Europe

We started out in London, staying with Scott’s sister, Maren. She has a beautiful apartment in the quaintest little neighborhood. Walking distance to everything you need. The first day when we were kicking around, trying to recover from jetlag, we enjoyed a little tea party at a local patisserie to celebrate the kids’ birthdays with Maren. Then, when we ventured out, we took the tube (underground train) to see the sights. Miles loved the Beefeaters and the palace police. I mean he really loved them - top 3 for the whole trip.

After five nights in lovely London, we all (including Maren) ventured out to Paris where we ate some amazing food, experienced the Louvre, and rode a double decker bus all over town. I really love this city. The art is soul stirring and the Notre Dame is more immense that I ever considered it would be.

After Paris, Maren headed back to London and our family of four made our way to Rome. We had a lot of sights to check off our list … and no double decker bus to usher us around town. We trekked miles (and Mia … haha) all over this city. Kind of exhausting, but so amazing!! I still can’t believe how tolerant the kiddos were. They enjoyed the socializing and the sights for most of the time. Then, when things got dicey, we gave them pizza and/or gelato. And back to happy again. Amazing. Miles also had a DVD player that helped him enjoy the Sistine Chapel as much as we did. Yeah, he’s pretty cultured. That is … uh … he can now quote multiple lines from Kung Fu Panda … and he knows what dumplings are. Ah geez.

The Coliseum was also among Miles' top 3. We bought him a little Roman Guard outfit that he is CRAZY about. He and Scott enjoyed sword fighting almost as much as the bystanders enjoyed taking pictures of our little guy. So cute. Mia also loved the Coliseum. Mostly because we finally let her get out of the stroller and backpack! By the way, these are the last pics you’ll see of her crawling … she is off and running! Ah, I love it.

Wow, and did I mention our Rome hotel yet? Holy cow, Scottie really did the job on this one. He scored a slammin deal after scouring the travel sights for days … then got a free upgrade upon check-in! We ended up in a wild room. Among the general excitement as we entered the room, Miles ran in the bathroom and exclaimed, “We even have a little sink for Mia!” Of course, he was talking about (you guessed it) the bidet! It was so funny. Ah, my little bug. He couldn’t stop jumping on the beds and we didn’t try to deter him. It was so much fun!

After conquering Rome, we boarded another plane to jet back to London for a few nights. We enjoyed city living a little more, saw a couple more sights, and told Maren that we love her forever.

Now, don’t get me wrong … it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Traveling with kids has its share of roadblocks and hazards. There was the occasional whack from a sword hand …

and a whole lotta public transit!

And, then there was the time Miles was stung by a bumble bee twice in the middle of the night. Oh, and our darling Mia? She got pink eye. And, you bet these guys learned how to sleep on the go! I have enough photos of these kids sleeping all over Europe to warrant their own blog post.

But, all in all, it was amazing. When we first considered a European vacation with kids, we thought it was too crazy and would be too hard. But it wasn’t. A bit crazy? … sure. But it was amazing. Really, an eye-opening, world-view-broadening experience that we’ll never forget. Thanks again, Maren, for letting us stay with you and for touring us around. And, thanks to you, Scottie, for having this out-of-the-box idea in the first place. And, Miles and Mia? You two are animals. I can’t believe how much fun we had with you guys in EUROPE!

… still can’t believe we went …

oh, and the last of Miles' top 3 list?

seeing the mummies

European Sampler

Ah, such an amazing trip! We just returned from Europe, where we visited London, Paris, and Rome. It was unreal. Sadly, my computer just ate a (probably too) long commentary about our excursion ... and I just don't have the patience to recreate it tonight! So, if you're looking for detes, give me a call. Or, just wait a couple days and I'll likely get it all together again to write it all down and add another post. Actually, yes, that's what I'll do. you can count on it. This truncated post is for my mom who has been, ever so patiently, waiting to see pictures from our trip.

More to follow ...

Oh My Mia

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Just about every day Scott and I are left looking at each other wondering where this little girl came from. She is just amazing. So sweet and cuddly ... yet not just a sack of potatoes. She's fiesty, loves to assert herself, and smiles pure sunshine. She sleeps like a baby (ha) and has the funniest little face when she's dissatisfied. She's my perfect little buddy; we go everywhere together (ok, I don't have much of a choice on this one). But, luckily, she's a dream.

We decided to keep her party low-key and celebrated with just the four of us. It was perfect. We enjoyed a late brunch (ok, by the time we ate it was nearly dinner ... but you get the idea). Then, we opened presents and rallied together afterwards to eat more cake.

Here are the new kicks she unwrapped.

LOVE LOVE LOVE them!

Her latest and greatest accomplishments are walking (kinda) and a few favorite words. Everyday she waves and says "hi" to people while we're out and about. It's this cute, airy, sort of melodic "hi". Just tickles me every time. She also likes "uh-oh". Sometimes there's a big pause between the two syllables and they're always descending in tone. Pretty comical. Then, she has her favorite all-purpose word, "dada." Miles called everything "dada" also. Kinda funny. She babbles about other stuff pretty constantly ... often in an escalating war cry when she's either attacking or defending herself against Miles. She has a sweet little sense of humor and we already have a few inside jokes with each other. Oh, and did I mention she has a healthy appetite? I suppose you could deduce that from the first pic. ;)

Little Soleil, you are my sunshine.

Happy Birthday sweet girl.

Happy Birthday Miles!

Admittedly, this post is a little late ... probably due to the fact that Scottie and I are super slick and had our babes 3 years and 10 days apart. Yup, that means 2 birthdays within a week and a half each other. But while it has been crazy, it has also been an amazing couple weeks. I am so grateful for these little munchkins.

And, birthday #1 this month? That would be ...

MILES!!!!

We started the birthday weekend off with a Buzz Lightyear party with his friends. He insisted on inviting "everyone I know" and then proceeded to name off 8 of his neighbor friends. So cute. We played Toy Story games, smashed a jet-pack pinata, opened presents, and ate rocket cupcakes. It was so fun ... and Miles & friends seemed to be in heaven.

Then, on Sunday we had our family party where we sat around a fondue pot telling stories about Miles. I loved how much he enjoyed hearing about himself when he was a baby. It's so fun to have a kid who's old enough to enjoy a little reminiscing. After dinner we opened more presents, then ate too much triple chocolate truffle cake. mmmmmmm good call on the cake, buddy.

And, now, a little about my big 4 year old....

*(read on at your own discretion - the following is mostly for my sake)*

My current adjective for Miles? Dynamic. This kid goes big or goes home. He's tough, kind, sensitive, and super conscientious. He likes to talk about how much we like chocolate. The other day he came over to me and said, "We love chocolate, right Mom?" I responded with something like "Yeah, we sure do, Miles." Then, he said, "Daddy doesn't like chocolate though." To which I reasoned, "No, Daddy likes chocolate also." Miles summed up the conversation with, "But not as much as we do. We love chocolate the most." It just tickled me that he wants us to be in some sort of exclusive chocolate club together. (Sorry Scott ... you better increase your cacao consumption if you want to get in on this one.) ;)

He loves pre-school and being a Sunbeam at church. He'll take any chance he can get to talk into a microphone. He's a good helper running errands and he adores his little sister. He loves to cuddle and read. We love going to get treats at Godiva together and picking the perfect truffle. He can't wait for his daddy to "put a whoopin" on him when he gets home at night. He loves a good party. He's a good little baker and insists on wrapping presents all by himself. He loves to scheme with Scott about tickle torturing me. He loves being outside and would surely starve if we didn't make him sit down to eat at mealtimes. This kid loves to play.

There is so much more to say about my little tiger, but I just can't find the words (like I didn't write enough already - ha!). Now, I'm just left wondering how he got so old. wild

LOVE YOU, BUG!!

...and don't worry, Mia, your post will be up shortly.

Sun-kissed miss said don't be late ...

I love the Golden Gate. I've loved it since I was a kid.

And, the best part of living in the East Bay this time around? Spectacular views of my favorite bridge. I love the view from the 580 ... and I especially love Cesar Chavez park, where we frequently come to fly kites, throw rocks, and check out my favorite bridge.

Ah, I love this place!

First Ride

Miles tries riding a bike without training wheels for the first time. He's so focused, it's so cute!

Go Miles!

best.trip.ever

The kiddos are in bed, so here I sit all cuddled up on the sofa with my laptop. Why, you ask? ... because my usual cuddle buddy is in class. This is his first day back after a good 6 week Christmas break. amazing. Never again will we have so much time together. (OK, sure we will ... but we'll never be so young & energetic with so much time together!) haha

OK, you're gonna die when I tell you how we kicked off our break. Seriously, don't hate me. We went to Hawaii. It was a last minute trip that just fell together perfectly. I know, I know ... who do we think we are? ridiculous. I still can't believe we went.

We found a great hotel on Oahu complete with waterslides. Actually, the waterslides pretty much put the deal together. Miles was in heaven.

We divided our time between the pool, lagoon, beach, and finding the local hot-spots. Of course, we couldn't let a beach vacation go by without burying our oldest.

Or insisting that our youngest sleep on-the-go.

We did a little fishing (read: catching minnows with a shovel)

tried out paddle-boarding (loved it)

snorkeled

LOVED watching fire dancing at the Polynesian Cultural Center

posed for some pictures (oh Mia)

and (almost) rode the paddle boats. haha

So, apparently these birds were really heavy. Miles was so so so excited about having a bunch of birds sit on him. Oh my goodness, it was so cute. He was just holding this tender little smile despite the talon marks the big red one was leaving on his wrist. Such the trooper.

And then, when it came time to go, he insisted upon dragging two bags down to the car. Did I mention he's not even 4 yet? He was actually a big help bc, of course, we hauled all of our own luggage down to avoid an extra tip for the bellman. Miles, you're really pulling your weight these days. Seriously, and probably more.

Having so much fun as a family was just perfect.