Alex and his friends enjoying pajama day at preschool on Friday-We managed to get some yard work done in between the recent rain storms. Alex stacked all of these branches into the bin on his own- he was very proud of his work.

Paris used yard scraps to bring this large branch to life ,
complete with a skirt, hair, antelers and face.

Chuck E. Cheese-

It has taken one week to fully recover from our trip to Chuck E. Cheeses and finally blog it. Yes, we actually went on Valentine's Day, both a weekend and a holiday. It was packed from wall to wall, and as evidenced by Mason's cheeks below, hotter than 'H', 'E' double hockey sticks. Next time, if there ever is one during this life time, we will pick a weekday morning:)

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Paris, Alex and Mason were dying for Bendaroos (as seen on t.v. :) )- so we surprised them for Valentine's Day... they were a hit!Alex fully mesmerized by a sugar cookie.

Alex saw it fit to dress as a "pirate mummy" for Valentine morning... which is actually Mason's old Halloween costume.

Paul and the kids enjoying wrestlemania, which i'm sure is great for his chronic back issues-

Paris and Mason making Valentine collages.

On Golden Pond-

Alex and I spent the morning at the Lafayette Resevoir on a paddle boat... it had been many years since I tried it and it was Alex's first time... we had a lot of FUN.

We spent a lot of time following this guy around- he was so funny and liked the attention... not sure what type of bird...maybe a pelican?

We drove up to Mt. Diablo yesterday-

Here are Paris and Alex at the Summit- 4,000 ft. elevation. There are beautiful views of the whole bay area...

... and this is the exact spot where Paul proposed to me eight years ago! We had not been here since and things were a little different this time around :)I took this picture of Alex at 11:45 pm last night. He dressed as a pirate right before falling asleep at 7:45pm and still had it on when I went to check on him.

Here is our new motivation chart... wish us luck :) When all of the squares are filled with stickers, guess where we are going!

Alex had his first official playdate (not accompanied by a parent :) ) today at our house.

Alex and his friend Coco (short for Cole)- They covered a lot of ground in a few short hours... legos, trains, lunch, sandbox, superheroes etc....

We spent Sunday at the San Jose Children's Discovery Museum... which was simultaneously fun and exhausting :)

They have a real fire engine and ambulance that the kids can freely explore.

Paris blowing huge bubbles-

In the Alice In Wonderland exhibit-

The biggest hit was the water experimentation room- a lot of shooting, splashing spraying going on- good thing we brought changes of clothes!

Wet, muddy, rainy day at the "creek".

On the way to the creek, Paris found a worm, which was as thrilling to them as if they found gold :) She made it a home and plans to keep it as a pet.Entering into our special little secret creek area- it takes less than 5 minutes to walk here from our house and seems like your are in a secluded, wooded Lake Tahoe area.

Paris is up in her "house". The euculyptus trees are huge and beautiful.

Alex exploring the hill.

Paris made another masterpiece from her princess cookbook- cucumber tea sandwiches- then dessert was Easy Bake Oven sugar cookies.

Week in Review :)

Happy Belated Birthday to Paul!One of Paris' and my favorite downtown spots- notice the large fish and big turtle on the rock.

We walked way out on the pier (it's at least 1/2 mile long) at the Berkeley Marina on Sunday. Paul fished here frequently with his Dad and with Roman when he was younger. The kids were excited to see all the fisherman and are ready to give it a try themselves! ... to be continued...

Paul and his friend, Albert, hosted quite a barbecue at Heather Farm park today. They grilled steaks, ribs, pork chops, lamb chops and chicken (Wayne would have appreciated the meat fest :)) The kids were all thrilled to have such an elaborate picnic.

Albert's daughter, Cassie and Paris with their dolls- notice Cassie's doll- it's one of those collectible newborns that exactly resembles a real baby- a little scary-

The appearance of the ice cream truck put the final touch on a perfect day for the kids!!

We spent the day at a new playground and kite park in Berkeley.

Only in Berkeley would you find a park like this... everything is hand made and the kids are encouraged (with supervision) to build with hammers, nails, saws and to paint wherever they want. It is a huge area with 3-story forts, slides and a zip line. A little high maintenance but they kids really enjoyed it.

Alex on the zip line.
Notice the upscale playground structure in the background.

Practicing with the saw and hammer- thankfully without any injuries!

Although it looks more like a junkyard, the structures are regularly reinforced by adults so they are safe.

Enjoying a treat from the ice cream cart by the Bay.

Getting the kites ready to fly... this park right by the water is kite-flying heaven. The steady breeze from the ocean makes it nearly impossible not to keep a kite up.

Paris (with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background) flying the kite.

Mason was very proud to hold the strings- his kite is the one in the middle way up there!