Christmas Tree Hunt

One of our favorite California "traditions" is to go Christmas tree hunting with the Santa Cruz crew.  Because we were in town this year for Thanksgiving we were able to get back to this fun event and include Kathy.  We love everything about the day.  The drive is beautiful, the weather feels crisp and festive and because Baby M is at such a great age, it was extra fun seeing the kids interact and watching the boys be overly protective of her.  Trees, hot cider, pictures. it was a great day!

We waited about a week to decorate.  How do the kids know to fight over the ornaments just like I did with my sister?  They were so helpful getting the ornaments up on the tree.  In keeping with tradition, both boys got a chance to put the star on top.  I wounder how much longer we can keep that up?!

Thanksgiving

Unlike previous years where we traveled Thanksgiving day to a scenic part of the state, this year we decided to stay local and enjoy Thanksgiving at home.  Between changing jobs and moving, we have been going strong for several months and both Chris and I felt like it was time to enjoy a few days at home and relax as a family. The day started quietly with Chris putting the Turkey on the smoker and us playing games and hanging out as a family.  I cooked and we all spend time outside enjoying the beautiful weather.  As  dinner hour grew closer we got dressed and took some pictures.  We even had a special guest stop by to eat with us.  It was a quiet nice Holiday filled with good food and love (and very very dry turkey; luckily that's just how I like it!)!

The week of bridges

Somehow even after 5 years of living here the wonder of the Golden Gate bridge has not lost its power over me. Every time I catch sight of it it brings me joy and happiness.  For quite some time now I have wanted to run over the Golden Gate bridge but doing it when there were tons of tourists and traffic did not sound appealing.  As an alternative, I found a road race that looked very scenic and included an out and back route over the bridge.  Since it was 10 miles, it required me to train a bit and to make sure I got in some consistent runs to get ready for the distance (you know, because I'm old now).  In between signing up and the designated race date we moved so I was able to get in some great training run in our new neighborhood which includes some huge hills and great views.

The weekend before the race Chris's cousins came into town and we headed to the city for an afternoon of sight seeing and fun.  We decided to do the bridge to bridge boat tour and planned on meeting Paul and Christine around two o'clock.  Due to traffic and *ahem* toddlers we missed the first boat departure and opted to hang around the Embarcadero and wait for the 4:00 boat.  Somehow we decided it would be a good idea to walk all the way down to the Ferry Building and get margaritas.  The walk down was fun and the boys enjoyed riding on Paul and Chris's shoulders and trying to get them to race.  After drinking some margaritas it was time to leave and head back to the boat. We did not leave ourselves enough time and it was clear we were going to late unless we ran.  Chris and Paul ran to the boat with the boys on their shoulders while Christine and I zig-zagged through tourists following behind.  We were breathless and sweaty but we made it to the boat before it departed!  I could not figure out why it took so long for us to grab drinks and get back to the boat until the next day when I looked at the distance on google maps.  Turns out the ferry building was 1.5 miles away from the boat dock!  No wonder it took us forever to get there and back and the guys had to run with the kids! Everyone got an extra workout in, especially Chris and Paul! Once on the boat, the weather was amazing and the sun was just starting to set making it ideal for fun photo opportunities.

The next week our great friends were descending into the Bay Area for a big trail race and some fun friend time together.  We had so much fun meeting the Kearns at the discovery center in Sausalito and playing for the afternoon.  We had even more fun when the Hagobians arrived and all 8 kids played crazy games of tag on the tiniest patch of grass you can imagine!  The next day the four of us headed over the Golden Gate again to Stinson beach and spent the afternoon playing on the beach enjoying the glorious scenery and the company of amazing friends.

The next morning I got up early to run my 10 mile race that took me over back across the Golden Gate.  The experience was wonderful.  Kathy drove with me into the city and hung out with me until the start of the race. The course was kind of hilly and very beautiful.  I got to see the bridge looming in the distance with the morning sun making it perfectly red for quite a while.  Running over the bridge was amazing although I swear it felt like it was uphill both directions.  There was not much wind, the temperature was ideal, and it was early in the morning so the traffic was light.  The sun was not in my eyes in either direction so it was really as perfect as it could be.  At mile 7 Kathy was cheering and ready to take some pictures and then at mile 9 I saw two of the cuties sign holders I could ever imagine.  Chris had the boys make signs and cheer for me and it made me oddly emotional (crying and running do not mix).  The boys were so excited to see me that they insisted on running with me for a few hundred feet.  When I left them to run toward the finish line I heard Brady yell after me 'Don't worry mom, everyone gets a medal!!!"  It was a really great race and I am so happy with myself for training and committing to it so far in advance.  Maybe I am learning more about follow through and consistency in my ripe old age. I am also happy that we had so many great bridge adventures in such a short window of time.  I can't see how crossing the Golden Gate on foot or by car will ever get old.

Brody's sign says 'i love you mommy run faster than everyone else, win' and

Brady's says 'i love mom'

Soccer 2016

The boys played soccer this fall and it was so fun to see them play a team sport.  We moved to a new town in September and in an effort to try out some local community based programs we signed up for Kids Love Soccer.  When the kids were three, we participated in a mommy and me Kids Love Soccer program and had a great time but the boys have not played on a rec team by themselves.  The major selling point for this program was that it took place within walking distance of our house and it was a Saturday morning event so Chris could watch them play.  The kids had a great time and really enjoyed playing.  I have no idea if soccer is in their future but I can say that they improved over the course of the three months and were able to get a feel for what it is like to play a real game.

One memorable moment happened when the boys were doing face offs with an opponent.  The coaches lined up the kids on opposite sides of the field and when the whistle blew, they were supposed to run into the center, get the ball and score a goal.  Brady ran out and fought with his opponent for over two minutes until he was eventually victorious!  It was a very slow and somewhat hilarious battle but he was eventually the winner.   Brody on the other hand, ran out, was the first to the ball, turned, and kicked it into the goal from mid field.  Both scenarios were very exciting and fun to watch!

Halloween 2016

Halloween at this age is SO much fun. E.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. is exciting- thinking about costumes, picking a costume, wearing costumes out and about, and (of course) the prospect of candy, seeing Halloween decorations, seeing scary decorations.... the fun is seemingly endless.  One difference between this year and previous years is that in addition to the fun of dressing up, there is a new found  "fun" of being scarred.  They love being surprised and the thrill of being just a little scared has encouraged the boys to play endless games of hide and seek.  They love finding a good spot and when the time is right, jumping out to give me (or Hank) a good scare.  I can barely stay in the house when they play with game with Chris because the screaming and laughing is deafening.  Chris likes to find really good hiding spots but Hank likes to give his location away and Hank can't stand when Chris jumps out and scares the boys so as soon as Chris jumps out of hiding, Hank pounces on Chris.  The whole scene is chaotic and hilarious.  On one occasion Brody got me particularly good.  Brody was hiding in an alcove close to my bathroom.  I walked by and he jumped out screaming "rarrrrr".  I screamed while I continued to walk into the bathroom. Unbeknownst to me, Brady was in the bathroom and he started to scream in response to my scream-walking.  The three of were rolling in laughter because we had  created a scream chain.  In addition to accepting that scary is sometime fun, Brody and Brady also are loving the idea that magic exists and that magic can be used to turn someone or something into something else. Brady is constantly trying out different spells and is always lamenting that his magic wand is not real enough.   All of these factors add up to make the holiday (which used to be one that I had no love for) into something that is incredibly fun.

We started off our celebration by buying huge pumpkins and decorating the yard.  The boys love looking at Halloween decorations so they were spellbound by the idea that they could pick out some decorations for our personal yard. Chris took them out shopping and they came home with some hilarious props.  The kids got a kick out of placing them in the yard.  On another weekend we carved pumpkins.  This is the perfect age for them to appreciate the fun of chasing each other around with pumpkin guts! Sadly our pumpkins disintegrated by the time Halloween rolled around. Ahh, California life....

We talked about Halloween costumes endlessly and when I though we were in the sweet spot of them being excited enough about an idea and it being close enough to the actual holiday- we pulled the trigger and purchases their costumes.  Brady wanted to be a pirate and Brody wanted to be a Ninja Turtle. They wore their costumes around the house for days.  I love how much imagination play they get out of them. In addition to the purchased costumes, Brady made me Halloween earrings and a necklace out of some card-stock pumpkins I had around the house.  I thought this was incredibly thoughtful and in typical mom fashion I stored them away deeeeeeeeep in my closet for safe keeping.  To my surprise, he remembered that he had made them and reminded me that I needed to wear my Halloween jewelry out and about on Halloween night!  Anything for you, thoughtful boy!

Their preschool puts on a Enchanted House with is essentially a walking tour of different book scenes with the teachers as actors throughout.  It is so fun and something the boys look forward to.  We dressed up for the tour and then hit one of the local town's trick or treating events.  On Halloween morning I made monster toast and the boys wore pajamas to school.  Then that evening we were so lucky to have Aunt Kathy and Uncle Sam come over IN COSTUME and trick or treat with us.  We walked around our local streets and it was nearly impossible to keep up with the kids.  They were sprinting from house to house and would have zig zagged the whole time if we did not tell them to stick to one side of the street.  It was so dark out I was sure they were going to bite it by going at warp speed from house to house but they did just fine.  It was so fun.  They ended the night sharing candy with us and having stories read to them (including Hank) by Kathy and Sam.  What a great ending to a fantastic month of fun!