Hiking with Grammie

 My Mom came for a short visit in mid-June.  Allison and I took a few days off to have fun and play with Grammie.  One beautiful sunny day we headed up to a local recreation area, Mary's Peak.  We drove to the top parking lot and then hiked up to the very top.  It is a rather gentle hike so we pushed Allison to hike it all on her own (despite a few requests to be picked up!).  The wild flowers are gorgeous in this area during mid-June.  And surprisingly enough they only grow in one particular spot, perhaps due to wind and sun exposure (or lack there of)?

 We were so proud of her for making it all the way to the top.  Of course she got to stop 1/2 way up to eat 1/2 of her peanut butter granola bar and then she finished it at the very top while Grammie sent text messages and pictures to Grr.  What a beautiful day in the sun!  We came home and Allison refreshed herself by swimming in our kiddie pool.

A Birthday Beach Trip

 Right after Allison's tea party Mark loaded us up in the car and we headed to the beach.  Mark had found a really good deal on a beach condo for the night.  We spent almost 24 hours hanging out at the beach, eating pizza, going for walks, inspecting anemones, watching 'Finding Nemo' and all around enjoying ourselves.  We might just have to make this a birthday tradition!

The Big 0-3

 For Allison's birthday we had planned to head to a local tea house.  But her friend Annie, had a baby sister due right around that time and Annie's Mom wasn't going to be able to drive.  So, my friend, Jodi, was kind enough to go all out and host a tea party at her house.  Was it fabulous looking or what?

 Jodi made special 'warm chocolate' for the girls and Allison loved drinking it out of her pretty little tea cup.  And Nutella sandwiches, yum!

 Our three tea party girls!

And a birthday cupcake, of course!  Allison loved her little gathering.

Fire Station Field Trip

 Allison's class had a field trip to the local fire station!  I signed up to go along.  And since I know our buddy, Benji, loves fire trucks I invited him along.  Both kiddos really did like the fire engine, they just weren't so much into smiling (and I didn't have much time!).  Allison actually got to ride in a fire engine recently when they were doing a birthday party up the street.

 The kids got to climb through an engine and an ambulance.  All of the kids loved it, especially these two!  We all enjoyed the trip - and the big highlight was the red plastic fireman hats the kids came home with (bummer I didn't get a picture of those!).

Hooked on Ballet

We recently had the opportunity to attend a ballet recital that our friend, Bekah, was performing in.  Well, Allison & I did, Mark stayed far away.  Allison really enjoyed the performance, Mel & I even caught her dancing on her own at one point.  Bekah's dance was a highlight and she enjoyed any other dance that included pink outfits!  Allison brought Bekah some flowers (not actually pictured here) and Bekah was thoroughly excited to receive them.  Based on Allison's response to the recital we're hoping to begin a Creative Movement class in the fall - here's to hoping we have many more ballet recitals in the future (unless you are Mark or Nate, then you are dreading you have many more ballet recitals in the future)!

Carrot Thief

 This silly girl definitely is of the opinion that she can 'steal' anything she wants off of our plates.  I recently put dinner on the table and went to tell Mark dinner was ready.  I came back to find this - a sneaky little girl stealing all of Mark's carrots off of his salad!  Good thing we want her eating carrots and there were plenty more to spare!

The Duck Park

 We recently realized that the baby ducklings should have hatched at one of our favorite parks.  Last weekend we picked up fried chicken and headed to the duck park for a picnic.  After dinner we enjoyed wandering around the pond looking at all of the ducks, especially the baby ducks.

 Love the cute & fuzzy little ducklings.  They were pretty cute and small.  If we stood in one place they would eventyally come by pretty close (there were other kids running around that they were trying to avoid).

We're all  very thankful to have such a fun park so close for us to enjoy - especially Allison!