A Little Yarner

Someone here learned to knit this weekend and she was so excited.  I was totally blown away by how fast she picked it up. 

Every free moment she had was spent sitting next to me making her "scarf."  She's already making a list of everyone she wants to invite over so I can teach them how to knit.

The New Year

I hope everyone had a great holiday.  Mine was a bit frantic with all the craft fairs I did, but we managed to spend a couple days in Arnold for the first few days of the year.  It is one of my favorite places to go.

We spent an afternoon at Big Trees State Park and it was amazing.  

The girls were not prepared for how cold it was, especially after playing in the snow with just leggings and tennis shoes.  It was all good and fun for the first half of our hike.  Then the crying started.  The second half wasn't fun for any of us.

At least I got a few good pictures before we left.

I'm also working on a few goals for the new year.  Most importantly, I'm working on getting my Etsy shop up and running!  Hopefully in the next month or so, it will be ready to go.

Weekend in Arnold

A few times a year we go to my family's cabin in Arnold.  It's one of my favorite places to be.  It's the kind of place where you can read all day long and not feel guilty about work/cleaning piling up.  It's the kind of the place where getting dirty is part of the fun, not having to worry about makeup or doing your hair.  The kind of place where my girls can run wild and not get in trouble.  I hope when they get older, they'll remember the fun times they had in Arnold.

It was a quick trip for us this time.  We drove up after work on Friday and came home Sunday afternoon, but we were able to pack a lot in.

Friday night was bonfire and s'mores.  This was pretty exciting since neither of my girls had ever had s'mores before and didn't even know what they were.  It was a big hit.

Saturday morning was spent on the back porch reading and playing games.  Saturday afternoon was spent at Beaver Creek.

Sunday was Fly-In Lake and lots of floating and sandcastles.

It was a perfect summer weekend and I'm already counting the days until we go back.

Vacation

We just got back from our vacation in Southern California and we had so much fun!  The first half of the week was spent in Disneyland and then Santa Monica for a wedding.

Our first ride was teacups, and it was the favorite of the week.  We kept getting right back in line for the first half hour of the day.

Day two was spent in California Adventure.  The last time I was there, Cars Land wasn't open yet, so it was a first for all of us.  Madison is not a fan of most of the rides.  But I took her on the Radiator Springs ride and hoped for the best.  As soon as the cars started speeding up, she started screaming.  It was hysterical.  At the end of the ride she was kind of crying, kind of laughing, and said her tummy hurt a little bit but she kind of liked it.  After that ride she asked someone before every single ride if it went fast, sideways or had any drops.

A rare moment with no fighting.

Lunch with the princesses.  A big hit.

Madison and I watching Sidney and Oma on the Jumpin' Jellyfish.  Sidney got off the ride and said it wasn't very good.  It didn't go high enough.  She is definitely my daredevil. 

Day three - back at Disneyland and back on the teacups.

After Disneyland we headed to Santa Monica and spent Saturday morning at the beach.  We had a lot of family with us and cousins we don't get to see very often.  Sidney said it was the best day ever.

Saturday afternoon was the wedding and Madison and Sidney were flower girls for the first time. 

The bride with all SIX of her flower girls!

I love the little secret waves.

We had the best time, but Sunday morning I couldn't wait to get back home.

Summer

Usually I'm not a huge fan of summer.  It gets hot in Sacramento.  But this year, except for a one week 110 degree heat wave, we have had a fantastic summer.  Warm days and cool nights I can deal with. 

Madison made a summer list and we've only gotten about a quarter of the way through.  With only three more weeks of summer, I don't think we are going to be able to finish up the list. 

But, we did make it through three sessions of swimming lessons.  We started the first session in cold, rainy weather.  Definitely not something we're used to in the summer.

 

We used the indoor pool for the first time.

 

 

Sidney had her first official lesson and Madison made huge improvements this year.  She went from not even wanting to get her face wet, to jumping into the deep end and swimming back to the wall.

 

We went to an engagement party about an hour and a half away from home (during the 110 degree heat wave) and had major car drama.  Our car died while driving down the freeway.  Luckily we were pretty close to an exit and we were able to get a tow truck to take it to a repair shop.  Unfortunately, the repair shop kept our car for a week and a half and we had to get a rental car. 

 

 

We had a fun Fourth of July watching fireworks and parades.

 

 

And hung out with cousins we don't get to see very often.

 



Summer/Fall

It's been much too long since I've posted anything.  After awhile I kind of forgot I even had a blog.

We've been working on a bunch of things around the house, so I'll share those soon!  But here's a look at a few of the things we've done this year.

We spent a lot of time working on the yard.  We planted a lot of plants and put up a new back fence.  Still no grass, but we are making progress.  Very slow progress.

Spent a weekend in Lake Tahoe, stayed in a horrible motel, Sidney got really sick, ended up in the ER.  Luckily everything was fine.

Spent most weekends in the backyard playing in the sprinklers.

Went to a Giants baseball game.

Madison started her second season of soccer.  Did a lot of bribing to make a goal.

Made her first three goals in the same game!  She got a new barbie doll and a chocolate sundae from McDonalds.

 Started Kindergarten.

Spent time with cousins.

Picked out some pumpkins.

Went Trick-or-Treating.

We Had A Great Easter