends in downtown Clovis for ClovisFest, the city's annual hot air balloon festival. Chad and I have been before (click here), but this was Maggie's first time. Maggie and her buddy, Nate, enjoyed watching the balloons inflate and set off, but might have liked chasing each other even more. A fun morning for all of us, even though we did have to wake up super early.

Library Cards

2011-09-21T07:00:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday Maggie and her good friend, Kenna, met at the library to get their very own library cards. While the process of getting the cards was slow and boring to the girls, they did enjoy walking along the bookshelves, looking at the books, and playing on the furniture. Happy Library Card month!

BBQ

2011-09-19T07:44:00.000-07:00

The Tulare County Historical Society, an organization that my parents are heavily involved in, held their annual summer BBQ on last Sunday evening. Instead of hosting it on the museum grounds, this year we all went to a member's house for the fundraiser. She lives on a farm in the country with a huge area for tables, horses, musicians, a catering company, a dessert company (who made dutch oven peach cobbler on-site) and over 250 people. Maggie danced a bit, pet a horse, ran around, played with rocks, rode on a vintage toy horse (and subsequently smacked herself in the face with it and lightly busted her lip), met a handsome young cowboy, and looked cute in her little pink dress.

Grandparents Day

2011-09-16T07:30:00.000-07:00

Sunday was Grandparents Day. Chad's station was co-sponsoring an event at the zoo that day so we decided to take my parents for the morning. It was a sprinkly, humid morning but we all had a nice time regardless. We fit in the bird show, made the rounds at the booth area, had lunch, and saw most of the animals at the zoo. Additionally Maggie fed a giraffe, skinned her knees (both knees, twice), gave money to a raven, and acted all cool like a pirate.

She ate cake!

2011-09-14T07:50:00.000-07:00

One of Maggie's friends turned three this past weekend and we helped her celebrate with family and friends at the local water park. Even with threats of thunderstorms in the air Maggie partied hard. The kids played in the water, climbed around the play ground, kicked around a beach ball, ate cake (a first for Maggie!) and overall had a great time. It might be one of the last few times we're at that park this summer so we let her soak it all in. She did and loved every minute of it.

Boating

2011-09-12T07:53:00.000-07:00

As I said last week, we rented a boat on Labor Day weekend. Maggie wasn't digging it for the first hour and we all wondered how long we were going to actually enjoy our time on the lake. After lunch, however, and after we took off her life jacket, her mood changed and she enjoyed herself. She also loved playing in the water so we made sure she got time to do that. The rest of, and the majority of, the afternoon on the boat was great.

Cabin

2011-09-10T07:53:00.000-07:00

For Labor Day weekend we went to the cabin. It was nice to be back in the mountains for three nights--but this time with a kitchen, bed and shower. Ahhh. We relaxed, played darts, Scrabble, went to the swing, watched a movie and walked through a craft fair. On Sunday we rented a pontoon boat and spent the afternoon on Shaver Lake. More about the lake on the next post. Overall, a fun weekend. Hard to believe summer is almost over...

Camping, Day 3

2011-09-07T07:12:00.000-07:00

Sunday, our final full camping day, was the best of the weekend. We all had a blast and everyone was in a great mood. We began the day with a walk around the lake.

Then that afternoon we went to the beach area of the lake, called Sandy Cove, and spent time playing in the water, sand and in Maggie's case, with new friends. She really enjoyed the rides the bigger kids gave her in their boat, digging in the sand with her sand toys, and swimming in the lake with Chad.

Sunday evening we had our last campfire of the trip and Chad had the lighting
of, maintaining, and extinguishing down to a science. Anyone who knows him knows how much he loves building fires, so it was a fun event to watch.

Camping, Day 2

2011-09-05T07:08:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, our second day of camping, we had a couple things planned that we wanted to do. The first was to make the trip to Buck Rock. After breakfast we loaded up and drove the 45 minute trip to the fire lookout station. About ten years ago I spent the night there with my parents who volunteered to watch for fires for a night. Chad had never been and wanted to check it out and see the view.

That afternoon we wanted to rent a canoe to tote Maggie around Hume Lake. So we did. And it was an experience. She liked it for the first 10 minutes. The next 70 minutes she didn't want to be there. She wanted to get out and run around and not be in the boat. She slept in my lap for the last 10 while Chad rowed us to shore. It wasn't a peaceful, relaxing boat trip by any means and unfortunately set the tone for the rest of the evening. Grumpy, whiny, Maggie took my patience and by 8pm it was time for her to go to bed. I would have put her down earlier if I could have. The good news is she fell asleep immediately and we didn't have to fight to put her down. The other good news is that Chad and I ended up with a quiet evening outside by the campfire with no crabby toddler to bother us.

Camping, Day 1

2011-09-02T07:28:00.000-07:00

Our first day of camping began with a hike on the Big Stump trail. It was the same hike Maggie and I took a year ago (click here). Maggie's grown a lot since then and is much more solid on her feet. She still enjoys riding in the backpack, though. Who wouldn't?

After the hike we drove to our camp to unload. Maggie and Chad took a nap after the tent was up and I enjoyed sitting outside, relaxing and reading a magazine! Later in the day, after dinner, the air turned humid we noticed a few sprinkles on our bear box. Huh? It can't rain while we're camping! Good thing we have a good tent and a solid rain-fly. Fortunately the sprinkles only lasted about a minute or two and were super light, so nothing ever got wet. We did, however, get to see something at sunset that Maggie was excited about: a rainbow.

We ended up having about 3 minutes of rain overnight and it was so loud in the tent. I liked it and especially liked that there wasn't any thunder or lightning to accompany it.

Hume Lake

2011-08-31T07:52:00.000-07:00

Last Friday Chad, Maggie and I went to Hume Lake for a long weekend. It was busy and fun and we managed to fit quite a bit into the trip. I will put more photos from our vacation up in the next few days. Click here to compare our family photo this year to the one we shot last year.

1 Fish, 2 Fish

2011-08-26T07:05:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday morning Maggie and I met up with our friends at a local pet store. The store sells fish, birds, rats, guinea pigs, frogs, cats (the usuals) and also has a "doggy daycare". The girls were able to watch all of the animals for a bit from their cages, pay areas and/or aquariums, and even got to watch a few little dogs get haircuts. The girls didn't identify any favorite animals from this trip, but both continuously mimicked the frogs, so maybe they were the biggest hit? Anyway, can't wait to give a big rat to Maggie's friend for her birthday. She is going to love it.

More organic veggies...

2011-08-24T07:10:00.000-07:00

...but not from our house this time. We went to the seasonal Organic Farm Summer Field Days & U-pick sale at Fresno State and enjoyed harvesting food as a family. If you remember (if you don't, shame on you--just kidding--click here) the last time Maggie and I went she was only a few months old. She's changed so much since then and now loves picking out and sampling maynos (tomatoes). Fun to have Chad along with us this time too. The bummer was that at the end I somehow managed to squish some of our juicy strawberries all over my shorts. Frustrating! Anyway, here's what we bought this time: Heirloom tomatoes (cherokee purple and tigerella), strawberries, zucchini, cucumbers (diva), cantaloupe and honeydew melon. Yum!

Wild Water Adventures

2011-08-22T07:01:00.000-07:00

This month my mom, Maggie and I went to Wild Water Adventures twice. My dad came with us once. All summer my friends have been taking their kids there and I wasn't convinced it was an age-appropriate place to take Maggie. In high school (when it was called Clovis Lakes) I went a number of times and then Chad and I hit it up once pre-Maggie. I didn't remember it being particularly toddler-friendly. Wrong! The park has a huge section of water slides and play areas for the toddler and younger kid set, complete with a shallow 1-foot deep pool. Lots of squirty, bubbly, wet entertainment for the kids. To say that Maggie has a blast there is an understatement--I think right now it's her favorite place to be. Too bad her mom didn't realize this earlier in the summer...

Finger Paints

2011-08-19T07:51:00.000-07:00

Last week Maggie and her friend experimented with finger paints. Her friend totally dug getting her hands dirty and playing with the goo. Maggie? Only kinda. She dove in at first, but after about 5 or so minutes decided she wanted her fingers clean. We need to work on that and will try again soon.

Hair, again

2011-08-17T07:30:00.000-07:00

On Sunday Maggie got her hair cut. This time we took her to the same place Chad goes to when he needs a trim. Thanks to her iPad, Maggie did pretty well. She was a bit curious and squirmy in parts, but for the first 90% of the time she sat still and watched a recorded episode of some Disney show. She loved the blow drying.

New Bed

2011-08-15T07:54:00.000-07:00

Maggie's crib converts to a toddler bed and then to a regular double bed as she grows. We decided she was ready for the switch a few weeks back and this weekend we finally went for it. Let me tell you, she has loved it from the first time she saw the new setup. More than the "new" bed, she loves the new bedding and the idea of laying with a sheet over her. It's such a fun novelty that throughout the day on Sunday she climbed in and would pretend to sleep. So far naps have gone OK and bedtime has been great, so fingers crossed that sleeping well in this bed continues.

Family in San Diego

2011-08-12T07:50:00.000-07:00

Chad's parents and grandma live in San Diego so we got to spend quality time with them while we were down there. Maggie had so much fun playing with her grandparents and I'm pretty sure they felt the same way. Maggie also enjoyed snuggling with her great-grandmother, Hazel, and I'm glad we got a photo of them together during our visit with her. The bottom left photo shows the four generations on the couch: Ross (Chad's dad), Hazel, Maggie and Chad. Neat!

San Diego

2011-08-10T07:38:00.000-07:00

Chad, Maggie and I went to San Diego last week and had such a fun time. A beautiful city to visit, for sure. We spent time with family and friends, ate good food, hit the beach, shopped, napped, enjoyed Chad's 20-year high school reunion, and overall had a great vacation. Here are some shots of Maggie playing at the beach. I don't see any particularly wonderful photos here, but a fun morning so I figured I'd document it on the blog anyway.

Portraits

2011-08-08T07:01:00.000-07:00

We were in San Diego last week. I don't have any photos ready from that trip, but I do have a few shots of Maggie that I took in July. I was trying to get her to smile naturally, not her super-happy-photo-cheese smile, but instead I got no smile at all. While these are not her typical look (she almost always has a big smile), I do like the simplicity and softness of them.

Tomatoes

2011-08-05T07:50:00.000-07:00

Those of you who are around Maggie regularly know how much she loves tomatoes. Her favorites are the warm ones she picks straight from the vines in our garden. As happy as I am that she likes the fruit, we'd feel much more comfortable with her eating them after they're sliced, while she's sitting down and supervised. The tomatoes we grow are small and delicious and the perfect size for getting stuck in your throat. Yikes. So...we've started a new thing where after we pick our tomatoes for dinner, Maggie brings the basket of them into the house and helps me wash them. We move a big chair to the sink and she gets to stand on it and give the tomatoes a good scrubbing. She loves it and it's one less (easy) thing I have to do. Now, she may fall off that big chair and break her arm, but at least she's not going to get a tomato stuck in her throat...

Dentist

2011-08-03T07:33:00.000-07:00

Maggie had her first trip to the dentist last week. I know I'm a year late getting her on the dentist train, but sheesh, she still doesn't even have all of her teeth so give me a break. We went to a pediatric dentist near us and the office was great. I am not going to brag about Maggie and her bravery because she left that in the car for this first visit. The visit started with the hygienist showing Mags the dental instruments, which thought were pretty cool. The hygienist then put the spinning brush on Maggie's fingernail to show her how it worked and Maggie thought that was OK too. When it came time to get that brush in her mouth? Forget it. She didn't even want to sit in the chair anymore. So instead Maggie showed them how well she brushes her teeth with a regular toothbrush (standing up). After waiting just a minute the dentist came in to examine her mouth and teeth before giving her a fluoride treatment with a little brush. Once again, she did just OK. This exam consisted of Maggie laying on my lap, me holding her arms down and the dentist gently exploring her mouth. The office assured me that it's typical for a 2-year old not to want to be there, so I'm not going to be hard on her about it. At the end Maggie picked out an orange balloon and an Elmo book to take home (to go with her new toothbrush, paste and floss) for being a ~~good~~ patient. The photos above were taken when things were going well. Ha!

Playland

2011-08-01T07:35:00.000-07:00

After the zoo that Sunday we went to Playland. It was our first time there and our expectations were pretty low. Chad knew they had a carousel and Maggie totally digs those things so he wanted to take her. We bought tickets (cheap!) for the ride and we couldn't wipe the smile off her face. She hugged and kissed her horse before they exited the ride. Then she and Chad went on a little helicopter ride, which she also enjoyed, before we headed home.

Summer Zoo

2011-07-29T07:22:00.000-07:00

We own an annual pass and have made the trip to the zoo in the winter and spring, but this was our first visit in the summer. We picked a mild day to go, got there early and left before noon. Not having to sweat made it much more enjoyable for all of us. Chad is crazy because he suggested the three of us go, just two days after his Half Dome trek, on a Sunday morning. Apparently his body recovers quickly from excruciatingly long hikes. Anyway, when we got there we found out it was one of the giraffe's first birthday at the zoo and they were having a party, hence the party hat on Maggie. While there we looked at some of the animals, watched the bird show (Maggie wanted to tickle the owl after the show...yikes!) and had a nice morning. We like the zoo.

Grapes, our second summer

2011-07-27T07:47:00.000-07:00

I thought we'd remove our grape vine after last year's buggy attempt (see here for a refresher) but before we got our lazy butts around too it, our vine started to grow. This year it really took off. We have leaves and vines all over and these past few weeks we started getting ripe grapes. I'm not sure why we didn't get bugs this year (still working totally organically) but the good news is that we didn't. And the grapes are delicious! Maggie's been scarfing them down and I'm happy to report that we have a few more large bunches soon to be ready. I'm glad our lazy butts didn't take the vine down last year because this year it was totally worth it.

Happy Birthday, Maggie (again)

2011-07-25T07:31:00.000-07:00

Last week we visited our family up in Northern California. They threw Maggie a birthday party filled with swimming, food, cake, music and presents. She had a blast. It was super fun seeing our family and the only way it could have been better is if Chad and my dad were there with us. Hopefully next time.

Yosemite, part 2

2011-07-22T07:13:00.000-07:00

While Chad was hiking to/from Half Dome, the rest of us explored Yosemite Valley. I took a billion photos of waterfalls and I'm not going to bore you with those, so here are a few of the people shots. It was a fun trip and we all had a great time.

Yosemite, part 1

2011-07-20T07:06:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday we went to Yosemite for the night because Chad had a permit to climb Half Dome. He trained diligently for the past three months and I am so proud to say that he made it to the top! He left our camp at 4am and reached the summit at 10:45am. He was back down to greet us at the parking lot just before 6pm. The hike was 17.2 miles. Since I wasn't there, I can't describe how intense the trip was, but I can post a few of his photos. Such an amazing journey for him and we are so stoked that he made it. Awesome!

Summer Reading Program

2011-07-18T07:53:00.000-07:00

This summer Maggie participated in our local library's summer reading program. She had to read (or have read to her) six books in order to reach her goal. Lucky for us, we do that in a day so it wasn't hard for her to finish. After reading the first two books Maggie earned a plastic rainbow Slinky. We keep it in the car and she loves playing with it. Since we don't have stairs, who knows when she'll learn what Slinkys are really all about. After she finished her last four books, she got to pick out either another toy or a book. Smart girl that she is, Maggie chose a new hardcover book called We All Have a Heritage. It's out of her age range now, but in a year I think it'll be relevant. The library's summer reading program is over for this year, but we hope all of Maggie's friends participate next year. It's great!

Birthday Party Videos

2011-07-15T07:22:00.000-07:00

As promised, here are a few little videos from Maggie's party. As I mentioned before, there were 8 kids there to help her celebrate. A few of them are shown in this video.

Maggie's Rainbow Party

2011-07-13T07:34:00.000-07:00

On Saturday Maggie's best friends came over for her second birthday celebration. It was a rainbow-themed party filled with water playing fun. We had a kiddie pool with toys and balls and a homemade car wash (kid wash?) for the kids to run through. They seemed to enjoy it. It was a fun party and I know Maggie had a blast. Thanks to everyone who came to help us celebrate our sweet girl's big day!

(A video or two will be uploaded soon.)

The following shots were taken from our photographer friend, Josh. Click here to visit his website.

Happy Birthday, Maggie!

2011-07-11T16:58:00.000-07:00

Last Friday was Maggie's big TWO birthday. For the most part the day was spent getting ready for her birthday party, but we did take a couple hour break in the afternoon to hit Tumble America for some fun. We went with Maggie's friend and her mom (my friend) and the girls jumped and climbed and got some darn good exercise. Later that night we went to sushi for a celebration dinner (Maggie had her share of edamame and shrimp) and opened a few gifts before bedtime. Fun day! Happy birthday, Maggie!

Car Seat

2011-07-06T07:09:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we gave Maggie an early birthday surprise and switched her car seat from back- to front-facing. I have been strict about keeping her back-facing until age 2 and finally gave in 5 days before her birthday. Chad and I anticipated some sort of party from Maggie but instead she smiled for the camera and then really didn't show much care at all. Huh. Chad and I like being able to see her when we're driving, so at least two of us are excited about the move.

Just for Fun

2011-07-05T06:39:00.000-07:00

On Monday afternoon before Maggie's nap we went to an ice cream shop in town called Maggie Moo's. It was my first time there and we had a groupon to use up so we figured a hot holiday day would be the perfect time to use it. Chad got a malt and I got a strawberry banana smoothie, which, as you can see, I shared with Maggie. Being the nerd that I am I took photos of all the signs they had in the store with things about Maggie. Why not, right?

Maggie in Utah

2011-07-03T07:10:00.000-07:00

Maggie was a great traveler during our trip to Utah. She flew both ways like a champ, toured the area well, and was in great spirits most of the time. The last night she got a stuffy nose and fever and slept terribly, but turns out she also cut a tooth that night so obviously her little body was under stress. Other than that, though, she was great.

Heading Downstairs

2011-07-01T05:10:00.000-07:00

The last night we were in Park City Chad and I had dinner and then went to the club, Downstairs. I say club because that's what it was. An L.A., pretty people, dark room, loud music, dancing kind of club. And while it's been a long time since we've been to and enjoyed something like that, we wanted to hit up this place that night because Samantha Ronson was on the schedule. She started off the evening playing an acoustic set with Jimmy Messer. (I got brave and told him he was great and shook his hand. Go me!) Their set was somewhat pop-y and folk-y and the show was pretty decent. I'd say there were probably 30-40 people in the audience for the acoustic show and then, in typical club fashion, the young and beautifuls arrived fashionably late and ended up packing the house. Samantha returned to center stage later that evening and spun records for the rest of the night.

Side Trip

2011-06-30T05:11:00.000-07:00

During our vacation we took a day-trip into Salt Lake City, Provo and Orem. We spent the morning walking around Temple Square, the afternoon touring BYU, and the evening dining with Chad's brother, Ryan, and his family. We packed a lot into the day but had a lot of fun doing it.

Thrills

2011-06-29T06:21:00.000-07:00

One morning in Park City we went to a recreation area called Park City Mountain Resort. There they have a carousel (which Maggie LOVED) and a couple things the rest of us loved: the Alpine Slide and the Alpine Coaster. If you ever find yourself in Park City in the summer: Go. On. Both. Rides. They were a blast! The Alpine Slide is like a water-slide without water and much much faster. The Alpine Coaster is a single-car, single-passenger coaster that goes 30 mph through the trees down the mountain. Oh my, so fun. Why can't we have something that awesome in California? Seriously.

Olympic Park

2011-06-27T06:09:00.000-07:00

We spent a bit of time at the Olympic Park near our condo in Park City. It was cool seeing some of the locations where the 2002 Winter Olympic events were held, including the luge, bobsledding and ski jumping. While we were there we watched students practice from a ski jumping camp. Instead of snow, however, they skied down a wet ramp into a pool of water. Scary, but no one ever screamed. I would have. Anyway, time was on our side that afternoon because we were also able to see a group speed around a bobsled course. Super neat.

Park City

2011-06-26T08:10:00.000-07:00

About two weeks ago we flew to Park City, Utah for a vacation. We stayed in a condo in The Canyons and found that there is a lot of summertime stuff to do in the area. We made an attempt to fit a fair amount in and I'd say we did a good job of doing just that. The weather was great so that helped motivate us to get out and see the sights.

But of course

2011-06-23T07:52:00.000-07:00

Maggie wore this super cute shirt on Sunday to help Chad celebrate Father's Day. I'm pretty sure he thought it was a keeper. We got a few comments and a number of smiles from men at the airport as we traveled home from our vacation (which will be blogged about soon). Notice Maggie's growl/snarl/smile face in these photos. She's still trying to figure out which one she wants to use when she says, "cheese." Let's hope smile wins the battle.