All I Want for Christmas...

So, maybe it's a little early to begin her wish list, but check it out! Two teeth in one week- and another bottom tooth is loose as well. We may not have to carve a jack-o-lantern for Halloween this year!

The First Day of School and Museum Day

Can you believe it's the first day of school today? Where did the summer go? Here she is last year and this year:




















My little girl is growing up WAY too fast! Friday, we took one last "summer" trip with my Mom to the biggest art museums in San Francisco: The Legion of Honor and the de Young. She did REALLY well all things considered. I made her a little tote that had compartments for a sketchbook, colored pencils and pamphlets/postcards/tickets. A few weeks ago, she thought she invented pointillism so I introduced her to Seurat and she fell in love with this painting he did of the Eiffel Tower and guess where the original is? That's right- in San Francisco! I LOOOOOVE going to art museums and it was such a treat to be able to share that experience together.The babies like hanging out without clothes these days- it's their favorite outfit! Lily's hair is just now sort of starting to grow!!! Liam's is so cute and curly! Here they are looking at a book, searching for familiar pictures and letters (they can point out A, Y and a few others now). Everybody is grounded! They just need to slow down and not grow up so fast!!!

Abby Won a Fishing Pole!

Abby won a fishing pole from the Fish and Game Department at the County fair! She had to go to a board meeting to collect her prize and her photo will be in the local newspaper sometime this week. She is so excited! I wasn't able to go with her to the meeting so her grandpa took her- SO PERFECT- as he is her fishing partner-in-crime!

County Fairs and Amusement Parks: What a Week!

I think the kids have had one of the most fun and tiring weeks of their lives. Last Thursday we went to the county fair and looked at all the livestock and watched Abby ride some fun rides and ate some overpriced fair food and looked at all the exhibit buildings. Everyone's favorite place was the kid's zone (it's also where I was able to get the best photos.
Abby had participated in a reading program in school last year that gave her one free ticket to Six Flags. Now the Six Flags nearest us is an odd-ball kind of place that can't decide what it wants to be. It is part aquarium complete with live whale, pinniped and dolphin shows and a shark tube, etc.; It is part zoo with tigers and other large cats, elephants, exotic birds and other animals with corresponding shows; And it is part amusement park with a ton of rides and roller coasters. There is no way you could do everything in a day so we watched the Dolphin Show and the Shouka the Whale Show, looked at all the animals (both land and sea) and rode a bunch of rides- I was surprised how many the whole family could do together. We even got to take a trip to Sodor and ride Thomas the Tank Engine and hang out with his friends! Liam's favorite part was getting totally drenched in the fountains. I think the highlight for the kids was Sylvester the Cat- even Lily and Liam came and sat on his lap!What a week... I'm tired even thinking about it! Abby's already talking about next year and the babies are going around saying, "Whale! Whale!"