August: Come and (almost!) Gone

August what happened to you?  Summer happens in a flash... here's what we've been up to!

Impromptu gatherings with old friends:

Gina, Sophia and Henry Shoemaker

Alex, Brady and Baby to be Kearns

Amelia, Audrey and Michelle 

Climbing tables at Menlo CC Friday night dinners

This is Amelia before her signature chocolate sundae

with Ellie and Papa

Amelia Checking out the Bubble Bath Car at Menlo's Connoisseur Marketplace

And of course a pink ice cream cone to go with her party dress

Baby Audrey being silly in her jammies with Vegas...

Spontaneous dinner with Aunt Kelly at Milagros/ DT RWC Jazz Festival

Peek a boo Audrey

Night Night Audrey

Day at SF Crissy Field with the "Whole Family" (aka Vegas comes too!)

Audrey wearing Sissy's swim cap

Amelia and best bud Conor playing impromptu soccer.  Getting ready for AYSO this fall!

Keeping warm on the cement at Menlo Pool

Bringing home art projects at "under the sea" summer camp (I have a whole underwater forest of friends at home!)

Playdates with girlie friends

Enjoying the bounty of our garden. Amelia actually loves tomatoes and basil and mint.  (we actually grow mint for aunt kelly's mojitos!)

Checking off "making our first apple pie" from Amelia's bucket list.  Surprisingly, it actually turned out pretty good!  Thanks to a combination of the Pioneer Woman's Pastry Crust, and The Barefoot Contessa's apple filling and crisp topping recipes!

Daughters wearing their momma's vintage dresses.  Thanks for saving these Mimi!

Sweet Audrey

A little voluntarism with the Junior League - Junior Giants Day....

Teaching Kiddos how to make healthy snacks.  Fruit and Granola Parfait.

Learning the Art of Make Up Application - no adult supervision requested.

Lots of veggies and fruit with smoothies.

Girls attending their first horse show - menlo charity horse show at the Circus Club.

Tiring the girls out at Bumble

Strolling through downtown Menlo Park - stopping for a treat at Susie Cakes.

Oh and getting tan in Hawaii!  Pictures coming soon....

Date Night

Brad and I enjoyed a quick "night" away at the Ritz Half Moon Bay a few weekends ago.  Ellie and Papa and Uncle Scott and Aunt Kelly tag-teamed the kid watching, so we were a lucky couple to catch up child-free.

It just so happens that there was a wine tasting seminar at the resort during our stay, so of course we had to take advantage.  We also took advantage of the free food and drinks on the club level, the available cruisers for a 12 mile bike ride up the coast, the incredible views and the ability to sleep in!

Watermelon

Nothing is better than kids eating watermelon.  Such a quintessential image of warm weather and pure joy.  These girls singlehandedly ate an entire watermelon in two days.

Sunny Days...

After the rainy weather, there was sun and more sun!  I am behind on blog updates, so these last two posts are ten days condensed.  We took advantage of the incredible weather and spent all our time outdoors.  The girls and I had some backyard picnics, spent time at the local park, took a trip to the SF zoo with our friends Tammy and Hadley, spent a few hours at Stanford Mall with a few errands and people watched, and had a road trip up to San Francisco's Crissy Field to spend the day at the beach with friends Lindsey and Sadie.

We finished off the weekend with a baby shower for my college friend, Amelia had AYSO soccer signups, golf for brad, a day at ellie and papa's for the girls, a few outdoor runs, swim team signups at the pool, and finally, last night, a cocktail hour visit from my dear friend from college (and sorority sister) Katie and her husband Chris.

Whew!  I am exhausted just thinking about it all!  But I loved every minute and am looking forward to spring and summer weather filled with busy days!

Vegas hiding from the sun in the girls' playhouse.  This is the first time we've ever seen her do this.  

Swinging at the park

Feeding giraffes at the zoo - this was a private tour we later learned...

The girls got to enjoy a few special moments before they realized we should be there!

Backyard picnic in the plastic pool.

Pinkberry at Stanford Shopping Center.

Checking out Stanford's flowers - they're gorgeous.

 Hummus "appletizers" for dinner.

A day at Crissy Field.  

Incredible bridge shot.

Asleep in the car by 6pm.

Amelia's rock collection (look closely) from Pam Roberts.