All dressed up and every hair in place!

Andrew's curls were tamed for a brief period on our way to Jay's 90th Birthday Bash. We combed his hair over to the side and used gel to keep it in place. Such a different look than his usual uncontrolled curly head of hair! So handsome! And Julia wore her hair in neat pigtails with little clips on the side. So cute, I had to take pictures of them (in their car seats, on the way to the party) before we arrived in case the nice neat hairstyles didn't last. This rare moment, captured on film!

Great grandchildren

Ten of Jay's twelve great grandchildren are pictured here, at Jay's 90th birthday party, celebrated last weekend with much fanfare. Most of the pictures are on Jeff's camera which has yet to be downloaded, but I did snap this one with my little camera and I just love it. I can think of no better accomplishment than to claim a collection of children as lovely as these are as your own great grandchildren. If only we were all so fortunate to not only have such a large and vibrant family, but to see the generations grow up in front of you. Wow.

Happy 90th Jay!

More craft -blog surfing

Aren't these ADORABLE!

(All my photos are coming out oversized today. What's wrong??? Click on the picture and it will show you the whole photo.)

I found my way to these dolls when I stumbled upon this blog. She sells the pattern for these dolls (or the dolls themselves, in her shop. I'd love to make these dolls!!!

SouleMama blog

I've been busy again, as you can see from my lack of blog posts these past few weeks. I'm blogging today from LA which is my 4th business trip in 3 weeks. I hope to get photos downloaded and some updates posted to the blog this weekend which will be blissfully at-home!

Meanwhile, I'm sitting here in the back room of a focus group research facility, and I'm browsing the web during the duller moments. I've been following a wonderful blog lately that I've just fallen in love with, called SouleMama. I thought you might enjoy it too. I've just ordered her new book, Handmade Home, that is being published this month. Now if only I had more time to actually do some of these wonderful projects!

Be sure to scan the many photos on her blog. She has a wonderful talent for photography, particularly photos that capture everyday moments, simple household objects, and children. I find it particularly interesting that she rarely shows faces in her photos. She focuses more on capturing mood, light, objects, composition. Super cool.

Enjoy!

www.soulemama.com

Saturday Morning

Jeff's out of town this weekend, backpacking in the Sierra with some friends. So the kids and I are on our own and having a special mommy/kid weekend. The five pictures in the slideshow above are from this morning. We lounged around in the big bed for a while, taking turns singing songs (Andrew is nearly there with the ABC song), and eventually moved to the playroom for some princess/car action.

I am struck by the fleeting nature of these carefree days. Before long the kids will be big and will have their own plans and I'll be left to watch from the sidelines. I want to remember what they look like, how they act, in these days when they are just three and nearly five. Already I find it hard to conjure memories of them as babies and toddlers that aren't tied to a photograph that I took of them. Remembering how they moved, how they sounded, how they smelled, how they felt as babies is already hard. Just imagine how much harder it will be when I have teenage versions of them crowding out all the impressions of their younger selves. Hence, the camera coming out this morning to capture them just as they are, today, bed hair and all.

Julia is the much more enthusiastic poser. I've got to get Andrew in action, because if I ask him to smile he gives me the goofiest grin that contorts his face such that he doesn't even look like himself. That won't help me remember what he looks like!

Birthday Party at Jackson's!

Dinosaurs, a bounce house, and special guest Andy Z made it hard not to have a great time at Jackson's 5th Birthday Party. Jackson is Julia's oldest friend, in the sense that she's known him longer than any other friend. She and Jackson met when she was 5 weeks old, and Jackson was 7. Weeks, that is. They've been playmates and preschool classmates ever since. I can hardly believe he's five!

10 Years!?

Hard to believe it, but our Sonoma wedding was 10 years ago! My parents invited the kids for an overnight, and Jeff and I leaped on the opportunity to get away to celebrate our anniversary. We were able to get a last minute room at the Gaige House Inn, the very place we stayed on our wedding night.

The room we were given (not the same one as 10 years ago, unfortunately) was lovely, but most notable for the two outdoor spaces it contained. A tiny patio out back:

And a tiny courtyard with a burbling fountain in the corner:

I couldn't resist taking pictures because it's such a great example of how even tiny outdoor spaces can be wonderful if you landscape them with a great attention to detail. The design almost reminded me of a quilt, where each square inch was carefully placed and filled with color or texture to create a pleasing composition. Very cool. If only my backyard showed that level of planning and thoughtfulness.

We went to one of my favorite restaurants of all time for dinner:

On the way home the next morning, we stopped by the BR Cohn winery where we had our wedding. The site is just as gorgeous as it was 10 years ago.
Happy Anniversary Jeff! Thank you Mom and Dad!

Julia's Dance Performance

By the way, did I share pictures from Julia's first big stage performance? She starred as a flower fairy earlier this month and looked absolutely adorable in her costume. So cute!!!

Big Trees, Big Fun

This weekend marked our first family camping trip of the season. We headed to Big Basin with neighbors the Staas family and the McCormick clan. Here we all are (except Andrea and Maggie, behind the camera) posing on one of the many huge logs along the Redwood Trail loop. Best moments for me: the hike of the Redwood Trail; Pizza baked on the open fire pit; late night game of Bang; watching the kids invent creative outdoorsy games; catching up with my sis. Camping is a lot of work, but it's always worth it.

Julia's first graduation ceremony

Can you believe it?! Preschool is already over. It went so fast! Here are a few pictures from her graduation ceremony earlier this month. Congratulations Julia!