A Long Fun Day

All my kids like to be on the go.  They love adventure, and are always up for anything.  Peter may love it the most though.  Every morning, almost the moment my eyes open, he'll ask me, "What are we doing today?"  Often followed by my favorite, "What are we having for dinner?"  Well, we had a busy day for the record books on Sunday.  We started with Lizzy's basketball.  Then we hopped right on the road for Palo Alto to go to Lizzy's friend Tatum's birthday party.  We made a pit stop in McDonalds for a quick change and fast lunch then we headed to the ice rink for the party.  What fun! We all had a great time.  Lizzy loved getting to see all her old friends, and fell into step with everyone right away.  I always admire how easily Lizzy connects with friends, and always has such an open, happy heart.  Peter and Catherine loved skating.  Peter really got the hang of it, and we all were sad when the party ended.  But we didn't stop there!  We made a fast trip to one of our favorite old museums and then visited our old, dear friends from our old neighborhood for some wonderful playtime.  Lizzy and Peter jumped right into the basketball game, and didn't want the fun to end.  At one point Peter looked at me and said, "Wow!  This really was a long, busy day full of fun.  That's the best kind though!"  He is so right!  I think we all felt filled up with love and friendship, and absolutely had the best time seeing so many awesome friends.  We ended our marathon with dinner out at CPK, and even stopped by the American Girl store.  Whew!  What fun!  

Keep Old Friends

When we first moved, it was very exciting, but also pretty scary.  We were so thrilled to be finally getting our own house.  We were super happy to be moving to close to family, and to have lots of fun times with cousins.  But, we were also leaving behind some very special friends.  And those kinds of friends are not easy to find.  It takes time to cultivate deep friendships, and we knew we would be saying good-bye to some very special people.  But since we have moved, we have learned how strong those friendships can be!  When you make a connection with someone, if you move, or have some time apart, the really amazing thing is that you can reconnect, and have just as much fun as you had before!  We've loved getting to visit our old friends, and we cherish when we get to spend time together.  We've realized that our laughs and jokes and good times are just as awesome, maybe even more so, because now we realize how precious they are.  We've learned that there are lots and lots of people out there that are ready to be awesome friends.  That no matter where you go, you'll find new friends, but the old ones will be waiting for you to come back.  Excited for those precious carved out moments that you can spend together.  Just like Lizzy and her darling friend, Tatum:)

A Fresh Start, Please!

I've been busy......that's what everyone says, right?!  But we do get busy, bogged down with the day to day business of chores, and school, and sports, and play, and, well.....everything.  The problem is, when you get "busy," you lose your focus.  You're so intent on getting through your daily to-do list, that you lose sight of what's even on the list!  And that's okay!  Sometimes life is like that- just sort of struggling to stay afloat, and doing the best you can.  But that's not exactly giving an accurate picture of what's happening with us.  Sure, we're keeping all of our balls delicately balancing in the air, but we're also have a lot of fun doing it.  We're growing, and learning, and thriving.  And I don't want to just be along for the ride.... I want to keenly and intentionally live it, and embrace it, and enjoy it, and be thankful!  I'm, therefore, giving myself a break here.  I'm just allowing myself a restart and beginning anew today.  I've missed (on this blog) birthdays, and holidays, and many, many special moments.  Missed only in recording them though, because they were fully enjoyed in the moment when we lived them.  Instead of trying to play a never ending game of catch up, I'm letting those things go and starting over today.  I'll do my best to keep up here, because I do treasure these moments and times together.  They are the invaluable fabric of our life.

So here we are then, the first day of the new year!  2015!  We started it out with a bang.  Instead of just snuggling in and laying around like a bunch of bugs on a log, we zipped out of bed, got dressed quickly, and did what we do best.  We hit a museum and enjoyed a day of adventure.  We have never been to the Laurence Hall of Science before in Berkeley, and boy was it well worth a visit!  Today was sunny, but super chilly.  We drove through the Berkeley hills and finally found the museum.  The view was breathtaking!  The kids loved getting to run all around, and explore, and create.  Everything was hands on, and they loved getting to check out all the exhibits.  What fun, and what a great way to kick off our new year!  I hope we're in for many more days of adventure and fun.

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!