Day 3 … and I have clearly gotten used to doing nothing, as I fell asleep mid-day. I can’t remember the last time I took a nap, but it was probably during my maternity leave over 4 years ago, when I was waking up every few hours at night with a nursling! James says “This is normal for you – when you don’t have anything to do, your body attacks itself and you shut down.”  I ran with Zachary in the morning, played games and completed errands during the day, and in the evening, Calie went to swim lessons followed by a family dinner/pool play date at Tabitha and Chigme’s new house. The kids had SO much fun! Calista is overly confident in the pool (she’s just good enough for to be dangerous), and can swim the width of the pool now. Zach had a blast racing, diving, and shooting water guns with Erik. Erik is ~2 years younger than Zach, but on a swim team so they were pretty well matched. Calie and Evie are less than a year apart and also play well. Congratulations Tabitha and Chigme on your new home! Best neighborhood ever …

 

 

In terms of OUR house stuff, we’ve accomplished the following:

• Grout cleaned and sealed (it’s been over 8 years – yuck!)
• Replaced our Oriental style rug for a more contemporary grey one from Pottery Barn
• Replaced our very worn (finish coming off) rectangle table with a new round table
• Purchased some decorative pillows from IKEA, as well as a new bedding set (for Master) from Pottery Barn
• Ordered custom made glass tops for our tables (love being able to see the wood vs. using a tablecloth!)
• Replaced a small bronze light fixture with a new chrome one I’ve been eyeing for awhile from ZGallerie

Here’s a sneak peak at our updates (photo #1 = before, photos #2 and #3 are after … hopefully that’s obvious) Interior painting, new flooring to replace all linoleum, more contemporary light fixtures and door knobs, seat cushions for our dining room chairs, a new desk, plus a major demolition to add a media center still to-do! And with Tabitha’s new place only 0.2 miles away, it’s like we also added a new pool and spa!

  

We kicked off last weekend (James/my last day of work before a 2 month sabbatical!) with a trip to Castello di Amorosa in Napa for a work celebration. James’ parents drove up to watch the kids – thank you, thank you, thank you! It was an awesome party. There were buses that picked us up (and later dropped us off) at our work parking lot, which just so happens to be less than 2 miles from our home. Intel rented the entire winery.

  

The food was terrific … open bar in the terrace overlooking the vineyard, buffet stations in the courtyard, featuring 3 varieties of gourmet pizzas and Caeser salad, Indian kabobs, butternut squash ravioli and steak salad, and seafood paella. There was the biggest cheese spread I’d ever seen in the Chapel, and another bar in the Great Hall. Down a labyrinth to the Grand Barrel room, there was a table full of mini desserts.

  

  

There was also a dance floor which was super crowded – I don’t think the planner expected so many engineers (myself and James included!) to dance. My feet were killing me at the end of the night, so we rested by one of the fire pits drinking tea and coffee, while waiting for our bus. Definitely a good party!

The next morning, we (plus Grandma and Grandpa) went to see Calista’s dance recital. I loved that it was during regular class time, Saturday morning (vs Tricks which had dress rehearsal and recital during work hours!) Also, it was super casual … the girls could wear anything they wanted. Though we pretty much forced Calista to wear her Tricks costume from last year, which I recall ran us ~$60.

  

Sunday was Father’s Day, and we went to Fairytale town. Zachary moaned and groaned about it, but I think he had fun once he got there. At least he was a good sport about it.

  

  

Monday, we went to the Aquatic Center, as Zachary wanted to do some kayaking. Calista protested, so we stayed near the shore and played with sand and water … and a gazillion geese. The water was pretty dingy and very cold. It wasn’t Hawaii or the Caribbean, that was for sure. As you can see, we’re running into an issue with our kids having very different interests. James/I insist on doing most things as a family, but it sometimes takes prodding. My youngest sister and I are almost 7-years apart in age, and I remember my parents doing the same thing.

  

Today (Tuesday), we went to Story Time at the library. It was super cute … pirate themed, songs, 3 books, games, very interactive. I felt like I was sitting in on a preschool class, but with a bunch of other moms. I think my friend Dana would have like it, but it really wasn’t my thing. The kids both joined the library’s summer reading program – and since we didn’t have plans the rest of the morning, they buckled down and completed the program requirements in a few hours. This earned them a free book of their choice, pencil, punch balloon, and  gift cards for pizza, cupcake, and admission to LEGOLAND.

 

With no work or summer school, Calista is taking swim lessons every day, going on 4 days in a row. She’s making progress and SO close to being able to really swim (big arms, side breath ect.) We’re paying hand over fist, but I know we’re going to lose some momentum with our upcoming travel plans, so we’re buffering. Please, please, please learn to swim soon!

Two days into our sabbatical, and so far lots of downtime. Everything we had to cram in along with our 40+ hour work week, we can do much more leisurely. Little things like picking up the house, paying bills, laundry, errands/shopping, meal prepping … they can all be done throughout the day vs. during a rushed lunch hour or after the kids are in bed. James and I are taking exercise classes during the day, and I’ve gone out to lunch with a co-worker. Felt odd to drop her off at work and go home. Almost … guilty or maybe underutilized? I’ve been told by co-workers that it takes 1-2 weeks to get used to it. Oh, I am sure I can get used to this! And I’ll know I’ve succeeded when I lose track of what day of the week it is.

  

We escaped from the 100+ degree heat,  spending all weekend in the Bay Area – yay!

Happy Birthday Mom and Rob (Alice’s boyfriend)! We celebrated with sushi, brownie ice cream cake, spicy Cheetos, seaweed, and pho. We got to see baby Dylan again, who has plumped up quite a bit since our last visit. Sophie thinks he’s fussy, but he was a good baby while we visited. In fact, she didn’t want to take him out for dinner, but Eddie was lured by Pho, and I convinced them that 5 adults can definitely take on 1 baby. As it turns out, not even a peep from Dylan the entire meal. This is good news because it will increase their confidence in taking him out. It’s the first step in convincing them it’s a good idea to travel with young children. Especially to Hawaii for my 40th birthday next year.  

  

 

 

All Sunday, we played at the new Exploratorium on Pier 15/17. Thanks Rob for the discounted tickets! The kids had SO much fun – and the adults were entertained as well, since we are all big science geeks. My kids love hands-on experiments and repetition, so although we got there before opening and stayed until they closed, we only went through about a third of the museum!

  

  

We had lunch at Seagrass, the restaurant inside the museum, which ran us almost $70 … and none of us got drinks or dessert either! It seems we can’t go out for a meal for much less anymore, especially in big cities. That said, the food was good, you can’t beat the convenience, and well … I guess we could consider it a non-tax-deductible donation to the museum.

  

 

  

We had dinner at Il Fornaio before heading back home. To a shady 78 degrees. What great timing!

Memorial Day weekend … Demolition Derby …

 

Feather Falls hike (James and Zach are training for Machu Picchu) …

 

Swim birthday party (Happy 4th Birthday Cassandra!) …

  

Lunch play date with friends … hanging out at home …

 

  

Brunch and wine tasting double date with Bev/Mike, while the kids played with their favorite babysitter (they made sock puppets!) …

 

  

Paddleboat and kayaking with friends, followed by a barbecue dinner play date!

  

 

 

Did you notice Calista’s hair? … cut 6 inches! I really liked her with long hair (this is only her 3rd haircut EVER), but it was so tangly, and she’s been begging for months. I was a bit sad about it, but the new style is growing on me … plus it’s much more practical given how active we are.

This weekend, I celebrated my 10th wedding anniversary! We took 1.5 days off work and headed to wine country with the kids. The kids stayed at their grandparents for 2 nights while James and I relaxed at Santa Nella House – which incidentally is on sale, in case you are in the market for a Bed & Breakfast. First night, we dined at Applewood Inn, a Michelin star restaurant on the Russian River, only a few miles away. The Marin Miyagi oysters were seriously the best I’ve ever had. I think I enjoy sharing experiences with others because I kept thinking how my sisters would love them … and when James ordered the profiteroles with homemade peanut butter ice cream, I wished I could save some for my friend Melissa!

  

 

The Inn put out cheese and wine at 6pm plus dessert at night … so James and I woke up early the next morning for a 2 mile run/hike before the heavy breakfast. During the day, we took the kids (+ Grandma) to Armstrong National Forest. We hiked ~4 miles with decent elevation. Embarrassed to admit, I was actually sore the next day!

  

   

  

In the evening, we had dinner at Boon Eat & Drink. The reviews are correct … awesome flash fried brussel sprouts. A must-order if you ever visit. Adding a photo of the card Calista made and posted on the front door … and some eggs from the hens at the Bed & Breakfast. When I retire, I think I will get some chickens and grow my own garden … it seems like such a neat challenge to eat only the food you ‘grow’. I might have to become a low-carb vegetarian. And of course, vitamins wouldn’t count as food, so I’d be able to make up for some deficiencies there. But I digress…

  

Ending the weekend, we met up with friends who live in the area for some … um … sword fighting. Zachary had some ninja-like moves such as spinning and jumping over swords, which made Tristen say,”Wow, I’ve never seen moves like that before!” It was pretty hilarious, not to mention a great workout!

 

Happy 10th Anniversary James! and Thanks!!! to the Grandparents for babysitting the kids.

So as some of you may know, Xanga may be shutting down mid-July. While I love blogging, I don’t think I will move to a different site. Quite frankly, I find my blogs getting repetitive … my kids are older (no longer babies) so not changing as much from week to week … and with my parents both on Facebook, the value of my mindless drivel just isn’t there anymore. I remember thinking to myself, ‘I’ll do this until they are 5-years-old’. That seemed like such a long time ago, but Calista is already 4.5-years-old and will turn 5 shortly after mid-July. The timing is really kind of perfect. A few more posts and then I’m done. Maybe I’ll pick up some good books to occupy my evenings – any recommendations?