Ringing in 2008

Dinner with our friends, "M & J" and 5 kids under the age of 10. A fun time. I want to ask them before I post their photo, but here's our crew.

Just Being Funny Together

. . . as we wait to ring in the New Year. Emma says her resolution is to eat grapes. Luke says learn to play guitar even better. Grownups shouldn't make resolutions (see previous post). But I do have hopes: for my entire family--health. For Troy--a good night's sleep. For my children--Dreams. Dream Big and Just Go For It. And what's the worst that can happen. As a friend said, "We always have band-aids in the car." Be kind. Give more than take. Love. Keep Dancing.

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined."
Henry David Thoreau

Our New Year's Eve Hike

Everyone indulged dear old me with a nice, rocky hike on New Year's Eve. It's a beautiful spot in one of the county parks in our area. We hiked up the hill and were rewarded with some outstanding views. This photo was one of the favorite parts of my day. We took it "old school style," just held the camera out in front of us, clicked the shutter and hoped we had our heads in the pix. Looks like we got it. Happy New Year. Here comes 2008. I'm looking forward to better things for all of us ahead. To our family and friends--much love, peace and joy in the New Year.
My resolution: To wake up inspired.

Christmas morning

These are a few of my favorite photos from Christmas morning. Luke & Emma are always hugging and kissing and just fooling around. Sometimes it makes it hard to get a good photo, but this one turned out cute and pretty much captures the two of them! Emma just can't get enough of her big brother and for the most part, Luke is a good sport about and soaks up all the attention.


The kids got these new robes and jammies on Christmas eve--a gift from the Christmas fairies. Christmas fairies are an Italian custom. They sneak in the house before Christmas to leave gifts for children.

Speaking of gifts, Emma's favorite gift was her "Just Born Rescue Pet." As usual, she loves anything having to do with animals so she also really likes her "Littlest Pet Shop" play set. Luke's favorite was his Nintendo DS. Santa finally felt comfortable with video games . . . Mom's still not sure! To say it was a "big hit" would be a big understatement.

To the left is Emma's "so cute" pose. She said Santa is "so cute" when she opened her rescue pet and her snow globe.

Santa Train

There was so much that was really sweet and right about Christmas this year. One of our favorite traditions is taking the "Santa Train" in Napa, which we did again this year. It is a nice chance to slow down and just be together. I have to admit I felt all "warm and fuzzy" when Luke said, "To me, this is what Christmas is. Not the presents or the shopping but being with family." There was hot chocolates and cookies and carolers, and finally a visit from the big guy himself. Kris Kringle, "Mr. C" . . . Santa Clause.

Getting the Tree

We got our tree at Moon Mountain Tree farm in Sonoma. It was a beautiful family-owned tree farm. You head up the mountain and pick your tree. Of course, you could just walk a bit and find something adequate. But not with our kids on the case. We went just about to the top of that mountain and then Luke declared he had found the "perfect" tree--a Douglas fir. Emma found all the baby trees and just had to talk to them. She looked so cute in her Santa Dress and boots.


And here is a link to our Christmas photo shoot. There was varying degrees of fun being had, but the kids mostly went along with it and I was able to capture some nice moments. Just click on the photo and the album will pop up.

Christmas 2007

Boo

Truth be told--I love Halloween. Probably as much as the kids. I don't care about the candy or any of that. I just love the dressing up. I like to help the kids come up with ideas for the costumes weeks before the day arrives, I like to do the make-up, to help them get dressed. It's like being a kid all over again. When else do you get to dress up, go to folks houses and say "trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat?"



This year it was Beauty and the Beast of sorts. Emma went with the classic beauty--"Snow White" while Luke found his inner beast with the whole "Living Dead," aka "Undead," aka "Zombie" thing.

First Day of School

Luke's ready to "rock" 2nd Grade! Emma is off to the Three's Class. For Luke its: New friends. New experiences. New Challenges. New Math!!

For Emma it means: more art, more projects, more paint, more sand, more mess--did I say more mess. That's the great part of being 3 and being in preschool. You get to make the kinds of messes it's never really quite ok to make at home. So away we go to a whole new school year with new backpacks, new lunchboxes and lots of dreams . . .

4th of July at the Jersey Shore

We spent a week at the Jersey Shore soaking up the sea and sun. It was such a treat to spend so much time with my sister, Kati, and her family. We stayed in a house on Sea Isle. We were there over 4th of July and on our last night we all sat on the beach and watched as fireworks went off all around us. The kids danced and shrieked with delight. It was a once in a lifetime moment, to be certain. I spent a lot of time during the trip remembering my mom, and how much she loved the shore. She would take us there as kids quite a bit. That night, as the fireworks exploded in the night sky, I thought about Mom, and how happy she must be looking down on all of us together.

Fishing at Shaver Lake

Catch of the Day. Fishing was a big hit. Luke learned to cast. This trout was tasty as an appetizer.



Ahoy Mateys!

Luke got to drive the boat with his Dad. This was a highlight of the trip for him.

Shaver Lake

Our summer trip to Shaver Lake. Grandmom Mary with (left to right) Kohl, Luke, Emma, Ryann & Maria. It was a fun trip filled with swimming, fishing and playing in the sand.

Here we are at Em's 3rd Birthday Party. She had a pink pony party & really enjoyed celebrating with her big brother & all her friends. June 2007

Mother's Day 2007

This is a picture of the four of us on Mother's Day, May 2007.
We are at the Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco. It was a really nice day. We even had a cup of tea together. The kids liked the cookies they served more than the tea, of course!

Welcome to our family blog

Welcome to Serendipity, our family blog that celebrates La Vida Loca--or, our crazy, busy, but filled with love & laughter life! This is a trial run of our new family blog. I'll post updates on what's been going on with all four of us whenever I can. Photos too! Maybe even video. Check back soon to see what's new since this blog is still under construction!! Don't expect grand or even great writing. The goal here is just to get it up and posted. And one other thing--I really don't know what I'm doing so excuse the layout as I learn to tweak all of these options to get it right.