James and Sunglasses

James has taken to wearing sunglasses - he doesn't seem to care that they belong to his big sister and they are pink. He wants so much to be just like his big sisters who are both really sweet to him.

Maya's field trip to Capitol

Maya's class has been learning about government, so they took a field trip to the capitol. Kudos to Jeff, he called our local assembly man's office and arranged a VIP tour for the class (he was also on field trip duty that day). The kids got to ride light rail to the capitol (which they loved) and once there, they had a picnic and toured the building. They even got to sit in the senate chambers and listen to the carolers singing in the rotunda. What a great way for them to see government in action!

Thanksgiving 2010

Rachel hosted Thanksgiving at the farm this year and we had such a great time. She and Jordan did a great job decorating and thinking of every detail to make the day fun for all. The kids had a great time playing out in the yard together, roasting marshmellows at the firepit and decorating sugar cookies. We feasted on the great food and the great company of our family. We are so lucky to have all of us living so close together that we can get together and have no emtpy chairs. Thanks Rachel and Jordan!

Jeff and Marisa Snoopy Museum 2010

Jeff took Marisa to the Snoopy Museum where they took an art class. Their teacher, a cartoon artist, taught them really neat tricks to help inspire and improve their artwork. When asked what Marisa's favorite flower was, she replied, "a dandelion" (she picks these "flowers", of which there are many in our yard, and brings them to her mom who puts them in a vase on the table). Their teacher told a story about a dandelion and drew her a lovely picture. They had a fun day learning and exporing at the museum!

Kindergarten Feast 2010

Marisa's kindergarten class worked all last week preparing their Thanksgiving feast. They made all of the decorations, costumes and food. Marisa chose to be an Indian (as opposed to a Pilgram). The feast included "stone" soup, cornbread muffins, hand churned butter and little pumpkin pies. The kindergarteners cut up carrots, potatoes and celery to put in the soup and made the muffins, butter and pies all by themselves. It was quite an impressive spread and they were very proud of themselves.

2nd Grade Trip to Town Hall

Maya's 2nd/3rd grade class (known as MACLand) went on a walking field trip to the Town Hall to visit with the Mayor. The kids had a great time asking all about local government and even got to sit in the city council's seats. As you can see, Maya chose to sit in Mayor Rivas' chair. Maya asked the Mayor who his favorite baseball team was and was quite disappointed when he said the Dodgers. Boo Dodgers!

Apple Hill with the Lees 2010

We spent a lovely afternoon at Apple HIll with the Lee family. The girls enjoyed running a muck with the cousins and eating "caramel apples". (Actually they were covered in fudge and gummy worms.) It was a sunny fall day and the kids enjoyed playing at the playground, learning about how cider and pie is made and climbing trees. We sure love being so close to Apple Hill that we get to play tour guide for our friends and family!