Jonathan & Stephanie Visit

We had some very, very special visitors for the last weekend of summer vacation - cousins Jonathan and Stephanie came all the way from New Jersey to hang out with us.

Many might remember Jonathan as our housemate shortly after Michael and I moved to California from Brooklyn.  He came to study at the Culinary Institute in SF, and stayed here with us ... in what is now Luke's room (which Luke finds sort of funny and sort of strange - he wasn't sure quite what to make of that piece of information) for about a year.

This was Jonathan's first visit back, and Stephanie's first visit since Luke's 1st birthday party.  We loved having them - they were the easiest house guests and completely adjusted to our schedule, which is not always easy with two young kids.

They spent a ton of time playing games with Luke and playing with Mia in the backyard, but the highlight of their visit might have been our day in Santa Cruz.

We ate lunch in Capitola, and then played on the beach for a few hours.  The kids loved the sand.

 

Next we spent the evening at the Boardwalk.  The kids rode several rides, and then joined me for their first trip on a Ferris Wheel - they both LOVED it!

 

Thank you to Jonathan and Stephanie for making the long trip out to visit us.  We loved having you!

The last (Happy Hollow) Hurrah...for now

Oh, Happy Hollow family pass, how I love thee...

We have used our Happy Hollow membership SO much this year.  As this is the last official week of summer for Luke, we decided that we better get one more visit in.

We asked Day to join us, and spent nearly the entire day at one of our favorite places.

Visiting the Barries

One of the kids' (and our) favorite places to visit is Dr. and Mrs. Barrie's garden.  We have been there several times and I am always disappointed to have not taken any photos because it is simply gorgeous.  I was glad that Michael snapped at least a few on his phone this past time we visited.

 

We never take any toys with us, there is always tons for the kids to do.  Not to mention, there is a fully stocked outdoor toy cabinet as well as an amazing toy attic (if we allow Luke in there, we won't see him again).

 

We love walking through the garden and sampling fruit and veggies.  Luke loves the raspberry bushes, and Mia will try just about anything from the garden that Dr. Barrie offers her.

 

Another favorite stop:  the chickens

 

The Barries are such wonderful hosts and we always go home with our arms full of fresh eggs, fruit, and vegetables.

Summer nights

We are really trying to soak up these last lazy days and nights of summer.  I realize that very soon, with the start of Kindergarten for Luke, our lives will require us to be more regimented and structured.  Staying up late on a weeknight, just because, probably won't happen very often.

So, tonight we ventured out for dinner at Aqui's followed by ice cream and coffee in downtown Willow Glen.

Summer Swimming

We spent a lot of time at the club swimming again this summer.  The kids love going to swim, but also are particularly fond of the lunch menu and treats (Mia thinks that the free popcorn is about the best thing ever).

During their last week of summer vacation, our friends Aidan and Bailey came up to swim with us.  We loved having them visit and hang out with us.  It is hard to believe that school starts for them next week, and for us in just a couple of weeks.  Where did the summer go?

Taking a swim break to enjoy some ice cream treats

Yum!



 Sharing

 Now Bailey somehow has Aidan's popsicle, and is also sharing that with Mia.

 And Aidan's eating Bailey's...but Luke, who smartly picked the Ben & Jerry's bar, is staying out of the sharing and keeping his ice cream to himself!

Grandpa & Grandma visit

Grandma came to visit and spent 3 weeks with us this summer.  She was able to be here for Luke's birthday party, to drop us off and pick us up at summer school, to visit Mia's ballet class, and to just generally give Mommy some extra time to do "stuff."

 

She also tag teamed with Day and Paw to watch us for a long weekend while Mommy and Daddy spent some alone time down in Dana Point.

 

On the third week of her visit, Grandpa joined her.  We made sure to save lots of fun stuff to do for when he was here.

Of course, we took them to Happy Hollow,

 

 

 

...the park,





...and the duck ponds.

 

Naturally, we also put them to work!  Grandma helped Mommy clean our closets, and Grandpa helped Daddy construct Luke's new bed.  I think we may have sent them home pretty tired!  Thanks for coming to be with us, Grandma and Grandpa.  We loved having you!

Luke's bed

The loft bed has arrived.  Thankfully, Grandpa is here to help put it together!

A very happy and excited boy!

Note that Mia has moved in under the desk.  She's setting up her "bed" down there.  In fact, her first reaction to the bed was to burst into tears and say, "I want it!"

So much more play space in his room now.