Summer 2011

Here's a quick picture recap of our super fab (though transient) summer.

Mia off-roading

At first I was shocked that Scott would set Mia up on the ATV and wait for her to drive away while steadily catching every second on film. But, upon review of the tape ... I understand. priceless

Graduation and DR

What a summer! We kicked it off with Scott's graduation from Berkeley Business School. Ah, it feels so good to have that degree!

After graduation we loaded up a few last things, said our final goodbyes, and headed East. Ooh, I love the Bay Area - it was hard to leave ... but starting our new real life as contributing members of society is pretty exciting no matter where we are.

Along our trip across the country, we stopped in UT for over a month! It was so fun. Scottie, however, spent the first week dirt biking all over the Dominican Republic with his oldest brother. What a great adventure! Oh, and don't be fooled by the absence of a smile in the picture below. He was definitely masking how giddy he was about the beautiful beach and all the fun he was having.

Well, that picture skimpy post gets us partially through May. Hmmm ... I can see that I have my work cut out for me here. But, alas, I need my rest, so off to bed we go. More to follow ...

Happy Easter!

We clicked a couple pics after church on Sunday.

Ooooh, I love these little shmunchkins!!

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.