happy birthday, golden gate!

way back in may, we ventured to the 75th birthday of the golden gate bridge.  we were so worried about traffic and crowds, but we didn't hit any!  the greens were calm and beautiful while we were there - about 12-3.  we noticed the parties starting up as we left - there were celebrations and events until 11pm.  our timing was perfect, as we enjoyed a family friendly, low-key celebration of the most san franciscan icon.  it was perfect!

fireworks at donner lake

we absolutely LOVE the fireworks at the lake!  the dark sky, loud boom, and reflection on the water are breathtaking!  the kiddos did well, despite the loud booms.  maddy was totally disinterested, looked at one, then nodded off (my hands over her ears) and jack watched while under the protective covering of his daddy's hands - he is SO not into noise.

boom!

mad jack, he was worried about the noise :(

lake reflections

glow necklaces, bracelets turned into light sabers!

the willis family!

cabin' it in truckee

our fun times on the lake, at the beach, and in our perfect cabin were absolutely perfect!  jack and the willis twins were machines - playing, eating, swimming, all week.  maddy and autumn hit it off (autumn is the girliest girl, wanting to baby maddy the entire trip!) while jack and austin played dinosaurs and animals non-stop.  the three invented a 'ball game' with the pool table (don't tell the cabin owners!) that went on for hours.  the kids slept well, allowing for adult time at night.  really, such a fun, fun week!!  

part one:  hanging out at the cabin

the cabin was located on a quiet street with a nice size deck for lounging, dinosaurs, and snacks.

maddy started rolling over on our first day

autumn watching over her baby bff

loving the mountain air

jason + his mini-me, austin

'our' cabin

trees!

happy baby!

i made them 4th friendship bracelets

cheese!

magic jack

an inappropriate title for my little man's attempt at making his sister laugh!  success.  it was so funny, i wish i got the first part, but this part is enough for you to get the picture!!

maddy's first bite: rice cereal

maddy tried rice cereal for the first time last night!  i'm not so sure about her feelings on the actual food, but she does love sitting with us at the breakfast bar and she definitely loved being able to participate in a meal.

patiently waiting

the anticipation

first bite!

lunch today was interesting... she's always been a fan of food, but she was aggressively staring at jack's mac n cheese.  it was torture for her!!

 asking them to smile for a picture:

 jack consoling maddy, 'it's ok, baby sis, you'll get cereal later':

simple joys.

savoring some watermelon:

enjoying (really, she is/does!) her turtle play center:

 spending some q.t. with big bro jack:

 loving on minnie:

 eating a bowl of greens taken from the counter as i made my lunch.  just greens.  he digs it:

 enjoying the sunset out our living room window:

little miss maddy.

maddy was given the option to purchase this outfit or a pastel pink one.  when jack held up the two outfits she chose this one, not once, but twice.  we purchased it and i think it's her favorite summer 'fit!  it has a glittery thread running through it - SO her mommy's daughter - i LOVE glitter!!!  i also LOVELOVELOVE shopping for little girl clothes!!!!  oh my, it's so FUN!

she looks like jack here - minus the outfit

bell-bells and leggies!!!!!!

first day of pre-k!!!!

a saturday morning

my parents took jack and maddy so pete and i could dine on sushi a few weeks ago - we hadn't been to my favorite meal since before i was pregnant!!  it was so.good!!  we picked up maddy after dinner, but jack loves to stay behind for some extra-special g-parent time.  we missed the litle guy, but did enjoy the morning with just our little girl!

shutters.

we have old windows in all of our bedrooms and a very public view into our kitchen/hallway at night, so we decided to get shutters!  YAY!  i love shutters and have always wanted some :).

here's a quick before/after of just our kitchen window.  i'm slow to get the others photographed (and super embarrassed by my dirty windows!  our pest people just sprayed, then it was super windy/dusty, so they are FILTHY):

before                                                                                                     after

i love the privacy and trim it adds to our window -- some of our windows had trim, so they just added the slats, but others needed the whole trim (as in above).  the finished look is SO nice and the kids sleep in!!!!!  it's amazing!!

our neighbor sent pete a text that said, 'thanks a lot, pete.  now my wife wants shutters!'  pete responded with, 'it's like an STD.  we got it from jen's friends.  sorry man.'  {true story, cory has them in her new home which was the catalyst for finally making the call and getting a company out here for a quote!}

a question for those shutter owners - we had drapes in our bedrooms and now have the shutters.  can we keep the drapes or is that window covering over-kill?

{i am so bad about angles in before/afters, age comps, etc.  i really need to get that together!!}