Gideon has discovered that it's more fun to climb than to eat, which he can do even when belted in properly. I returned from a quick trip to the bathroom to find this scene. At least he wants to be independent and feed himself.
Alcatraz!! I was so excited to take Jacob there because he loves to play jail and take prisoners, etc. Little did I realize that it would be a really SCARY place for a 4 year old. He finally took off his headset because the narration was scaring him too much. We really did have a good time there, he was just wide eyed and quiet. Little did we know that he would have nightmares for a few nights after that. Oops.
(This was taken at the very beginning, when they were just excited to have their own headset)
On to the Muir Woods! It was beautiful!! The redwoods were enormous; it was quite overwhelming. Here are little soldiers "guarding" the tree. The kids loved hiking around, but I felt like they were way too noisy for the peaceful atmosphere the rangers were trying to present. I guess that was a unique feature of vacationing off-season--there were no families with kids to blend in with.
Yeah for SUPER DAD!
Our cable car experience wasn't the greatest. We waited all morning to get on and then it was terribly crowded. And the kids wanted to sit inside anyway so it was more like a stuffy bus (which we did ride on later in the day--not fun at all). But while standing in line we recognized the Portuguese language being spoken. We met a mother and daughter visiting from Brazil who live right around where I was on my mission. Que legal!
Ok, the highlight and the whole reason for the timing of our trip: Fleet Week 2008! This is an annual air show featuring the Blue Angels and Canadian Snowbirds and many other airplane "tricksters." We saw the most incredible stunts--I was truly amazed. One of the coolest things was being out on Alcatraz during their practice and watching fly-bys whooshing right over our heads!! Tom and Jacob were in heaven!
We had awesome "seats" for the show, overlooking the bay.
The obligatory SF treat--too bad Allison was asleep for this or she would have been 10 times as messy.
And last but not least, a visit with an old friend. We were able to meet up with my old freshman year roommate, Jennie, and meet her husband and baby. We went to church together and had a delicious picnic in a park in Palo Alto.
An A+ family vacation in every way.
Unfortunately, Gideon's desire to pull up on everything resulted in his latest injury. Touching the outside of our hot oven, he received 2nd degree burns (with blisters) on his left hand. Luckily, a phone call to the Dr. reassured us we didn't need to spend time in the ER. He got this lovely new hand-wear the next day and I will spend the next week or two redressing it several times a day. And Gideon will spend the time chewing it off and thwarting all efforts to keep it in place.
Happy Halloween from a football player, a lion, and a little pumpkin! 
I have never been into "causes." Until now. The time has come to stand up and fight to try to save our society through officially defining traditional marriage. Here we are in California at an historical time: when the family is under attack and impressionable children are in danger. This is why we have been knocking doors talking to people, attending meetings, displaying bumper stickers, walking in a parade--trying to explain that as the basic unit of society changes, so does EVERYTHING.
Whether you live in CA or not, the results of the vote on Prop 8 will affect you because this is just the beginning. Please, if your funds allow, go to ProtectMarriage.com to learn more and contribute to make sure that the definition of marriage between a man & a woman is added to the CA constitution. And, if your time allows, please sign up for our Digital Network Army, an opportunity to fight this cause on the internet through blog posts/comments, youtube videos etc.
Yes, I set my baby in the dirt and he did eat dirt clods one second after I snapped this, but this shot is so worth it!!
This seems like a record number of posts for me in one sitting--but it was bothering me that in every other picture I just posted Allison was obstructed in some way. So here she is, all alone, her own darling 2 1/2 year-old self. My Ali-gator, Ali-cat, Ali-girl. It's funny because when we named her, I expected to just call her Ali. But, every time I try to do it, I add on something for another syllable. It's been hard to just say Ali for some reason. (Same with "Jake")
Gideon is 7 months now and has been scooting around since 5 1/2 months. He has fully mastered the "army crawl" and is all over the place. His favorite place: under the kitchen chairs. He'll attempt to climb up over the bottom rungs (whatever they're called) and cries for help as he gets stuck mid-maneuver every time. Get him down and place him across the room and he's back under the chairs in no time.
Jacob started preschool a few weeks ago! It has been awesome for him. I wasn't sure if we'd end up doing preschool for him, but I feel like he needs this experience. It's good for him to get away from Mom and enjoy a different setting with new friends and teachers. It really has been a blessing for Allison as well. I have enjoyed my "alone" (with Gideon) time with her as the big girl.
What a big kid!
So, I'm seeing a terrible thing coming my way, even from a few weeks into preschool... Jacob & I were supposed to make a poster of an assigned letter. Did I let Jacob cut out 'K' pictures from magazines and paste them on?? I just couldn't do it. We did discuss 'K' words and these are the word ideas we came up with. But I just had to think about it for days, sketch it out, get on my computer and design it properly in order to make it work for me. Jacob & the class loved it, but I really am going to have to discipline myself to not overstep my bounds as the years of homework and projects quickly approach!
While waiting for this project to happen, I decided I wanted to paint before we put in the new floor. This was my first painting job EVER! And, of course, after painting the walls, I realized I needed to paint the baseboards. I also really, really wanted to paint the cupboards, but then determined there's no way I am going to take that on in the near future!
The process of preparing the floor was pretty hilarious, looking back. We started early Labor Day weekend. I noticed Tom was acting a little sluggish as he went about working. He went to lie down and ended up throwing up all over the bed. Lovely. So that Saturday was out. Then on Monday, when using a razor blade to pull up the vinyl, he slashed his knee and had to leave to get stitches! I did take a picture, but I'll spare us all. Poor Tom.
The hero of the day!! (Well, actually of the 2 weeks that it ended up taking to finish the whole thing.)
I love my engineer husband! He was so meticulous about all of his measurements and cutting and he did a beautiful job.
And then came the extra bonus :) So, when we were moving out of our old apartment, we ended up--for better or worse--with this lovely beast. We've always said we would buy a new one, but hadn't made the effort. Well, after moving this practically solid piece of steel around and realizing that it was leaking, etc. we decided to take the plunge. And oh did it feel so great when the electric company came to pick it up, paying us $50, leaking all the way!
(No, the yellow paint color really isn't this annoying...it's just the lighting in the picture!)
The moment you've all been waiting for...the final product!! It is the GREATEST THING EVER!! So far, whenever there's been a big spill, we REJOICE that we have a new floor and we GLADLY WIPE it up! (Notice I said "so far;" next week the cleaning might not be as joyous.)
We have a new fun family activity: The Moorpark College Track! We discovered it a couple of months ago and it's only a minute away from our home. The kids run around and around and love it! Gideon rides happily around in his stroller. These pictures are from a Family Home Evening activity (Jacob's choice).
Allison is so cute with her curls bouncing behind her. She can run for a pretty long time and then she likes to sit and rest.
This particular night, Jacob ran about 8 laps without stopping! He was pushing the stroller half the time. I kept offering to take it, but he confessed that it made it easier for him to run. He said, "I just found out I'm not as strong as I thought I was. I have to push the stroller to be able to run." I was impressed he could even steer it! We could hardly get him to stop when it was getting dark.
On different running occasions, we have gotten a lot of comments from other runners and even the track coach, saying he's a "future track star." Jacob beams and reminds me throughout the week that he needs to go running to get his exercise to train for the Olympics.
Anyway... I just finished the above logo project. I thought it might be fun to share it and other, more recent logos I have created...
And finally, for fancy burp cloth packaging:
