End Of Sumer BBQ

This sure has been a fun summer!  Each week has ben something exciting (Ooey Gooey Science, Wild Wild West, etc) and we celebrated at school with a giant bounce house/slide and BBQ!  Check out Penny bouncing on the edge...

I love bouncy slides.  I went down forwards, and backwards, and every which way.

Making Uncle Dave's Pickles!

Tonight Mommy & Grandma made pickles!  I can't believe it, they made pickles!  Rumor has it, Uncle Dave (in Appleton, Wisconsin) makes the best pickles on the planet.  So they used his recipe.

First, start with pickling cucumbers....

Get all your mise en place...

Garlic cloves, mustard seeds, dill...

Dried hot peppers...

Here they are, the chef (Grandma) and her sous chef!

Pouring pickling liquid into the jars...

And here is the finished product!

Oh and for good measure, this was dinner: Grandma's Famous Pot Roast, Brown Potatoes, and Carrots.  Yum!

Family Portraits!

Aunt Ginny's Birthday Party

We had a huge party at our house for Aunt Ginny's birthday, although for some reason Aunt Ginny and the other grownups all stayed downstairs the whole night.  We played upstairs with Penny's teacher (and my old teacher), Mrs. Renu.  We played games, did crafts, and had a great time!

Apparently, Mom made a bunch of fancy food, and Dad served cocktails all night - whatever that means.

Oh yeah - and we painted our faces the next day.  Abby and I were both kitty cat princesses.

Here's a picture of Penny on mis-matched clothes day...  although everybody just through Dad had dressed her like he normally does.

Fun With Grandma

So Grandma & I were doing some reading together.  I decided to try on her glasses, see what those things are all about!

Friday night we went out to dinner before Aunty Katy & Uncle Eddie had to leave for the airport.  I wish they could have stayed forever!

Saturday we went to swim class, and then Saturday night us girls had a night with Grandma while Mommy & Daddy went out to dinner with one of Mommy's cousins.  Mommy said she hasnt seen this cousin in like 17 years!  I don't even know how long that is!

Sunday my friends came over for brunch.  We had a super good time.  Check out Penny & Olivier playing...

And here are Marie & I playing with my castle...

And I love to make Cinderella dance with her prince...

Grandma broght a cool present from my cousin Dede.  It's a Backyardigans slip n slide!  So fun!

Happy Birthday Aunty Katy!

What a week!  My family came to visit.  Grandma flew out a few days ago (see previous post) and then Grandpa, Aunty Katy, and Uncle Eddie arrived!  We've had a blast!  It started with a trip to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, which was so cool!  There were so many animals, and great shows.  At the end of the day, Amelia & I were super tired, so Grandma & Grandpa took us home.  Mommy, Daddy, Aunty Katy, & Uncle Eddie stayed to ride a bunch of grown-up rides.  I think I heard they had fun:)

Saturday morning started with swim lessons.  We went a little early so Daddy & Uncle Eddie could swim with Amelia in the pool.  That evening Connor & Katy came over to play.  Another good time!

Sunday was Aunty Katy's birthday!  We celebrated by going to the Polynesian Festival in Santa Cruz.  Lots of cool music, shave ice, yummy seafood.  (Okay, maybe I didn't have any seafood.  But everyone else said it was good!)  We walked over to the boardwalk, rode some rides, and ate some more.  We were all wiped out!  But we had just enough strength left to stop for ice cream at Marianne's, a famous place in Santa Cruz. 

Monday Mommy & Amelia had dentist appointments, and I had my 9-month checkup.  I weighed in at 18 1/2 lbs, am 28 3/4" long, and measured 18" around my head.  The doctor is super happy with my progress!  I'm beating big sister, I'm a whole inch longer than her (at the same age)!  

Tuesday we hung around and played.  Grandpa had to go home:(  Gymnastics class, dinner.  Nice relaxing day:)

Wednesday we had a day around home.  Daddy & Uncle Eddie went to see a movie.  Mommy & Aunty Katy went and did some shopping.  Thursday we went to Traintown in Sonoma.  What a cool place!  We took a train ride, fed some animals at the petting zoo, and Amelia got to ride some rides!  Afterwards we went for lunch in downtown Sonoma, at an Irish Pub.  Then we slept the whoooole ride home!

Friday we got ready for Aunty Katy & Uncle Eddie to leave:(  We had dinner out together, and then headed home.  That night they left for Florida:(  Miss you guys already!

Grandma's Here!

Welcome  Grandma!

Whirlwind Weekend

So this was a crazy weekend.  It started with Aunt Sher-Bear and her friend Scooby visiting for an evening.  We went over to Abby & Logan's house for the evening while Mommy & Daddy went out to dinner with them.  Some place called The Stinking Rose in San Francisco. 

Friday night we got ready for our crazy weekend!  It started off with swim class in the morning.  Then we stopped for lunch and headed out for Oroville.  Kristopher, Ella, & Charlotte were camping up there.  They were camping near their cousins who had a boat!  We got to go boating!  It was sooo fun!  We rode out to the lake and found a shoreline to play on.  What a great day!

Here's a great video of us entertaining Charlotte:

Sunday morning we got up early and headed back for Aurora's birthday party.  It was at Build-A-Bear and was followed by cupcakes by the fountain.  What a great time!

Ipad Coolness

I'm learning how to write my numbers.  It would be hard, except that Mommy showed me this cool iPad app that makes it fun.

Horsey Pictures!

Yee Haw!  A horse came to our school the other day, and we both got to ride.  It was so much fun.  Enjoy!!

Fresh From Our Garden!

Check out the tomatoes from our garden!  We've also had strawberries, peppers, squash, and lots of herbs.  It's so neat to see them growing!  I usually take the strawberries to school and give them to to my friend Carmelo.

Meet the Cowgirl Who Likes Edamame!

This week was Wild, Wild West Week at school, and today was "Dress Like A Cowgirl" Day!  Whoo hoo!  This was what Mommy came up with...

And after gymnastics today, Mommy & Daddy ordered sushi.  I was helping them "pop" their edamame, and decided to try it.  Little did I know, it's super yummy!  I like it!  I said I like it, Sam I Am, I do!

Playing With Sister...

Reading books.

And enjoying snack together...

We're such good friends!

Fun In My Classroom!

Check out the artwork I did with Ms Renu!  We did some painting, using a ball that we could roll around with our hand to paint.  Super fun!

Here is me with my friend Bret!

Cute Pictures!

Mommy & Daddy are experimenting with our new camera.  Cute pictures, huh? :)

This weekend we picked up our beef share from a super cool place up in the North Bay.  Mommy always buys free range meat, which she says means the the animals had a happy life:)  I like that!  So we went to pick up our share.  We got to see some donkeys and cows at the place! 

Sunday we had a nice family day, getting stuff done around the house.  Time to get ready for another week!