Peter is Six!

We had so much fun celebrating Peter on his sixth birthday!  Six!  How can it be?  He is such a big guy already.  Peter had wanted a basketball and swimming party, so we decided to combing the two and shoot some hoops in the pool.  It was awesome!  We had so many wonderful friends and family there, and the Vanis family stayed the night, so we got to keep the party going really late.  It was so wonderful to see Peter having so much fun with his great buddies.  Peter is so fun to be around!  He loves to play outside and be active.  He's always ready to have an adventure and go exploring.  He's brave and daring, ready to try new things.  Peter has such a sweet heart.  He is so loving to everyone in his family, and is such a kind brother and friend.  We absolutely love being around him, and think he's such a funny, special boy.  We love you, Peter!

Cowgirl Lizzy

Look at that amazing cowgirl up there!  Lizzy had a blast at horse camp this summer.  She loved learning all about the horses, how to take care of them, and how to ride them.  We loved hearing all about her adventures every day.  It takes a lot of courage to get on a van and ride to the barn and try something totally new, and Lizzy did it will exuberance.  We loved getting to watch Lizzy at her horse show at the end of the week.  She was stuck with the most difficult horse, and even though he made it really hard to do all of the tricks, Lizzy stuck with it, and made it through.  We thought she look absolutely awesome out there!

Bike Riders

We spent a lot of time this summer going on long bike rides.  It was so fun to explore our town, and to get to know the bike trails a little bit.  Lizzy and Peter are really awesome now!  They can go for long rides, and Catherine is a great champ on the back of my bike.  Bike riding is so freeing!  It opens a door to you and makes you feel like you can go anywhere and do anything!  Plus, you feel so proud of yourself!  Making it over that huge bike bridge, pedaling on when you didn't think you'd make it that far.....it's the best!  We've ridden to parks, to restaurants, to a museum, and all over.  I can't wait to keep exploring with these guys!

Sporty Friends!

Peter and Andy went to an awesome sports camp together this summer.  They loved it, and had such a great time playing all sorts of sports together!  One year ago, when we first moved here, Peter was so brave and went to this camp all by himself.  He had a good time......but it's so awesome to see how in one year, Peter has found such a great friend in Andy, and they have such a great time together!  Here's to many more adventures together!

Eight is Great!

Lizzy is eight!  Wow!  How did she get so big?  We had a wonderful pool party "under the sea" to celebrate our special girl.  It was such a great day!  We had so many wonderful friends over to celebrate.  We had school friends, family, dear Menlo Park friends.....it was just great!  The kids had so much fun swimming and playing, and it was so fantastic to be surrounded by so much love.  We kept the party going late into the night with the Heinz family!  Lizzy, you are so loved.  We treasure each day we spend with you.  We absolutely love to watch you grown and learn.  You have the most loving, sweet heart, and you are such a caring and thoughtful person.  You are so interesting!  It's so fun to talk with you and hear all your great ideas and observations.  You are so fun!  We love your laugh and the silly way you love to joke around.  You are so very precious, and we love you!  Happy Birthday!

Tahoe Lake

We had a wonderful family trip to Tahoe that we all loved!  I think we're just now getting to the point where we can enjoy longer trips together, and boy did the kids prove to us what great travelers they are.  Pat found a wonderful deal at Tahoe, so right when everyone got out of school, we packed up the car and hit the road.  We loved our hotel room!  Lizzy and Peter had their own room, and we had a huge balcony that we enjoyed eating on and watching all the people from.  We went on two fantastic hikes that were just gorgeous, and we loved spending time playing at the beach.  More than anything, it was just so fun being together, and enjoying time together is such a beautiful place.  I can't wait to go back!