Googleween 2012

This was the first year that we ended up going to the kid's version of Googleween and it was super fun, but we learned that you need to get there as soon as it starts to beat the crowds. At least we know for the future :-)

They even made the pumpkins "Googley"

 Jane was obviously super excited at the prospect of going trick-or-treating, though we actually spent our time doing the activities and not waiting in line for the treats

They even had a little pumpkin patch where Jane literally picked out the pumpkin she wanted :-) 

 But Jane's absolute FAVORITE part of the whole experience was the petting zoo. We spent at least 30 minutes in the pen as she petted an alpaca

 Chased after the ducks

 She has absolutely no fear with these animals like the goat, bunnies, turtle- one of the workers of the petting zoo said that kids her age were usually really frightened by the animals but obviously not Jane :-) She now goes up to dogs that we see in the park and wants to pet them as much as these ones and most are not as patient as these ones :-)

 We were also able to go on a tractor ride, which Jane liked as well (I love her tongue sticking out!)

They also had cannon blasters, face painting, and bead necklace making that we passed on this year. Thanks to Google for providing such a fun and memorable event!

Uesugi Farms Pumpkin Park

I now have Mondays off so on those days, I try and do a bigger excursion with Jane and so the Monday before Halloween we went to Uesugi Farms. I had been a couple of years ago with my sister Sarah and loved it so I was excited to take Jane and thankfully, she enjoyed it as well.

 Jane enjoyed Pumpkin Pete's Enchanted Hay Ride- and I absolutely love her shirt :-)

 The hayride took us through a beautiful field of sunflowers

 and thousands of marigolds.

The GIANT pumpkins

 

and Jane has a lot more growing to do before she catches up to this pumpkin

She is standing tall this fall though :-) 

 

And the Elf Princess became the Pumpkin Queen

 She liked dancing with Dora

 Attempting to push the wheelbarrow

Playing with the squash

 

Walking through the kiddie corn maze

And riding the train

This place definitely puts me in the Fall spirit

What's Most Important

I have been long absent from the blog due to my own personal perception that I was "too busy" and I have even been "too busy" to read and comment on the blogs of my dear friends and family. Blogging is one of the ways that I have stayed in touch and up-to-date with the happenings of my loved ones. One of these people was my friend from high school, Kim. I found out last night that this amazing, incredible woman had passed away. I cried for several hours as I thought about how she was gone, and what her sweet husband and 5 children are going to do without her. I hadn't kept up with the last few months of her life and so I turned to her blog to catch up on what had been going on with her and her family. Reading those posts was a bittersweet experience for me- it was sweet because I was able to hear the voice of my friend narrating her experiences and love for her children, but it was bitter because I wasn't able to share my feelings with her. It made me realize that I am not blogging just for myself but for those other dear friends of mine scattered and most importantly, for my family and posterity, that they can know of my experiences and have that way to connect with me. The Lord was kind to me in that He prepared me with some advice just before this loss so that I would be able to turn to this talk in my time of need. My friend Abby gave the lesson in Relief Society yesterday based on the recent October general conference talk by Pres. Uchtdorf entitled "Of Regrets and Resolutions." This talk in concert with the passing of my sweet Kim has given me a huge wake-up call as to exactly what are my priorities in life and that I don't want to have anymore regrets that I already have about not touching base enough with her before it was too late. I have a new resolve to be in better contact with those that I love, as well as the importance of keeping a record of my life and experiences to share with others. So expect to be hearing from me more often in tribute to my dear friend Kim.

Not So "Solid" Attempt

Miss Jane turned 6 months on Tuesday and our pediatrician suggested that we start with vegetables first (supposedly that is how the Europeans do it) and so I gave her peas. Below chronicles her foray into the world of food. Here she is staring it down

With trepidation

She tasted a bite and then for the next bite wanted to do it herself

Not too much escaped early on (only a little bit on her face)

And then some more came out

And then LOTS more

Finally, she just decided that it was better to just blow raspberries. 

So, she actually ate the most on Day 1 of peas. Over the past few days, less and less had stayed in her mouth and more has ended up in her bib.Last night, Jane started to cry after only a few spoonfulls.  I was talking with my friend today about this issue and she thinks that I might need to water it down even more to start with because she might not be used to the texture yet and to ease into it a bit more. She also suggested doing very liquidy rice cereal with milk. Has anyone else had this problem? Any suggestions?? 

P.S. she looks so happy and smiling in the later photos but she wasn't all THAT happy eating- she just honestly LOVES the camera :-) 

The Googler and the Googoo-er

The Googler and the Googoo-er

Several years ago when our nephew Charles was born, we stumbled upon this ADORABLE onesie that was not only cute but clever and so we bought it for him. I really wanted one for baby Jane since her daddy is a Googler and so my sister Sarah was kind enough to give it to me as a mother's day gift. 

She is already starting to play with her baby laptop (though she really likes to close it) so she is on her way with basic programming :-) 

I hope this Googoo-er follows in the footsteps of this Googler

And I just can't resist those smiles

San Mateo Central Park

Since Jane is so active and needs constant entertainment, it means that I have been trying to find some new places in the bay area to keep us both engaged and so I have been going to more parks. I heard about the Japanese Garden at San Mateo Central Park and so we ventured out there one Monday afternoon. It is small but was free





This little gazebo area in the rest of the park was also very beautiful with all of the flowers in bloom

Yountville

It is pretty sad that I have lived in the bay area for nearly 5 years and it was only a couple of weeks ago that I FINALLY made it to the Napa Valley. One Saturday, Jane and I decided that we needed to go on a big adventure and so the two of us headed up to Yountville, the Napa Valley town that I knew the most about. It really was beautiful to see all of the vineyards right in the middle of town

 I took this photo so that you could literally see that the vineyard is just next to the main street.

I absolutely LOVE Top Chef and other cooking shows although I'm not a cook myself (definitely more of a baker) and I really like good food though I wouldn't call myself a "foodie" since I'm still quite picky about things. So I knew that I had to go to Yountville to hit Bouchon Bakery. There was a line that moved quite quickly- about 15 minutes- until I was able to get Thomas Keller's famous ho-ho, banana caramel cupcake, and a few macaroons (the caramel one was the best- the raspberry was so so and the vanilla was ok but the caramel was the winner)

No sharing of these delicious treats, though Jane seemed content with her bottle (for now at least!)

The ho-ho was good but the cupcake was divine! The frosting was a whipped cream based kind and it was so light and airy compared with the more dense banana caramel filling of the cupcake.This bakery was the main reason for my trip so I was happy that it didn't disappoint

Since it was my first trip to Yountville, I didn't want to miss anything so I stopped off at the visitors center and asked what items were "not to be missed". One of the women told me that I couldn't miss the toadstool stone sculptures. I definitely would have missed them because in my mind, they are ok but there were so many other more memorable places.

The other woman at the visitor's center gave me the great tip of walking all the way up to the French Laundry to see their gardens across the street. This really was a definitely must see. Maybe one day we can have a meal here . . . . 

The gardens were very well kept and they had the perfect bench where Jane and I were able to sit and enjoy the beautiful view

To my complete and utter delight, while we were sitting there, one of the French Laundry chefs came out and tasted some of the herbs and picked some!! I managed to be discrete with my photo taking but I really was so excited to see the actual process. 

The whole town of Yountville is filled with quaint and charming restaurants like the one you see here. Sometime I will need to eat at Bouchon and Bottega, Michael Chiarellos's restaurant, which is in the reasonable price range.

 

The tourist office also told me that the largest Veterans community in California is also in Yountville and I LOVED it because I saw so many of them driving around town, like the gentleman above, sharing the road with the cars.

 

I also went to the Napa Art Museum where they had a special exhibit with costumes from the San Francisco Opera and all I know is that I now have to go and see the opera Don Giovanni one day because they had the most amazing costumes and headpieces.

Honestly, it was such a picture perfect day and it made me want to explore Napa Valley even more. Definitely worth the drive and I hope to be back soon