Thursday, May 31, 2012

A Very Full Day

Since my camera is broken, I'm afraid you'll all have to suffer through photos from days past. Fortunately, I ahve quite a backlog. These are from a fuill day spent with Sumner, Melinda, Azalia, and Max at Paradise Cove in Oahu. This is the day West overcame his fear of water, thanks to the love and attention of Azalia and Uncle Sumner. Don't mind me - I'll be off crying in the corner, missing my kids' curls.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Fedorable
















The kids brought back three souvenirs from Puerto Penasco: play flip phones, freckles, and their very first fedoras. The results were well worth the $19 we paid for the set. There are plenty more fedora photo sessions to come!

Monday, April 2, 2012

Olé























One of the rituals of going to Mimi & Papa's casita is putting on the special straw hat. Festive! West and Tate both took a turn.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Whale Watching

One of our excursions in Hawaii was a short (2 mile) hike to the point of the Makapu'u Lighthouse. Tate fell asleep (read on for proof) and both kids enjoyed sitting on pillars overlooking the ocean and watching whales breach in the distance. Stunning. The Lighthouse wasn't exactly hard on the eyes, either.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Local Flora

The first of our morning walks on the beach resulted in lots of smiles and these surprise flowers for mama, which West decided to return to the sea in grand style.

Monday, March 19, 2012

Hitting The Beach

We wasted no time racing out to test out the beach in front of our cottage. West and Tate ate up the ocean air - and sand, of course.

Making Themselves Right At Home


I'm finally getting around to posting some Hawaii photos. The kids loved our little vacation cottage and wasted no time testing out the beds and the lawn chairs. Up next - the beach!

Friday, March 2, 2012

A(nother) Day in Paradise

Ah, Hawaii. We miss you already! This post could have been called many things: Out of Order (since it is from mid-vacation), Sunset Strip (because of the gorgeou sunset and Tate's lack of attire in several shots), you get the idea. But the winner is an homage to the place where these pictures were taken - the amazing beach and lagoon at Paradise Cove. We spent all day there (8 hours+) with the McKasson clan having an absolute ball. And it really was as beautiful as it looks - if not more so. And the photos of Aaron and the kids - frame worthy. Although we did have to bribe a cranky West with the promise of Skittles to get in the shot. Even though these are from the middle of our vacation, I wanted to start with them because they are so very beautiful. It doesn't get better than this!

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

A Day At The Farm
















Instead of watching the Super Bowl, we went to a biodynamic winery with some old friends from the kids' daycare for a leisurely picnic and wine tasting. It was heavenly!

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Out For A Spin






















It looks like someone (or, rather, a pair of someones) avoided inheriting their Dad's motion sensitivity. We joked that these buckets, which both of our kids spun themselves silly in over the weekend, are the equivalent of beer for the toddler set.

Monday, January 30, 2012

A Boy and his Blanche






















Tate could not be more enamored with Blanche, the kitty cat that Santa brought for him. They are the best of friends.

Friday, January 27, 2012

A Helping Hand





















 West has moments of such sweetness where he helps his little brother figure out tasks, accomplish things, fix broken toys. Of course, we have lots of the other kind of interactions but that is for another blog post. Last weekend West taught Tate how to complete an obstacle course he had put together in our backyard. It was very, very cute - even cuter than these photos, which don't do the interaction justice.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Friday, January 20, 2012

The Backyardigans
















 Apparently there is a well-known kids' show called The Backyardigans. While we're not familiar with it (yet ...) we are no strangers to backyard antics. So many sticks, so little time ...

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Let It Snow!


In San Francisco, the faux snow at the Academy is as close as we get to the real thing.  Monday was the last day until November so we made sure to get our fill.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Park Place





















 The weather has been so gorgeous lately that we've been trying to get outside as much as possible before the winter rains arrive. Here are some shots from a recent trip to "the big playground", as West calls it.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Carousel Addict
















I'm afraid Tate is developing a serious painted pony (or, in this case, lion) problem. West is a willing and enthusiastic enabler.

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Circles























A lovely, peek-a-boo-esque series. Tate started it. :-)

Friday, January 6, 2012

Hat's Off!
















Or rather, on. Since Santa brought these hats, the kids have hardly taken them off. West practically slept in his on Sunday. When I told him it was a whale hat, he corrected me, saying "it's actually an orca, mama."

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Pile Up
























We took a slight detour on our walk to Stow Lake recently to toss leaves. Luckily, I had the camera. ;-)

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Harry Potters
















The kids had a surprise planned for daddy's birthday - hand-painted ceramics! They had a blast at the studio but the back patio was an even bigger hit.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Ride A Horsey
















A visit from Auntie Kate is treat enough on its own but she also took the kids on a carousel ride. They loved it and, as it turns out, Tate is quite the pony poseur.

Monday, January 2, 2012

A Day At The Zoo
























Auntie Kate's recent visit was a great excuse to go to the zoo! The kids couldn't wait to show off their conductor hats in public (Tate likes to put his on sideways). While at the zoo, they did absolutely everything except - wait for it - ride the train. There's a metaphor in there somewhere.