Day in the Valley

Mimene and Fanfan came to visit - we ended up doing something different this time around headed up to Los Olivos for a nice lunch at Sides (our new favorite spot - so good) and some wine tasting at Rusack.  

Finally a picture of the four of them together - and everyone is smiling!

Silly faces

Sketching at Rusack

Trains keeps this boy entertained no matter where we're at.

He did not want to take any pictures 

Building a bird house

Learning the basics of hammering - no fingernails were harmed during this process

Random April Fun

"My favorite character in a book is Minie Mouse because she is kind and real" - Zoe grade 1

"I have nice hands.  I help others get out of the mud if they are stuck." - Maddox, preschool

 We bought a $35 pool from Costco and it was the best purchase ever made.  The amount of time the kids spent in this thing was ridiculous. 

Zoe, Ilaria, Audrey

Some of Zoe's artwork - love. 

Where's Jagger?

10 Years

TEN YEARS.  That is how long we've been married!  So much has happened over the past 10 years and it's hard to believe how fast it's gone by.  Francis pulled off a big surprise weekend for our anniversary.  I knew he was up to something...but had no idea he would have done everything he did  :)  The celebration all started Friday afternoon - Wayne and Tara came by to watch the kids and we headed out to the Funk Zone for some local wine tasting.

 We then had the most amazing dinner at The Stonehouse at San Ysidro Ranch ... this place was amazing.  We started off with pan seared abalone, & fois gras (and champagne of course).  That was followed by halibut and steak.  Everything was amazing... my mouth waters just thinking about it.

We rounded out our night at The Bacara - our room was amazing, ocean view with easy access to the pool.

 

The next day we went to Los Olivos, had a great lunch at Sides and wine tasted all day.   The weather was amazing and it was super relaxing having an "adult" day.

I didn't get many pictures the rest of the day (I blame the wine) but we ended up heading back to the Bacara and having an ocean front dinner there.  The next day we had the kids come to the resort where we spent the first part of the day having fun and relaxing poolside.

My anniversary present to Francis was a new bike (aluminum was the 10 year theme) and a kid bike trailer for him to pull Maddox with.  Win-Win.  I get someone to come with me on bike rides AND pull Maddox along  :)

We wrapped up the weekend with a nice long bike ride to Beachside Cafe.   Best weekend ever.

Annual Easter Party!

The Miller Family had their annual easter party again this year and Zoe was finally big enough to play in the softball game!

Grandpa Wayne showing Zoe some tips.

 This was right before the pitch hit her nail so hard it fell off :/

 With cousin McKenzie - these two love each other so much!

The calm before the storm...

 The candy lasted about 4 months this time around. These kids are getting good at finding the eggs!

The next morning was Easter Sunday and the kids got to open up more easter gifts...I'm going to be sad when they stop believing that the Easter Bunny is real.

 We had our own Easter Egg hunt in the backyard but instead of candy we hid all the extra change from our cars.  They made out with almost $20 each!

 All of that change went straight into their "savings" piggy banks.  They have 2: a "spend" and a "savings" piggy bank. I'm not completely sure they understand the difference but hopefully one day it will make sense.  :)