Bedtime Routine

Emma loves a bubble bath.

Sadie helping her sister get ready.

We always read a story or a poem before bed.  

January Favorite Photos

This attention from big sis makes Em so happy.

To say the kids love their Papa is an understatement.

Aron's favorite restaurant in all the world...Marin Sun Farms for the best burger ever!

They have pretty amazing fries too.

We walked to Kule Loklo, a re-created Coast Miwok village.  This is the sweat lodge, which really makes me think of a Hobbit house.  If we ever have a hill on some property, I would love to do something similar.

Small structures built from the bark of a redwood tree.   

Here is Aron walking the girls back through the eucalyptus forest.

November Day

We had a very cold morning here.

The fall leaves have passed their colorful peak.

Still a few piles of leaves to play in.

A nearly full moon.

One of my favorite houses nearby.  A peach colored old Hollywood style home.  

Another favorite around here...succulents grown in containers.

A pretty pathway we often pass on our walk.

A chilly evening.  I made chicken and dumplings for dinner.  While waiting for their Papa to come home, we danced in front of the fire.

I love a cozy evening at home.

Halloween Party

We hosted a Halloween party for the kids this year.

The kids seemed to have a pretty good time.

They ate pizza, fruit, veggies and lots of goodies.

We had a Halloween craft for them to put together.

This is Stacey.  She co-hosted the party with me.  Doesn't she make a cute Dorothy?

We played the freeze dance game.

Kelly and Elise.

The crew of kids making scary Halloween faces.

Sadie protecting the girls.

My crew: Kelly, Angie, Tory, Heather, Stacey, me, Christie and Meghann.  

International Day

International Day is one of the big events at Sadie's school.  

Rather than having a Halloween carnival, the school asks students to dress in a costume that celebrates another culture.  Cindy is in the front.

The children have been learning about the world, geographically and culturally.

Throughout the month parents were invited to give a presentation in class and talk about another culture.  Parents shared food, and spoke about the country they were from, or one that they had visited.  Teacher Jessie is in the green dress.

Parents set up different booths to represent another country.  The children were given passports which they had stamped at each 'country' they visited.  These musicians represented India.

There was an amazing buffet of food from around the world.  A mom from our class is from Hawaii, and she set up a beautiful tent with various things from her culture.  She gave all the moms gorgeous leis with plumeria flown in from Hawaii.

This is Sadie's best bud Sean.

This is a cute little Japanese tea house.  The kids were able to go in and pour themselves tea.

Representing Mexico!  My friend Jen is in the front.

Chinese dragon

El Dia de los Muertos memorial

This is our school director, and my neighbor.  I didn't know what to expect with this celebration, but it really made me aware of the diversity all around us.  I was so impressed with everything the parents shared about their history, and their culture.

First School Fieldtrip

Sadie's first school field trip was to Peter Pumpkin Patch in Petaluma.

It rained the night before, so the morning was a bit damp and chilly.

Here are some of the students in Sadie's class.  Her teacher, Cindy, is in the hat on the left.  In this photo the farmer is telling us about the ranch.  The farm mostly raises cows for milk and cheese.  They passed out cheese curds, aka squeaky cheese for the children to taste.

Then they let the children try milking a cow.

Everyone rode in the wagons down to the pumpkin and potato patches.

After digging for potatoes, the kids walked through the field and picked out their pumpkins.

Then we went back up the hill to taste some their farm fresh vanilla and pumpkin ice cream.  It was so tasty!  

Halloween Chalkboard 2011