The Aquarium!

The Monterey Bay Aquarium is amazing. I have been there so many times throughout the years... we even had our Marine Biology class in high school there every week! Maggie loves all of the fish and the 'hands on' areas. We were there right when it opened and went over to see the Outer Bay tank (picture two story HUGE tank with sharks, sun fish, tuna, etc). She ran up to the tank and yelled.... MINE!!! MINE!!!

Pictures for Daddy

We were very busy making pictures for Daddy! All of the crayons were MINE, and the paper was MINE, and the whole aquarium was MINE, and well... you get the picture.

The Bridge at the Aquarium

This is where Maggie took her first 'real' steps last August.

I love you little Penguins!

Maggie loved looking at the Penguins (see them behind the glass?).

And then she started kissing them...

Mommy & Maggie

I know that this is not the best picture.  It is over exposed & a little fuzzy.  But, I love it because we have the same expression!  Mommy was sitting in Maggie's beauty salon and she was 'fixing' my hair.  She thought it was so funny during the shampoo!

The Park

Arizona with Dutch & Kate!

Helping Daddy

John came in to town this weekend for a short visit. What happens when you have a dada who lets you do what ever you want... including play with the shaver?? A happy little girl and a very nervous dada. I love her expression in both of these pictures. It looks like she is telling him how to do it.

Watching history

Maggie watching Obama. She really liked all of the music and was dancing around. Better than a morning full of cartoons!

Beach time with Auntie Gianna!

Hanging out at Auntie Gianna's beach house! The weather has finally changed after 10 days of record highs. We are back in the fog and 60 degrees. It was a nice taste of summer!

Ready, Set, SUMMER!

Testing the sprinkler on the lawn...

Ok, ready... RUNNNNN!!!

Making Lemonade from Lemons

While we were over in the valley this weekend, we decided to drive by our Grandparent's old house. They have been gone for years now, after a long and happy life. No one had seen the house for about a year and a half. As we drove up, there were 10-15 cars parked in the front lawn/driveway. They were brokers touring the house in preperation for a forclosure hearing! We were able to sneak in to get a peak of the place.

The tree out front was gone, the plants along the house were torn out, the bedroom was painted black and dark green, the fruit trees were gone, the pool was green and frothing. It looked nothing like my grandparents house. It actually looked like someone woke up everyday for the last 2 years and was determined to destroy it. Because it did not look anything like their place or the place of childhood weekends, it really was not that sad.

You know what was still there... the door knocker... with their name.

They say you can never go back. 'They' are right.

Hats off to Patrick

Our dear friend Patrick is leaving California for his next assignment. To celebrate his time here and to give him a proper send off, his darling girlfriend Stacey threw an amazing party with family and friends.

Mom & Dad enjoying the party

Mom with Lynn and Joy. They met in 1961 and have been friends ever since.

Beach Bums

In case you have been keeping up with us for a while, you probably have noticed that we don't actually 'do' much. Especially when we head out west to stay at Baba's beach house. Our days go like this: get up, walk to our favorite bakery (yes, always in our sweats, if you know Santa Cruz, you know you don't have to dress up!), get breakfast and coffee, walk down under the trestle to the beach, sit at the benches drink our coffee and read the paper (Maggie usually is snoozing by this point... for some reason all of the 'deliciousness' at the bakery tuckers her out!), watch the surfers at the jetty, walk home. We repeat this at noon and 6 pm. That is it!

Do you think that this counts as exercise?

PS. We actually do more that this... but this is stuff I dream about when we are in some other part of the world! Want to join us? Call anytime.

The long road to... Home?

Our trip to California did not start as we had planned. Well, it started as we had planned, but did not end that way! We left our house at 1 pm and returned to our home (yes, the place we started) at 10 pm. We flew 40 miles on an airplane, had Steph pick us up and drive us back home... a little upset that we missed our connection by minutes! Aghhh.

While air travel is a real pain, especially when you are alone with a very mobile little girl, it was worth it. Stepping of the plane in San Francisco to sunshine, not a cloud in the sky, 68 degrees! As we round the cliff heading to the house, the view always takes my breath away. But today, it was a special day, picture perfect, waves, water, familes out at the beach, bbqs, bands playing downtown... Summertime! In the middle of January. It is going to be a great month out west.

Mommy...

I can do it myself! Now, do I push this button to take the picture? Maggie practising with the camera, Mommy loving every moment.

Baked Snap Peas

Before Mommy stepped to the sink to wash some dishes she placed the baked snap peas snack in a bowl.

She turned around when she heard, "TaDa".

The snap peas were now placed artistically in a fake cupcake bottom from Maggie's kitchen.

The bowl was no where to be found.
There was a happy little girl crunching away.

Happy Birthday John!

Big Daddy to some, Johnny to others, Ringo, Dada, Tiger, Pigeon, Pups, Bunny (yes, I am actually making that public!), Reno, Prince Charming, the list goes on. Today 'he' celebrated his 35th birthday. How you ask? With family and friends and a little game called Trivial Pursuit.
Do you think they will notice if I move this piece two spaces instead of one? The Smith women took home the grand prize. All thanks to Steph and her obscure literary knowledge and of course my knowledge of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I explained to them that we had to read that book as part of a class in High School. They gave me the silent look that usually is followed by the thoughts... hummm... what do they teach in California anyways? Anyone want to support my claim to Biff's reading list? If so, are you rational or romantic? This is so much more important than learning how many planets there are!

Happy New Year!

New Years Eve. Reading with Maggie- what could be better?

Helping mommy in the kitchen! Maggie tracked the flour all over the house. I thought that I swept it all up and I just found a footprint in the corner of the living room. This was a BAD idea at this young age.

2008 was a great year. Here are the Numbers...

6 -the number of weeks spent crashing at the Smith Farm (thank you Bill & Steph)

2 - weekends away just the two of us!

2x's -the budget we thought we would spend on our remodel (how typical is that!)

20 - airplane flights Maggie was on this year... is that even possible for a one year old? If anyone needs travel tips with an infant... just let me know! No wonder why I am not excited about getting on the plane with her next week.

1 - trip down the aisle as a flower girl for Gianna's wedding

1 - new house

2 - cars bought and sold

2 - new jobs

4 - countries visited

Countless new friends in Ohio, love from our families, smiles from Maggie, and laughter in our house.

We wish you a happy and healthy 2009!

Teeth

It must be so painful for those little teeth to poke through. There are 7-8 teeth starting to break through and Maggie is so uncomfortable. She was up last night from 1-4 crying and crying and crying. Nothing seemed to help... well almost nothing. She finally calmed down while snuggling on the couch with Mommy, Daddy, & Sesame Street. I hope this is not a trend!

New York, New York!

This past weekend we met up with our dear friends Matt & Jamie in NYC! We try to see them at least once a year to catch up and enjoy some great food and wine. This time around, we stayed at the New York Athletic Club right on Central Park. It is a beautiful old private club with a very strict dress code. It was fun to see Matt & John (and Jamie!) out of flight suits and in real suits during the day for a change! We then went to NJ to visit Matt's family and had a great dinner at Rats (bad name, great food!). We were so thankful for their kind hospitality.

For our military friends, send me a note and I will let you know how you can stay at the NYAC as a guest... very reasonable, great location, great drinks and food, and beautiful rooms!

The girls before dinner in NJ with some friends we found in the park.

Matt & Jamie in the NYAC lobby. Where is your tie Matt?

Going to see Wicked

On the roof terrace enjoying the view and the weather - 55 degrees!

Escape from Alcatraz!

I have been busy uploading pictures to Ceiva all morning. How it works: you have a digital photo frame, it has a wireless modem. You give your account name & password to those you trust and they can upload pictures from their computer directly to your photo frame! It is such a wonderful idea for those who are digitally challenged and who don't want to bother with a memory stick AND for those of us who are far away from family and friends! Here is the website http://www.ceiva.com/

It also allowed me to download pictures from the rest of the family... which means that I now get to BRAG about my brother-in-law Bret. He swam from Alcatraz to San Francisco! There was a reason why they built the prison in the middle of the ocean and why so few people have ever escaped. It is cold, the currents are really strong, and did I mention it is cold? BUT, he did it! We are so proud of him! The finisher... Bret is the second from the right.

There they go!

Jumping in

Christmas morning!

Santa arrived at our house and left a new kitchen for Maggie! She was so excited and has already made mommy a cup of coffee and some toast.

Getting ready to go to church

Merry Christmas!

Last Christmas we were living in Barton Bendish and were going to enjoy a quiet Christmas just the three of us. We had just returned from the trip to see the Smiths in Germany and we were exhausted. Our wonderful friends, the Simons invited us to spend Christmas dinner with them. The meal was wonderful and we were so thankful to be with such a great family for Christmas! I am using my Delia Smith Christmas Cookbook for the meal tonight! Thanks again Simons!

We are gearing up for Santa tonight! Busy baking for the big man and wrapping presents. Maggie has learned a new word: "Please". I feel like I have to give her everything now just because she says 'please' after asking for it! Really it sounds more like: 'peeessss?' You guessed it... she is pointing to her presents under the tree and saying the magic words! It is really too cute and hard to resist.

Las Vegas Girls Weekend

My dear friend Lindsay is getting Married! We spent the weekend celebrating with her. It was not the weekend to travel in the states with the weather issues around the country. But, we made it and had such a great time. The group of girls is amazing and I am proud of all that they have accomplished! Jenni has just started importing jewelry from Bali. It is woven silver and gold. It is really unbelievable how it sparkles in person. You can check it out at: http://www.sanurjewelry.com/

Maggie stayed at the Farm and had a great weekend will Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie Sussus and cousin Evan. She barely noticed when I returned! How happy and sad that made me.

Having a party

Little busy body was hard at work this morning. I was in the other room while Maggie was busy serving puppy in her high chair. She did the entire set up by herself! Even the bowls for breakfast were on the table. Daddy will not be too happy that the mugs that she grabbed off the shelf are from his old squadrons. I think that they might be hard to replace if she breaks them!

Filling up Daddy's cup.

Would you like a drink Puppy?

Here she is again...

...with that darn present from Baba. Maggie was not even dressed yet this morning and she wanted to make sure her present was still under the tree!

Lighting up Oakwood

Last night we walked over to the park for the neighborhood holiday party. They had Hot Cocoa, Santa on the Fire Truck, horse drawn carriage rides, and of course the lighting of the tree. It was fun to get together with our neighbors and new friends.

John, Maggie, Cousin Ange & Cousin Eri

The tree!

Mom & Maggie with Frosty & the Mouse King!

Christmas Present from Baba!

Maggie received a Christmas present in the mail last week. She loves the package! Every morning she pulls it out from under the tree, sits on it, moves it around, stnads on it, and points to it over and over again saying, 'Mine!' 'Mine!'. Do you think that she will be disappointed when we finally open it?